Jetix Play (formerly Fox Kids Play) was a preschool entertainment brand, owned by Jetix Europe. The Jetix Play name was primarily used as a sister channel to Jetix in a small number of regions, such as Central and Eastern Europe, and Middle East.

Jetix Play
Jetix Play's final logo, used from 2007 until its closure in 2010.
TypePreschool television network
CountryUnited Kingdom[1][2]
Broadcast areaCentral and Eastern Europe, Middle East
NetworkJetix
Headquarters338 Euston Road, London, United Kingdom[1][2]
Programming
Language(s)English, Polish, Romanian[3] (only for a short while), Turkish, Russian
Picture format576i (SDTV)
Ownership
OwnerJetix Europe
ParentJetix Europe (The Walt Disney Company)
Sister channelsJetix
History
FoundedJanuary 2003 (as Fox Kids Play)
1 January 2005 (as Jetix Play)
LaunchedJanuary 2003 (Poland)
October 2003 (Eastern Europe and Turkey, later in MENA)
Closed31 July 2010 (CEE)
1 September 2010 (Middle East)
Replaced byPlayhouse Disney (most countries; later Disney Junior)
Former namesFox Kids Play (2003–2004)
Links
Websiteweb.archive.org/web/20090117151205/http://jetixplay.tv (archived)

History edit

 
Fox Kids Play's logo, the predecessor of Jetix Play.

The channel originally launched as Fox Kids Play in January 2003[4] in Poland, and later launched in October 2003 in CEE (Including Russia) and MENA regions (including Turkey). Fox Kids Play was aimed at a younger audience than the main Jetix channel and primarily showed archived programming from BVS Entertainment and Fox Kids Europe's catalogues. The channel was available for 12 hours per day, from 6 A.M. to 6 P.M.

On 1 January 2005, Fox Kids Play was rebranded as Jetix Play.[5]

On November 1, 2008, Jetix Play increased its broadcast period from 12 to almost 17 hours per day, from 6 A.M. to 10:45 P.M.[6]

After The Walt Disney Company increased their ownership in Jetix Europe, they planned to rebrand the channels after Jetix's rebranding into Disney XD or Disney Channel. The channel closed on 1 August 2010,[7] in Poland and in Middle East on 1 September 2010.[8] The channel was replaced with Playhouse Disney/Disney Junior in most regions.

Programming edit

Programming on Jetix Play consisted of archive programming of animated cartoons and television series from BVS Entertainment's catalogue, which included shows from Saban Entertainment and the pre-1990 catalogue of DIC Entertainment, which BVS/Fox Kids Europe owned international rights to at the time.

Other uses edit

Fox Kids Play was used by Fox Kids Europe as an interactive VOD in France and Israel,[9] and expanded in the United Kingdom when it was added to Telewest in July 2003.[10] The service consisted of various television games based on Fox Kids programmes and third-party properties. The service extended to Sky Digital in March 2004.[11]

In the Netherlands, a Jetix Play branded block was featured on Jetix. Unlike the channel, this block was strictly pre-school-focused and aired acquired shows aimed towards younger children, including The Koala Brothers, Bob the Builder, Hamtaro, and Strawberry Shortcake.[12] In September 2009, the block began airing In the Night Garden...,[13]

Between 2006 and 2007, in Romania and other CEE countries, a Jetix Play programming block was broadcast on Jetix, which similarity to the named channel aired archived programming from BVS's catalogue.[14][15][16]

References edit

  1. ^ a b "PORT.ro - Jetix Play". www.port.ro. Archived from the original on 5 December 2010. Retrieved 11 January 2022.
  2. ^ a b "Fox Kids Europe". www.foxkidseurope.com. Archived from the original on 27 November 2003. Retrieved 11 January 2022.
  3. ^ "Media & Marketing: Postul TV Jetix Play lanseaza anul viitor varianta in limba romana". 15 November 2007.
  4. ^ https://web.archive.org/web/20070330105233mp_/http://www.jetixeurope.com/site/investor_relations/annual_report/2006/pdf/JETIXRA2006web.pdf [bare URL PDF]
  5. ^ Marcin, Szumichora. ""Jetix" zamiast Fox Kids". virtualnemedia.
  6. ^ "Jetix Play [18.09.2009] - Start of broadcasting [English audio]". YouTube. Archived from the original on 2021-12-12.
  7. ^ Wkrótce nowy kanał Disneya w Polsc (Google Translate) New Channel by Disney Soon in Poland
  8. ^ "Change Log - KingOfSat".
  9. ^ "What's with Andy? At Licensing 2003".
  10. ^ "Fox Kids Europe launches iTV games channel on Telewest". New Media Age. 17 July 2003. Archived from the original on 26 October 2014. Retrieved 18 March 2013.
  11. ^ "Fox Inks Sky Game Deal - Via Satellite -". 25 March 2004.
  12. ^ Archived at Ghostarchive and the Wayback Machine: "[ARCHIEF] Jetix Nederland - Jetix Play Promo". YouTube.
  13. ^ "Jetix serie 'In de Droom Tuin' een hit in Nederland". 10 August 2009.
  14. ^ "Jetix Romania a lansat blocul Jetix Play pentru cei mai mici telespectatori". Cinemagia. 7 April 2006.
  15. ^ "Élt 4 évet: JETIX, a Fox Kids rövid életű utódja". ToonSphere. 1 January 2015. Archived from the original on 12 May 2022. Retrieved 9 May 2022.
  16. ^ "Jetix lanseaza Jetix Play in Romania". Money.ro. 11 November 2007.