Starting in September, Corus Entertainment will become the first Canadian company to offer the complete library of Disney Channel, fuelling a new layer of confusion to the already muddled rights ownership of US content in Canada.
According to a recent announcement, kids who have for years turned to the Family channel to catch episodes of Disney’s most famous shows, including cartoons like Phineas and Ferb and live-action favourites like Wizards of Waverly Place and Hannah Montana, will now have a new destination for their visual entertainment.
“While Disney programming has aired before in Canada, this is the first time Canadian audiences will be treated to the full Disney Channel experience,” Corus said Thursday in a statement.
The arrival of Disney Channel comes after a number of Canada’s kids channels swapped hands last year. Family Channel was passed to DHX Media after the creator and distributor of kids programs got CRTC permission to buy three specialty TV channels Bell Media was required to sell when it bought Astral Media.
As part of that transaction, DHX also acquired the Canadian versions of two Disney Junior channels in English and French and Disney XD – each providing specific kids demographics with a variety of Canadian shows programmed between Disney programs.
DHX plans to launch Family Junior and Famille Junior, aimed at kids aged 2 to 6, and Family XTRM, for viewers 6 to 12, in November.
The Toronto-based media company already has a broad portfolio of specialty TV channels geared to young audiences, including YTV, Treehouse, Nickelodeon, and ABC Spark. Under the Disney agreement, it also gains the streaming and ad-supported video on demand rights to certain shows.
Between September and January, DHX will continue broadcasting Disney content on Family Channel, but gradually the lineup will be replaced with more of its own programs, which include Canadian-produced shows like Justin Time and The Next Step.
DHX also plans to add new episodes of Monster High, Hot Wheels and Thomas & Friends under an agreement with Mattel.