KTV[1], d.b.a. "Kâlenitelevis Publikâtosak Kolegâni" (meaning "Kalennian Television Broadcasting Associates"), is an independently-owned American Kalennian-language free-to-air television channel and private broadcasting company.
History[]
KTV was launched on February 14, 1978, in the town of Sitrobân, Rovârki-Trâsimku, in the United States. It was founded by sisters Dekubinâ Kademyâ and Esâdakovâ Kademyâ (other people that later joined the company due to interest were Tenyemhâde Varyâta, Sukhâmulha Davisâ, Tigherâ Trâsimku, Sanâhâtye Vâkito, Lâbonva Yoskamha, Sâmvido Gârisi-Bâdekâla, Dhelevâlu Lhesekilâ, Bidonhi Murâva, Midâgo Sâkadenâ, Govâmis Sikâdavo, Gâbhudu Rovârki, Gelhon Vâsaghadi, Sobhegalhâ Bâdekâla, Kighetosyâlâ Dinughâ, and Novekâ Gânvidhe), who all formed the broadcasting company of the same name ("Kâlenitelevis"), after a couple of days consisting of planning, setting up equipment, and and collaboration were in progress. KTV was created to provide entertainment for the increasingly growing Kalennian speaking audience, but during its early years from 1978-1979, the company’s network did not get much traction, as it was mostly acknowledged by Kalennian (and American) news outlets as "a simple channel for Kalennian audiences". In 1980, the broadcasting company established a programming department in the town of Eslovân, Sitâlhe go Trânkilte, Rovârki-Trâsimku, which has been responsible for planning and scheduling content, including original shows, movies, and educational programs. The department, named "Progâmani Dipârta go KTV" (translating to "Programs Section of KTV"; abbreviated to "KTVPD"), worked on curating the programming lineup to appeal to their audience and ensure a diverse range of content is available. The KTVPD was also responsible for the creation of KTV's first-ever venture into children's programming, a programming block named KTV Yalkânni (launched on November 13, 1985). KTV Yalkânni aired Kalennian-dubbed American cartoons that aired on many Saturday morning channels/programming blocks reaching high viewership at the time; this choice of programming would make KTV Yalkânni more accessible to not only Kalennian audiences, but English speakers looking to learn the language, and soon the programming block would become popular with families across Rovârki-Trâsimku and the US. KTV Yalkânni's first-ever originally-produced Kalennian-language animated children's show was "Ramirkâ yâ Aviyânkanite", on May 23, 1989. On April 3, 1983, the company established a home video division of KTV, called "KTV Votyoni" (translated as "KTV Photos"; "votyo", the Kalennian word for "photo", is used colloquially to refer to films/movies of any kind, and not just pictures) that distributed the channel's various Kalennian-dubbed programs onto VHS - the division has since then moved to distributing KTV's programming onto DVD, as they have stopped distributing VHS tapes in February 2000. On September 24, 2002, KTV announced that they (literally translated) “would be going global, and expanding [our] public image to more Kalennians across this planet of ours” by launching a sister channel called “KTVG” (standing for “Kâlenitelevis Globâli”, meaning “Kalennian Television International”) which is aimed at the Kalennian-speaking diaspora that stretches across some parts of the world, mainly South America and Europe. KTVG serves as a syndication and international rebroadcasting arm of KTV, making it the first ever bilingual TV channel for both English and Kalennian speakers around the world. It airs most of KTV’s main programming (often dubbed into Kalennian) along with a small amount of English-language content, mainly for accessibility and diaspora engagement. On May 27, 1999, KTV launched their first-ever subsidiary, called "Kâbel go KTV", which served as KTV's cable provider/division. In early 2002, KTV broadcasted their first ever originally produced series for their main programming, titled “Naito-ish”, which was met with both praise and harsh criticism from critics across the country. On May 31, 2002, KTV decided to expand its presence by "going on the radio", and (as an attempt) launched the radio station KTV-RP (standing for “Kâlenitelevis Râdyo Publikâtosak”; meaning “Kalennian Television Radio Broadcasting”). KTV-RP was designed to complement KTV's television offerings, providing a platform for audio content that included daily news segments focusing on local, regional, and international events (presented in the Kalennian language to keep listeners informed), a variety of programs featuring music, talk shows, and interviews with notable figures in the Kalennian community, as well as curated playlists featuring both traditional Kalennian music and contemporary hits, appealing to a wide range of listeners and promoting local arthouse artists, and programs aimed at educating the audience on various topics, including language learning, history, and health, providing valuable resources to listeners. The station also encouraged listener participation through call-ins and social media. This strategy was crucial in addressing the needs of Kalennian speakers, particularly in diaspora communities. Despite its promising start, KTV-RP faced several challenges, including the rise of digital platforms and competition with