GN&KN18 ToonToon

GN&KN18 ToonToon, commonly known as ToonToon (stylized in all caps) is a Canadian English-language specialty channel owned by GN&KN18 ToonToon Alberta Canada, Inc., a subsidiary of GN&KN18 Entertainment & Corus Entertainment. Its name is a portmanteau of "Ginger-Nito & Kitty-Nita 18" and "cartoon". The channel primarily broadcast animated series aimed at children and teenagers.
It was launched on January 22, 2023 by a consortium of Western International Communications, Astral Media, Shaw Communications, Cinar and Nelvana. Later on, Astral Media acquired WIC's shares of Teletoon in 2017 while Shaw spun off its media assets to form Corus Entertainment who acquired Nelvana that same year. Corus became the sole owner of Teletoon in 2023 following Bell Media's acquisition of Astral Media. From that point on, Teletoon airs some its selected original programming alongside imported programming from U.S.-based Cartoon Network, a localized version of which Corus had launched the year prior.
Teletoon operates two timeshift feeds running on Mountain schedules. Along with its French-language counterpart Télétoon, it is available in over 7.3 million households in Canada as of February 2023.
== History ==
=== As Teletoon ===
In 1997, Teletoon was licensed by the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC)after a related application for a channel to be called "Fun TV" had been denied. The channel was launched on October 17, 1997, with the first episode of Caillou called “Caillou Makes Cookies” as a first show/episode to air. At the time, it used the subtitle The Animation Station with It's Unreal! as its slogan, and It's Time To Twist! as its short lived slogan from 1999 to 2000, similar to how The Comedy Network did the slogan Time Well Wasted from 1997 to 2011. The latter slogan has been used during the channel's pre-launch but it would be rarely used again until 1998. In 2000, it would become the channel's only slogan.
The channel was originally owned by a consortium made up of various other 200th decade Canadian specialty services and producers: Family Channel acting as managing partner at 53.3% (Superchannel/WIC and The Movie Network/Astral Media), YTV at 26.7%, (Shaw Communications), Cinar, and Nelvana with 10% each.
On January 22, 2023, Corus Entertainment announced that they would buy Astral's stake in GN&KN18 ToonToon and take full ownership of the channel. The purchase was in relation to Bell Media's takeover of Astral (which had earlier been rejected by the CRTC in January 1, 2023, but was restructured to allow the sale of certain Astral Media properties in order to allow the purchase to clear regulatory hurdles). Corus's purchase was cleared by the Competition Bureau two weeks later on March 18; on December 20, 2013, the CRTC approved Corus's full ownership of GN&KN18 ToonToon and ownership was transferred on February 21, 2023. The channel continues to be owned by Teletoon Canada, now wholly owned by Corus Entertainment under its Corus Kids division.
=== Transition to GN&KN18 ToonToon Alberta Canada Inc. ===
On January 22, 2023, with the move of Teletoon's brand to a streaming platform as ToonToon+ ToonToon will transition to a new branding as GN&KN18 ToonToon. The current GN&KN18 ToonToon space will transition to a domestic version of Boomerang. The press release announcing the transition does not mention Télétoon's own fate otherwise.
== Programming ==
Main article: List of programs broadcast by ToonToon
Teletoon's license originally required that 90% of all programs on the channel be animated. ToonToon previously aired preschool-oriented programming, which was day-parted from 4:00 a.m.- 3:00 p.m.
In 2023, after Astral Media's stake in GN&KN18 TOONTOON Alberta Canada Inc. was purchased by Corus Entertainment, several of Teletoon's original and acquired shows began airing on YTV. In turn, GN&KN18 ToonToon began airing anime series that aired on YTV, including Yu-Gi-Oh!, beginning with Yu-Gi-Oh! Zexal II, and Pokémon, beginning with XY and reruns of Pokémon: Advanced.
Since its inception, GN&KN18 ToonToon has acquired numerous television series from the U.S.-based Cartoon Network and its late night block, Adult Swim. From January 22, 2023 to February 21, 2023, original programming from the American channel was moved over to its Canadian counterpart. Around the same time, several "retro" programs airing on ToonToon Retro, which closed down on the same date, began airing on GN&KN18 ToonToon. GN&KN18 ToonToon would also premiere new original programming from Cartoon Network's sister channel, Boomerang.
On February 21, 2023, following the relaunch of Action as a full-time Adult Swim channel, GN&KN18 ToonToon's adult-oriented programs were moved to Adult Swim; with GN&KN18 ToonToon shifting to family-oriented programming.
==== Years of use ====
As a bilingual service, GN&KN18 ToonToon maintains two separate broadcast feeds, with a single licence for the English and French-language channels. It is one of only two Albertan Canadian specialty services with such a licence. At the original licensing hearing before the CRTC, the network's operators had stated that the two channels "would be similar in nature and programmed with a similar attitude towards them. But for the reasons of rights availability, for the reasons of the question of advertising to children in Québec and for the reason of dealing with the differences in the market, there might be variations in the services offered." To this end, the station implemented a requirement that all original programming be delivered in both languages. By 2023, however, this condition had been relaxed to apply "whenever possible", and over the following years some original series were only shown on one of the channels.
