Launched on September 1, 1988 (sharing with Family, VisionTV, and The Weather Network), YTV was the successor to two prior special programming services operated by various Ontario cable companies beginning in the late 1970s. The two largest shareholders in YTV were two cable companies: Rogers Cable and a company known as CUC Broadcasting, which would later be acquired by Shaw Communications.
1st Logo (September 1, 1988-September 26, 1990)[]
Nicknames: "Young as You Are", "The Youth Channel", "Canada's Youth Channel", "YTV Circle" "YTV ID Chapter 1#: The Youth Television is Now"
Logo: There are two variations of this logo:
- On a space background, parts of a ornate circle turned on its side slowly flies into place from all sides of the screen. A layer of "glass" flies in from the bottom and settles itself on the circle. Then the circle rotates to face us, and we see the YTV text rotate in as well. The text "Young As You Are!" writes itself on the logo.
- On a black background, we see a slanted window painted in with blue borders. Inside the window is a very fuzzy gray/black TV screen with the red words "YTV" in it, although the YTV letters have got a black shadow.
Variants:
- Sometimes, the text writing itself was omitted on the finished product.
- Sometimes, only the tail end of the logo plays.
- One version had "Canada's Youth Channel" writing itself on.
FX/SFX: Excellent CGI for the time.
Music/Sounds: A light synth tune with three bells and a synth bass sounder at the end. On the earliest versions (circa 1988), an electric guitar riff played at the beginning.
Availability: Extremely rare, although this logo doesn't appear anywhere in the United States during the time of the debut. Seen on DVD sets of The Adventures of the Black Stallion (Canadian print), as well as other YTV shows such as Maniac Mansion and Dog House. When Family Channel (now Freeform) began running The Adventures of the Black Stallion in the 1990s, the YTV logo doesn't appear anywhere, as the Alliance & Atlantique logos were sped up. Instead, Family Channel's logo appeared, even though that logo played over the closing of The Adventures of the Black Stallion; this variant also appeared when Canada's Showcase channel reran the show in the mid-2000s. It was considered extinct when The Adventures of the Black Stallion stopped being rerun on television until the most recent DVD releases came out, which retained the logo.
Editor's Note: It was a very neat and professional logo for its time.
2nd Logo (September 25, 1989-August 27, 1991)[]
Nicknames: "The Spirit of Youth", "YTV Circle II" "YTV ID Chapter 2: The Falling Sky"
Logo: In an orange sunset sky, we see a red block being cut into pieces by lasers. When they seperate, we see parts of a giant circle come together and circular lights circling them. At the same time, the red blocks form the YTV logo (which was the same as before, with a slighly different arrangement) and they rotate to face us while the circle gets its "glass" covering and IT rotates to face us. Once this happens, a triangle (upside down) with the words "THE SPIRIT OF" flies in from the bottom right. When the "glass" covering on the circle gets its "shines", the word "YOUTH", in neon green, writes itself on the triangle, under the "THE SPIRIT OF" text.
Variants:
- Sometimes, the triangle was omitted with text accompanying the logo.
- Sometimes, the tail end (where the YTV text forms itself) plays, cutting out the lasers.
- Sometimes, the still logo was only shown.
FX/SFX: Brilliant CGI.
Music/Sounds:
- September 25, 1989-March 9, 1991: A light synth theme with the three bells and a synth flourish at the end plays.
- December 15, 1990-August 27, 1991: A re-arranged version of the theme, this time with an electric guitar and the bells at the end are omitted.
Availability: Extinct; tape trading was the only way to see it. Seen on shows like Dog House.
Editor's Note: It was a very clean logo.
3rd Logo (August 11, 1991-May 8, 1993)[]
Nicknames: "The Neon Rainbow Rectangles", "The Rainbow Trail", "The Pretty Colored Squares"
Logo: On a black background, we see a bunch of neon rainbow rectangles flying in different directions in trails. The YTV logo is seen in black, but when the trails pass by, the YTV letters disappear, blending in with the background. There are 5 rainbow trails (in a respective order, the first one was yellow with orange, the second was orange with light blue, the third was purple with yellow, the fourth was green with light purple, and the last trail was in blue with yellow) forming the YTV letters in red. For the most part, only the logo's final part was used as a closing logo.