other radio stations made it difficult to maintain a listener base. Budget cuts and resource allocation issues hindered programming quality and reach, and as audiences increasingly turned to on-demand content, traditional radio struggled to retain relevance. After KTV-RP received low ratings and a few negative reviews from fans, KTV announced that they would shut the radio station down after 16 years on the air. The decision was made as KTV deemed the station obsolete and unable to compete with other popular radio stations in the United States, and it was also during this time that KTV also transitioned from analog to digital terrestrial broadcasting in October 2001. Consequently, KTV-RP was almost scrubbed from the internet by some and is rarely ever discussed in conversation as of today, marking its existence as somewhat forgettable. KTV is infamously known for its Overcast Scandal - being initially acquired by defunct public broadcaster Overcast (originally a cable-installing service in 2003) in November 2009, it was turned into one of their member stations called KCFD-TV. It sparked an outcry within the Kalennian-speaking community. Once the news came out, informing people about the July 2011 hijacking incident, it further heightened the tension between Overcast and the Kalennian community. In January of 2012, celebrating New Year's Day, it got rebranded back to KTV on January 1, 2012 after the ownership was turned back to the original owners. The company, KTV, sent Overcast a sternly-worded cease-and-desist letter, threatening the public broadcaster to turn back the ownership of the channel to them in late December 2011, and Overcast ceased operations 1 day before the rebrand took place (and the controversy surrounding Overcast was over). This decision was what pushed KTV to become one of the most well-known TV channels by the Kalennian community, as many celebrated KTV's comeback; this period was when KTV planned to finally expand their line of programming, after 41 years of struggling to stay afloat and find an audience. Then, in 2018, KTV created yet another original show, the adult animated satirical dark comedy series Kâptikânni (English: Stickpeople), which first premiered on October 2, 2018 to critical acclaim, and is about two anthropomorphic stick figures (Rosâm (red) and Blâk (black)) as they navigate life, set in a fictionalized version of Rovârki-Trâsimku. Kâptikânni is the first adult animated series aimed at Kalennian-speaking audiences. The show, however, has been criticized by many for its provocative and often violent subject matter, deeming it “too degenerate for television, especially when created for an almost marginalized demographic of Kalennian speakers”. Despite numerous protests nationwide telling the network to cease airing the show, Kâptikânni has still continued to run for 2 more seasons after, as it received more critical acclaim. Its latest season (season 6) was announced on February 23, 2025. KTV also ventured into art (not just general television) as they are also an art collective: KTV have shown their experimental art of famous American/Kalennian celebrities, art of characters from the channel's original Kalennian programming, and their television mascot Kevinâ, numbers of times since 2005 in art exhibitions such as Deitch Projects; they also allow the viewers to send in fan mail and have them show it on-air during interstitials. As of today, KTV has become the most well-known television network catered to the Kalennian community, and is broadcasted all around the world (not just in the Americas) with KTV’s sister TV channel KTVG (KTV International), and still airs imported English-language programming dubbed into Kalennian (by dubbing studios BlueGrass and Trânko Lumâras), along with some original animated series. KTV also operates three television channels, all of which are distributed free-to-air via a nationwide ATSC network (formerly using a NTSC network at the time of KTV's launch in 1978), and are broadcasted all around the world (not just in the Americas; KTV's channels were not affected by the 2009 Overcast Scandal however): KTVG (launched on September 24, 2002), which serves as a syndication and international rebroadcasting arm of KTV and airs most of KTV’s main programming (dubbed into Kalennian) along with a small amount of English and Spanish-language content worldwide and outside of the US (mainly for accessibility and diaspora engagement), Dimensânni! (launched on March 21, 2016), which airs action, anime and horror movies, KTVX (launched on January 10, 2019 as an international channel outside of the US), which airs documentaries, nonfiction movies, and true crime content exclusively in the Kalennian language, and TVK (launched on December 14, 2000), which broadcasts educational content, classic television series from the 1930s-1990s and KTV original series in the Kandese language. In 2022, KTV received 4 Emmy Awards for Excellence in American National Children's and Family-Oriented Television Programming, and 3 Annie Awards for Best Animated Programming in Television, Film, and Multimedia. In October 2025, Fox cancelled the animated television show, The Great North, and KTV responded by snagging the broadcasting rights to the show altogether (with Fox's permission).
