Jetix was a world-wide children's television programming brand that was owned by The Walt Disney Company. The Jetix brand was used for blocks and channels featuring action-related and adventure-related live-action and animated programming, being the main competitor of Cartoon Network's Toonami.
History[]
Predecessors[]
Fox Kids (channel, 1996-2005)[]
In the Late '90s, the Fox Kids block on Fox got its own independent channels in Latin America, Europe, and the Middle East and with the buyout of International Family Entertainment and Saban Entertainment partnership, a separate division titled Fox Kids Worldwide (later Fox Kids Europe) was founded, which would manage the Fox Kids channels in Europe and the Middle East.
After Fox Family Worldwide was sold to The Walt Disney Company alongside Saban Entertainment in 2001, the Fox Kids brand would be taken by Disney as well. The American block of Fox Channel would be sold to 4Kids Entertainment and renamed to FoxBox TV (later renamed 4KidsTV in 2005) in September 2002. SIP Animation would also be placed mainly under the control of Fox Kids Europe by Disney.
In 2001, a spin-off channel titled Fox Kids Play was launched in Middle East and Central/Eastern Europe, which was aimed at preschoolers.
Jetix[]
In 2004, Fox Kids Europe, Fox Kids Latin America, and ABC Cable Networks Group came to an agreement to rename all their operations to a single name: Jetix. The name Jetix was selected to strength the relationship with Disney, as the Fox Kids channels no longer had any type of relationship with Fox, and also because it was a name that implied action and adventure.
With this Jetix brand, Disney would make a morning block for ABC Family and a nighttime block for Toon Disney, called Jetix. It was launched on Valentine's Day 2004 alongside the world's first telecast online trading cards game: Jetix Cards Online. Jetix Cards Online proposed an Online Trading Cards game which used Digital Trading Cards, but the game could be also played online on TV, and every weekend, the top players name would show on TV. ABC Family aired Jetix on weekdays from 7am to 9am and weekends 7am to 12 PM and aired on Toon Disney Monday through Thursday from 7pm to 9pm and weekends from 7pm to 9pm.
In Latin America and Europe, where Toon Disney and ABC Family didn't exist, Jetix became the replacement to Fox Kids. The first territories to replace Fox Kids with Jetix were Latin America and France, on August 2004. In the rest of Europe, Jetix became a Fox Kids block before entirely replacing it. Fox Kids Europe became Jetix Europe in early 2005. The last channel to receive this change was Germany, in which Jetix aired in June 2005. In 2005, Fox Kids Play became Jetix Play, ending the transition between Fox Kids and Jetix.
Content[]
Jetix inherited most of the Fox Kids and Saban Entertainment content, like Power Rangers, Digimon, TMNT, Spider-Man, X-Men, and even The Fairly Oddparents, but only in Latin America. Disney also made original series for the block, like Dave the Barbarian. A division called Jetix Animation Concepts was launched for creating new shows, releasing 3 shows: Super Robot Monkey Team Hyperforce Go!, Get Ed, and Yin Yang Yo. SIP Animation would also produce shows, such as the Disney co-production W.I.T.C.H. Jetix Europe would also produce shows for the channel, being the most notable Pucca and Kid vs Kat. Jetix would share shows with Toon Disney, like The Legend of Tarzan and Buzz Lightyear of Star Command. Jetix also had shows from DiC Entertainment.
Fate[]
In Autumn 2006, the Jetix block was removed from ABC Family, making Toon Disney the exclusive home for Jetix. However, since then, the Jetix block started to last longer and take more time, so it became more of a time-shared channel and even started to get its own blocks. At the very end of Toon Disney and Jetix, Disney bought Jetix Europe, with the intention to bring the European Jetix channels under the Disney umbrella, ending Jetix Europe's autonomy. Shortly after this, SIP Animation was closed. On June 2008, Disney France announced that Jetix France and Disney Channel would merge. Jetix Europe CEO Paul Taylor resigned, and was replaced by John Hardie.
On February 13th, Toon Disney and Jetix would merge into one channel: Disney XD. Disney XD was similar to Jetix: both were focused on the boy demographic and were channels for 6-13 year old audiences, but Disney XD would also be the place for Disney's live action and animated programs, like Disney Channel and Toon Disney. The last program ever transmitted on Jetix and Toon Disney was The Incredible Hulk, during Jetix, specifically the episode "Doomed" at 11:30 PM.