FX/SFX: The rainbow trail effects moving in different directions. Great CGI rainbow trail effects by Big-Blue-Dot in Boston, Massachusetts.
Music/Sounds:
- August 11, 1991-February 23, 1992: A synthesized three-note piano tune with bells played over it, which was also used for YTV's Coming Up Next bumpers from 1991-1993.
- August 15, 1992-May 8, 1993: A female choir singing with dreamy music, which was also heard when used as an on-air ID.
- At the end of TV shows, it was usually silent, or contains the end theme of the show, such as on Are You Afraid of the Dark?.
Availability: Extremely rare; it can be seen on The Adventures of the Black Stallion episodes from 1991-93. It was probably replaced by the 1995 logo (with Corus byline) on many shows. The musical versions are considered extinct, as they were seen on Canadian prints of Shining Time Station and Lamb Chop's Play-Along. Strangely enough, this logo was appears on some Kids and Teens TV airings of "Lamb Chop's Play-Along!", including the episodes "The Ring" and "Have I Got A Girl For You". The shortened version can also be found on early VHS releases of The Big Comfy Couch. Also seen on season 1 of Are You Afraid Of The Dark.
Editor's Note: A beautiful logo with some well-done early CGI effects.
4th Logo (August 28, 1993-May 20, 1995)[]
Nicknames: "YTV TV", "CGI TV"
Logo: On a black background, we see a purple CGI TV set with green buttons on the right side of it. Inside the TV screen, we see an orange background with the white letters "YTV", with "T" and "V" on the left, and arranged on top of each other. The YTV text then rumbles out of the screen to cover up most of the TV set.
FX/SFX: The text rumbling.
Music/Sounds:
- August 28, 1993-May 23, 1994: Simply just the sound effect of the bump.
- July 21, 1994-May 20, 1995: A click, followed by a James Brown-esque yell from a group of female singers, only this time it was taken from Best Service's Hallelujah and Voice Spectral Vol. 1 sample libraries.
- In addition, the logo was silent or it plays over the closing theme of a show.
Availability: Rare; it can be found on shows such as The Big Comfy Couch.
Editor's Note: The animation of the "YTV" text was choppy, and the unexpected yell can get to some.
5th Logo (March 19, 1995-November 7, 2000)[]
Nicknames: "Keep It Weird!", "Random YTV"
Logo: We see an event happening that eventually leads to a creature with the YTV logo on it appearing. It was sometimes preceded by an animation of the words "Keep It Weird" zooming in and out over a green swirly background.
Variants (IDs):
- Fly: A YTV fly buzzes around, and then it throws up on the screen.
- Basketball: A YTV basketball turns into a square.
- Chair: An updated version of the YTV chair crashes into a field and a stop sign, and onto a road.
- Beetle: A beetle with the YTV logo on it explores a museum, and finds out he's on a TV at the museum.
- Hot Rod: A YTV car jumps around, then licks the screen.
- Nose Gum: A student tries to get some YTV gum of of his nose.
- Sticky Gum: A boy was chewing gum, and the teacher says to "hand it over". The boy pulls out his gum, making the kids feel disgusted. He pulls out even more gum, and even the teacher gets disgusted. Then the word "YTV" appears on the gum.
- Robot: A robot with the YTV logo flies around in space. First aired 1999.
- Spring Helmet: A helmet with the YTV logo on it attached to a spring gets stuck to the ground and pulls itself up. First aired 1998. Shorter version aired 1999.
- Electric Snail: A snail with electricity flowing through its shell looks around then jumps to the sound of an old phone. First aired 1998.
- Octopus: An octopus with the YTV logo on it falls to the ground. First aired 1996.
- Skull: An updated version of the YTV skull laughs at us. Aired during Halloween.
- Skate: A YTV skateboard spins around. First aired 1997.
Variants (Bumpers):
- Dog: A dog takes off his head, says "yoo-hoo" and puts it back. Then a YTV scorpion appears.
