Cartoon Network - The Rise and Fall...And Rise Again
Summary
TLDRThis video script delves into the history and evolution of Cartoon Network, starting from its inception in 1992 by Ted Turner. It discusses the acquisition of classic cartoons, the rise of original content like 'What a Cartoon!', and the channel's various rebrandings. The script also explores the network's perceived highs and lows, including the impact of the Time Warner merger and the introduction of live-action shows.
Takeaways
- 📺 The user started watching Cartoon Network, Nickelodeon, and Disney Channel over 20 years ago.
- 🔧 The user customized their TV to only show these three channels.
- 🕒 Cartoon Network launched on October 1, 1992, as the result of innovative deals and decisions by Ted Turner.
- 🎬 Ted Turner acquired a vast library of cartoons, including pre-1948 Looney Tunes, Tom and Jerry, Popeye, and Hanna-Barbera shows.
- 📉 Cartoon Network began with reruns from their acquired libraries and slowly started producing original content.
- ⭐ The user considers the 'cartoon cartoons' era with shows like Johnny Bravo, Cow and Chicken, Courage the Cowardly Dog, The Powerpuff Girls, and Dexter's Laboratory as the height of Cartoon Network.
- 🔄 Major changes in Cartoon Network's programming and branding occurred after 2000, including rebranding and the end of many original shows.
- 📉 The network faced a decline in popularity around 2009, partly due to the introduction of live-action shows under the CN Real block.
- 📈 A resurgence began in 2010 with new popular shows like Regular Show, Adventure Time, The Amazing World of Gumball, and Steven Universe.
- 🔮 The future of Cartoon Network is expected to be different as it continually reinvents itself, especially after the acquisition of Time Warner by AT&T.
Q & A
When did the user start watching Cartoon Network?
-The user started watching Cartoon Network in the mid to late 90s.
What was Ted Turner's main motivation behind acquiring the rights to many classic cartoons?
-Ted Turner's main motivation was likely to get the rights to MGM and UA movies to show on his other networks, with the cartoons coming as an added benefit.
What significant action did Ted Turner take in 1992 related to cartoons?
-In 1992, Ted Turner launched Cartoon Network, the world's first 24-hour channel dedicated to cartoons.
What are some of the iconic shows that emerged from the 'What a Cartoon' series?
-Iconic shows that emerged from the 'What a Cartoon' series include Johnny Bravo, Cow and Chicken, Courage the Cowardly Dog, The Powerpuff Girls, and Dexter's Laboratory.
What role did Tom Kenny play in The Powerpuff Girls, and why is it notable?
-Tom Kenny was the narrator in The Powerpuff Girls, known for saying 'The city of Townsville,' and he is also the voice of SpongeBob SquarePants.
What was Cartoon Cartoon Fridays, and why was it significant?
-Cartoon Cartoon Fridays was a night where different cartoon characters would host an evening of cartoons, contributing to a significant increase in Cartoon Network's popularity.
What happened to the classic cartoons that were originally the focus of Cartoon Network?
-The classic cartoons were eventually moved to a new network called Boomerang in 2000, which aired these older cartoons 24 hours a day.
What was the purpose of Adult Swim, and how did the user react to it as a child?
-Adult Swim was introduced to air more mature content on Sunday nights, and the user disliked it as a child because it meant the end of cartoons for the day and bedtime.
What major changes occurred around 2010 that led to Cartoon Network's revival?
-In 2010, Cartoon Network cancelled CNReal, introduced a new logo, and launched well-received shows like Regular Show, Adventure Time, The Amazing World of Gumball, Steven Universe, and Teen Titans Go.
How did the 2000 merger between Time Warner and AOL impact Cartoon Network?
-The 2000 merger between Time Warner and AOL was a disaster that led to various changes in Cartoon Network, including the resignation of Betty Cohen, the president who had overseen the introduction of many legendary shows.
What criticism did Cartoon Network face when they introduced live-action shows under CNReal?
-Cartoon Network faced criticism for introducing live-action shows under CNReal because it contradicted the network's core identity of being a channel dedicated to cartoons, and the shows received poor reviews.
Outlines
📺 The Birth and Evolution of Cartoon Network
This paragraph delves into the origins and development of Cartoon Network, a channel that has been a staple in the childhood of many. The speaker fondly recalls their early years watching the channel, which was launched in 1992 by Ted Turner. Turner's innovative approach to television, exemplified by the creation of CNN and the acquisition of numerous cartoon libraries, laid the foundation for the channel. The speaker highlights Turner's strategic acquisitions, including Looney Tunes, Tom and Jerry, and Hanna-Barbera, which bolstered the channel's content. The paragraph also touches on the channel's initial programming strategy, leveraging Turner's other networks like TNT and TBS, and the gradual transition from reruns to original content, such as 'What a Cartoon!' which led to the creation of iconic shows like Johnny Bravo and Dexter's Laboratory.
