Cartoon Network (Asia)
Cartoon Network is a pan-Asian television channel that primarily broadcasts animated series. Operated by Warner Bros. Discovery under its International division, the channel is broadcast from its headquarters in Singapore and Jakarta, Indonesia to audiences in its country of location, as well as to Hong Kong and several areas in the Asian continent. It was launched on 6 October 1994.
History
1990s
In January 1994, it was announced that TNT and Cartoon Network would launch by the end of the year. They were supposedly launched as a 24-hour services on the Apstar 2 satellite service. Ahead of the channel's launch, Thai and Mandarin audio tracks were already being planned.On 6 October 1994, Turner Broadcasting System Asia Pacific launched Cartoon Network Asia on both Apstar 1 and Palapa-B2P. The channel was launched at 12:00 pm. It was broadcast for 14 hours between 6:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m., while Turner Classic Movies took the remainder of the daily schedule and broadcast 10 hours of movie programming from Turner's libraries.
During that time, Cartoon Network Asia was originally a 24-hour cable and satellite TV channel devoted to cartoons and classic films called TNT & Cartoon Network Asia and the service only had 4 different audio tracks including English, Mandarin, Persian and Japanese. Originally devoted to classic cartoons from studios such as Warner Bros., MGM and Hanna-Barbera, Cartoon Network Asia has since expanded to include more contemporary programming as well as its original productions, starting with its first original series to air in Asia in 1997, Dexter’s Laboratory. By New Year's Eve 1995, both TNT & Cartoon Network Asia were broadcast in 20 countries and territories across pan-Asia via satellite.
Sometime during the 1990s, Cartoon Network Asia launched a separate 24-hour feed of its service on the PAS-2 satellite along with TNT Asia.
On 4 January 1999, Cartoon Network Asia began to offer Hindi-dubbed versions of its shows in addition to English, Mandarin, Cantonese, Thai, Korean, Japanese, Filipino and Malay, with dubs of shows such as Scooby-Doo, Where Are You!, The Flintstones, The Jetsons, SWAT Kats: The Radical Squadron, The Mask: Animated Series, The Addams Family, The Real Adventures of Jonny Quest, Captain Planet and other select programs.
On 22 August 1999, Cartoon Network Asia was rebranded, introducing new bumpers, new original productions and a new graphical package.
2000s
In 2000, other non-original shows were introduced. Also, throughout the early 2000s, Cartoon Network Asia began airing several more original productions.In 2001, a programming block called Cartoon Cartoons was introduced. Cartoon Network Asia also introduced other programming blocks including Toonami, Acme Hour, Prime Time, the Boomerang block, and Cartoon Network Night Shift.
On 1 July 2001, Cartoon Network Asia officially became a separate 24-hour channel along with its country-specific feeds for India, the Philippines, Taiwan, Australia and New Zealand and TCM Asia.
In 2003 and 2004, more programming blocks were added. In early-2004, Boomerang was added to Foxtel with many of the older cartoons moved to the new channel. In addition, Cartoon Network showed segments of children receiving prizes during the holidays for a brief period, but these were cancelled due to low audience ratings. Up until mid-2004, Cartoon Network Asia had been tied with Disney Channel as the most popular family channel in Asian continent. The removal of the older 1950s-1980s Hanna-Barbera programming from the network during the period led to a fall in average audience share during 2004 as the fans of older cartoons moved to its new sister channel Boomerang Asia.
On 1 October 2005, the channel's 'bumpers' were replaced with 3-D animation promotions that were set in a fictional location called "CN City". A well-known scene from a show was sometimes the theme. The "Cartoon Cartoons" moniker was dropped in 2006. On 31 August 2008, the bumpers and ads were updated and "Cartoon Network Theatre" was renamed into "Cartoon Network Popcorn".
2010s
On 1 October 2011, during the premiere of The Amazing World of Gumball in Asia, the channel introduced a new branding and logo originally designed by Brand New School, with a slogan "It's a Fun Thing" as well as new shows. In 2012, Cartoon Network started airing almost all shows in HDTV 1080i format. In 2013, the American CN bumpers and the Asian bumpers were refreshed.The channel was rebranded into the "Dimensional" on 18 October 2017, along with Cinemax Asia.
