TORONTO – Corus Entertainment has announced that Teletoon Retro will cease to exist as of September 1st.
The company's Cartoon Network Canada will be shifted into its place for those TV providers who don’t already carry that channel, two carrier sources have told Cartt.ca. Both sources asked not to be named as they do not have permission to speak publicly on the matter but have been told by Corus representatives that is the plan.
While some had assumed that the channel would be rebranded as a Disney service, since Corus now owns the rights to that programming going forward and will very soon launch a Disney Channel here, it apparently is not going into the Teletoon Retro slot.
A Corus spokesperson confirmed Teletoon Retro is being discontinued but would not comment further. “We will be announcing more details about Disney Channel’s launch in Canada and its distribution soon,” said the spokesperson in an email to Cartt.ca.
Cartoon Network Canada (licensed from U.S. brand owner Turner Broadcasting) was launched by Teletoon in Canada in 2012 before Corus acquired full control of the company – and according to the CartoonNetwork.ca web site, it is carried by Cogeco, Telus, Bell, EastLink, SaskTel and MTS. That leaves out three big distributors: Rogers, Vidéotron and Shaw, which all carry Teletoon Retro — and one assumes would retain the channel after it is changed to Cartoon Network. We have not yet asked representatives of those carriers if that will be the case.
We are also uncertain what is going to happen with Teletoon Rétro, the French version, as its web site does not appear to have the same news about closure as the English version.
Teletoon Retro launched in 2007 and quickly gained wide distribution in both English and French thanks to its unique, low-cost, carriage contracts (as we reported back then). Together, the English and French services earned $8.7 million in revenue in the 2014 broadcast year, ended August 31, 2014, according to CRTC filings. Cartoon Network earned $4 million in revenue in the 2014 broadcast year.
In 2011, it Teletoon Retro (English and French) surpassed the 8 million subscriber mark.
More to come.
