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MiniChannel

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MiniChannel (formerly Minivision and also later branded on-air as MiniC) was a pan-European free-to-air youth-oriented television channel, based in Stockholm, Sweden, operated by the consortium Minivision AB from October 10, 1993.

The channel proved to be successful in the various countries in which it was transmissible but in spite of this, cessation of studio contracts and competition from other channels among other things eventually led to its dissolution during 2007-08. Even so, the channel has maintained cult status online.

History[]

Formation[]

In the late 1980's, Magic World (then in partnership with Saban International regarding non-US rights for some of their intellectual properties, such as F.U.R.) found a considerable struggle to enter the Nordic market for many reasons. Although they had secured arrangements with Finnish free-to-air television channel Kolmoskanava, there was considerably more hassle with reaching audiences in Norway, Finland, Sweden and Iceland. For example, Iceland's television services were limited to public broadcaster RÚV and commercial channel Stöð 2, both had shorter and more limited schedules for programs.

It was such that Joseph Haddad personally traveled to Stockholm in order to try and negotiate with broadcasters. His portable AM/FM radio unexpectedly broke, forcing him to enter a brick-and-mortar electronics shop (run by businessman Nils Arvid Gustavsson) where he could buy a new one. Whilst explaining his situation to the shopkeeper, Gustavsson replied that he had connections with workers in the field of telecommunications and thus offered to assist somehow.

Other Magic World co-founder Michael Warren recalled,

"I got a long-distance call from Sweden one evening. Joe was on the line and he said to me, "Mikey? A guy selling radios says he's just what we need! Someone to get more Swedes watching our shows". That is to say, I was taken aback and didn't think I could believe it at first. But I also couldn't just let Joe run up a bill in another country, so I just pretended like I got all that and it was fine as he talked."

In the late winter and early spring of 1991, Haddad and Gustavsson began talks of setting up a satellite TV channel, but with a stipulation that it had a limited broadcast schedule and needed to timeshare with other content. Gustavsson also stated that arrangements for a default English feed as well as transmissions in Swedish, Danish, Norwegian, Finnish and Icelandic were doable with others pitching in to fund the project.

After the idea was shopped around to potential interested parties, a consortium entitled Minivision AB was eventually formed, first consisting of Magic World themselves, Stöð 2, Egmont, Telenor, Nokia and Televerket. Sometime later on, in a search to find content providers for the channel's launch, Warner Bros. was added as member of the consortium.

At this point, the channel was simply known as MiniVision, spelled differently from its owner's trade name to generate appeal. Though originally projected to launch sometime in 1992, delays resulted from prolonged attempts to offer broadcasting opportunities to other studios, search for programs to purchase and especially negotiations to find a workable satellite from which to broadcast the channel across the Nordic region. By extension, it would also end up potentially available to audiences in the United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland purely by accident.

By mid-1993, MiniVision had also secured rights to air cartoons from CINAR Films and DiC Enterprises, along with D'Ocon Films and Maddocks Animation among some others. During this year, the consortium had successfully gotten their channel accepted by British Sky Broadcasting to be transmitted via Marcopolo 1 of the Thor satellite family (which would be purchased by Nordic Satellite AB just months later and renamed Sirius 1).

Minivision logo 93 95

Minivision's first logo from its launch in October 1993 until the spring of 1995. It was still used as a logo for the consortium Minivision AB until its closure in 2008.

Launch and early success[]

MiniVision began its first broadcast on October 10, 1993 across the Nordic region with five different language feeds available. Back then, the channel ran from 7 AM to 6 PM, timesharing with a Nordic feed of Home Shopping Network until 10 PM, at which point the broadcast would sign off until the following morning.

During its first month on the air, MiniVision's schedule was "experimental" (as described by Gustavsson himself), mainly because they needed to figure out which programs and timeslots were most popular. By early-November, a consistent schedule was established.

Despite competition with the UK-based Cartoon Network feed (then pan-European), which had launched just a month prior, MiniVision appealed to families who could not afford or simply opted not to pay for premium television channels.

As the channel's popularity increased, the consortium later added Bergsala (Nordic distributor of Nintendo products) and Skífan (an Icelandic record label) by some point in 1994. The former especially proved to be advantageous as it allowed the channel to promote Nintendo, including through its few licensed television shows. The network added Nintendo-related original content to its feeds (including a Nick Arcade-esque game show entitled Nintendo Power Play), while the Danish feed of the network also added reruns of the TV 2 series Super Mario Brødrenes Eventyr.