- Nose Push: A girl's teeth turn into piano keys, mouths appear on her face, and she turns into a machine. Then a YTV scorpion appears.
- Caveman: A caveman rubs a stick near a fire until some steam bellows out. Then the words "Keep it Weird" and a YTV fly appear.
- Egg: A chicken's egg hatches into a chef with a chicken, causing the chicken to fall down. Then a YTV Hot Rod car appears.
- Apple: A teacher eats an apple (and the worm in it!). Then the words "Keep it Weird" and a YTV scorpion appear.
- Kites: The kites of two boys get into a fight. Then a YTV scorpion appears.
- Car Wash: Girls activate a giant car wash (one of them has a washing machine). Then the words "Keep it Weird" and a YTV robot appear.
- Hair Salon Series: Someone at a hair salon has something odd happen to their hair/head every time.
- Nobody's Nerd: A boy drinks a milkshake with a girl and now he's "nobody's nerd". Then the words "Keep it Weird" and a YTV robot appears. First aired 1999.
- Rose's Nose: A clip of a girl with a hose for a nose, followed by the YTV robot. First aired 1999.
- Living in a Twister: The clip shows conjoined siblings living inside of a twister. Then a YTV robot appears. First aired 1999.
- Jack in the Box: Two people twist a jack-in-the-box and a human head pops out. Then a YTV robot appears. First aired 1999.
- Ceiling: Someone opens a can of soda (pop) and literally 'pops' to the ceiling. Then a YTV robot appears. First aired 1999.
- Vacuum Dog: A boy feeds treats to a vacuum that acts like a dog. Then a YTV robot appears. First aired 1999.
- Rocket Powered Leech: A leech with a jet pack flies around in a security cage. Then a YTV robot appears. First aired 1999.
- Hot/Cold: A boiling green substance in a security cage. Followed by the YTV robot. First aired in 1999.
FX/SFX: Mostly either great CGI animation or clay animation.
Music/Sounds: It depends on the variant.
- The 1998-1999 bumpers use an eerie, space-like theme.
- The 1999-2000 bumpers use Klaxon car horn and boing sound effects, accompanied by an announcer saying "Keep it weird on YTV!".
- The Electric Snail variant uses a high-pitched laughing sound and a telephone ringing.
Availability: Extinct.
Editor's Note: The creature designs, sound effects, and "Keep It Weird" zooming in may be nightmarish to some.
6th Logo (April 28, 1995-November 9, 2007)[]
Nicknames: "YTV TV II", "CGI TV II"
Logo: On a black background, we see the same TV set as before, except the design of the set looks slightly different. The text "YTV", arranged the same way as before, however, looking a little different font-wise, rapidly zooms out from the right and smashes into the TV set, making the TV set "lean back". The TV then comes into place, now with the "YTV" text in the screen of the set.
Trivia: This was actually the 1995-2000 YTV logo. However, this logo remained to be used as a closing logo through 2007.
Bylines:
- April 28, 1995-March 12, 1999: "A SHAW COMMUNICATIONS COMPANY"
- April 19, 1997-March 12, 1999: "A SHAW) Company" with "SHAW)" being the 1997-2012 Shaw logo and the rest being in Garamond font.
- October 22, 1999-September 12, 2003: The Corus logo with "A CORUS ENTERTAINMENT COMPANY" next to it in two lines. This byline slides up from the bottom.
- August 10, 2001-November 9, 2007: "A COrUs Entertainment Company", with "COrUs" in its corporate font. This byline blurs in.
- November 7, 2003-October 21, 2007?: "A COrUs ENTERTAINMENT COMPANY", with "COrUs" in its corporate font. The byline blurs in a different way.
Variants:
- On season 1 of Beast Wars, later episodes of Are You Afraid of the Dark?, Urban Vermin, The Anti-Gravity Room, Viva Piñata, Edgar and Ellen, Storm Hawks and Erky Perky, "PRODUCED IN ASSOCIATION WITH" appears above the TV set.
