channel . family channel launched september 1 1988 1988 09 01 owned by western international communications 50 % ; first choice 50 % 1988 2000 astral media 2001 13 dhx media 2013 present picture format 1080i hdtv 2011 present 480i sdtv 1988 present slogan canada s family network 1988 99 never a dull moment 1999 2011 only on family 2011 present all time 2013 present country canada language english broadcast area nationwide also available in jamaica and the bahamas headquarters toronto ontario sister channel s family jr. t l magino family chrgd timeshift service family channel east family channel west website family availability satellite bell tv 556 east ; sd 557 west ; sd 1642 east ; hd shaw direct classic lineup 540 east ; sd 541 west ; sd 69 east ; hd advanced lineup 170 east ; sd 171 west ; sd 569 east ; hd cable iptv bell aliant 258 east ; sd 503 east ; hd bell fibe tv 556 east ; sd 557 west ; sd 1556 east ; hd mts 153 east ; sd 154 west ; sd 1153 east ; hd optik tv 605 west ; sd 9604 east ; sd 604 east ; hd sasktel 130 east ; sd 430 east ; hd vmedia 57 east ; hd family channel often known as simply family is a canadian english language category a cable and satellite television channel that is owned by dhx media . family is positioned as a youth and teenager oriented network primarily broadcasting domestic and imported children s television series teen dramas off network sitcoms and theatrically released and made for television movies targeted towards the demographics . historically much of family s programming was heavily sourced from the american cable network disney channel ; these rights were later acquired by corus entertainment in 2015 . although it is licensed as a premium television service the channel is carried on the basic tiers of most canadian subscription television providers and is also carried by flow cable in jamaica 1 and on cable bahamas in the bahamas . 2 family is headquartered in the brookfield place office complex near the financial district of downtown toronto . it has transmitted from corus quay since at least 2014 . 3 as of march 2013 family channel is available to approximately six million pay television households in canada ; 4 it also has the highest total viewership among canada s children s television channels . 5 it transmits three feeds eastern time zone feeds in both standard definition and high definition and a pacific time zone feed solely in standard definition . contents 1 history 1.1 early history 1.2 rebranding and change in focus 1.3 sale to dhx media 1.4 2015 present loss of disney channel programming rights 2 programming 2.1 original programming 2.1.1 upcoming original programming 2.2 acquired programming 3 programming blocks 3.1 current 3.2 seasonal 3.3 former 4 related services 4.1 family jr. and t l magino 4.2 family chrgd 4.3 other services 5 references 6 external links history edit early history edit family channel s original logo used from 1988 to 1999 . the channel font was slightly different from 1997 to 1999 . family channel was licensed as a pay television service by the canadian radio television and telecommunications commission crtc on december 1 1987 ; it was originally operated as a joint venture between allarcom pay television limited owner of superchannel and first choice with both companies owning a 50 % stake in the service . 6 the network officially launched on september 1 1988 ; during its first decade family channel s programming format mirrored that of then fellow u.s. premium service the disney channel . family s programming lineup consisted mainly of domestic and foreign imported live action and animated series with many of the imported series produced by the walt disney company s television production units walt disney television and eventually touchstone television now abc studios feature films from the walt disney pictures library classic films from other american and canadian film studios and specials mostly concerts documentaries and animated specials . at the time of its launch family channel had broadcast for 16 hours each day from 6 00 a.m. to 11 30 p.m. eastern and pacific time . family was originally offered by cable companies as a standalone channel that required an additional monthly subscription fee . in october 1997 most domestic cable and satellite providers started offering the channel as part of a package with that year s wave of new specialty channels . while family initially continued its pay format including broadcasts of older disney movies which would be repeated several times a month it soon changed its programming practices to the point that it now operates as a de facto specialty channel much like similarly themed channels such as ytv . however in line with crtc regulations for premium channels the channel does not broadcast commercials and does not interrupt most programs aside from running promotions for its programs and contests underwritten by a sponsor between shows the latter being the only form of commercial advertising that the network airs . rebranding and change in focus edit original version of current logo used from october 1 1999 to january 11 2011 . on october 1 1999 family channel underwent a significant rebranding introducing a new logo a lowercase f enclosed in a circle to replace the paint and sun design used since the channel s launch . in october 1999 as part of the break up of western international communications wic which had bought allarcom its stake in family channel was sold to corus entertainment . 7 in march 2001 in response to complaints by the crtc over its near monopoly on ownership of children s specialty channels in canada citing ytv treehouse tv and its stake in teletoon corus sold its stake in family channel to astral media for 126.9 million . 