While the new kids on the specialty block are garnering all the attention these days, the old guard deserve acknowledgement as well, for the ground that they’ve helped to break. On these pages, we profile the three English-language services that will be marking their 10th anniversaries in September – YTV, Vision TV and The Weather Network.

It’s hard to imagine kids’ channel ytv looking like a religious network.

But that’s how former vice-president of marketing Susan Ross, one of the founders, describes the service’s personality when it first launched in September 1988.

‘In those days, we were probably a little too earnest,’ says Ross, now vice-president and general manager of sister channel Treehouse TV. ytv’s on-air promo, for example, was a ‘quasi-religious’ affair that featured clouds floating across the sky to the strains of classical music, and the slogan ‘The Spirit of Youth.’

Pair that with tired programming consisting mainly of dated British and American shows – ‘We were the Bonanza channel,’ Ross says – and you have the makings of a rather shaky beginning.

Well, that was then. Thanks to ytv’s rapid acceptance by cable companies – the original number of homes carrying it has almost doubled from four million to 7.5 million – the channel has managed to build a strong identity for itself.

The acceptance by cable carriers meant ytv was able to invest in some original programming and improve its on-air look. Shows such as You Can’t Do That on Television (starring a young Alanis Morrissette) were developed, and quickly became anchors of the schedule.

But the turning point, says Ross, came in the early 1990s. Up to that time, ytv had been aiming to appeal broadly to preschoolers, tweens, teens and families. After some research, however, the channel decided it would make more sense to focus its resources on the age group that constituted the bulk of its audience – tweens.

That’s when schedule-drivers such as Are you Afraid of the Dark? and ReBoot were added to the lineup. The ytv logo was finally revamped, with the help of Boston-based children’s marketing firm Big Blue Dot. And quirky on-air brand identifications, such as the chomping skull and the rubber chicken, began appearing as well.

That’s also when ytv began investing heavily in research efforts – such as the annual YTV Tween Report – to better understand its audience, Ross says.

The focus on the tween market has led to developments such as the introduction of special programming events tied to holidays such as Halloween (Dark Night), New Year’s (Meltdown) and March Break (You Choose – You Rule). The creation of on-air ‘celebrities’ – some of whom are puppets – have also helped to build the ytv brand with tweens.

These days, of course, ytv isn’t the only broadcaster making an aggressive bid for the attention of youngsters.

Interest in the kids’ market has grown dramatically, says ytv president Paul Robertson. Aside from Treehouse, there are now at least two other specialties that target children – Teletoon and Family Channel. Even conventional broadcasters, he says, are putting more of an emphasis on going after kids.

Over the last 10 years, Robertson says, ytv has successfully proven itself as a kids’ channel. But now, in light of increased competition, it will have to move forward. ‘We have to prove that we’re the best kids’ channel,’ he says.

One way the channel can do that, says Susan Mandryk, the current vice-president of marketing, is by adopting an ‘out of the box’ positioning – that is, by taking the ytv brand out of children’s tv sets, and into their lives.

That’s the thinking that led to this year’s launch of the YTV Bust Out Tour, which enables the channel to reach viewers at the grassroots level by creating or taking part in community events. ytv will have a presence at nearly 50 different events across Canada this year.

The same thinking also led to the development of new merchandising plans. Starting in September, major retailers will be carrying ytv-branded toys made by Hasbro Canada. Plush toys and puppets of popular preschool characters The Fuzzpaws will be sold, along with rubber molds of ytv icons such as the skull.

Dark Night games and puzzles will be introduced as well, Mandryk says. In addition, ytv will be entering the software republishing business, with the launch of computer games tied to several of its shows, all of which will carry the ytv seal of approval.

ytv has also put a lot of energy into developing its Web site (www.ytv.com), Mandryk says. The site offers a guide to programming, information about ytv personalities, contests and games.

Mandryk says the channel’s goal is to relate to kids in a manner with which they’re comfortable, while still being parent-friendly.

The one thing ytv strives to avoid at all times, she adds, is talking down to the audience. ‘You can’t tell kids you’re cool,’ she says. ‘You either are or you’re not.’

Also in this report:

– CTV Sports Net to go head-to-head with TSN: Newcomer takes aggressive stance with successful bid for NHL broadcast rights p.B1

– TSN holds course steady for now: Will continue to build on strength of signature newscast and big-ticket programming, despite loss of NHL deal p.B1

– CHUM banks on MuchMoreMusic p.B5

– Spirituality sells at Vision p.B6

– Weather Network forecasts sunny skies: Focus on marketing ‘frequency medium’ yields results p.B6