Linear TV in Canada is losing many more channels as Corus Entertainment in Toronto shuts down Disney XD, Disney JR, Nickelodeon, and ABC Spark. The French-language La Chaîne Disney is also being cut, but the main Disney Channel is sticking around.
This means that popular shows like SpongeBob SquarePants, Dora the Explorer, and Spidey and His Amazing Friends will all only be available on streaming services instead of regular TV. You can watch these shows on various streaming services in Canada. For instance, SpongeBob is available on Paramount+. It does appear that the company is keeping the Canadian channel Teletoon, which is presumably to help it keep up with Canadian content requirements.
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Things are not looking good for Corus. Last year, the company lost HGTV and the Food Network, among other channels. Now, it’s losing almost all of its kids’ programming. This leaves it with very few big-name channels. It still has the History channel, Showcase, and Adult Swim, plus a few others.
Kidscreen reports that Corus lost $55.9 million last quarter and had revenue drop by $29 million. C21 Media reports that the company is more than a billion dollars in debt and is quickly losing its ability to repay it. Corus’ new CEO John Gossling also told analysts that the company is expecting a 20 per cent revenue decline year over year.
Source: C21 Media