8 by this point family whose programming had been targeting a broader family audience throughout its schedule save for some programs targeted mainly at children interspersed within its daytime lineup began to target a dual audience kids and teenagers during the daytime and families at night . gradually though the channel s programming shifted more towards children with feature films being the only family oriented programming featured on the channel by the mid 2000s . in february 2007 family began airing short programs from disney channel such as disney s really short report meet the family and the movie surfers behind the scenes segments for disney produced films alongside the channel s own interstitials such as music videos famjam contest promotions and movie interviews produced by now former corporate sister the movie network . on july 1 2007 family became the last english language children s network in canada to switch to a 24 hour broadcast schedule . on january 11 2011 family debuted an updated logo and on air identity to coincide with the launch of its new high definition feed . 9 sale to dhx media edit on march 4 2013 following the competition bureau s approval of bell media s acquisition of astral media bell announced that it would sell family and five other channels disney junior english and french disney xd musimax and musiqueplus in an attempt to relieve concerns surrounding bell s total market share in english language television following the merger bell s original proposal which would have included the networks was rejected by the bureau in 2012 as it would have given bell a 42 % share of the english television market . 10 bell filed a new application for the proposed takeover with the canadian radio television and telecommunications commission on march 6 2013 ; 11 the crtc approved the merger on june 27 2013 12 with family channel and the other astral channels that were put up for sale concurrently being placed in a blind trust held by businessman and former montreal canadiens president pierre boivin pending their sale to a third party . 13 on november 28 2013 dhx media announced that it would acquire family the two disney junior channels and disney xd for 170 million . while the halifax based company already distributes and produces a large library of children s television series particularly through its 2012 purchase of the cookie jar group which gave it ownership of the program libraries of cinar and dic entertainment the purchase marks dhx s first foray into broadcasting . dhx has indicated that it would leverage its resources and library to add more original canadian produced programming to family under its ownership . 5 14 15 16 17 the acquisition of family channel and its sister networks by dhx was approved by the crtc on july 24 2014 . 18 19 under dhx ownership the network is subject to new licensing conditions which require that at least 60 % of the canadian programming broadcast by the network on an annual basis be produced by companies other than dhx . 20 the acquisition was finalized on july 31 2014 with family and its sister networks becoming part of a newly formed division of the company known as dhx television . 21 2015 present loss of disney channel programming rights edit on april 16 2015 it was announced that corus entertainment had acquired canadian rights to disney channel s programming library and that it would launch a canadian version of disney channel in september 2015 . corus subsequently launched new disney junior and disney xd channels as well . dhx s programming agreement with disney ended in january 2016 . 22 as a result of these changes disney programming was phased out of family channel s lineup throughout the remainder of 2015 and its disney xd and junior networks were rebranded and renamed family chrgd family jr. and t l magino respectively . alongside new and original productions dhx reached new output deals with awesomenesstv dreamworks animation and mattel in 2015 for programming based on their properties across its networks . 22 23 24 25 26 27 on june 9 2015 it was announced that a new incarnation of the degrassi franchise degrassi next class would premiere on family in 2016 . the show is produced by epitome pictures whom dhx had acquired in 2014 . 28 29 next class premiered on january 4 2016 as part of a new primetime block known as f2n . the f2n block is positioned towards an older teenage audience than the tween audience that family has typically targeted ; dhx television senior vice president joe tedesco explained that the company had original series in development for family in case it ever did lose its output deal with disney and that these decisions were based on a goal to build a strong lineup of programs and was not financially motivated . tedesco went on to explain that the f2n block was meant to create a meaningful destination for teens and in the case of degrassi a series that has historically dealt with teen issues encourage family viewing . 30 programming edit main article list of programs broadcast by family channel family s lineup primarily consists original and imported series aimed at pre teens and young teenagers a daytime block of preschool oriented programs programmed by sister network family jr. and a primetime block featuring reruns of sitcoms and other programs aimed at an older teenage audience . 30 historically family had been the main canadian outlet for the programming of the u.s. cable network disney channel including its live action and animated programs as well as its made for tv films . family began to phase out disney programming in late 2015 following corus entertainment s acquisition of exclusive canadian rights to disney channel s programming and associated brands . for a period the network also aired programming from disney channel s spin off network disney xd ; these programs were phased out following