On the heels of its plan to rebrand its other three kids services with the existing Family brand, DHX TV has announced that preschool channels Family Jr. and Télémagino (formerly Famille Junior), as well as CHRGD (formerly Family XTRM) will launch this fall.
Targeting kids ages two to five, English-language Family Jr. and French-language Télémagino will remain ad-free and both broadcast CBeebies-commissioned Twirlywoos and the new live-action, CGI-animated Teletubbies series.
Both networks will also air Disney content, including Jake and the Never Land Pirates, Sheriff Callie’s Wild West, and Henry Hugglemonster, as well as returning hits including Thomas & Friends, Justin Time, and Strawberry Shortcake.
Programs heading solely to Family Jr. are Curious George and original puppet series Playdate from Toronto’s Sinking Ship Entertainment.
Family Jr. will also available through Family Jr. OnDemand and Family Jr. Online at no extra charge.
Among ad-supported CHRGD’s lineup of animation and live-action series, specials and movies for kids ages six to 12 are Mighty Med, Phineas and Ferb and Penn Zero: Part-Time Hero, plus specials from Mattel’s Team Hot Wheels property, and the return of Pac-Man and the Ghostly Adventures and CG-animated underwater adventure series The Deep.
Also appearing on CHRGD are DHX TV original series Gaming Show (In My Parents’ Garage) from Toronto prodco B-Minors (season two), season four of Nerd Corps’ animated action series Slugterra and Radical Sheep’s new adventure show Fangbone!
As is the case with Family Jr., there will be no additional cost for kids to access CHRGD through CHRGD OnDemand and CHRGD Online.
Premiere dates for shows launching on the rebranded channels have yet to be announced.
The channel news comes a day after DHX TV revealed its fall lineup for Family Channel which features popular shows such as The Next Step , new feature film Full Out, sketch comedy show AwesomenessTV, reality series Make Me Over, Australia’s Nowhere Boys, doc event The Next Step: The Movie, musical event Barbie in Rock’n Royals, plus Disney series including Jessie and Dog With A Blog.
By January 2016, all Disney content will migrate over to the new Corus-owned Disney Channel.