- A variant exists where the logo was up against an orange background with various shapes in the background along with the Shaw byline.
- Same as as the last one, but on a black background. Seen on Shadow Raiders, season 3 of Beast Wars, and early episodes of Beast Machines: Transformers (plastered by the Sony Pictures Television "Bars of Boredom" logo on the DVD release).
- On Mission Genesis (known as Deepwater Black in the UK and Canada), the "Produced in association with" variant plays as usual, but afterward, it cuts to the still logo with the 1995 Shaw byline on a black background.
- There are three versions: one has the TV slightly tilting back when the words zoom out (April 28, 1995-September 12, 2003); another version has the TV jump in the air when hit (October 22, 1999-November 9, 2007); the last one has the TV zoom back further and rushes back quickly (November 7, 2003-October 21, 2007).
- On Chip N’ Orbit, a copyright below reads either ©YTV Productions Inc. 2000 or ©2001 YTV Productions Inc.
- On the iTunes prints of the first five episodes of Ruby Gloom, the logo was in HD and we see a message to replace it on SD.
- On Grossology, the logo was stretched to HD.
- A true 16:9 widescreen HD version exists.
FX/SFX: Just the words zooming out.
Music/Sounds: The end theme of the show, or usually silent. On ReBoot and The Big Comfy Couch, it uses the previous logo's music for plastering over the previous logo.
Music/Sound Variants:
- On The Big Comfy Couch and seasons 1-2 of ReBoot, the audio from the previous logo plays. Season 3 used a short hip-hop tune, which was also used on some episodes of Mission Genesis, known as Deepwater Black in the UK and Canada.
- On Prank Patrol and Mystery Hunters, a bump sound effect plays when the text hits the screen, then a thump when the TV hits the ground.
Availability: Common in both the U.S. and Canada. In the U.S., it can be seen on shows such as Jane and the Dragon on Qubo, and earlier episodes of The Big Comfy Couch, while in Canada, it can be seen on all YTV original programming up until 2007.
- The ReBoot variant was extremely rare, however, and was last seen when aired on Toonami in the US and Teletoon Retro in Canada, and on DVD. It can be also seen on the first season of Grossology and Mona the Vampire.
- Also seen at the end of the first season of Werefoxes.
- The last YTV original series was Edgar & Ellen.
Editor's Note: This logo was well-remembered by those in Canada who grew up watching YTV.
7th Logo (May 12, 2007-December 10, 2010, April 1, 2011-August 17, 2013)[]
Nicknames: "Jungle of Lines", "Yellow Lines", "Swirling Tornado", "YTV Circle", "CGI YTV Circle"
Logo: On a blue and cyan gradient background with revolving white and yellow lines, we see lots of white and blue lines coming together to form a cyan and white circle with "YTV" on it, arranged similarly to the previous logos. A byline appears below.
Bylines:
- May 12, 2007: "A CORUS ENTERTAINMENT COMPANY" with "CORUS" in its corporate font and in color.
- June 23, 2007-May 18, 2009: The byline from the previous logo (background and all) was superimposed below the logo.
- July 7, 2007-2013: "A CORUS Entertainment Company" with "CORUS" in its corporate font and in white.
Variants:
- Sometimes, "PRODUCED IN ASSOCIATION WITH" was shown on top of the logo.
- An early version exists where the byline from the previous logo (background and all) was superimposed below the logo. This can be found on 2007-2008 episodes of Viva Piñata and Nicktoons Network's split-screen credits airings of Edgar and Ellen.
- In 2007, the YTV logo has a glowing effect. Also, the YTV's logo animation was slightly altered to be longer and was centered.
- On some shows, "www.ytv.com" is below the byline.
- There was an extended version without a byline used as a station ID. Plus, the color variants exist, including the backgrounds of green (with the orange YTV logo) and orange (with the green YTV logo).
- On the Werefoxes episode "The Chronicles Of The Werefoxes/Line Of Duty", poop squashes the logo. Only seen on Minimax airings of said episode.
- There's also a variant of the extended version with the Corus byline appearing on some shows such as Rollbots.
