Family Jr.
Family Jr. is a Canadian specialty channel owned by WildBrain. A sister channel to Family Channel, it broadcasts children's programming aimed at viewers aged 2 to 7. Legally, the channel operates as a multiplex service of Family Channel, stemming from its former licensing status as a premium television service; therefore, it is distributed at no additional charge to Family Channel subscribers. Along with its French-language counterpart, Télémagino, it was available in over 4 million Canadian households as of 2013.
| Country | Canada |
|---|---|
| Broadcast area | Nationwide |
| Network | Family |
| Headquarters | Toronto, Ontario |
| Programming | |
| Language(s) | English |
| Picture format | 1080i HDTV (downscaled to letterboxed 480i for the SDTV feed) |
| Ownership | |
| Owner | WildBrain |
| Sister channels | Family Channel Télémagino WildBrainTV |
| History | |
| Launched | November 30, 2007 |
| Former names | Playhouse Disney Channel (2007–2011) Disney Junior (2011–2015) |
| Links | |
| Website | familyjr |
The channel launched on November 30, 2007, as a Canadian version of Playhouse Disney, under license from Disney Channels Worldwide (which had a library agreement with Family Channel at the time). It then rebranded under Disney's new preschool television brand Disney Junior in 2011. In 2015, Family Channel lost the rights to Disney Channel programming to Corus Entertainment: this resulted in the launch of a new Corus-run Disney Junior channel, and DHX's existing Disney Junior channel being rebranded as Family Jr.–a brand extension of Family Channel–in September 2015.