Plans for and expansion into other countries[]

Mini channel(95)

A 2D vector of the channel's logo from its rebranding in 1995 until 2001

The Minivision consortium ended up profiting from the channel such that sometime in 1995, there were talks about possibly expanding into other territories in Europe. When plans to enter the Benelux, Iberian and Mediterranean territories fell through, it was soon decided Central and Eastern Europe had potential, as they were relatively new to the advent of privately-operated commercial television.

Before the end of the year, after many talks, Polsat entered the consortium in order to establish a Polish-language feed, with the territory's counterpart based in Warsaw. All the while, Hungarian, Romanian, Czech and Slovakian feeds were developed for a regional launch in April 1996 (about 2½ years after the channel's original launch). A Russia/CIS feed was delayed until late the following month.

The same month that the Central & Eastern European feeds went on-air, MiniVision was renamed MiniChannel (a name previously discussed with a logo tested in 1995 but delayed due to "contractual stipulations"), as Gustavsson thought the name sounded "more youthful" unlike the "overly plain" original. Also that year, the timeshare with Home Shopping Network ended, to be replaced with Warner Channel (an offshoot of Warner Bros.' pay TV channel from Latin America, albeit limited to films and American TV series) with the broadcast extended to 11 PM.

Conflict of interest and continued success[]

MiniChannel continued to run smoothly with consistent viewership but ran into issues in 1998, when a Scandinavian version of Fox Kids was launched on cable in the spring of that year. While MiniChannel was able to thrive against Cartoon Network (despite Warner's purchase of Turner) because the latter was a pay channel, Fox Kids was not.

This caused dispute from the channel's higher-ups with Saban International and Fox Kids Worldwide regarding broadcast of Magic World's series with whom the former was involved (e.g. F.U.R. and Woodland Wheelers) as well as DIC's The Super Mario Bros. Super Show!. This even made local news in the Nordic countries and prompted young fans to write in letters of protest, mainly because F.U.R. was at the time one of the most popular cartoons aired on the channel.

However, viewer support barely succeeded, in that an agreement was soon made that Magic World/Saban's programs would only last another six months on the channel before they were to be removed altogether. F.U.R. and Woodland Wheelers were thus moved to Fox Kids during this time.

Noticing the success of Latin American telenovelas among European audiences (especially in Poland, the Balkans and Russia), MiniChannel made an effort to acquire telenovelas aimed towards youth audiences for the channel. The rights for the Mexican series Carrusel and Gotita de amor (the former of which had previously been shown successfully in parts of Europe) and the Argentine series Chiquititas were acquired and soon premiered on the network, becoming successful additions to its schedule. The success of Chiquititas on the channel would also result in MiniChannel picking up several other series from creator Cris Morena in later years, including Rebelde Way and Floricienta. Also included in Televisa's package deal that gave the network the rights to Carrusel and Gotita de amor was two sitcoms from comedian Chespirito, El Chavo del Ocho and El Chapulín Colorado, which, coincidentally, also had success in Europe (particularly in Italy and France). Although Gustavsson was unsure of the success the two would have in comparison to the telenovelas they acquired, noting their region-specific humor, they would gain popularity as well once they premiered on the network soon after.

Experimentation with anime[]

The unprecedented success of Pokémon, Dragon Ball Z and other shows in the late 90's grabbed Minivision's attention. Despite considerable debate from the channel's leadership (with one side arguing it could be alienating to viewers more accustomed to smoother content on the channel), it was decided to try and aid the channel's profits by looking for anime series to purchase.

However, broadcast arrangements for Pokémon in territories covered by MiniChannel had either already been or were about to be arranged and Minivision didn't feel they could negotiate with other channels. Dragon Ball Z was also rejected by the channel because it was deemed "too violent" and, once again, ill-suited to the general tone of the channel.

Soon after, Sailor Moon was offered to and accepted by the channel along with magical girl anime Wedding Peach, Detective Conan, Yaiba, Hello Kitty & Friends, Bonobono and Monster Rancher by the end of 1999. With the exceptions of Detective Conan, Hello Kitty and Monster Rancher (the former of which had a dub made in Paris, France and the latter two of which used pre-existing dubs supplied by their distributors), these shows were dubbed primarily in London, England using primarily American and Canadian expatriates (who also did voice work in dubs for Manga Entertainment) with this base aired on the Nordic English feed. Notably, despite nominal edits to still be palatable for a youth-oriented channel, the scripts followed a more loyal translation with ample reference to negative events intact.