Schedule[]
KTV has struggled with a consistent schedule since its launch on February 14, 1978. However, in 2002, the Kademyâ sisters thought up of two new programming blocks to accompany their channel (KTV)’s main programming (even though they already have the children’s programming block KTV Yalkânni), and this lead to the company introducing 2 short-lived programming blocks called KTV Musik and KTV Ivmarga on May 12, 2002.
KTV Musik was a programming block that aired from 10:00 am to 1:00 am on KTV that mainly aired music videos. This block had a very short lifespan, and considering that KTV, during 2005, was heavily focusing on bringing educational content to Kalennian-speaking children with their programming block KTV Yalkânni (launched on May 6, 1980), they considered KTV Musik to be a hindrance, as it interfered with their channel’s normal schedule, and most of the team on KTV were struggling to find a suitable audience for the block.
KTV Ivmarga was a programming block that aired daily American news and info to Kalennian viewers (mostly adults aged 18-49) in the Kalennian language, from 1:00 am to 6:00 am on KTV. Like KTV Musik, this block was also short-lived due to low ratings and financial difficulties, and it drew criticism for allegedly spreading misinformation.
After this rough attempt, both KTV Musik and KTV Ivmarga were shut down in December 23, 2005 for good; KTV Ivmarga’s concept was later folded into the "Ivmarga" page on KTV's website, via ktv.com.ka/ivmarga, and KTV Musik was also later folded into KTV’s sister channel “Dimensânni!”, which was originally a channel that aired anime shows and experimental music, but later branched out to include video game-centered content, experimental programming featuring disc jockeys, and sci-fi/action programming.
After the ending of the controversial Overcast Scandal on December 29, 2011, KTV planned to "reinvent" themselves by recreating their schedule to include a children's programming block called KTV Yalkânni (which originally aired daily on the network since 1985, but was made defunct by Overcast in November of 2009, when Overcast renamed it to Yabkân TV, until January 1, 2012, when it was rightfully renamed back to KTV Yalkânni by its original owners, KTV, and KTV later expanded its programming lineup), along with the channel's main programming (Kâlenitelevis) after.
| Programming block | Starting timeframe | Ending timeframe |
|---|---|---|
|
5:00 am | 9:59 am |
|
10:00 am | 12:00 am |
It is important to note that after KTV broadcasts their programming, they shutdown at the 12:00 am timeframe (ending with the song “Esotko Naito”), and then start back up by four hours after midnight as KTV Yalkânni (the children’s programming block of KTV). But sometimes (predominantly on weekends), KTV does not cease broadcasting at 12:00 am and continues to broadcast until 5:00 am, when the KTV Yalkânni block starts.
Programming[]
Here is the programming for each block (including KTV itself).
Keep in mind that most of the programming is imported (and dubbed or subbed exclusively in Kalennian), but some of them are original Kalennian-language productions. This is because KTV has had secured legal licensing (through a formal contract) since its launch.
KTV / KTVG[]
The Big Bang Theory
Pisânni (Friends)
MasterChef
Brockmire
Arrested Development [formerly]
Stanyâ Kârsidu Vatkeyâsiga (Stan Against Evil)
Mustani go Domi Kâtanni (Days of Our Lives)
Dâb Hanrâbinto Vakam (Just Shoot Me)
NCIS
Breaking Bad
Futurama
Kam Silenkâlahe Vadâb
Parks and Recreation
The Neighborhood
Y’Elefânti Âm Yâ Kimâbro
Everybody Still Hates Chris
Battlestar Galactica
Seinfeld
Star Trek
Snowpiercer
Undone
Brooklyn Nine-Nine
The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina
The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air
The Great North
The Goldbergs
The Boys
House, M.D.
Lâpudhi âm Obsoletâ
Better Call Saul
Inside Job
2 Broke Girls
Scrubs
Law & Order: Special Victims Unit
Everybody Hates Chris
Limitless
Yâ Simpsânni (The Simpsons)
Segments[]
KTV's programming also has 2 segments. These segments were also implemented into the 2012 schedule KTV used after the Overcast Scandal.
Horâ go Kidorsak[]
Translating to "Learning Hour", this segment dove into more complex and intellectually stimulating content, featuring documentaries and Kalennian-language learning content. This segment starts at 10:00 am and ends at 12:54 pm to start KTV's main programming every Monday and Tuesday.
