YTV Originals

Background
Launched on September 1, 1988, YTV was the successor to two prior special programming services operated by various Ontario cable companies beginning in the late 1970s. They did not use a logo until Deke Wilson's Mini-Mysteries premiered in 1989. 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. By 1995, through various acquisitions and trades, Shaw had secured full control of YTV; it was spun off as part of Corus Entertainment in 1999. YTV has become a sister channel to Treehouse TV, the youngest of the Corus Kids subdivisions, along with Teletoon being in the middle. The network is primarily aimed at preadolescents and young adolescents aged 8-15.

1st Logo (1989-1991)
Nicknames: "Static Window", "The YTV Window"

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.

Variant: There is a rare in-credit version as well.

Trivia:


 * This was also used at the end of YTV commercials from 1989-1991.

FX/SFX: The fuzzy TV screen.

Music/Sounds: None.

Availability: Extremely rare, although this logo was never seen in the United States during the time of the debut. Seen on DVD sets of The Adventures of the Black Stallion (the 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 never appeared, as the Alliance & Atlantique logos were sped up. Instead, Family Channel's logo appeared, even though Family Channel's 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 and retained the logo.

Editor's Note: None.

2nd Logo (1991-1993)
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, they blend in with the background. There are 5 rainbow trails: the first one is yellow with orange, the second is orange with light blue, the third is purple with yellow, the fourth is green with light purple, and the last trail is 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.

Variant: On Are You Afraid of the Dark?, "PRODUCED IN ASSOCIATION WITH" is shown above the YTV logo. It is also cut short, only showing the blue and yellow rectangles forming the logo.

FX/SFX: The rainbow trail effects moving in different directions.

Music/Sounds: From 1991-92, it used a synthesized three-note piano tune with bells played over it, although it was also used for YTV's Coming Up Next bumpers from 1991-93. From 1992-93, a female choir singing with dreamy music when used as an on-air ID on YTV. During at the end of TV shows, it is 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 early episodes of Are You Afraid of the Dark? in the Amazon DVD-on-demand release. They used to show this in Canada as one of YTV's bumpers. It was also spotted on the Canadian DVD releases of 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 episode "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.

Editor's Note: A beautiful logo with some well-done early CGI effects.

3rd Logo (1993-1995)
Nicknames: "No Problem", "Screaming YTV" (for the 1994-1995 variant), "YTV TV", "CGI TV"

Logo: On a black background, we see a purple CGI television set with green buttons on the right side of it. Inside the TV screen is 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.

Variant: On Are You Afraid of the Dark? and The Big Comfy Couch, the text "Produced in association with" is seen above in white.

FX/SFX: The text rumbling.

Music/Sounds: From 1993-94, it was a boing sound. From 1994-95, it was a click and a James Brown-esque scream from a group of female singers (taken from Best Service's Hallelujah and Voice Spectral Vol. 1 sample libraries) followed by a girl saying "No problem." In addition, the logo is also silent or it plays over the closing theme of a show.

Music/Sounds Variant: On early episodes of The Big Comfy Couch, a different boing is used with children laughing.

Availability: Rare; it appears on Are You Afraid of the Dark? on the CreateSpace DVD release and occasional airings on TeenNick's NickSplat. In Canada, it can be found on a YTV print of the Christmas special Christopher the Christmas Tree. Usually replaced in Canada by the fourth logo with the Corus byline. Toonami's airings of ReBoot from the era also had this logo.

Editor's Note: The animation of the "YTV" text is choppy, and the unexpected scream can get to some.

4th Logo (1995-October 21, 2007?)
Nicknames: "YTV TV II", "Screaming YTV II" (for the ReBoot variant), "CGI TV II", "TV of Doom II" (also for the ReBoot variant)

Logo: On a black background, we see the same television set as before, except the design of the set looks slightly different. The text "YTV", arranged the same way as before but 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. The text "Produced in association with" sometimes appears above the set.

Trivia: This was actually the 1995-2000 YTV logo. A new logo between 2000-06 was used as the channel's official logo. However, this logo remained to be used as a closing logo through 2007.