🌟 Cartoon Network's Iconic Shows and Identity
The second paragraph focuses on the iconic shows that defined Cartoon Network and its identity. The speaker reminisces about the 'Cartoon Cartoons' era, which saw the creation of beloved series like The Powerpuff Girls and Dexter's Laboratory. The narrator, Tom Kenny, is highlighted for his role in The Powerpuff Girls, adding a surprising connection to SpongeBob SquarePants. The paragraph also discusses the network's peak popularity during 'Cartoon Cartoon Fridays,' which significantly boosted viewership. The speaker reflects on the network's shift from old cartoons to original content and the introduction of Boomerang and Adult Swim, which marked a new direction for the network. The paragraph concludes with a discussion on the perceived decline and renaissance of the network, attributing changes to major events like the Time Warner-AOL merger and rebranding efforts.
🚀 Cartoon Network's Revival and Future Prospects
In the final paragraph, the speaker discusses the revival of Cartoon Network in the 2010s, following a period of decline. The introduction of new shows like Regular Show, Adventure Time, and Steven Universe is credited with revitalizing the network's reputation and viewership. The speaker also mentions the network's continuous reinvention, noting the end of many shows and the acquisition of Time Warner by AT&T, which could lead to further changes. The paragraph concludes with a reflection on the network's history and an invitation for viewers to share their thoughts on Cartoon Network's evolution and their favorite eras.
Mindmap
Keywords
💡Cartoon Network
💡Ted Turner
💡Looney Tunes
💡Hanna-Barbera
💡What a Cartoon!
💡Cartoon Cartoon Fridays
💡Boomerang
💡Adult Swim
💡Rebranding
💡CN Real
💡Renaissance
Highlights
The speaker reminisces about their childhood, watching Cartoon Network, Nickelodeon, and Disney Channel almost exclusively, even programming their TV to skip all other channels.
Cartoon Network launched on October 1, 1992, as the first 24-hour network dedicated solely to cartoons, showcasing Ted Turner's vision and his extensive cartoon library.
Ted Turner, a significant figure in shaping cable television, acquired a vast collection of cartoons through various deals, including MGM's library and Hanna-Barbera, leading to the creation of Cartoon Network.
Cartoon Network initially relied on classic cartoons like Looney Tunes, Tom and Jerry, and Scooby-Doo, but soon started producing original content, marking a significant shift in its strategy.
The 'What a Cartoon!' show was pivotal in developing Cartoon Network's identity, leading to iconic shows like Dexter's Laboratory, Johnny Bravo, Cow and Chicken, and The Powerpuff Girls.
The narrator of The Powerpuff Girls, known for the iconic line "The city of Townsville...," is voiced by Tom Kenny, who also voices SpongeBob SquarePants and the Mayor in the same show.
Cartoon Cartoon Fridays became a beloved segment, where characters from Cartoon Network hosted a night of cartoons, significantly boosting the network's popularity and helping define its brand.
In 2000, Cartoon Network launched Boomerang, a channel dedicated to airing classic cartoons 24/7, similar to Cartoon Network's original concept.
Adult Swim debuted in 2001, targeting older audiences with mature-themed content, marking a significant programming shift that initially frustrated younger viewers like the speaker.
Betty Cohen, the founding president of Cartoon Network, left in 2001 after establishing the network's identity, leading to changes under new leadership by Jim Samples.
By the mid-2000s, Cartoon Network began to decline as original Cartoon Cartoon series ended and the network experimented with branding changes and live-action programming, which were poorly received.
CN Real, a 2009 programming block of live-action shows, was a low point for Cartoon Network, as it contradicted the channel's cartoon-focused identity.
The network experienced a revival around 2010 with new animated series like Adventure Time, Regular Show, The Amazing World of Gumball, and Steven Universe, revitalizing its brand and popularity.
Cartoon Network has a history of reinventing itself every decade, adapting to new audience preferences and trends, with significant changes occurring after AT&T acquired Time Warner.
The speaker fondly recalls a commercial featuring Fred Flintstone searching for a parking spot, demonstrating Cartoon Network's memorable advertising that resonated with viewers.
