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Edmonton Journal

Corus Entertainment axes five kids' channels

SpongeBob SquarePants, The Backyardigans and Bluey are small-screen staples for many Canadian kids, but as of Sept. 1, they — along with other children's shows — will no longer air on linear television. Article content The TV casualties are part of Corus Entertainment's announcement earlier this month that it will shut down five kids' channels. The company is axing ABC Spark, Nickelodeon, the French-language La Chaîne Disney, Disney XD and Disney Jr., according to a statement per The Canadian Press. Corus will still distribute the English-language Disney Channel on linear TV and its streaming platforms. Article content Article content Children will now need to look for the shows they're missing on other platforms. For example, SpongeBob SquarePants streams on Netflix and Paramount+. Bluey is on Disney+. Dora the Explorer, another kiddie favourite that Corus airs, also streams on Paramount+ and PlutoTV. Article content Corus Entertainment's announcement comes amid an advertising revenue slump for the company. Article content Last month, news broke that Corus cut seven per cent of employee costs in its most recent quarter. Chief executive John Gossling told analysts that the company expects its TV advertising revenue to drop about 20 per cent year-over-year in the current quarter as 'geopolitical and economic uncertainty' remains, according to The Canadian Press. Article content Corus has said goodbye to other channels recently. In December 2024, it stopped carrying HGTV and Food Network — Rogers Communications had picked up the Canadian licensing and trademark agreements for those channels (along with Cooking Channel, Magnolia Network and OWN). Corus rallied by replacing Food Network and HGTV with two new channels: Flavour Network and Home Network. Article content