2020s
On 8 January 2022, Cartoon Network Asia, Korea, Hong Kong, and Taiwan rebranded to Redraw Your World. The video series "Craft Your World" launched on Cartoon Network Asia, Crayola websites and social channels in the following weeks. "Redraw Your World" physical events also took place from February onwards in malls across the region, including Singapore, Malaysia and the Philippines.Availability
Mainland China
In Mainland China, Cartoon Network Asia has been available on a satellite since October 6, 1994. Broadcasting from Singapore in Standard Chinese and Cantonese, Cartoon Network Asia became the number one rated foreign-owned children's channel in Mainland China. It was also available on various CATV systems across Mainland China from the channel's launch on October 6, 1994, until January 2000, when it was banned for, according to an official of the SARFT, violating "relevant Chinese rules". Turner officials hadn't received official information at the time of the decision. At the time of banning, the channel had an estimated reach of 100,000 CATV subscribers. Just a few months before, the Chinese government blocked children's programming from being permitted to relay, and one media analyst said that the Cartoon Network ban was to favor local production. Despite the ban, Cartoon Network Asia is still available on various CATV systems across Mainland China including Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and Shenzhen.Hong Kong
In Hong Kong, Cartoon Network Asia is available on Now TV. It is broadcast in English, Standard Chinese and Cantonese.Taiwan
Cartoon Network Asia has a country-specific feed for Taiwan that has been available on cable and satellite since October 6, 1994. It is broadcast in both Taiwanese Mandarin and English.Thailand
In Thailand, Cartoon Network Asia is available as a part of the TrueVisions cable and satellite services; TrueVisions includes the pan-Asian Cartoon Network in both its Gold and Platinum packages.On October 6, 1994, TNT & Cartoon Network Asia was launched on various CATV systems across Thailand along with TNT Asia.
Starting in 2009, a Thai audio track for promos and adverts was introduced alongside an official Thai website.
In February 2018, Cartoon Network Asia, along with CNN International Asia Pacific, was made available on AIS Play.
Indonesia
In Indonesia, Cartoon Network Asia is available on First Media Gold and Platinum packages, Transvision Platinum Packages and the IndiKids add-on package on IndiHome.Vietnam
In Vietnam, where it was first introduced around 1995, Cartoon Network Asia used to be available in English, but in April 2014, a localized feed was launched. The line-up is identical to the pan-Asian version, but the promos are entirely in Vietnamese, and the local titles of the cartoons are shown on screen, right next to Cartoon Network's logo. The Vietnamese feed is available on most cable, IPTV, and Internet TV platforms in Vietnam. Starting in December 2016, a Vietnamese audio track for promos and adverts was introduced.During the channel's breaks, third-party advertisements from Vietnam or promos for other channels may be shown.
Malaysia and Brunei
The first Malaysian broadcasting company to air Cartoon Network Asia was Astro subsidiaries of Measat Broadcasting Systems Sdn Bhd. Cartoon Network was launched on Astro in 1996 on channel 616 in Malaysia, and in 2000 in Brunei.- The current channel number for Cartoon Network on Astro is now 615 for HD.
On 1 August 2023, Cartoon Network was launched on Unifi TV along with HGTV.
Singapore
signed an agreement with Turner to carry the channels on its then-upcoming cable television service on 23 May 1995. The channel was made available on 23 June, when the service launched.Sri Lanka
Cartoon Network Asia was available in Sri Lanka. In June 2019, the Asian channel got replaced with Cartoon Network HD+ India. According to a census, the most popular Cartoon Network shows in Sri Lanka are We Bare Bears, Teen Titans Go! and The Powerpuff Girls.Cartoon Network is available in Sri Lanka on Dialog, Peo TV and Freesat. Cartoon Network was also the first international channel to reach over 10 million total of views in Sri Lanka.
Maldives
In the Maldives, Cartoon Network Asia is available on MediaNet in 2005. It is broadcast in English.Pacific
Before Sky Pacific became a regional company, the channel was relayed a few hours a day during mornings on the SKY Plus subscription channel of Sky Fiji.Mongolia
Available in English. Programming blocks are not available in Mongolia, but it airs Cartoonito shows. It airs a lot of same episodes than yesterday. The time 05:00 and 02:00 at night airs Courage The Cowardly Dog.Cartoon Network in Japan
In 1995, Cartoon Network Asia was launched on various CATV systems across Japan along with TNT Asia, STAR TV and many other foreign-owned satellite TV channels across Asia.On September 1, 1997, Cartoon Network Asia has launched a separate country-specific feed for Japan called Cartoon Network Japan. Broadcasting from Tokyo in both Japanese and English, Cartoon Network Japan became the No. 1 foreign-owned children's channel in Japan. During that time, Cartoon Network Japan had signed an exclusive contract with SKY PerfecTV!, but it was expired when the channel was launched on the now-defunct DirecTV Japan in December 1997.