Children's programming on The CW
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Children's programming has played a part in The CW's programming since its initial roots in television. This article outlines the history of children's television programming on The CW including the various blocks and notable programs that have aired throughout the television network's history. This includes the blocks aired on The WB and UPN.
History[edit]
The WB[edit]
Kids' WB (1995–2006)[edit]
Kids' WB launched in the United States on September 9, 1995, striving to compete against the dominance of Fox Kids at the time, and airing on Saturday mornings from 8:00 to 11:00 a.m. and Monday through Fridays from 4:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m.[1] The weekday block was replaced on January 2, 2006, by "Daytime WB," a block that featured repeats of sitcoms and drama series formerly aired by The WB and other networks (such as ER, 8 Simple Rules, and What I Like About You); five days later on January 7, the Kids' WB Saturday morning lineup was expanded by one hour and this continued on weekends. The block aired for the last time on The WB on September 16, 2006 before moving to a newly-merged network, The CW.
UPN[edit]
UPN Kids (1995–1999)[edit]
UPN Kids launched on September 10, 1995 with a one-hour block of cartoons consisting of Space Strikers and Teknoman. It was a joint partnership between UPN and Saban Entertainment.[2] UPN Kids aired the last time on September 5, 1999.
Disney's One Too/Disney's Animation Weekdays (1999–2003)[edit]
In January 1998, UPN began discussions with The Walt Disney Company (owner of rival network ABC) to have the company program a daily two-hour children's block for the network, airing on weekdays (during the morning or afternoon hours) and Sunday mornings.[3] Attempts to reach a time-lease agreement deal with Disney were called off one week after negotiations started due to a dispute between Disney and UPN over how the block would be branded and the amount of E/I programming that Disney would provide for the block; UPN then entered into discussions with then-corporate sister Nickelodeon (both networks were owned by Viacom) to produce a new block.[4]
In March 1998, UPN resumed discussions with Disney[5] and the following month, The Walt Disney Company and UPN came to an agreement to provide Disney-produced programs on the network on weekdays (from 7:00am – 9:00am or 3:00pm – 5:00pm) and Sunday (from 9:00am – 11:00am).[6] The block premiered on September 6, 1999, replacing UPN Kids, which ended its run the day before (on September 5) after four years.[7]
The block aired for the last time on August 31, 2003, with the time periods being turned over to UPN's affiliates; this left UPN as the only "big six" broadcast television network with no children's programming.[8][9]
The CW[edit]
Kids' WB (2006–2008)[edit]
On January 24, 2006, Warner Bros. Television (producer of Kids' WB and owner of the block's original broadcaster from 1995 to 2006, The WB) and CBS Corporation (owner of UPN and subsidiary of National Amusements who also owns film studio Paramount Pictures' parent company Viacom) announced that they would merge both The WB and UPN and into The CW, which would primarily air programs aired by its two soon-to-be predecessor networks as part of its initial lineup.[10] The combined network utilized The WB's scheduling practices (inheriting the 30-hour weekly programming schedule that the network utilized at the time of the announcement) and brought the Kids' WB block, still run by Warner Bros. Television and maintaining the same name, to the new lineup (The CW's decision to use The WB's scheduling model was mainly due to the fact that it included children's and daytime programming blocks that were not offered by UPN, which had not aired any children's programming since the Disney's One Too block was discontinued in August 2003). The block was launched on September 23, 2006 on The CW.
On October 2, 2007, The CW announced that it would discontinue the Kids' WB programming block through a joint decision between corporate parents Time Warner and CBS Corporation, due to the effects of children's advertising limits and cable competition; the network also announced that it would sell the five-hour Saturday programming slot to 4Kids Entertainment.[11] The Kids' WB block aired for the final time on May 17, 2008 (for some stations that aired the block on a day-behind basis, the block's last airdate was on May 18, 2008). and aired the last time on May 17, 2008.
The CW4kids/Toonzai (2008–2012)[edit]
The CW4kids was launched on May 24, 2008 as the 4Kids Entertainment took over programming.[11][12][13] In addition to programming the block, 4Kids also handled responsibilities for its content and advertising revenue. The CW4Kids renamed and rebranded to Toonzai, on August 14, 2010.[14][15]
Vortexx (2012–2014)[edit]
On June 26, 2012, Kidsco Media Ventures, an affiliate of Saban Capital Group, finalized a bid to acquire 4Kids' agreement with The CW for the block.[16] On July 2, 2012, it was announced that Saban Brands, via Kidsco Media Ventures, began programming the block, which would be relaunched under the name Vortexx.[17][18] This replaced Toonzai aired on August 18, 2012 for the last time, and launched the Vortexx block on August 25, 2012. This is the first programming block air in high-definitionon The CW.
One Magnificent Morning (2014–present)[edit]
Between May 31, 2014 and June 5, 2014, The CW announced that it would discontinue its existing Saturday morning block, Vortexx, which was produced by Saban Brands, in favor of One Magnificent Morning, a new, five-hour block produced by Litton Entertainment and distributed by CBS Television Distribution, that would feature live-action educational programming aimed teenagers and their parents. The move came as part of a growing shift by broadcast television networks towards non-fiction programming to fulfil the FCC-mandated requirement to air a quota of educational programming weekly. The previous year, Litton began producing CBS Dream Team, a similar E/I block for sister network CBS (former corporate parent CBS Corporation was a part-owner of The CW), and the company has also produced Litton's Weekend Adventure for ABC's affiliates since September 3, 2011.[19][20][21][22] This resulted Vortexx airing the last time on September 27, 2014, and launched One Magnificent Morning on October 4, 2014.