Transcripts
[Music]
i
am excited to talk about cartoon network
because this is something that i started
watching over 20 years ago
when i was younger i would watch
nickelodeon cartoon network
disney channel and that was it i am not
exaggerating when i say that either the
tv in my room
actually had this weird setting where
you could program it to skip channels
when hitting the channel up and channel
down buttons
i imagine it was intended to skip the
ones that had a bad signal or were in a
different language or something
but i used it to eliminate every channel
except those three
for years i don't think a day went by
where i didn't watch at least an
hour or two of cartoon network so yeah
i'm excited to talk about this
i started watching i guess in the mid to
late 90s but the channel does go back to
1992.
it was the end result of some
unconventional deals and innovative
thinking
all involving ted turner and if you're
not familiar with ted turner
he was a big part of shaping the cable
television industry into what it is
today
the channel tnt stands for turner
network television the channel tbs
stands for turner broadcasting system
well in 1980 he started cnn at the first
network dedicated to 24-hour news
coverage
it was a pioneering new idea that helped
prove the sustainability of a non-stop
single focused channel so in 1992 he set
out to try it again but this time
instead of a news network it would be a
cartoon network the reason he chose to
focus on cartoons is because over the
past few years he had acquired the
rights to a tremendous amount of them
the owners of all these classic cartoons
kept buying and selling them so it gets
a little
tricky to follow but they were slowly
consolidating together
see in 1956 warner brothers sold the
rights to all of their looney tunes
cartoons that were created before
1948 you know all of the ones featuring
bugs bunny and the gang and then two
years later
united artists bought that company then
in 1981
mgm bought united artists with that deal
mgm now owned all of the pre-1948 looney
tunes which were added to their existing
library of mgm
cartoons it gets trickier because five
years later
ted turner purchased all of mgm the
studio and the archives
then a few months later sold it right
back but
held on to the archives his main
motivation behind
all of this in the first place was
likely to get the rights of all the mgm
and ua movies that he could show on his
other networks but the cartoons came
with
it then in 1991 he added to that already
strong collection when his company
bought
hannah barbera for 320 million dollars
so the result of all these deals was ted
turner possessing the rights to an
unheard of library of cartoons it
included
all of the looney tunes made before 1948
tom and jerry
popeye made his way into there with
hannah barbera he added the flintstones
the jetsons scooby-doo
among many others see there was another
cartoon library we got
the united the uh warner brothers 350
cartoons
can you imagine owning so many cartoons
that you actually forgot that you owned
all of the early looney tunes
my gosh the collection was estimated to
be approaching 9 000
hours and as if that wasn't enough in
1996
turner broadcasting itself was bought by
time warner who was still the owner of
the post
1948 warner cartoons meaning that
full cartoon library was brought
together for the first time in about 40
years
but going back to 1992 ted turner owned
all of these cartoons and created the
perfect outlet for them
on october 1st when he launched the
cartoon network
i really like this the first thing that
they showed was droopy a character that
they had acquired from the mgm library
welcoming us to the network and guiding
us around
welcome to the world's first and only
cartoon network
it was then followed by an old bugs
bunny cartoon that they had acquired
from the warner brothers library and
is it hard to see why they were
successful in addition to the collection
of cartoons creative structuring in the
innovative 24 hour format
the cartoon network was also propelled
forward using ted turner's
other channels specifically tnt they
would get grouped together into the
cable packages people would buy the two
are commonly marketed together and they
would even
overlap the channels by sometimes
literally switching tnt
into the cartoon network in the
beginning the programming that they
showed was
all unoriginal from these previous
libraries but after only a few years
they started producing original content
i would consider it a slower start with
the moxie show followed by space ghost
coast to coast
i mean taking a former hannah barbera
superhero and having him host a
fictional late night talk show is an
original idea that you have to respect
but it wasn't a huge
investment and didn't have a huge impact
on the channel overall
easily the show that was most
responsible for transforming cartoon
network into the channel that we all
know
was what a cartoon it was a series of
shorts made by different creators that
led to the creation of some of cartoon
network's most
iconic shows oddly enough they even
aired an early much
cleaner predecessor of family guy but
what i'm talking about here
is johnny bravo cowan chicken courage
the cowardly dog the powerpuff girls and
my personal favorite dexter's laboratory
you know while i'm talking about these
cartoons here's something that i just
learned that blew my mind in the show
the powerpuff
girls you know that narrator the city of
townsville
that is tom kenny the voice of spongebob
and a ton of other things
including the mayor on the powerpuff
girls that
was surprising but back to the network
for me the height of the network will
forever be cartoon cartoon fridays that
was the night double d or
johnny bravo or one of the other cartoon
cartoons as they were called would host
a night of cartoons
i know i'm saying cartoon a lot right
now but this cartoon cartoons era was
when the network
jumped in popularity growing by as much
as 30 percent a year now seen by over 80
million people
and more importantly it's where they
found their identity
this is when cartoon network became
something more than just a place to show
old cartoons it became something
