TORONTO – The launch of a French language Teletoon Retro will see the total number of Canadian homes receiving the programming grow to over 5.8 million as Vidéotron illico Digital TV offers both the French and English channels as part of the TELEMAX package, the broadcaster announced today.
“From day one Teletoon Retro has been an unprecedented success and launching a French channel has always been part of our plans,” said Len Cochrane, president, Teletoon Canada inc. “It is enormously satisfying to be bringing cartoon favourites to Francophone homes and I’m sure that this new channel will prove to be just as popular as its English counterpart.”
From September, the French language Télétoon Rétro is set to deliver classic cartoons specific for the Quebec market such as Rémi sans famille as well as bygone favourites beloved by audiences across Canada including Les amis Ratons (The Raccoons), Tom et Jerry (The Tom & Jerry Show) and Bugs Bunny et Tweety (The Bugs Bunny and Tweety Show).
Additional carriage is currently being secured for the new French language channel. The English language Teletoon Retro channel will also be available on illico Digital TV from September, featuring classics such as The Flintstones, Merrie Melodies, The Smurfs and Fraggle Rock.
To promote the launch of Télétoon Rétro, Bugs Bunny et Tweety will air each Saturday and Sunday night from 7 p.m. on the Teletoon French network from July 5, giving viewers a taste of what they can expect from the new digital specialty.
Since launching on October 1, 2007, Teletoon Retro has quickly risen to rank as the number two digital specialty channel with audiences 2+† and is number one with moms and kids, testifying to the popularity of Teletoon Retro as a co-viewing destination, with parents sitting down to revisit the shows of their youth while their children encounter iconic animation for the very first time.
