What if Alberto C. Media was founded in 1940/Canetto Animation in 1985?/Canetto Channel

Canetto Channel is an American pay television channel owned by The LimeCanetto Company through its the networks division. The channel was launched on February 1, 1993, and is aimed mainly at children and young teenagers between ages 6 to 12. Its programming consists of original first-run television series, theatrical and home media-exclusive movies and select other third-party programming.

As of September 2018, Canetto Channel is available to 86.4 million households in America.

Development
On July 13, 1992, following the upcoming launch of Cartoon Network, The Ethan Canetto Company announced its plans to launch a cable television channel focused on their properties. On December 8, 1992, its name was revealed to be Canetto Channel. It was also reported that they would acquire its animated programming from different studios.

1993-1995: Early years
On February 1, 1993, Canetto Channel was launched and the first program to air was the 1941 Canettotoons short Timothy Tiger. The channel also debuted their "CaneToons" brand with its first original series Gary the Giraffe, which was airing on TBN at the time, which became an instant success and made it a household name for viewers. The channel hit increasing ratings, such as competition from Nickelodeon, The Disney Channel and the Cartoon Network. On the same day of its launch, the channel launched its late-night programming block Canetto at Nite.

In 1994, the channel followed Gary the Giraffe with The TBA Guardians, which aired on HDN for its first season. Earlier, Canetto Channel partnered with Blue Airplane Home Entertainment to release episode compilations of the network's programs, which became top sellers.

1995-2004: Golden Age
The channel achieved further success in 1995 with Gary The Giraffe, which was eliminated from TBN, and moved to Canetto Channel in order to boost the channel's ratings from various children's channels. In 1995, Canetto Channel launched the block Violin Kids, devoted to Canetto Channel series.

The same year, the channel premiered the smash series TBA, which made Canetto Channel a hit among children and other viewers. That same year, it launched a programming block in order to compete with Nickelodeon: Canetto Junior, which targeted preschoolers. The following year, Canetto Unleashed was launched later on, and was devoted to various action series. That same year, Madagascar: The Series, based on the 1994 film of the same name, premiered on the network. As a result, both blocks gave access to Canetto Channel's programming. In late 1997, due to poor ratings, Canetto Channel announced they would revamp their nighttime block as Canetto DeTour and refocused it on more adult programming. Canetto DeTour launched on February 1, 1998.

On September 12, 1997, Gary the Giraffe Begins, the first theatrical film based on a Canetto Channel series, was released. It received positive reviews and grossed $116.2 million on a budget of $48 million.

On June 9, 2000, the channel premiered the animated series Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends. It became the most popular series in the channel's history, and has remained very popular to this day, consistently ranking as the channel's highest-rated series since 2001. By 2002, a third of the series' audience was made up of adults, and the show was run in evening slots. A film adaptation of Foster's Home For Imaginary Friends was announced in early 2003. The ensuing Foster's Home For Imaginary Friends media franchise went on to generate over $11 billion in merchandising revenue for Alberto C. Media.

On April 9, 2001, Canetto Channel revamped its programming identity, with the new slogan "It's Always on the Canetto Channel". Also, the same year, Canetto Channel launched the block Canetto Channel on HDN, devoted to Canetto Channel series and Canetto Animation cartoons, to replace the defunct HDN Kidshow.

The following year, the channel debuted the series TBA and OK KO: Let's Be Heroes, the latter of which became immediately popular and quickly became Canetto Channel's second-highest rated series. In 2003, Canetto Channel launched the successful series Frankie and the Amazing Zhu-Zhu Pets, which emulated the success of past Canetto Channel shows. The following year, TBA ended while TBA and House of Timothy launched.

2005-present: Modern Age
On March 24, 2006, Canetto Channel rebranded, which included a new slogan, "This is Canetto Channel!". The bumpers introduced as part of the rebrand featured characters from its shows interacting in a CGI city composed of sets from their shows. These bumpers lasted from 2006 to 2009. That same year, TBA & TBA, Rocky and Bullwinkle: The Series, and TBA premiered. In 2007, Canetto Channel successfully purchased the TBA Z anime and begin airing it in the United States, while Ludo's Declassified Anti-Star Survival Guide premiered the same year.

In 2008, Canetto Channel launched Back at the Planetyard (based on the 2007 film Planetyard). That same year, Frankie and the Amazing Zhu-Zhu Pets ended. The success led to Canetto Channel ordering more shows. Also, TBA and TBA started its run on the network in February 2009. In February 2010, the network launched Foster Beyond, a spin-off of Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends with a more darker tone.

By late 2013, Canetto Channel premiered TBA. In early 2014, the series premiered TBA, a series based on the Canettotoons franchise. The series becomes an unexpected success, leading the channel to renew the series for a second season. In 2017, the series premiered the successful series Camp Sunset, which became a ratings hit and prompted Canetto Channel to renew the series for a second season. The same year, Power Timothy and the Defenders of Tigertopia and The New Adventures of TBA premiered on Canetto Channel.

