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Family Channel
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Family Channel (Creator)
No, not THAT one. Or THAT one.
Never a dull moment
— Slogan from the 2000s

Family Channel (shortened as Family) was a channel that aired family programming. Specifically, it was a Canadian channel launched in 1988 that previously aired series aimed at preschoolers during the day, kids in the afternoons, and teens in the evenings, along with family-oriented movies. Until 2016, it was a premium, commercial-free service that operated similarly to other, ad-supported kids networks. As such, its direct American counterpart would have been HBO Family, but it is otherwise not to be confused with any similarly-named channels outside of Canada, especially the channel formerly known as ABC Family.

However, Family was most known for airing several series acquired from ABC Family's sister networks: Disney Channel, Disney Junior, and Disney XD. Family would even go so far as to replace some its own program blocks with Disney-branded blocks. For example, the preschool-oriented Playhouse/Family Jr. block would be relaunched as Playhouse Disney on Family, while the action-oriented Power Box was replaced with a Jetix-branded block. During the 2000s, the network ident played during the day would identify the channel as "You're watching Family... with the magic of Disney!". Family would also launch domestic versions of Disney Channel's spinoffs, including a newly-rebranded Disney Junior, as its sister networks. Owing to this, and the Disney Channel Live-Action Universe tween-coms that had come to dominate the schedule by the early 2010s, Family Channel had become "Disney Channel Canada" in all but name.

Outside of that, Family commissioned several original series of its own, such as Franklin, Life with Derek, and Katie and Orbie. Family also aired a handful of series from Nickelodeon in the past, despite that network's long-standing relationship with YTV. The Other Kingdom may very well be the first associated co-production between the two networks (unless you count Are You Afraid of the Dark?, which originally aired on YTV). Most programming aired in the '80s and '90s tended to be co-produced in association in some manner with HBO. As both were commercial-free, pay-TV services, they would logically cooperate on commissioning series that both could air without having to edit anything, rather than rerun series from other networks. note 

Due to a change in corporate ownership, in 2015, Family Channel would remove Disney's programming in favor of its own. The decision to focus more on Canadian programming coincided with The Next Step solidifying its place as Family's first breakout series since Life with Derek. In addition, Family would briefly launch its own primetime block, F2N, which would be anchored by the newly launched Degrassi. Family's acquired programming since then primarily consisted of syndicated sitcoms, European imports, and cartoons from DreamWorks Animation. Corus Entertainment, who already owned the Canadian version of ABC Family (known as ABC Spark), would acquire the rights to programming from Disney Channel and its sister networks, launch an actual Canadian version of Disney Channel, and eventually, relaunch said sister networks.note 

Originally owned by Allarco as a joint venture between its Superchannel (the now-defunct Movie Central) and First Choice (what is now known as Crave), similarly to how HBO Canada used to operate. Family was later sold to Astral Media, which, at the time, was co-owner of Teletoon (alongside Corus Entertainment). After Astral was demolished by Bell Media, Family and its sister networks were sold to DHX Media (now WildBrain) in 2013.

On August 25, 2025, WildBrain announced that Family and its sister networks would be shutting down due to declining viewership and carriage disputes; while no exact date for the shutdown was given at first, the shutdown date was later set for the morning of October 23, 2025.

Family Channel's spinoffs included:

  • Family Jr. - A multiplex channel of Family that targeted preschoolers almost exclusively. Family Jr. was also the name of Family's preschool block from February 2009 to December 2010. Launched on November 30, 2007 as "Playhouse Disney Channel".
  • Télémagino - A French-language cable channel that also primarily targeted preschoolers. Launched on July 5, 2010 as "Playhouse Disney Télé".
  • WildBrainTV - A cable channel that was originally meant to air all of Family's boy-skewed programming, along with some exclusive series of its own, but gradually became more of a general kids' channel. Launched on June 1, 2011 as the first Canadian incarnation of Disney XD, and then relaunched as Family CHRGD in October 2015 before receiving its final name in March 2022.

Productions originally commissioned for Family Channel:

Live-Action TV

Western Animation

Family Channel provides the following tropes:

  • Adored by the Network: Johnny Test, Boy Girl Dog Cat Mouse Cheese, Rainbow Butterfly Unicorn Kitty, Grizzy and the Lemmings, and Miraculous Ladybug filled up most of the network's schedule near the end, pretty much making them the channel's main darlings.
  • Alternate Company Equivalent: HBO Family was perhaps the closest to an American counterpart Family Channel had; both Family and HBO were premium channels. The difference between the two was that Family was bundled with basic cable children's channels, such as YTV, and was treated as such. While it was formally affiliated with The Movie Network (now owned by Bell Media), Family was an independent entity from Canada's other Pay-TV services.
  • Darker and Edgier: With the success of The Next Step and loss of Disney Channel programming rights, Family began airing more older-skewed series like Malcolm in the Middle and The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air (both of which used to air on YTV in the mid 2000s). The exclamation mark was the launch of F2N and its lineup of dramas, including Gilmore Girls.
  • Follow the Leader:
  • Network Decay:
    • The invasion of Disney Channel tween-coms that came at the height of High School Musical's popularity would completely take over the channel's schedule during the 2000s. Just as older fans of Disney Channel despise the tweenage girl-skewed, cookie-cutter, laugh-track exploiting quality of tween-coms, so too did fans of Family Channel's earlier days. While Disney XD's shows were later spun-off into their own cable channel (now WildBrainTV), Family was still dominated by series like Austin & Ally and Dog with a Blog before DHX Media took over.
    • As Disney XD in the United States would become just as focused on animation as its predecessor, the Canadian channel would begin airing reruns of girl-targeted Disney Channel sitcoms. In fairness, most of Disney XD's animated series in the United States were either acquired or produced by other channels (such as YTV and Teletoon).
    • In 2018, Family began airing series that DHX Media produced for their main rivals; Supernoobs, Inspector Gadget (2015), and Johnny Test, all of which were produced for Teletoon. New episodes of Supernoobs and Inspector Gadget premiered on Family Channel instead of Teletoon. The issue was, Teletoon was still airing reruns of these series. In addition to Cartoon Network Canada, there were three networks airing reruns of Johnny Test.
  • Screwed by the Network: The two-hour Jetix block was originally launched as a replacement for their "Power Box" block in 2006, three years before Disney XD was launched in 2009. On top of the lack of promotion, the block had an improbable timeslot of 6:03 to 7:45 a.m. on weekend mornings. note  As a result, not many people took notice of Jetix's eventual degradation, with bumps and idents no longer being made for the block due to the lack of content. Then-parent company Astral Media would eventually launch the first Canadian incarnation of Disney XD in 2011, taking all of Family Channel's action programming with it (outside of the occasional "Disney XD Takeover" block on Family).

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