Canal Panda is a Portuguese basic cable and satellite television channel, which was the first cable channel dedicated to children's programming, mostly animated series. The channel was founded in 1996 as Panda Club in Spain and Portugal, but the name was changed to Canal Panda in 1997. In 2000, the channel left Spain, thus concentrating efforts on the Portuguese market. The mascot is in fact a panda, hence the name. Canal Panda is currently owned by Dreamia, a joint-venture between AMC Networks International Iberia and NOS.