In most European countries, where Disney Channel didn't exist, Jetix was replaced by Disney Channel. The last Jetix channel that was replaced by Disney XD was Netherlands, on January 1st 2010, and the last country where Jetix was replaced was Russia, in which Jetix was replaced by Disney Channel on August 10, 2010. In the countries where Jetix Play existed, it was replaced by Playhouse Disney (Later Disney Jr.), or simply ended transmissions without any replacement.
Post-shutdown Jetix[]
Jetix Italy, one of Jetix Europe subsidiaries, renamed themselves to Switchover Media after the shutdown. They were now responsible for two channels: GXT, a male teen subscription-based channel, and K2, a channel which replaced Fox Kids on Italy before Jetix came. GXT and K2 were bought by TimeWarner, making Switchover Media lose control over them and soon after that, GXT closed, but K2 is still up to this day. Switchover Media also closed later.
John Hardie, the Jetix Europe CEO left Disney for ITN on June 2009, and was replaced by Giorgio Stock. Jetix Europe holdovers continued until around 2012-2014 to wind down operations and as a pending period to fully integrate Jetix into Disney. European Disney XD co-productions like Rekkit Rabbit still had the Jetix Europe name in the credits. The Dutch subsidiary, that primarily managed the corporate side of Jetix, had its final meeting of shareholders on March 22, 2012.
Other UK-based divisions of Jetix, Jetix Entertainment Ltd and Jetix Consumer Products Ltd continued to exist until April 20, 2014, and Jetix UK, the last remaining of Jetix Europe, would finally close on March 11, 2019, ending about 15 years of the Jetix brand.
List of international versions[]
- Americas
- Asia
- Jetix (Japan) (Closed as block and switched over to Disney XD on August 1, 2009)
- Jetix (India) (Closed as block and switched over to Disney XD on November 14, 2009)
- Europe
- Jetix CEE (Central and Eastern Europe) (Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, Russia, Romania, Bulgaria, CIS countries) (Closed September 19, 2009 and switched over to Disney Channel Central and Eastern Europe) (Jetix Russia separates from Jetix CEE and becomes localized)
- Jetix FR (France) (Closed April 1, 2009 and switched over to Disney XD)
- Jetix DE (Germany) (Closed October 9, 2009 and switched over to Disney XD)
- Jetix GR (Greece) (Closed October 3, 2009 and switched over to Disney XD)
- Jetix IT (Italy) (Closed September 28, 2009 and switched over to Disney XD)
- Jetix NL (Netherlands) (Closed January 1, 2010 and switched over to Disney XD)
- Jetix PL (Poland) (Closed September 19, 2009 and switched over to Disney XD)
- Jetix RU (Russia) (Russia, and the CIS countries) (created after the separation from the CEE feed) (Closed August 10, 2010 and switched over to Disney Channel Russia)
- Jetix NU (Scandinavia) (Denmark, Sweden, Norway, Finland) (Closed September 12, 2009 and switched over to Disney XD)
- Jetix ES (Spain) (Closed September 18, 2009 and switched over to Disney XD)
- Jetix EMEA (Turkey, Balkan countries, Middle East and Africa) (Closed October 3, 2009 and switched over to Disney XD)
- Jetix UK and Ireland (Closed August 31, 2009 and switched over to Disney XD)
- Middle East
- Jetix (Israel) (Closed September 9, 2009 and switched over to Disney Channel)
Merchandising[]
Magazines[]
In the UK, Future PLC published the official Jetix Magazine. Published every four weeks, the magazine featured puzzles based on the channel's shows, plus a six page Power Rangers comic, and at one point, the American Sonic X comic book series by Archie Comics. The magazine also came with a free DVD featuring shows from the channel.
In other countries, including Bulgaria, Poland, Romania, and Turkey, similar Jetix magazines were also produced.
Monster Truck[]
In 2007, the Monster Jam monster truck series had a truck with the Jetix name which was Yin Yang Yo themed. The truck was driven by Dan Evans, who normally drives The Destroyer, and toured in the Monster Jam European tour until December. The truck has not been seen since then, and was replaced by a Disney XD truck.
Video games[]
Gameboy Advance SP[]
On 2006, Jetix gave away a console which was Jetix themed. The console was silver colored, and had Toon Disney and Jetix logos on top. According to consolevariations.com, the console had a rarity level of legendary, and more than 10 people own it. It was also Region free, which means it can run Gameboy, Gameboy Color, and Gameboy Advance games from any region.
