Pop (British and Irish TV channel)

Pop is a free-to-air television channel in the United Kingdom, owned by Sony Pictures Television. Its target audience is 8 to 12-year-old children.[1]

Pop
Launched	1 October 2002 (1 October 2002)
Owned by	(Sony Pictures Television/CSC Media Group)
Picture format	16:9 576i SDTV
Audience share	0.30% 0.03% (+1) (September 2016 (2016-09), BARB)
Country	United Kingdom Ireland
Language	English
Formerly called	Toons & Tunes (2002-2003)
Sister channel(s)	Pop Max Sony Channel Sony Movies Sony Movies Action Sony Movies Classic Tiny Pop
Timeshift service	Pop +1
Website	popfun.co.uk
Availability
Terrestrial
Freeview	Channel 206
Satellite
Freesat	Channel 603 Channel 606 (+1)
Sky	Channel 616 Channel 625 (+1)
Astra 2F 28.2°E	11307 V 27500 5/6 11307 V 27500 5/6 (+1)
Cable
Virgin Media (UK)	Channel 736
WightFibre	Channel 100
Streaming media
Virgin TV Anywhere	Watch live (UK only)

History

The channel was originally launched on 1 October 2002 by CSC Media Group as Toons and Tunes.[2] The channel was then later re-branded as Pop on 23 May 2003; the logo has been rendered in different forms, including all upper-case or all lower-case, along with an exclamation point at the end.

In the channel's early years, links were presented by Rorry, a lime green dragon with a Scottish accent (who had appeared in an ITV Saturday Morning programme in Autumn 1997 under the name Tricky and spoke with an English accent) who was animated live. He was accompanied by Purrdy, a dragon/cat hybrid who also appeared in original the Tricky programme on ITV.

Originally, the network focused on music videos, with animated programming also part of the schedule, but with the numerous music video network options on British television at the time, this focus was quickly abandoned around 2004, when the animated content became much more prominent. Music videos continued to be carried on and off until 2007, before eventually being abandoned entirely.

Programming

The network sources their programming from multiple independent studios.

Current programming

• 44 Cats[3]
• ALVINNN!!! and the Chipmunks[4]
• Bakugan: Battle Planet[5]
• Barbie Dreamhouse Adventures[6]
• Big Top Academy[7]
• Counterfeit Cat[8]
• Cupcake & Dino: General Services[9]
• Dragon Ball Super[10]
• Grizzy and the Lemmings[11]
• Hanazuki: Full of Treasures[12]
• Lego City Adventures[13]
• Lego Friends[14]
• Mega Man: Fully Charged[15]
• Miraculous: Tales of Ladybug & Cat Noir[16]
• Pokemon[17]
• Power Rangers Beast Morphers[18]
• Sadie Sparks[19]
• Space Chickens In Space[20]
• Sonic Boom[21]
• Talking Tom & Friends[22]
• Total Dramarama[23]
• Trollhunters[24]

Former programming

Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog The Adventures of Super Mario Bros. 3[25] Alan the Last Dinosaur[26] The Amazing Adrenalini Brothers[27] Animal Exploration with Jarod Miller[28] Archie's Weird Mysteries[25] The Babaloos[25] Babar[25] Backyard Science[29] The Berenstain Bears[25] Bindi the Jungle Girl[30] Blazing Dragons[25] Bump in the Night[25] Care Bears[31] Clang Invasion[32] Corduroy[31] Cyberchase[25] Dennis the Menace[25] Digimon Data Squad[33] Dinotrux[34] Dr. Dimensionpants[35] Elliot Moose[25] Erky Perky[30] Finding Stuff Out[29] Freaktown[35] The Gees[32] George and Martha[25] Grossology[33] H2O: Just Add Water[36] Hareport[32] Iggy Arbuckle[28] I.N.K. Invisible Network of Kids[28] Kampung Boy[25] Kid Detectives[28] Kikoriki[32] King Arthur's Disasters[32] The Legend of White Fang[25] Little Bear Little Wizard Tao[32] Littlest Pet Shop[36]

Madeline[31] The Magic School Bus[25] Marvin the Tap-Dancing Horse[25] The Mr. Peabody & Sherman Show[34] My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic[36] Mona the Vampire The New Adventures of Lassie[34] The New Adventures of Nanoboy[32] Noah's Island[25] Numb Chucks[34] Old Tom[32] Oscar's Oasis[28] Patrol 03[31] Pearlie[26] Pippi Longstocking[25] Pirate Express[34] Polly Pocket[37] The Raggy Dolls[25] Robin Hood: Mischief in Sherwood[36] Robinson Sucroe[25] Ruby Gloom[38] Rupert[25] Sabrina: Secrets of a Teenage Witch[36] Slugterra[36] The Smurfs[32] Sonic the Hedgehog[25] Timothy Goes to School[31] Totally Spies! Tracey McBean[32] Tractor Tom[31] Transformers: Rescue Bots[36] Trollhunters: Tales of Arcadia[35] Tube Mice[25] The Wacky World of Tex Avery''[25] Wild But True[36] Winx Club[28] The Wizard of Oz[25] YooHoo & Friends[26]

Availability

Freeview

On 20 March 2014, Pop was launched on Freeview.[39] Prior to April 2016, Pop was only available in areas where there is a local TV channel. On 1 April 2016, Pop moved to a wider coverage nationwide freeview mix, becoming available to over 90% of the country.[40] The capacity vacated by Pop on the local multiplex was used to transmit Kix from 7 April 2016. Pop +1 moved to LCN channel 128, to release 127 for use by Kix, but was otherwise unaffected, continuing to broadcast locally to Manchester only.

