Corus Entertainment is continuing to reshape its specialty portfolio with the launch of Turner’s Adult Swim brand in Canada.
The 24-hour channel, set to launch April 1, will air the same content as its U.S. counterpart, with new series also launching day and date with their U.S. premieres. That includes Adult Swim originals such as Rick and Morty (pictured), Robot Chicken, Tim & Eric’s Bedtime Stories and The Eric Andre Show, as well as acquired series like Family Guy, Bob’s Burgers and American Dad.
The Canadian version of Adult Swim will replace another of Corus’ specialty channels, Action (formerly Showcase Action), on the dial. Launched in 2001 as a spinoff channel to Showcase, Action has focused on movies and series from the action genre over the past 18 years.
The launch of Adult Swim in Canada will also see shifts in programming strategy for two other Corus-owned specialties, Cartoon Network and Teletoon. Previously, Adult Swim content, which targets audiences aged 18 to 34, aired in evening programming blocks on Cartoon Network and Teletoon. Both those channels will now shift their programming focus solely to kids and family content.
This is the second time in the past six months that Corus has significantly expanded a partnership with a U.S. partner. In October, W Network inked a multi-year content deal with Crown Media Family Networks to become the exclusive Canadian broadcaster of Hallmark programming. Through the deal, Corus picked up the exclusive Canadian licensing rights to all movies and scripted series produced by Crown Media for Hallmark Channel and its sister network, Hallmark Movies & Mysteries.
News of the Adult Swim launch comes two weeks after Corus unveiled a change to its organizational structure that brings its 44 specialty television services, 39 radio stations and 15 conventional television stations under the newly created “broadcast networks” umbrella. At the time, Corus promoted Troy Reeb, the former SVP of news and radio station operations, to the role of EVP of broadcast networks.