Bylines:


 * 1995-1999: "A SHAW COMMUNICATIONS COMPANY"
 * 1997-1999: "A SHAW) Company" with "SHAW)" being the 1997-2012 Shaw logo and the rest being in Garamond font. It either cuts or fades in.
 * 1999-2002: The Corus logo with "A CORUS ENTERTAINMENT COMPANY" next to it in two lines. This byline slides up from the bottom.
 * 2000-2007: "A COrUsEntertainment Company", with "COrUs" in its corporate font. This byline blurs in.
 * 2006?-2007: "A COrUs ENTERTAINMENT COMPANY", with "COrUs" in its corporate font. The byline blurs in a different way.
 * The logo is bylineless on some shows mostly from the Shaw era. When this variant was used in the Corus era, the Corus Entertainment logo follows this logo.

Variants:


 * "PRODUCED IN ASSOCIATION WITH" appears above. Seen on season 1 of Beast Wars, the later episodes of Are You Afraid of the Dark?, Urban Vermin, The Anti-Gravity Room, Viva Piñata, and Edgar and Ellen.
 * A variant exists where the logo is 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 logo on the DVD release).
 * Another variant exists that has the "Produced in association with" variant, but afterward it cuts to the still logo with the 1995 Shaw byline on a black background. This was seen on the series Mission Genesis (known as Deepwater Black in the UK and Canada).
 * There are three versions: one has the TV slightly tilting back when the words zoom out (1995-2002); another version has the TV jump in the air when hit (1998-2007) and the final version has the TV zoom back further and rushes back quickly (2006?-2007).
 * There is a weird version used on Being Ian where the aspect ratio is distorted. The logo starts out stretched, then when the TV jumps in the air, the aspect ratio zooms back and straightens itself (it's really hard to describe).
 * The logo can appear in-credit.
 * On Chip N’ Orbit, a copyright below reads either © YTV Productions Inc. MM or ©MMI YTV Productions Inc.
 * On the iTunes prints of the first five episodes of Ruby Gloom, the logo is in HD and there is a message to replace it on SD.

FX/SFX: Just the words zooming out.

Music/Sounds: The end theme of the show, or no music at all. On ReBoot and The Big Comfy Couch, it uses the previous logo's music for plastering over the previous logo.

Music/Sound Variants:


 * On seasons 1 and 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). As such, it plastered over the previous logo.
 * On Prank Patrol, a cartoonish whack sound is made when the text hits the screen, then a thump when the TV hits the ground.
 * On RadioActive, you can hear a quiet whistle (plays over the theme song).

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 pre-2007 YTV original programming. The ReBoot variant is scarce, however, and was last seen when aired on Toonami in the US and Teletoon Retro in Canada, and on DVD. Also, it can be seen on the first seasons of both Grossology and Mona the Vampire. It also plastered older YTV logos as well.

Editor's Note: This logo is well-remembered by those in Canada who grew up watching YTV.

5th Logo (May 12, 2007-Early 2011, 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:


 * 2007: "A CORUS ENTERTAINMENT COMPANY" with "CORUS" in its corporate font and in color.
 * 2007-2008: The byline from the previous logo (background and all) is superimposed below the logo.
 * 2007-2013: "A CORUS Entertainment Company" with "CORUS" in its corporate font and in white.

Variants:


 * Sometimes, "PRODUCED IN ASSOCIATION WITH" is shown above the logo.
 * An early version exists where the byline from the previous logo (background and all) is 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 2008, the YTV logo has a glowing effect. Also, the YTV's logo animation was slightly altered to be longer and is 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 green and orange.
 * There's also a variant of the extended version with the Corus byline appears on some shows such as Rollbots.
 * An in-credit version exists, sometimes in different colours.
 * 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, another laser sound with note (when logo formed). A "woo-woo-woo" like sound is heard at the end.

Availability: 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, this is 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 seen on Scaredy Squirrel until its finale on August 17, 2013.

Editor's Note: Like the previous logo, it is well-remembered by those in Canada who grew up watching YTV.