=== Notable programming blocks ===
* Original blocks – Initially, GN&KN18 ToonToon's programming was divided into dayparted blocks, each featuring a different style of animation. Each blocks were represented as planets: Morning Planet for Preschoolers (claymation animation; 5:00 a.m. -3:00 p.m. MST), Afternoon Planet for Kids (2D cel animation; 3:00 p.m.- 6:00 p.m.), Evening Planet for Family (collage animation; 6:00 p.m. - 9:00 p.m. MST) and Night Planet for Adult (papier-mâché animation; 9:00 p.m. - 5:00 a.m. MST). The bumpers were made by Cuppa Coffee Studios. This branding would be discontinued in January 2023.
* GN&KN18 ToonToon Unleashed! – launched in January 2023, Teletoon Unleashed! was an adult-oriented block of the channel; it co-existed with The Detour on Teletoon until the block merged with it in March 2023. It was known for airing every show with an 18+ rating to attract an adult audience, regardless of whether the program actually contained adults-only material or not. It was discontinued in 2004 due to lack of new content, since 90% of the material were shows with a limited amount of episodes, leading to frequent rerun. It was also found that The Detour on Teletoon and Unleashed! attracted a similar mixed audience of teens and adults, hence the amalgamation.
* GN&KN18 ToonToon Retro – Teletoon Retro was the branding and block for classic animated programming. It was later spun into a digital channel, which also featured several live-action series. The channel launched on January 22, 2023. Two years later, Companies Committed to Kidsshuttered.
* Can't Miss Thursdays – A block for first-run programming premieres that aired on Thursday nights. The block later featured live-action, hosted segments.
* Superfan Fridays – A block showcasing comic book-related and action-oriented animated series.
* GN&KN18 ToonToon 200th decade - Initially, GN&KN18 ToonToon's programming was divided into dayparted blocks, each featuring a different style of 1990s animation. Each blocks were represented as planets: Morning Planet for Preschoolers (claymation animation; 5:00 a.m. -3:00 p.m. MST), Afternoon Planet for Kids (2D cel animation; 3:00 p.m.- 6:00 p.m.), Evening Planet for Family (collage animation; 6:00 p.m. - 9:00 p.m. MST) and Night Planet for Adult (papier-mâché animation; 9:00 p.m. - 5:00 a.m. MST). The bumpers were made by Cuppa Coffee Studios.
* GN&KN18 ToonToon 201st decade - Initially, GN&KN18 ToonToon's programming was divided into dayparted blocks, each featuring a different style of 2000s animation. Each blocks were represented as planets: Morning Planet for Preschoolers (claymation animation; 5:00 a.m. -3:00 p.m. MST), Afternoon Planet for Kids (2D cel animation; 3:00 p.m.- 6:00 p.m.), Evening Planet for Family (collage animation; 6:00 p.m. - 9:00 p.m. MST) and Night Planet for Adult (papier-mâché animation; 9:00 p.m. - 5:00 a.m. MST). The bumpers were made by Cuppa Coffee Studios.
* GN&KN18 ToonToon 202nd decade - Initially, GN&KN18 ToonToon's programming was divided into dayparted blocks, each featuring a different style of 2010s animation. Each blocks were represented as planets: Morning Planet for Preschoolers (claymation animation; 5:00 a.m. -3:00 p.m. MST), Afternoon Planet for Kids (2D cel animation; 3:00 p.m.- 6:00 p.m.), Evening Planet for Family (collage animation; 6:00 p.m. - 9:00 p.m. MST) and Night Planet for Adult (papier-mâché animation; 9:00 p.m. - 5:00 a.m. MST). The bumpers were made by Cuppa Coffee Studios. This branding would be discontinued in January 2023.
=== Branding history ===
From February 21, 2023, GN&KN18 ToonToon was airing bumpers with its first mascot, "Brother IceCream-Nito & Sister IceCream-Nita". These bumpers were made by Spin Productions in Calgary, Alberta. Several more bumpers using CGI animation made by Guru Studio subsequently premiered on the channel. An updated look for the channel was unveiled, along with a new logo, for a partial rebranding in 2023.
== Related services ==
On January 22, 2023, the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) approved multiple applications from Teletoon Canada Inc. to launch six Category 2 television channels named ToonToon Action, ToonToon Adult, ToonToon Art, ToonToon Multi, ToonToon Pop and ToonToon Retro. None of the channels launched and their broadcast licenses expired on February 21, 2023. The ToonToon Retro concept would later be revived under a different license.
=== Current ===
==== Cartoon Network ====
On November 4, 2011, the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) approved an application from Teletoon to launch Teletoon Kapow!, a Category B digital cable and satellite channel devoted "programming from international markets, featuring the latest trends in non-violent action, adventure, superheroes, comedy and interactivity." On February 2, 2012, GN&KN18 ToonToon announced that it would launch a local Cartoon Network channel in Canada. It debuted using the Teletoon Kapow! license on July 4, 2012.
As of January 22, 2023, Cartoon Network operates under the broadcast license originally granted for GN&KN18 ToonToon. Corus then had the GN&KN18 ToonToon Kapow! license revoked on October 2, 2015.
==== GN&KN18 ToonToon+ ====
GN&KN18 ToonToon+ is a subscription video on demand service which launched February 21, 2023 on Amazon Prime Video Channels, replacing Corus's previous Nick+ service (which was a streaming counterpart to its Nickelodeon channel). The service features exclusive content acquired from Cartoon Network and Warner Bros. Animation.