On October 7, 2017, the block was reduced to the federally mandated minimum running time of three hours and began airing from 8:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. local time. The CW gave its two hours of reclaimed time to its affiliate stations.[23]
Programming[edit]
Schedule Issues[edit]
Due to regulations defined by the Children's Television Act that require stations to carry E/I compliant programming for three hours each week at any time between 7:00 a.m. and 12:00 p.m. local time, some The CW stations may defer certain programs aired within its Saturday morning block to Sunday daytime or earlier Saturday morning slots, or (in the case of affiliates in the Western United States) Saturday afternoons as makegoods to comply with the CTA regulations.
List of notable programs[edit]
The WB's Kids' WB[edit]
| Title | Run |
|---|---|
| Animaniacs | 1995–2000 |
| The Sylvester & Tweety Mysteries | 1995–2001 |
| Pinky and the Brain | 1995–2000 |
| Freakazoid! | 1995–1997 |
| That's Warner Bros.! | 1995–1996 |
The CW's Kids' WB[edit]
| Title | Run |
|---|---|
| The Batman | 2006–2008 |
| Eon Kid | 2007–2008 |
| Johnny Test | 2006–2008 |
| Krypto the Superdog | 2006–2007 |
| Legion of Super Heroes | 2006–2008 |
| Loonatics Unleashed | 2006–2007 |
| Magi-Nation | 2007–2008 |
| Monster Allergy | 2006–2007 |
| Shaggy and Scooby-Doo Get a Clue! | 2006–2008 |
| Skunk Fu! | 2007–2008 |
| The Spectacular Spider-Man | 2008 |
| Spider Riders | 2006–2007 |
| Teen Titans | 2007–2008 |
| Tom and Jerry Tales | 2006–2008 |
| Will and Dewitt | 2007–2008 |
| World of Quest | 2008 |
| Xiaolin Showdown | 2006–2007 |
References[edit]
- ↑ "WARNER DEAL PUTS KIDS' SHOWS ON WCIU-CH. 26". Chicago Tribune. 1995-02-19. Retrieved 2023-09-20.
- ↑ "UPN introduces itself to affiliates" (PDF). Broadcasting. 1994-12-05. Retrieved 2021-10-15.
- ↑ Jenny Hontz (January 21, 1998). "Disney kids to play UPN". Variety. Retrieved August 21, 2009.
- ↑ Jenny Hontz (January 27, 1998). "UPN kids pick Nick, not Mouse". Variety. Retrieved August 21, 2009.
- ↑ Jenny Hontz (March 26, 1998). "UPN, BV discuss kids block". Variety. Retrieved August 21, 2009.
- ↑ Jenny Hontz; Cynthia Littleton (April 17, 1998). "UPN, Disney in kidvid block deal". Variety. Retrieved August 21, 2009.
- ↑ Issue 3.2. "UPN To Air Disney Block". Animation World Magazine. May 1998. Retrieved March 1, 2014.
- ↑ "Disney Drops UPN Programming Deal". Los Angeles Times. Associated Press. February 14, 2003. Retrieved June 5, 2022.
- ↑ "UPN to ax Disney kids shows in fall". Chicago Sun-Times. Hollinger International. February 15, 2003. Archived from the original on September 24, 2015. Retrieved September 2, 2015 – via HighBeam Research. Unknown parameter
|url-status=ignored (help) - ↑ Carter, Bill (January 24, 2006). "UPN and WB to Combine, Forming New TV Network". New York Times. Archived from the original on December 29, 2014. Retrieved August 9, 2013. Unknown parameter
|url-status=ignored (help) - ↑ 11.0 11.1 "CW turns to 4Kids on Saturdays". Variety. October 2, 2007. Archived from the original on February 27, 2021. Retrieved June 21, 2019. Unknown parameter
|url-status=ignored (help) - ↑ Weprin, Alex (October 3, 2007). "4Kids Entertainment Programming The CW's Saturday Morning". Broadcasting & Cable. Archived from the original on January 16, 2010. Retrieved October 20, 2012. Unknown parameter
|url-status=ignored (help) - ↑ Ball, Ryan (October 3, 2007). "4Kids Gets CW Block". Animation Magazine. Retrieved October 20, 2012.
- ↑ 4Kids to Rebrand The CW4Kids Block on Saturdays, Anime News Network, April 27, 2010
- ↑ McLean, Thomas J. (August 18, 2010). "4Kids Reports Losses, Rebranding of CW Block". Animation Magazine. Retrieved October 20, 2012.
- ↑ "4Kids Sells Yu-Gi-Oh!, CW Network-Related Assets Jointly to Konami, Kidsco". AnimeNewsNetwork. June 26, 2012. Retrieved October 20, 2012.
- ↑ Wallenstein, Andrew (July 2, 2012). "Saban Brands to rebuild CW toon block". Variety. Retrieved July 7, 2012.
- ↑ "'Power Rangers' Backer Saban to Reenter Kiddie TV". Advertising Age. July 12, 2012. Retrieved July 12, 2012.
- ↑ "CBS Slates Teen-Centric Programming Block For Saturdays". Deadline Hollywood. July 24, 2013. Retrieved October 17, 2014.
- ↑ James, Meg (July 24, 2013). "CBS partners with Litton Entertainment for Saturday teen block". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved July 25, 2013.
- ↑ Albiniak, Paige (June 5, 2014). "Litton Teams with The CW on New E/I Block". Broadcasting & Cable. Retrieved June 5, 2014.
- ↑ Ostrow, Joanne (June 5, 2014). "CW adds Saturday morning teen block". The Denver Post. Retrieved June 5, 2014.
- ↑ "The CW Announces Fall 2017 'One Magnificent Morning' Saturday Morning Line-Up". BroadwayWorld.com. September 13, 2017. Retrieved September 13, 2017.
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