Poly

Poly is a Brazilian television network owned primarily by Grupo Kirschner and media enthusiast Carlos Vieira Giordano, who was given control of a newly-purchased TV station in 2018 and had it converted into a network by Kirschner some years later.

The network's varied programming consists primarily of animated series and movie blocks with some imported and original content, including a news program and evening talk show etc. While some newer content is shown (primarily from Netflix and Disney), the network also shows backlog shows from companies like the aforementioned Disney, WildBrain, Corus Entertainment, [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Warner_Bros. Warner Bros.], Sony and Televisa, with an aim to serve educational/cultural and retro/geek/otaku audiences.

It not only operates as a traditional television network on cable, satellite and free-to-air packages but also as a web network livestreaming programs, along with a video player showing episodes of programs on a temporary/cyclical basis.

Of further note is that, in addition to some modern style graphics, some promos and network IDs on Poly utilize aesthetics reminiscent of TV advertising during the 80's and 90's.

History
The family of Carlos Vieira Giordano had unexpectedly won millions of reais in the lottery, opting after much deliberation to spend a portion on buying their son Carlos a TV station due to his interest in mass media. It began transmission on August 5, 2018 as TV CVG in Guarulhos, São Paulo.

TV CVG's programming consisted of TV shopping, infomercials and some indie content made by anyone willing to send in their homemade videos for an affordable fee. Though initially watched by few, the station soon ended up the subject of Internet memes and discussions due to the bizarre low-budget quality of its programs, including station IDs and nighttime shutdown sequences.

Tobias Kirschner eventually learned of the network and offered to assist Giordano by purchasing the station to convert into a full-fledged channel, with the added promise of co-ownership. Carlos accepted and, after a careful period of planning, it was publicly announced in January 2021 that the newer network would be known as Poly.

After a period of arranging for content deals, setting up signals and so forth, Poly would then operate as a consortium consisting of Grupo Kirschner, Carlos Vieira Giordano's finances, Canais Globo (via Futura), Magic World, TIM Brasil and donation/crowdfunding-fueled social media group Fãs das Fantasias (pertaining to geek subculture).

The network finally launched on December 5, 2022 at 6:00 PM after a countdown. Its first program was a truncated evening edition of Poly Kids with Dragon Tales and Sagwa, the Chinese Siamese Cat followed by the premiere of original cartoon Volkovinha, followed by the the Primetime block. Polyjornal and Poly Power did not debut until the following day.

Programming
Main article: List of programs broadcast by Poly

Poly transmits a block of children's entertainment on weekday and weekend mornings and in afternoons, with news program Polyjornal airing twice in early afternoons and evenings followed by talk show Nanda and then a block of mature audience-oriented programs leading into later-night hours.

A popular section of Poly Kids' programming is D-Zastro Zone, consisting of productions from Disney Television Animation interspersed with sketches, musical performances and trivia/quiz segments. On occasion, a Disney movie will be shown during the block instead of cartoons.

Also, the retro-styled fitness program Poly Power is shown daily as an interstitial and on weekends as a complete program.

On Saturdays and Sundays, films are shown during afternoon timeslots. Sporadically, on afternoons and evenings during most holiday and vacation periods and sometimes on regular weekends, the kid-oriented film block Sessão Cine Kids (a carryover from Kirschner's previous relationships with Band, TV Cultura and TV Brasil) is shown, consisting of primarily obscure and imported (especially animated) children's films with a pedagogical discussion about themes presented and details about its production (if known).

After midnight, when the block closes with a sign-off animation, a test-pattern lasts one hour before numerous random programs are aired during late-night/early morning hours from 1 to 5:45 AM (for the purpose of equipment testing) before programming begins at 7 AM.

On-screen identity
Poly's logo includes a rainbow circle in place of a lowercase "O", stated to be a reference to the network offering various kinds of content for different demographics.

During programs, the rainbow circle is placed as a logo bug in the lower-right corner of the screen, sometimes appearing with the "p" and "ly" sliding out from and then retreating behind it seconds later.

In addition to using modern graphics on its website and in some parts of broadcasts, Poly makes use of promos and vignettes with aesthetics reminiscent of network television during the 80's and 90's, particularly the usage of digital video post-production-esque animation of 2D objects, footage of constructed models and basic computer-graphics designed to look primitive along with synthesized music, also employing simulated VHS filters to add further effect.

Ad campaigns
An 80's-styled promo, "Tudo Para Todos!" (stated by Kirschner as paying homage to SBT's "Quem Procura Acha Aqui", in turn based on NBC's "Let's All Be There") is a short song sequence informing the viewer of the network's raison d'être of providing varying types of content to meet different interests, utilizing appearances from numerous celebrities tied with Kirschner and clips from the different programs aired on the network. Originally uploaded as a YouTube video (garnering over 2 million views as of May 2023) on November 26, 2022, leading up to the network's launch days later on December 5, it is also aired on the TV network in between programming and the streaming website.

Availability
Poly is available both on basic free-to-air/cable and satellite television packages as well as online through its website. It is accessible not only in its native Brazil but also in Hispanic America and North America through satellite packages and webpage streams. All three feeds are not accessible to anyone outside their respective territories.

Brazil
The Poly website is free to access on any valid modern computer or smartphone with an up to date Internet connection. Its revenue is supported by visual ads from reputable companies and single 5-30 second ad breaks during videos.

Episodes of TV shows aired on the main channel are available on the website only on a cyclical basis for 6 days before they are removed and the waiting period for a return can vary depending on the broadcast schedules. Livestreams with an accompanying schedule for the following 7 days are available daily with content on both it and the main channel being simulcast.

All programming on the site can only be viewed in Brazil.

Hispanic America
Poly has a separate Spanish-language feed primarily for Internet users, based out of Mexico City, Mexico with site hosts in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Santiago, Chile and Bogotá, Colombia and so forth. The website (with the modified URL www.poly-es.com) works similarly to the main site in Brazil with the temporary episode uploads and simulcast livestreams but they are all in Spanish language. Similar to the above, it is not available to anyone outside of Hispanic America and the United States.

North America
Unusually, Poly is also available in the United States (both in the above Spanish and Portuguese versions of the site) and Canada, with site hosts in New York City and Toronto, Ontario. Brazilian Portuguese-language programming is shown with optional Portuguese and English closed-captioning. Poly stated it was intended for Brazilian diaspora in both countries and also for outsiders learning the dialect and/or cultural enthusiasts.