You Can't Do That on Television premiered on February 3, 1979, on CJOH-TV in Ottawa. It was a one-hour, low-budget variety program with some segments performed live. The show consisted of comedy sketches, music videos, and live phone-in contests in which the viewer could win prizes such as transistor radios, record albums, model kits, etc.. After production ended in 1990, Nickelodeon aired reruns in the United States through 1994.