Cartoon Network
Cartoon Network is an American cable television channel operated by the Global Linear Networks division of Warner Bros. Discovery. Launched on October 1, 1992, it primarily broadcasts animated television series, mostly children's programming, ranging from action to animated comedy. It currently runs from 6 a.m. to 5 p.m. ET/PT daily. The flagship property of The Cartoon Network, Inc., it primarily targets children aged 6 to 12, though some early morning programming, formerly of the Cartoonito block, is aimed at preschool-aged children, while evening block Adult Swim targets young adults.
, Cartoon Network is available to approximately 66 million pay television households in the United States — down from its peak of 100 million households in 2011.
History
On August 9, 1986, Turner Broadcasting System acquired Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer/United Artists. On October 18, Turner forcibly sold back MGM. However, Turner kept much of the film and television library made before May 1986 and formed Turner Entertainment Co. On October 8, 1988, its cable channel Turner Network Television was launched and gained an audience with its extensive film library. In 1991, Turner also purchased the library of animation studio Hanna-Barbera. Ted Turner selected Betty Cohen to devise a network to house these programs. On February 18, 1992, Turner Broadcasting announced its plans to launch Cartoon Network as an outlet for an animation library. On March 12, 1992, its namesake parent company was founded one month after Turner's plan was announced. On October 1, 1992, the network officially launched as the first 24-hour single-genre cable channel with animation as its main theme. Betty Cohen was appointed as its first president.In 1994, Hanna-Barbera's new division Cartoon Network Studios was founded and started production on What a Cartoon!. This show debuted in 1995, offering original animated shorts. In 1996, Cartoon Network aired two preschool programs: Big Bag, a live-action/puppet television program with animated short series produced by Children's Television Workshop, and Small World, which featured animated series aimed at preschoolers imported from foreign countries. Turner Broadcasting System merged with Time Warner, which consolidated/reverted ownership of all the Warner Bros. cartoons. The network could then continue more original productions.
Programming
Cartoon Network's current original programming includes such shows as The Amazing World of Gumball and We Baby Bears. The network's original programming is produced at Cartoon Network Studios, while other shows have either been co-produced with or acquired from other studios, including the affiliated Warner Bros. Animation. In the past, Cartoon Network has also produced and aired live-action and animated hybrid programming.Over the years, Cartoon Network has aired various Looney Tunes, Merrie Melodies, Tom and Jerry, and Droopy shorts in constant rotation, dating back to the network's launch in 1992 until 2017. In its early days, Cartoon Network benefited from having access to a large collection of animated programming, including the libraries of Warner Bros., Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, Hanna-Barbera, and DC Comics. Turner's ownership of Hanna-Barbera gave the network access to an established animation studio, something its rivals didn't have. Most of these series were removed by 1999 and moved to Boomerang in 2000.
Original series
Much of Cartoon Network's original programming originates from the network's in-house studio, Cartoon Network Studios. Beginning as a division of Hanna-Barbera, this studio would produce some of the network's earliest original series, including Dexter's Laboratory, Cow and Chicken, I Am Weasel, Johnny Bravo, and The Powerpuff Girls. Cartoon Cartoons was once the branding for Cartoon Network's original animated television series, but it was seldom used by the network by 2003. The name was eventually discontinued in 2008. Additionally, several of the Cartoon Network's original series have been produced by studios other than the network's own in-house studio. Notable examples are Ed, Edd n Eddy, Courage the Cowardly Dog, and Codename: Kids Next Door. The name was resurrected by the network in 2021 for a new animated shorts program.Programming blocks
From 1999 to 2003, Cartoon Cartoon Fridays served as the channel's flagship block, featuring premieres of Cartoon Network original series that fell under the Cartoon Cartoons branding; from 2003 to 2007, the block was renamed "Fridays" after Cartoon Network began to phase out the Cartoon Cartoons branding. The Toonami block, which originally ran from 1997 to 2008, primarily carried action-oriented series aimed towards an older youth and teen audience, including imported anime series; it was later re-launched under the auspices of Adult Swim in 2012. 2009 saw the introduction of CN Real, a block that featured live-action reality television series aimed towards a youth audience. In 2011, the channel introduced DC Nation, a block that would be focused on series adapted from DC Comics properties.In September 2021, Cartoon Network introduced two new blocks oriented towards preschool and family viewing respectively, including the preschool block Cartoonito, and the new Sunday-evening block ACME Night–which primarily carries family films and library content, as well as other original series, specials, and television films from Warner Bros. Animation, as well as some programming from Adult Swim. They were introduced as part of an effort by new head Tom Ascheim to broaden Cartoon Network's demographic reach. ACME Night moved to Adult Swim on September 3, 2023, due to Adult Swim moving its daily sign-on time to 5 p.m. ET/PT.