The concept of Horâ go Kidorsak was later used for KTV's international sister channel KTVX, which was launched on January 10, 2019 in Scandinavia, and later November 25, 2021 in Asia, Africa, and South America; KTVG's Scandinavia feed would soon shut down to make way for the channel the next day, on January 16, 2019 (on the cable provider Allente, as they ended their contract with KTV on December 21, 2018, however KTVG still continues to be available on other Scandinavian cable providers as of late). This move would be seen as controversial to some people, knowing that they wanted more accessibility to KTV's original content. KTVX's programming predominantly features documentaries, nonfiction movies, and true crime content exclusively in the Kalennian language, and its programming lineup was later added to KTV's freemium streaming service, KTV Max, on its launch of February 14, 2020, along with the content of KTV's main channel itself, KTV Yalkânni, and Dimensânni!.
Naito go Filmâni[]
Translating to "Night of Movies/Films[2]", this segment takes over KTV's regular programming every Friday at 10:00 pm. The segment airs mainly American and foreign movies that are either subbed or dubbed exclusively in Kalennian, by the dubbing studio Trânko Lumâras. However, the airing of the segment was brought to a halt in late 2022 after KTV aired the David Lynch movie Inland Empire on "Naito go Filmâni" (specifically on April 1, 2022 at 10:30 p.m; this was for the channel's "Lynch Supremacy" marathon), and the company received a few confused/angry letters from their viewers asking what they just watched. Later in January 2023, KTV brought back the segment, and its runtime was extended to Fridays and Saturdays as of now.
Defunct KTV segments[]
KTV Ânime[]
This segment, launched in February of 2020, took over KTV's regular programming every Saturday night at 7:52 pm. The segment predominantly aired famous Japanese-language anime television shows and movies subbed exclusively in Kalennian (including "Dragon Ball Z", "Fairy Tail", "My Hero Academia", etc.), by the company Valkâra. On September 24, 2021, KTV announced that KTV Ânime would go defunct in favor of a new channel being launched (which is under KTV’s supervision) called Animax, which airs Japanese-language anime television shows and movies subtitled exclusively in Kalennian. However, KTV later announced that Animax would be shutting down in April 2022, due to the fact they already have a channel called Dimensânni!, which predominantly airs anime shows, action, sci-fi, and horror movies (apparently, during this period, the company was still focusing on expanding their main channel's programming, and forgot about Dimensânni!. It is also important to note that the company's sister channels, Dimensânni! and KTVG, were barely affected by the Overcast Scandal); "Dragon Ball Z", "Fairy Tail", and "My Hero Academia" were later added to Dimensânni's lineup after the fact.
KTV Yalkânni[]
Kaeloo
Phineas âd Ferb (Phineas and Ferb)
Tree Fu Tom
Alvin âd yâ Chipmunks (ALVINNN!!! And The Chipmunks)
Kipper
Trotro
Topo Gigio
Yâ Weird Al Show (The Weird Al Show)
Skâmbe, Pâpyer, Artadhâk (Rock Paper Scissors)
Rolie Polie Olie
Justin Time
SpodhâBobâ SkrâyayâtGârminat (Spongebob Squarepants)
Simye Râdye Kanite Velno Rodânti âd Vrâmalhe (Boy Girl Dog Cat Mouse Cheese)
Kolâtis Eplâguni (The Strange Chores)
Babar
Fishtronaut
Monikâ âd Gâli Pisânni (Monica's Gang)
Wow, Wow, Wubbzy!
Yâ Piksi Dehusprântini (The Fairly OddParents)
Doki
Charlie âd Lola (Charlie and Lola)
Ramirkâ yâ Aviyânkanite
Pocoyo
Pepâ Suvinâ (Peppa Pig)
Segments[]
Just like KTV's main programming, KTV has also implemented a segment into KTV Yalkânni's schedule after the 2001 rebrand.
Poldeyo Sâtunemusni[]
Translating to "Crazy Saturdays", this segment covers up KTV Yalkânni's main programming, and airs reruns of old Kalennian preschool animated series that have aired on the block from 1990-1998 prior (which include "Y'ikertâsak Krokâdalâni", "Yastolhâga âd Âkomodâkga", and "Hânhatsak vâs Ramirkâ") and American animated series (the only ones being "Looney Tunes" and "Merrie Melodies"), the latter dubbed into Kalennian. The segment airs every Saturday morning at 5:00 am, and ends at 7:04 pm.
Television mascots[]
The reference sheet for Kevinâ and Lobâmna, the television mascots and presenters for KTV.