This caught the attention of the channel's viewer base and proved to be a unique and popular addition to the schedule until sometime in 2003.

Further success in the new millennium[]

MiniChannel, undeterred by rivalry with Fox Kids, Cartoon Network and Nickelodeon, continued to enjoy steady viewership in the beginning of the 2000's. By then, MiniChannel-branded products (such as toys, books, music CD's, lunchboxes and clothing) featuring the likenesses of the hosts and even some characters from the channel's most popular shows generated massive sales in all the countries where it transmitted. Long before then, the channel no longer treated its broadcast reception in the United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland as "accidental" and had been marketing itself with increased visibility, particularly since the abrupt end of Flextech's TCC two years prior.

Warner Channel had also stopped timesharing in 2000, allowing MiniChannel to broadcast 24 hours a day. They initially only broadcast “previews” of this week’s new programming, before this was scrapped and they just showed reruns during the night.

What was described as a "peak" of the channel's branding occurred in 2001, when translated adaptations of Los Dibujéroes, an Argentine/Uruguayan crossover stage musical produced by Producciones ZAP!! (of whom Magic World was a consortium member) and featuring many characters from assorted cartoons, toured in separate versions with local casts throughout most of the countries where it was aired, known informally as MiniChannel MegaSquad Live.

Although MiniChannel MegaSquad faced budgeting and cost issues in production, sales of admissions (and additional performances prompted by such) along with the CD albums and VHS/DVD releases of filmed productions earned enough money to break even, also winning the positive response of young fans and their parents/guardians alike.

While considerably prosperous during the early 2000's, higher-ups at Minivision AB were plunged into concern when co-founder Gustavsson was suddenly forced to step down from his position due to health issues in spring 2003. While Algot Lagerfield, a close associate of Gustavsson, seemed like a promising replacement at first, he soon turned out to be partially inexperienced with managing a television channel and called in various friends to help him with doing so.

BlockPartyLogo

The logo for Block Party, used from 2004 to 2009. The first logo, used from 2003 to 2004, had the text not in italics.

In 2003, MiniChannel launched a late-night block named Block Party. It did not cater to the same audience as the rest of the channel, but it provided a mix of unique content. These included reruns of mindless sitcoms, infomercials, rebroadcasts of random sports games, televangelists that paid their way onto the schedule, various political punditry, forecasts from The Weather Channel, late-night talk shows (almost always from other networks), educational content for the sake of Cable in the Classroom, and random indie films. The block would later introduce several original adult animated shows, as well as reruns of anime that wouldn’t fit on the main channel. It aired from 11:00 PM to 5:00 AM every night until the channel shut down in 2009.

Lagerfield takes the helm[]

The period in which Lagerfield and his partners took control of the channel was notably marked by changes in the programming schedule. Lagerfield took issue with "violence" on some of the Warner Bros. cartoons and anime featured on the block and went to great lengths to minimize (if not cut entirely) their airtime, much to the chagrin of other Minivision employees and especially the young audience.

Haddad fought tooth and nail to prevent everything Lagerfield singled out from getting removed until the latter was forced to acquiesce and then relegated them to a designated time of weekdays and weekends, with preschooler-oriented and general slice of life/comedy programs airing for a longer time than before. Even with these concessions, the reduction of highly rated cartoons on the schedule (such as Batman the Animated Series) began to affect viewership, with young fans being vocal in their disapproval through handwritten letters and emails sent to Minivision headquarters.

By sometime in 2004, Lagerfield was once again forced to alter the schedule under protest, with then-recent Teen Titans proving to be one of the show's biggest ratings successes in years. The preschooler-oriented programming was only shortened by 15 minutes less than when the trouble began, however.

Attempted rebrand[]

In 2005, Lagerfield decided to rebrand the channel as MiniC in an attempt to "simplify" and "better reach the youth of the 2000's". Suspiciously, he did not formally announce this change to the public but kept it between himself and his trusted associates (also not informing Haddad nor Gustavsson beforehand).

In September of that year, MiniChannel was suddenly identified on-air as MiniC, with almost immediate backlash from viewers. Block Party was also briefly scrapped, as it did not fit with Lagerfield’s ideal kids channel. While Lagerfield once again gave in to complaints, the channel was contractually obligated to keep the identity on-air for at least six months, at which point it had returned to identifying as MiniChannel by April of 2006.