Jetix Puzzle Buzzle[]
Blast! Entertainment, a shovelware game company, once made a videogame based on the channel's mascot. The game was called Jetix Puzzle Buzzle in Europe and Jetix Puzzle Game in Australia, and was released on Playstation 2 and Nintendo DS in 2008. The game was actually a reskin of another game called EggMania: Eggstreme Madness, but it replaces the characters with the Jetix mascot and a lookalike character which serves as the rival. The objective of the game is to go to the top of the level building with bricks you get in the game.
Blocks[]
Jetix' popularity also spawned blocks and specials on the channel. Some of them were inherited from Fox Kids and some were also exclusive to other countries.
Jetix MAX[]
Jetix MAX was a block which premiered new shows. The block ended in 2007.
Jetix Kids Awards[]
The Jetix Kids Awards were an annual awards event, similar to the Nickelodeon Kids Choice Awards. It was exclusive to Central Europe and the first edition was in 2006, while the last one was in 2008.
Jetix Kids Cup[]
The Jetix Kids Cup was a football (soccer) tournament in which kids from all over the world competed to show their skills. Inherited from Fox Kids, formerly known as Fox Kids Cup. It was done in 2004, 2006, and 2008. It had two tournaments, which were the male football tournament and the female football tournament.
Anime Invasion[]
Anime Invasion was a block which, as its name suggests, broadcasted Anime. Inherited from Fox Kids. Notable series which were transmitted on this block were Digimon, Dinosaur King, Beyblade, Medabots, Sonic X, or Hoshi No Kirby.
PXG[]
PXG (Acronym of PlayStation 2, Xbox, and GameCube) was a show made by Prism Entertainment which covered "the latest in gaming reviews, hints, tips and cheats", basically everything about video games. The show ran over 2005 to 2008. It was exclusive to the United Kingdom, and every section of the program was transmitted on a different day.
Made in Japan-athon[]
Made in Japan-athon was a block exclusive to the short-lived ABC Family version of Jetix which, as its name suggests, broadcasted Japanese series, mostly live-action ones as Jetix already had a block exclusively for Anime.
Súper Horas[]
Súper Horas (Super Hours in Spanish) was a block exclusive to Latin America in which action series were transmitted.
¿Quién Tiene El Control?[]
¿Quién Tiene El Control? (Who is in Control? in Spanish) was a block exclusive to Latin America in which users would vote on the jetixtv.com page between two series and see which one would win. It was inherited from Fox Kids, and also the main competition of VotaToon, a Cartoon Network block which was very similar. It transcended to Disney XD, unlike other blocks, but was renamed.
Cineskopio[]
Cineskopio was a block exclusive to Latin America which transmitted movies on Fridays and Weekends at 16:30, like Open Season, The Fairly OddParents movies, the Power Rangers movies, the Back to the Future trilogy, Chicken Run, classic Disney movies, and more. Inherited from Fox Kids. Same as QTEC, it was also renamed, this time as Pelix.
Power Rangers Generations[]
Power Rangers Generations was a block which transmitted all the Power Rangers seasons from the Saban era and the Disney era. This block was transmitted on Weekdays on 12 PM or 13 PM, and on weekends on 15 PM.
Fairly Oddparents marathon blocks[]
The Fairly Oddparents quickly became the main show of Jetix in Latin America and Brazil, because Nick wasn't interested in transmitting The Fairly Oddparents in these regions, making Fox Kids the home for Fairly Oddparents in Latin America, and then Jetix. Jetix did several Marathon blocks for it.
Sábado Mágico[]
Sábado Mágico (Fairly Saturday in Spanish) was a block which was transmitted on some Saturdays presenting an hour long Fairly Oddparents marathon.
Noche Mágica[]
Noche Mágica (Fairly Night in Spanish) was another block which was transmitted on nights presenting similar but longer The Fairly Oddparents marathons.
J[]
J (pronounced Jay) was the mascot of Jetix. He is a one-eyed robotic cat, who can transform into anything. He was seen in the logo, bumpers and idents of the channel.
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This page uses content from the English Wikipedia page Jetix. The list of authors can be seen in the page history. Text from Wikipedia is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License; additional terms may apply. |