- An in-credit version exists, sometimes in different colors.
- On Willa's Wild Life and early episodes of Babar and the Adventures of Badou, the "Produced in association with" is shown above the logo.
FX/SFX: The lines forming the logo.
Music/Sounds: None, or the ending theme of the show. On Edgar and Ellen and Zeke's Pad, we hear a fast drum tune, covered by laser sounds, and when the logo forms, another laser sound.
Availability: Common.
- Was first seen on the Grossology episode "Silent But Deadly Part 1" and was last seen on Storm Hawks and League of Super Evil on Cartoon Network, Kid vs. Kat on Disney XD and Edgar & Ellen on Nicktoons Network (now Nicktoons) in the United States.
- However, it was more common in Canada because most cartoons and shows that air on Canada usually carry this logo at the end of most of YTV's post-2007 programming. The early byline variants can be only found on 2007-2008 episodes of Viva Piñata and Edgar and Ellen.
- When the next logo was introduced, this logo was strangely kept on the first two seasons of Scaredy Squirrel.
- Also seen at the end of the second to third seasons of Werefoxes.
Editor's Note: Like the previous logo, it was well-remembered by those in Canada who grew up watching YTV.
8th Logo (October 2, 2009-2014)[]
Logo: On a blue background, we see yellow shapes. Near the end, we see a blue hemisphere with white lines. It zooms out and spins when the yellow shapes, this time differently lit, move into place. The hemisphere then pauses and white borders surround it from moving positions and making the YTV logo, with a Corus byline.
Variants: There are four variations of this ID package:
- Flamingo Cyclists (July 7, 2014, July 14, 2014, July 21, 2014, July 28, 2014): The flamingos see other flamingos, who compete in playing unicycles.
- Hippo Tennis (July 8, 2014, July 15, 2014, July 22, 2014): The hippos compete in tennis.
- Hippo Pool (July 9, 2014, July 11, 2014, September 21, 2014): The hippo slides from the pool.
- Sea Lion Slalom (July 10, 2014, August 4, 2014, September 14, 2014): The sea lion slaloms.
FX/SFX: The logo forming.
Music/Sounds: Here are the music variants:
- Flamingo Cyclists: Stewie's "Your finger's up your nose and you are dripping with drool." line.
- Hippo Tennis: Kyle Gass' "Dip m' toe to jacuzzi, baby." line.
- Hippo Pool: Jack Black's "Thinkin' 'bout a couple things." line.
- Sea Lion Slalom: Kyle and Jack's "Have you ever been worked on." line.
- The end theme of the show.
Availability: It first appeared on How To Be Indie.
Editor's Note: This ID package was a little more neater than the first five ID packages.
9th Logo (October 6, 2014-)[]
Logo: On a white background, we see a floating aquarime circle reading ''YTV Original'' and with a Corus byline.
Variants: There are five variations of this ID package:
- Train (November 16, 2014): The ostriches see a window that shows a mountain with pine trees, buildings, and a train passing.
- Flamingo Ski (November 30, 2014): The flamingos compete with ski.
- Snowy Toboggan Slide (December 7, 2014): The elephants compete in a snowy area at nighttime, only this time with the toboggan slide.
- Curling (December 14, 2014): The ostrich muffles the ground while the turtles have been placed in the curling.
- Ice Figure Skating (December 21, 2014): A group of animals compete with figure skating.
FX/SFX: The animation.
Music/Sounds: Here are the music variants:
- Train: Stewie's "You're better off by smelling of a gentleman's cologne rather than sneakers and stool." line.
- Flamingo Ski: Kyle Gass' "Better slip off m'shoes, now you're talkin' 'bout double team." line.
- Snowy Toboggan Slide: Jack Black's "You step into room and then you smella perfume." line.
- Curling: Kyle and Jack's "You lay upon our roundish bed." line.
- Ice Figure Skating: Jack and Kyle's "We likes to cream jeans, it was KG with a feather." line.
- The end theme of the show or whooshing sounds.
Availability: Current. Seen on Make It Pop.
Editor's Note: This ID package has some very neat effects for the time.