Editing of theatrical cartoon shorts
Cartoon Network has, during its history, broadcast most of the Warner Bros. animated shorts originally created between the 1920s and the 1960s, but the network edited out scenes depicting discharge of gunfire, alcohol ingestion, cowboys and Indians gags, tobacco, and politically incorrect humor. The unedited versions were kept from both broadcasting and wide release on the video market. Coal Black and de Sebben Dwarfs, a politically incorrect but critically well-regarded short, was notably omitted entirely, while The Scarlet Pumpernickel and Feed the Kitty, both well-regarded, had their finales heavily edited due to violence.There was media attention in June 2001 over a network decision concerning further omissions from broadcast. Cartoon Network formerly scheduled a 49-hour-long marathon annually known as June Bugs, promising to broadcast every Bugs Bunny animated short in chronological order.
The network originally intended to include 12 shorts for its 2001 airing of the marathon that had become controversial for using ethnic and national stereotypes, albeit broadcasting them past midnight to ensure few children were watching, with introductions concerning their historic value as representatives of another time.
Related brands and units
Cartoonito
Cartoonito is a Warner Bros.–owned preschool brand that first launched in 2006 for the United Kingdom before expanding to other international markets. In February 2021, it was announced that Cartoonito would make its U.S. debut as a programming block on Cartoon Network and content brand on HBO Max; the block launched on September 13, 2021.Adult Swim
Adult Swim is the adult-oriented programming brand of Cartoon Network. The programs featured on Adult Swim are geared toward a mature audience, in contrast to the all-ages, preteen daytime programming of Cartoon Network. As a result, Adult Swim is treated by Nielsen as a separate channel in its ratings reports and marketed as such because of its differing target demographics. The block broadcasts both animated and live-action shows generally with minimal or no editing for content.As of September 2023, Adult Swim broadcasts daily from 5:00 p.m. to 6:00 a.m. ET/PT. Initially airing in the late-night hours, it has since expanded into prime time, moving its start time to 10 p.m. in 2009, 9 p.m. in 2010, and 8 p.m. in March 2014. The 8 p.m. hour has frequently been returned to Cartoon Network for special programming events and premieres, typically during the fall-to-early-winter period.
Due to Cartoon Network's viewership shifting almost exclusively towards teenagers and young adults in the evening hours, Adult Swim's sign-on was moved to 7 p.m. ET/PT on weekdays and Saturdays on May 1, 2023. This expansion led to an increase in the 18-34 demographic, making Cartoon Network 6th place in ad-supported networks during prime time during the month after. Due to the immediate ratings boost, the network announced a second expansion on June 7 with the block sign-on initially scheduled for 6 p.m. ET/PT on August 28.
The 5 and 6 p.m. weekday hours feature vault programming from both Cartoon Network and Adult Swim: Checkered Past is showcased Monday through Thursday, consisting of Cartoon Network original series from the 1990s and 2000s, while Fridays showcase classic Toonami programming as part of "Toonami Rewind". Additionally, movies are aired every Sunday under the ACME Night banner, which was first introduced in September 2021 during Cartoon Network's pivot toward family audiences.
Toonami
Toonami is a brand used for action-oriented programming blocks and television channels worldwide. The original program block launched on Cartoon Network in the United States on March 17, 1997, and primarily aired both American cartoons and Japanese anime. The block ended its original run on September 20, 2008, before being revived on May 26, 2012, as a relaunch of Adult Swim's Saturday night anime block. Toonami's current incarnation is similar to that of "Midnight Run", a special version of the block that originally ran on Saturday nights and was the forerunner for Adult Swim. The block is best known for its branding and aesthetic, including its animated host, a robot named TOM, that was later voiced by Steve Blum.The Toonami brand was also used internationally for dedicated networks in the United Kingdom, Asia, India, and France.