During the full run of KTV’s broadcasting on live television, KTV's main programming has never had a mascot present in its branding. Not until November 2009, when it was taken over by public broadcaster Overcast, and the new mascot for the channel was a blue ball named “Âsurle” that debuted in 2010. This also did not sit right with Kalennian people watching the channel, who were already angry at the branding KCFD-TV employed. Because of this, it was universally panned by the viewers, and there were even a few hate forums being formed around the internet, talking about how they “want to burn down the Overcast headquarters down and kill every single one of the employees that tarnished/blemished the reputation of KTV” on sites like KiwiFarms and 4Chan.
On January 1, 2015, celebrating 4 years since the end of the Overcast controversy (and New Year’s Day), KTV announced that they introduced a new mascot to the channel, named “Kevinâ”. Kevinâ (last name “Gânvidhe”) is a 17-year-old blue-colored male TV robot that wears a light blue suit with a blue tie, has a "plug tail" on his rear end, dark blue pants, and two blue TV antennae on the top of his head, which can bend depending on his emotional state. Kevinâ is the official presenter for KTV's main programming, as he appears during bumpers, and makes occasional appearances, mainly announcing upcoming shows and movies that will air on the channel (Kalennian voice actor & rapper Mâthegos Dvedâken serves as the continuity announcer of KTV's main programming, however). A small minority of viewers had a mixed opinion on the addition of Kevinâ, simply because of KCFD-TV (KTV’s former name, when it was acquired by international public broadcaster Overcast) originally having a mascot called “Âsurle” (the Kalennian noun for “blue”) that was panned by the viewers (not "Kevinâ", but "Âsurle"). Most of the English-speaking communities that got word of the Overcast controversy that happened were baffled by the whole ordeal, and questioned Overcast’s outlandish decision. When Kevinâ debuted on the channel (after the ending of the Overcast Scandal), however, it received critical acclaim from the viewers. Despite some of the negative feedback, Kevinâ has become an influential figure to Kalennian people watching the channel, and the mascot has been frequently included in the channel’s merch (via ktv.com.ka/kemisâni), and has also been used in promotional material for the channel. Kevinâ also appears on KTV’s sister channel KTVG. Kevinâ’s character design was conceived by Novekâ Gânvidhe, who handles the conceptual visual aspects of KTV’s branding along with Dekubinâ Kademyâ, and his animated form was provided by Esâdakovâ Kademyâ (who handles the animated aspects of the branding and serves as the main animator and storyboarder for KTV's television bumpers). Kevinâ is voiced by Singaporean-Kalennian non-binary singer and songwriter Vâduki Nanyâkol.
KTV later introduced a mascot for their children’s programming block KTV Yalkânni on November 13, 2012, named “Lobâmna” (named after one of the founders of Rovârki-Trâsimku; last name “Gânvidhe”), who is an 8-year-old yellow female TV robot with the same plug tail as Kevinâ. Lobâmna is voiced by Kalennian child actress Koberhu Mâlibha. It was confirmed by Esâdakovâ (who conceptualized the character design for Lobâmna) in a QnA session that was hosted by KTV (along with their fans) on February 14, 2019 that Lobâmna is biologically related to Kevinâ, as they are both siblings.
Mobile applications[]
The icon for KTV Aplâkis.
KTV's first-ever mobile application, named KTV Aplâkis (English: KTV Application), was launched on February 14, 2015. The app primarily serves as a news outlet for Kalennian viewers of the channel. It allows users to watch real-time live broadcasts of KTV and its two sister channels (note that Dimensânni is not included, as that is included in KTV's freemium streaming service KTV Max) and provides access to various KTV programs for free.
KTV Aplâkis also features an interactive programming guide and schedule that displays current shows and what’s coming up next. Additionally, it is well-known for its “Kelâs Kevinâ” (English: Call Kevinâ) feature, which enables users to call the KTV channel mascot, Kenâdi (as mentioned above). This feature sometimes allows users to prank call him, and get him extremely angry; this feature of the app has also become an inside joke in Kalennian internet culture.
KTV Aplâkis is available on the App Store and Google Play.
Branding history[]
See this page.
References[]
- ↑ KTV standing for "Kâlenitelevis", meaning “Kalennian Television"; IPA: /kɜlɛnitɛlɛviʃ/, /kɛtːɛvɛ/
- ↑ "Filmâ" (its plural form being "filmâni") is actually a shortened form of the word "malmânovotyo", literally meaning "moving photo", loaned from the English word "film". The shortening, and changing, of long words in Kalennian by its speakers has been made exceptionally common around regions of the U.S. where Kalennian is highly spoken.