original so somewhat ironically as the
cartoon cartoons were becoming the new
focus of the channel
they started phasing out their older
cartoons that they'd spent so much money
to obtain and had been the original
motivation to start the network in the
year 2000
they started a new network called
boomerang where they would air all of
these classic cartoons
24 hours a day essentially making it
very similar to the original vision of
cartoon network
in 2001 they started adult swim which as
a 10 year old i would
absolutely hate every sunday night they
would air this thing
all kids out of the pool for adult swim
i am still conditioned to dislike that
sound because it meant that the cartoons
were done for the day and it was
essentially
time to go to bed i didn't watch them at
the time but they did air many
successful shows and later on even
played a big part in bringing back shows
like futurama and family guy
alright i want to talk about some
potential falls and rises but
it gets tricky because with a creative
network like this how do you possibly
quantify these fluctuations or even
prove that they exist
as far as i can tell even the viewers
are divided firsthand on this channel i
see comments talking about how they fell
how they fell and came back and just
some praising the network
it's hard to know what to make of it but
it appears that the general perception
is that they started to fall
soon after that cartoon cartoon era in
the mid-2000s
reached an all-time low toward the end
of that decade and started somewhat of a
renaissance around
2010. you may disagree with that but i
think that's how most people see it and
that timeline does make sense
when searching for reasons behind the
fall we should look at some major
changes around that time and
how about the 2000 merger between time
warner and aol
it was actually the biggest merger ever
in a complete disaster
so there's many ways that this could
have affected the network they changed
up hannah barbera productions for
example but the big one i'm looking at
here is the resignation of betty cohen
she was the president of cartoon network
going back to the beginning nine years
earlier and it was under her control
where all of these legendary shows were
introduced and the network
first found that identity in 2001 aol
offered her a job that i believe
involved creating content for teens on
their internet platform so she left
cartoon network
she was replaced by jim samples who did
make some changes
not necessarily bad changes but things
were different
that leads me to my next reason
rebranding
by 2004 they had stopped using the name
cartoon cartoon and changed their logo
for the first time ever
they kind of isolated the cn from the
checkerboard and put them together
it's hard to say if it was better or
worse but it was different and it was
followed by
a few other branding changes in the
upcoming years it was also during this
time when all of those original cartoon
series were coming to an
end i should say that they were replaced
with some hit shows created under the
new leadership the grim adventures of
billy and mandy codename kids next door
foster's home for imaginary friends gosh
the titles really got longer
again i'm not here to review the shows
and say what was good and what was bad
but they weren't
the originals and because of that i
imagine many of the people
including myself didn't make that
transition and respond to them in the
same way
or even if they did by 2009 all of those
shows were done as well along with ad
and eddie and that was what many
consider to be their lowest point
another reason for their decline is all
of this live action
stuff in 2009 they introduced c and real
it was a programming block filled with
all of these
live action reality shows their
competitors like nickelodeon and disney
channel had live action shows so i guess
that this was their attempt to tap into
that audience but it didn't go well
the shows received poor reviews and even
if the shows were decent enough
i don't think the audience would have
responded very well to them
when they decided to call the channel
cartoon network
i'd say that pretty much cut out any
potential for live action shows
it's an easy criticism to say that
cartoon network should stick to cartoons
so if you combine all of these reasons
we can see that by 2009 cartoon network
was looking much different
many would argue they were looking much
worse but i say that was their lowest
point because in 2010
they started making some major changes
they cancelled cnreal introduced yet
another logo and i'd say most
importantly they started introducing
some well-received shows
i'm talking about the regular show
premiering in 2010 adventure time
premiering that same year the amazing
world of gumball the following year in
steven universe and teen titans go
two years later they may have overdone
it with teen titans go but many would
agree that
that lineup was a considerable
improvement you know it really seems
that every time we enter into a new
decade
cartoon network starts reinventing
themselves
i say that now because most of those
shows have ended over the past few years
and
time warner was acquired by atnt over
that time which will likely lead to more
changes
so it's hard to say what cartoon network
will look like over the next decade but
i bet it will be different let me know
in the comments
what do you think about cartoon network
over the years as i said
those cartoon cartoon fridays were the
peak for me so what would you consider
to be their best era
maybe you were a fan of dude what would
happen back in 2009
i think you'd be in the minority but
it's possible you know i've had so much
fun talking about all of these old
cartoon network shows and if you watch
them back then like i did
i have to ask you this do you remember
this commercial
where fred is looking for a parking spot
i think that they must have showed this
thing excessively because i still have
that thing memorized
all right so any thoughts you have about
cartoon network or the cartoons
on the network leave them in the
comments i'd like to hear what you have
to say
can no leader go undated
thank you for watching
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