Gulli was created as a result of a partnership between a kids-television pioneer Lagardère Active and the state-owned France Télévisions.

[3] The former is known due to its children's network, Canal J, while the latter has a long history investing in kids programming through its youth-oriented division on France 3.

[6] Until then, the two groups were bound by a shareholders' agreement with a non-competition clause, which made it impossible for France Télévisions to create a public youth channel, as the Minister of Culture Aurélie Filippetti had hoped.

[10] In 2019, Lagardère Active sold its television division to Groupe M6 in a €215 million deal, effective from 2 September.

[11][12] On 3 January 2022, the new time-slot brand Gulli Prime was launched for evenings, targeting all family with a focus on adults.

[13][14] As Gulli is the only consistently profitable digital channel, M6 was hoping to sell it at a good price along with Tiji and Canal J.

[citation needed] The network has been exported in dedicated versions for Russia, Africa, the MENA region, and Brazil, broadcasting in Russian, French, Arabic and previously Brazilian Portuguese.

[33] The Russian feed was renamed "Gulli Girl" in 2016 and broadcasts series aimed at a young female audience.