Related services

Pop +1

A timeshift feed called Pop +1 was available until 2008, when it was replaced by Kix!; in turn, that network's +1 feed was discontinued on 14 July 2014 with Pop +1's return.

International versions

On 4 May 2017, Sony Pictures Television Networks launched an Italian version of Pop as their first Italian free-to-air offering, with a similar line-up of programming to the UK channel. The network closed alongside its sister channel Cine Sony on 11 July 2019, after Mediaset purchased both network slots from Sony. Pop's old slot would be used for Boing Plus.[41]

The Pakistani version of Pop is operated by Edutainment (Pty.) Ltd. under the license of Sony Pictures Television.[42]

References

1. "POP | Showreel | CSC Media". Cscmediagroup.com. Archived from the original on 21 February 2015. Retrieved 22 February 2015.
2. "Toons&Tunes launching today". Digital Spy.
3. "44 Cats". Pop. Retrieved 2 September 2019.
4. "Check out brand new ALVIN and the Chipmunks on POP!". Fun Kids - the UK's children's radio station. Retrieved 6 February 2016.
5. "Watch new episodes of Bakugan Battle Planet on POP TV this autumn!". Fun Kids - the UK's children's radio station. Retrieved 1 September 2019.
6. "Mattel announces broadcasters for Barbie Dreamhouse Adventures | Toy World Magazine". toyworldmag.co.uk. Retrieved 6 February 2019.
7. "Big Top Academy". www.popfun.co.uk.
8. "Counterfeit Cat". Popfun. Retrieved 4 June 2019.
9. "Cupcake & Dino: General Services". www.popfun.co.uk.
10. "Dragon Ball Super". Pop. Retrieved 1 July 2019.
11. "Check out new TV show Grizzy and the Lemmings on POP!". Fun Kids - the UK's children's radio station. Retrieved 6 February 2019.
12. "Hanazuki: Full of Treasures premieres on Pop | Toy World Magazine". toyworldmag.co.uk. Retrieved 6 February 2019.
13. "New shows and episodes coming to Tiny Pop & Pop this spring!". Retrieved 5 March 2020.
14. "LEGO FRIENDS: GIRLS ON A MISSION". Pop. Retrieved 27 July 2020.
15. "SONY POP GETS "MEGANIZED" WITH MEGA MAN". DHX Media. Retrieved 6 February 2019.
16. "Miraculous nets new UK licensees". Retrieved 6 February 2019.
17. "Pop TV Schedule (27 July 2020)". Pop. Archived from the original on 27 July 2020. Retrieved 27 July 2020.
18. "Power Rangers Beast Morphers". www.popfun.co.uk.
19. "SADIE SPARKS". Pop. Retrieved 27 July 2020.
20. "SPACE CHICKENS IN SPACE". Pop. Retrieved 27 July 2020.
21. "Big news for UK fans, Sonic Boom is back on TV - Pop UK, a freeview". desclyrantu.ga. 3 January 2019. Archived from the original on 7 February 2019. Retrieved 6 February 2019.
22. "Teletoon+, Pop converse with Talking Tom". C21media. Archived from the original on 25 April 2019. Retrieved 6 February 2019.
23. POP FUN TV (3 June 2019), Total Dramarama| Starts on Monday | POP 💥, retrieved 3 April 2014
24. "See brand new Trollhunters only on POP!". Fun Kids - the UK's children's radio station. Retrieved 6 February 2019.
25. "Popclub.tv - toons and tunes with Rorry & Purrdy, VJ and the Cheeky Monkeys from Pop". 22 March 2005. Archived from the original on 22 March 2005.
26. "TV Guide | POP". 18 September 2012. Archived from the original on 18 September 2012.
27. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 24 July 2012. Retrieved 24 July 2012.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
28. "TV Guide | POP". 25 September 2011. Archived from the original on 25 September 2011.
29. "Schedule | POP". 24 March 2016. Archived from the original on 24 March 2016.
30. https://web.archive.org/web/20100805062237/http://popfun.co.uk/
31. https://web.archive.org/web/20050321221102/http://www.popclub.tv/whatson/pop.php
32. https://web.archive.org/web/20120226145140/http://www.popfun.co.uk/tv-guide/
33. "Popfun home of Rorry's Castle". 9 August 2011. Archived from the original on 9 August 2011.
34. "Schedule | POP". Archived from the original on 28 January 2018.
35. "Schedule | POP". Archived from the original on 16 September 2018.
36. "Schedule | POP". 28 October 2015. Archived from the original on 28 October 2015.
37. "Toyworldmag.co.uk - Polly Pocket Debuts on Pop". www.toyworldmag.co.uk.
38. "Nelvana.com – Consumer Products". www.nelvana.com.
39. "New children's channel Pop launches on Freeview | Toy World Magazine". Toyworldmag.co.uk. 21 April 2014. Archived from the original on 24 October 2014. Retrieved 22 February 2015.
40. "POP extends Freeview reach April 2016". Retrieved 1 April 2016.
41. "La jv Turner-Mediaset sbarca sul canale 45 del digitale terrestre". Il Sole 24 ORE.
42. "Singer turned Media Marketer, Syed Rameez Mukhtar joins Pop Kids TV as Chief Commercial Officer". Media Bites. 25 September 2018. Retrieved 27 December 2019.

External links

• Official website