Pokémon in the United Kingdom: Difference between revisions

On April 23, 2020 it was announced that [[S23|season 23]] of the anime would air exclusively on rival channel Pop<ref name="pop">[https://pokemon.gamespress.com/The-Pokemon-Company-International-Reveals-New-Animation-Trailer-and-De ''The Pokémon Company International Reveals New Animation Trailer and Details for Pokémon Journeys: The Series'' - The Pokémon Company International] (retrieved February 22, 2021)</ref> from September 1, 2020.

Episodes of the Pokémon anime were available on the service for up to 30 days after their broadcast on the CITV channel. On September 1, 2020, [[S23|season 23]] began airing on Pop, and Pokémon stopped being available on ITV Hub shortly thereafter.   

===Pop===

[[File:Pop channel logo.png|thumb|200px|Pop logo]]

{{wp|Pop (British and Irish TV channel)|Pop}}, and sister channel {{wp|Pop Max}}, are British children's television channels owned and operated by {{wp|Sony Pictures Television}}. Pop launched on October 1, 2002 as Toons & Tunes before rebranding in May 2003. Pop Max launched as Kix! on May 19, 2008 before rebranding in August 2017. Both channels were launched by {{wp|CSC Media Group}}, which was acquired by Sony on August 15, 2014<ref>[https://tbivision.com/2014/08/15/sony-closes-csc-deal-ups-kate-marsh/317571/ ''Sony closes CSC deal, ups Kate Marsh'' - Television Business International] (retrieved February 22, 2021)</ref>.

On January 1, 2018, Pop Max began airing episodes from ''[[Pokémon the Series: Black & White]]'', and from October 29, 2018, episodes from ''[[Pokémon the Series: XY]]''. These seasons were also then shown on Pop, and beginning March 4, 2019, Pop and Pop Max started airing ''[[Pokémon the Series: Diamond and Pearl]]'' followed by the [[original series]] in May 2019. In May 2020, Pop began airing ''[[Pokémon the Series: Sun & Moon]]'', while Pop Max re-aired ''Pokémon the Series: XY''.

The Pop website features a ''Pokémon Picture Puzzler'' {{wp|sliding puzzle}} game based on ''[[Pokémon the Series: Sun & Moon]]''<ref>[https://www.popfun.co.uk/games/pokemon-puzzle-game ''Pokémon Picture Puzzler'' - Pop] (retrieved February 22, 2021)</ref>, as well as a page about the [[Pokémon 25th Anniversary]]<ref>[https://www.popfun.co.uk/special/pokemon-day-celebrate-25th-anniversary ''Pokémon Day | Celebrate the 25th anniversary'' - Pop] (retrieved February 22, 2021)</ref>.

On April 23, 2020 it was announced that Pop would gain the exclusive rights to the Pokémon anime<ref name="pop" />, and on September 1, 2020, [[S23|season 23]] premiered on the channel.

====Pop Player====

[[File:Pop Player logo.png|thumb|150px|Pop Player logo]]

Pop Player is streaming {{wp|video on demand}} service, owned and operated by {{wp|Sony Pictures Television}} that launched on December 4, 2017. The service features shows from {{wp|Tiny Pop}}, POP and POP Max and is available via dedicated apps for {{wp|iOS}}, {{wp|Android (operating system)|Android}}, {{wp|PlayStation 4}} and other {{wp|Smart TV}} platforms<ref>[https://www.popfun.co.uk/special/pop-player ''Pop Player'' - Pop] (retrieved February 22, 2021)</ref>.

Pop Player features recently broadcast episodes of [[S23|season 23]] as well as a selection of ten episodes each from [[S17|seasons 17]] - [[S21|21]].

Between October 18 and November 15, 2019, a temporary [[Pokémon Center (store)#United Kingdom|Pokémon Center]] opened at the {{wp|Westfield London}} mall in {{wp|White City, London|White City}}, {{wp|London}} to celebrate the release of [[Pokémon Sword and Shield]] games; the [[Galar]] region in the games being based on the United Kingdom<ref>[https://www.pokemon.com/us/pokemon-news/we-interview-junichi-masuda-and-shigeru-ohmori-about-pokemon-sword-and-pokemon-shield/ ''We Interview Junichi Masuda and Shigeru Ohmori about Pokémon Sword and Pokémon Shield'' - Pokemon.com] (retrieved February 22, 2021)</ref>.