Issues within its final years[]

Though viewership remained steady, Algot Lagerfield continued to chafe at Minivision's efforts to prevent him from acting upon his desire to turn the channel into a "non-violent family entertainment" network, but (according to those closest to him) did not step down nor offer the position to anyone else because he "stayed for profits". Action cartoon programming was reduced once more in 2006 such that by 2007, Teen Titans and Loonatics Unleashed were just two from a handful of such aired on the channel.

Meanwhile, Magic World was facing an ongoing legal conflict with The Walt Disney Company and looking to buy back distribution rights to some of its cartoons (those originally produced by Saban and had been airing on Jetix channels by then). In the interim, MiniChannel had decreased investment in original productions, mainly due to Lagerfield's increasing apathy with the channel and Magic World's fear of bankruptcy if they were to lose their battle with Disney.

Another threat to the channel's continued existence occurred in 2007, with news of KidsCo (a joint venture which included MiniChannel providers DiC and Corus Entertainment) being set to launch in much of Europe (particularly Central & Eastern Europe) starting later that year. MiniChannel higher-ups were "devastated" by this turn of events and hastily announced to CEE area viewers that various shows from both studios would be off the air within the coming months.

While only the Central & Eastern European feeds of MiniChannel were affected by this change, Minivision AB saw little reason to continue operating the network, citing financial issues from Magic World themselves, constant objections from viewers ever since Lagerfield took charge, progressively declining viewership and other problems as motivation to pull the plug on MiniChannel altogether in 2008.

Final broadcasts[]

During the first half of 2008 (especially true of the Central & Eastern European feeds), the channel's schedule consisted primarily of reruns and it was announced in February that the channel would be shutting down in all areas of broadcast over three months later on May 31st. Viewers were encouraged to utilize whatever recording technology they had on hand (such as VCRs and DVRs) to record episodes of their favorite shows before this date.

Block Party ended on May 30th after the Friends episode “The One with the Giant Poking Device” and a simulcast of The Weather Channel, before switching back to MiniChannel as usual.

The channel ended with the Road Rovers episode "A Day In The Life" and Teen Titans episode "Things Change", shortly before a montage and short animation aired at 7:30 PM (19:30) at which point the channel ran a test card, ultimately concluding the channel's broadcasts after less than 15 years on the air.

Mascots[]

In different regions, MiniChannel had local mascots representing their respective nations depicted with puppetry. The Nordic region in particular was represented through the following six characters:

Programming[]

The majority of MiniChannel's content was acquired and imported, mainly from key contributor Magic World as well as CINAR, DIC Entertainment, D'Ocon Films and most notably Warner Bros. Animation among other studios, also airing some Canadian, British, European, Australian and Latin American shows. On early weekday mornings, the channel operated a preschooler-oriented strand before switching to general audience content around noon.

Acquired[]

Cartoons[]

Live action/puppet[]

Original[]

Cartoons[]

Live action/puppet[]

Region-specific[]

Merchandise[]

The channel spawned many products bearing the MiniChannel name, which were sold throughout the Nordic, Eastern and Central European regions, the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland. These included plushes and figurines/playsets, a magazine, lunchboxes, stationery, CD albums, board games and so forth. Manufacturers and distributors included Brio, Trefl, Koh-i-Noor Hardtmuth, Egmont Group, Skífan and BMG etc.

Another common product was a series of multimedia CD-ROMs from various developers (Krakóm-FPG, Comportu SA, BUGS Programmers AB and Rufus Entertainments), primarily consisting of games, music tracks, wallpapers, screensavers and other content, generally featuring the likeness of a television program aired on the channel. These were often made available for free inside cereal boxes or included as bonuses in licensed books among other forms.

By a similar token, video games (particularly for personal computers) based on either the channel itself or its most popular programs were at first published by multinational company Nordy (in conjunction with Levande Böcker i Norden AB and Infogrames) before the rights were transferred to PAN Vision AB.

In 2003, McDonald's restaurants in the Nordic region promoted MiniChannel's 10th anniversary of its launch with Happy Meal premiums and food items.

MiniChannel also had an especially popular tie-in product in the form of MiniPop, a line of fruit juice-based drinks featuring characters from various Magic World shows (though strangely, F.U.R. was included despite the conflict in 1998 with Fox Kids over broadcast rights). The drinks were sold in Central & Eastern Europe and manufactured by German organic food business Eckardt-VDP until 2008.

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