6th Logo (2010-2014)
Nicknames: "Swirling Tornado II", "YTV Circle II", "CGI YTV Circle II"

Logo:
 * 2010-2014: In a blue environment, there are random yellow shapes around the screen moving around. In the space that is being surrounded by the shapes, there are many flying shapes in blue and white. The shapes then collide and form the YTV logo, this time fully blue and white as the text spreads out on it and the screen shakes as it forms with the spikes rotating. The logo rotates as a Corus byline appears below.
 * 2012-2013: The shapes come in as the YTV logo comes in and makes a U-turn like an boomerang and a rectangle comes in and places itself below. Its design is the same as the later version, but the logo has no white bumpers, lacks the Corus byline, the shapes and lighting are different, now at a different angle, and has "ORIGINAL" in a generic font and the rectangle it was on was darker.
 * 2013-2014: On a differently lighted blue environment, we see a blue hemisphere with white lines. It zooms out and spins as the yellow shapes, this time different, move into place. The hemisphere then spots spinning and reveals the logo with "ORIGINAL" on a light blue rectangle going under it. There are white borders surrounding it moving positions. Under it is the newer Corus byline.

Bylines:


 * 2010-2014: The full Corus Entertainment logo (in white) and next to it is the text "A Corus Entertainment Inc. Company".
 * 2012-2013: (Bylineless)
 * 2013-2014: "A Corus ENTERTAINMENT COMPANY" with "Corus" being the 1999-2016 logo and "ENTERTAINMENT COMPANY" spaced out.

Variants:
 * There was a longer version which had a white piece with 8 different colors in it that has the yellow shapes and blue/white pieces surrounding it. Here, the environment has a blue floor and white wall. The camera zooms out as the white piece breaks apart and the yellow shapes place themselves around the team. The rest continues as normal. A version without a byline was used as a station ID.
 * On some shows, "YTV.COM" fades in next to the byline.
 * An in-credit version can be found on many shows.
 * There was a still version with the logo on a black background.
 * On later episodes of Babar and the Adventures of Badou, the "Produced in Association with" text is above the logo.

FX/SFX: The logo forming. The hemisphere spinning in the later version.

Music/Sounds: Same as before. On Pet Peeves, some whooshing sounds are heard.

Availability: Appeared on Babar and the Adventures of Badou on Disney Junior. Also can be seen on all YTV programming from this era rerun on YTV.

Editor's Note: None.

7th Logo (2014-February 24, 2017)
Nickname: "YTV Circle III", "CGI YTV Circle III"

Logo: We start with an extreme closeup of the same logo as before, but now it is aquamarine. It zooms back while spinning around until it positions itself in the middle of the screen, and we see an aqua green banner with the word "ORIGINAL" in white appear below it and zooming at us a bit, all on an entirely white background. The Corus byline fades in below. The logo hovers in mid air as if it was floating.

Bylines:


 * Originally, the byline was read as "A Corus ENTERTAINMENT COMPANY". (same as the previous one, but it's gray this time)
 * From 2016 until this logo retired, the byline was updated to contain an updated Corus logo and byline, but unlike most Corus properties (like the ones mentioned below), YTV went ahead and used "Produced in association with Corus." (in black color) instead.
 * On most shows since the Corus byline was updated, the byline "A Corus. COMPANY" (with "Corus." being its current logo) is used. This byline is in black this time.

Variant: An in-credit version is used on some shows.

FX/SFX: The logo zooming back and spinning, the "ORIGINAL" banner zooming at us a bit. Also, the logo hovering.

Music/Sounds: The ending theme of the show or whooshing sounds.

Availability: Seen on all of YTV's programming from the time, such as Make It Pop (Nickelodeon airings of latter show don't have that logo) and The Stanley Dynamic. The one with the newer Corus byline can be seen on newer episodes of the latter. This was later replaced by the Corus logo, along side the removal of the Treehouse, Teletoon, Global and ABC Spark logos.

Editor's Note: This is a little more tame than the previous two logos, not to mention its new, more friendly color. Also, the spinning and zooming of the logo is smoother, plus it's all in one piece. It zooms away from you this time, so it's not so scary.

Here's the logo history: