Created on 23 December 1985[2] at the initiative of the French corporation Group Hachette, Canal J was first broadcast as a cable network on Cergy-Pontoise.

As part of this new structure, Canal J was the first channel in 1988 to be available to all television providers for cable and community antenna through the Telecom 1C satellite system.

On 15 December 1990, the abandonment of the costly project of subscription-based terrestrial[3] and satellite broadcasting from TDF1 (covering Paris and other 22 cities in France) allowed Canal J to launch an ambitious strategy of investment in original programming, during which it started to produce and co-produce programmes.

This marks the start of the policy of production and co-production of programmes (with the broadcast of Cajou, Le Trésor des Templiers and Les Histoires du père Castor) On that same year, the channel increased its subscribers base from 330.000 to 550.000 customers.

On 14 November 1992, the launch of CanalSatellite analogique made Canal J available throughout all of France, as it was picked up by the provider as one of its seven channels offered to its customers.

[5] Canal J also broadcast Spirou and other morning programmes, such as Ciné Fourax and Atomes crochus, in order to increase its audience base.

Its application to broadcast on the pay-digital terrestrial television system in France was approved by the Superior Council of the Audiovisual on 13 September 2003.

The costs of broadcasting on digital terrestrial television were too expensive to be funded by the low number of subscribers Canal J had on that platform; due to this, the channel gave up its slot on DTT on 30 April 2009.

On 25 April of that same year, Canal J released its first animated TV series made in Creole aimed at its audience at the French Antilles.