YTV launched on September 1, 1988 with a primetime special hosted by Scarborough local John Candy. The company was active from 1968 to 1995.
The Afterschool Zone – later known as The Zone – launched in 1991, and was hosted by a rotating group of “Program Jockeys” (PJs). The initial group of PJs included PJ Jazzy, Gord the PJ Man, and PJ “Fresh” Phil, acted by Janis Mackey, Gordon Michael Woolvert, and Phil Guerrerro respectively.