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Extra! Extra!

Local station signs off on time; children say bye‑bye

Kids' TV goes back on a schedule. Shows come on by themselves, and when time's up the station leaves the air. Not mom. Not dad.

On the air
Pictured: Arjun TV leaves the air at 1:37 p.m. sharp, with colour bars and a goodbye.

Remember when TV came on a schedule? Cartoons at eight, gone by nine. Nobody binge-watched: it started, and it ended. Today one video rolls into the next, and the only off switch is a parent.

SaturdayMornings.tv brings the schedule back. Parents pick the shows they trust, whole YouTube channels or single videos, and choose exactly when each one is on the air. Each child gets their own channel on the family TV.

When it's time, the channel comes on by itself. Children can pause, but there is no endless “one more”. And when the slot ends, the station signs off with colour bars and a friendly goodbye, until tomorrow.

No timers to argue with, no remote to hide. It's just over, like real TV, until tomorrow.

Inside this edition
Film

ParentsYou pick the shows. You pick the times.

Set it all up on your phone. Add the channels, playlists and videos you trust, then put them in time slots: weekdays at eight, weekends at half past twelve. No remote-control typing, ever.

Film

On the airIt comes on by itself

When a slot begins, the channel goes on the air on its own, with its own ident and a clock in the corner. Kids can pause, but there's no autoplay and no “up next” rabbit hole.

Film

ChildrenEvery child gets their own channel

CH 1 is Arjun's. CH 3 is Ameya's. On the remote it just feels like TV.

Film

ListingsThe Channels Guide is back

What's on, what's next, and when their channel comes back. Waiting becomes part of the fun.

Film

Set-upLink the TV once, with a short code

Type a short code from the TV into your phone, just once. Kids never see any of the settings.

Every feature, in the funnies →

World news
World newsSatire

Toddlers take to the squares: “We want one more!”

From Trafalgar Square to Times Square, under-eights march against the station that signs off on time. Most protests ended promptly at 8:45.

UP NEXT:ME!BRING BAKAUTOPLAYWE WANTCARTUNS5 MOREMINITSTV IS AHOOMAN RITESNACKS +SHOWS8:45 ISTOO ERLYONEMORE!!NOTFAIR!!NO MORECOLOUR BARS
London: Trafalgar Square. Protesters gather beneath Nelson's Column. Several had to leave early for a nap.

Crowds of three- to eight-year-olds gathered in famous squares around the world this Saturday, waving crayon placards and demanding the return of “just one more”.

The marchers object to SaturdayMornings.tv, a children's TV station run by parents, which puts shows on at set times and then, to widespread outrage, signs off.

“I was watching that,” said one protester, aged four, in London, shortly before being carried home for a nap.

In New York, demonstrators chanted “What do we want? Five more minutes! When do we want it? Now!” until it was time for lunch.

Organisers in Paris, Delhi and Toronto reported strong turnout, though the Toronto rally dispersed at 8:45 sharp, when the station signed off and everyone went to play outside.

Parents were unavailable for comment. Several were reported to be enjoying a cup of tea.

More wire photos from around the world
SNACKSTOONSWOW!NEW!SATURDAYMORNINGSIT STARTS. IT ENDS. ONEMORE!!BRING BAKAUTOPLAYUP NEXT:ME!SNACKS +SHOWSI WASWATCHINGTHAT!8:45 ISTOO ERLYNO MORECOLOUR BARSBEDTIME ISA TRICKDOWN WITHSKEDULESWHY DOESIT END??
New York: Times Square. Under-eights rally beneath the billboards. One sign was spelled correctly.
5 MOREMINITSUP NEXT:ME!NOTFAIR!!DOWN WITHSKEDULESWHY DOESIT END??8:45 ISTOO ERLYBEDTIME ISA TRICKI WASWATCHINGTHAT!NO MORECOLOUR BARSONEMORE!!
Paris: the Trocadéro. “Encore un !” chanted the crowd, to no avail.
WE WANTCARTUNS8:45 ISTOO ERLYBRING BAKAUTOPLAYBEDTIME ISA TRICKONEMORE!!I WASWATCHINGTHAT!SNACKS +SHOWSWHY DOESIT END??NOTFAIR!!TV IS AHOOMAN RITE
Delhi: India Gate. Marchers demand “five more minutes”. Talks broke down at snack time.
TORONTO 5 MOREMINITSSNACKS +SHOWSONEMORE!!BEDTIME ISA TRICKNOTFAIR!!WE WANTCARTUNSWHY DOESIT END??TV IS AHOOMAN RITE8:45 ISTOO ERLYBRING BAKAUTOPLAY
Toronto: Nathan Phillips Square. The rally ended promptly at 8:45, when the station signed off.
The funnies

Just One More! A strip in four panels

A cartoon playing on the TVSaturday, 8:42 a.m.Just ONE more!
An endless list of up-next videosThe old way…AUTOPLAY!
The TV signs off with colour bars and a goodbye card8:45 sharp. The station signs off.Oh! It's over.
The Saturday Mornings logoNo tears. No fight.See you tomorrow, TV!
Opinion & classifieds
A letter from the editor

“TELUS switches off the TV,” my son told me.

He was sure of it. When his show ended, it wasn't us saying no; the TV company had simply switched it off. And he accepted it, the way we all accepted that cartoons were over by nine on a Saturday.

That small belief did more than any timer. So I built it for real: a little TV station for my kids, that comes on when I've said it can, and signs off on its own. This paper is the story of that station. I hope it makes your mornings a little more like the ones you remember.

— Rohan, Arjun's dad

Draft in Rohan's voice: edit freely.

The free edition

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