In 2018, Canetto Channel's long-running OK KO: Let's Be Heroes ended. The same year, the short-lived series TBA's Mansion of Villains premiered. In 2020, TBA and TBA and TBA premiered on the channel.

Eras

 * February 1, 1993-September 6, 1998: Orange Splat era
 * September 7, 1998-April 9, 2001: Stop-Motion era
 * April 9, 2001-March 23, 2006: Teletoon 1997 era
 * March 24, 2006-January 15, 2009: City era
 * January 16, 2009-February 5, 2011: TBA era
 * November 2, 2010-February 5, 2011: Check It era
 * February 6, 2011-May 31, 2015: Disney Channel 2010 era
 * June 1, 2015-May 3, 2018: Dimensional era
 * May 4, 2018-present: TBA era

Programming
Main article: List of programs broadcast by Canetto Channel

Programming on Canetto Channel includes original series such as Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends, Camp Sunset, The New Adventures of TBA, TBA and TBA, and TBA, as well as acquired programming from other studios, which as of November 2020 includes TBA.

Current

 * Canetto Junior - Canetto Channel programs targeted at preschool-age children daily every morning on Monday through Fridays from 8:30 am-1:00 pm Eastern and Pacific Time (5-9 am during the weekends).
 * Canetto DeTour - a late-night block targeted towards teens and adults, airing every night from 9 p.m. EST to 5 a.m. EST.
 * Canetto Channel Saturday Night Movie Show - A block that aired movies every Saturday at 6:00 p.m. EST (formerly at 5:00 p.m. and 7:00 p.m. EST) and every Sunday morning with two movies. The channel previously broadcast films in the late 1990s under the Canetto Channel Cinema banner, followed by The Film Theater in 2007 before adopting the name "The Big Flicks" in 2009, and later Canetto Channel Saturday Night Movie Show in 2016.

Yearly

 * Epic Summer - The Epic Summer block contains some of the channel's popular programs, and daily movies. The block also featured contests.
 * Creep Night - This block features Halloween specials.
 * Canetto Channel's Snowy Specials - This block features holiday specials.
 * Canetto Channel's Superstuffed Thanksgiving Movie Marathon - Launched in Thanksgiving of 2014, the block airs five movies back-to-back.

Former

 * Canetto Unleashed - It was the block for action-adventure animated and anime programming.
 * The Big Crunch - It was the block for classic animated programming. It also featured several live-action series. Closed in 2001 due to CToons TV's launch.
 * Variety - The Variety block aired weekday mornings from 7:00 to 9:00 a.m. EST and on Saturday mornings from 9:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. It was known for airing new episodes of Canetto Channel programming.
 * Sunday Nights - This block aired on Sunday from 6:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. EST.
 * Double Pack - A weekday programming block featuring back-to-back episodes of network programming.
 * Canetto at Nite - A block aired for nighttime programming, mostly for adults, and it consists of various television shows. Lasted from 1993 to 1998.

Death tributes
Canetto Channel occasionally airs bumpers that pay tribute to a recent celebrity death, with a fade-in, showing the person's name, along with the year of their birth and the year of their death, followed by a fade-out.

After Ethan Canetto passed away on May TBA, 2004, Canetto Channel played Canettotoons shorts, shows, and movies all day on May TBA, 2004.

CanettoChannel.com
CanettoChannel.com is Canetto Channel's main website, which launched in 1996 as a component of America Online's Kids Only channel before eventually moving to the full Worldwide Web. It provides content, as well as video clips and full episodes of Canetto Channel series available for streaming.

Mobile apps
Canetto Channel released a free mobile app for smartphones and tablet computers operating on the Apple and Android platforms in December 2012. Like CanettoChannel.com, a TV Everywhere login code provided by participating subscription providers is required to view individual episodes of Canetto Channel's series.

Canettto Channel Movies
Canetto Channel Movies is a motion picture production unit that was founded in 1996. The studio has produced films based on Canetto Channel animated programs including TBA.

Canetto Channel Originals
Canetto Channel Productions is the Canetto Channel's distribution arm. It distributes the shows, pilots, and movies through various international Canetto Channel networks since 1993.

Video games
TBA.

The Canetto Channel website also features various flash games incorporating characters from various Canetto Channel series.

International channels
Main article: List of Canetto Channel international channels

On June 23, 1994, The Ethan Canetto Company Europe launched Canetto Channel UK, the first international Canetto Channel network in the United Kingdom. It broadcast for 15 hours a day.

On September 5, 2003, Astral Media launched a Canadian version of Canetto Channel under a brand licensing agreement with The Ethan Canetto Company; the channel operated as a multiplex channel of Teletoon, which had long maintained a programming distribution agreement with Canetto Channel for the domestic rights to the U.S. channel's series since 2011.

Slogans

 * "A Perfect Place for Canetto" (1993-2001)
 * "It's Always on the Canetto Channel" (2001-2006)
 * "This is Canetto Channel!" (2006-2011)
 * "Enjoy the Canetto" (2011-2016)
 * "Keep Watching Us Everyday" (2016-present)