Yesterday, we looked at the launch of Cartoon Network, but for today, we're going back to before anyone had any clue as to what the channel held. While you could trace CN's genesis to Ted Turner's purchase of the MGM library in 1986, the public wouldn't learn of the network's existence until February 1992, eight months before the channel launched. Below is a piece from the February 20th edition of the Playground Daily News. In all my research, it's the earliest bit of coverage I could find focused on the network.
Turner to unleash cartoons
ATLANTA (AP) – Hoping to do with Yogi Bear and Popeye what he did with the news, Ted Turner on Tuesday announced plans to launch a 24-hour all-cartoon network.
The Cartoon Network, a basic cable television channel, will debut Oct. 1, Turner said. The network will feature cartoons from Turner Broadcasting System Inc.'s vast stock of animated features, which was bolstered last year by the $320 million purchase of the Hanna-Barbera library.
"We think we'll be competing with everyone programming for young people," Turner said. "Like with CNN, we're competing with anyone running news or information."
The cartoons-only channel will be Turner's fifth major cable TV network, joining the TBS superstation, TNT, Cable News Network, and CNN Headline News. Turner also owns SportsSouth, a regional network.
The Cartoon Network, a basic cable television channel, will debut Oct. 1, Turner said. The network will feature cartoons from Turner Broadcasting System Inc.'s vast stock of animated features, which was bolstered last year by the $320 million purchase of the Hanna-Barbera library.
"We think we'll be competing with everyone programming for young people," Turner said. "Like with CNN, we're competing with anyone running news or information."
The cartoons-only channel will be Turner's fifth major cable TV network, joining the TBS superstation, TNT, Cable News Network, and CNN Headline News. Turner also owns SportsSouth, a regional network.
Turner acknowledged these are shaky economic times to be launching a new network, but said the fact that TBS owns most of the Cartoon Network's programming will keep the start-up costs down.
Hanna-Barbera includes such popular titles as "The Flintstones" and "The Jetsons." With that, Turner's earlier acquisition of the MGM film library, which includes "Tom & Jerry," TBS now owns 3,800 half-hour blocks of cartoons.
The new network will lose one competitor in August, when NBC cancels its Saturday morning cartoon show because of declining ratings. But another competitor, the children-oriented network Nickelodeon, already has captured a sizeable chunk of the cartoon audience on cable.
TBS said its research showed a large potential audience, both among children and adults, for around-the-clock cartoons.
Scott Sassa, president of Turner Entertainment Networks, said it was a misconception that a lot of cartoons are on television now.
Turner said TBS hasn't gotten commitments from cable operators to run the Cartoon Network, though the general response from advertisers has been positive.
Hanna-Barbera includes such popular titles as "The Flintstones" and "The Jetsons." With that, Turner's earlier acquisition of the MGM film library, which includes "Tom & Jerry," TBS now owns 3,800 half-hour blocks of cartoons.
The new network will lose one competitor in August, when NBC cancels its Saturday morning cartoon show because of declining ratings. But another competitor, the children-oriented network Nickelodeon, already has captured a sizeable chunk of the cartoon audience on cable.
TBS said its research showed a large potential audience, both among children and adults, for around-the-clock cartoons.
Scott Sassa, president of Turner Entertainment Networks, said it was a misconception that a lot of cartoons are on television now.
Turner said TBS hasn't gotten commitments from cable operators to run the Cartoon Network, though the general response from advertisers has been positive.
Jumping closer to the network's launch, here's a piece from the September 28th edition of the Colorado Springs Gazette Telegraph. Put out only a few days before the channel started, this article informs viewers about what they can expect from it. Also included are some quotes from Betty Cohen, who was CN's original president, a position she held from 1992 to 2001.
Adults expected to tune in to 'toons
Turner's new network ready to roll
Associated Press, ATLANTA – Fred, Bugs, and Yogi are out to prove they're more than kid's stuff as Turner Broadcasting System Inc. launches an around-the-clock cartoon channel aimed at baby boomers and their children.
The Cartoon Network makes its debut Thursday on the premise that nostalgia will keep adults tuned in after the tots are tucked in for the night.
The Cartoon Network makes its debut Thursday on the premise that nostalgia will keep adults tuned in after the tots are tucked in for the night.
"Everyone assumes that it's going to be for kids, which is true. (But) we have more adults watching than we think," said Betty Cohen, a TBS executive vice president and head of the new cable network. "Because these adults grew up with the same cartoons, people get really nutty when the theme songs come on."
Cohen said demographic studies show 46 percent of the viewing audience watching cartoons on cable television consists of children ages 2 to 11; the rest of the audience is adults.
Atlanta-based TBS started planning for the cable network – the company's fifth – after last year's $320 million acquisition of the Hanna-Barbera animation library. Combined with Turner's existing stockpile of MGM, Paramount, and Warner Bros. cartoons, the company owns more than 8,500 animation titles.
That gives Turner plenty of Popeye, Daffy Duck, and Jetsons to play with.
Cohen said the network has spent the past eight months sorting through the cartoons to avoid assaulting viewers with a hodgepodge of animation.
"How do you schedule that so you don't become like cartoon wallpaper, where people don't think all we are is a bunch of cartoons? We had to come up with programming hooks, things that certain times of day, people could count on certain sorts of things to happen,
she said in a recent interview.
For example, the network's weeknight schedule will include the Flintstones and the Jetsons, both originally ABC prime-time half-hour programs, and a two-hour "Bugs & Daffy Tonight," featuring cartoons from the Warner Bros. Looney Tunes series.
Weekday mornings will feature a fast-paced procession of cartoons linked by 10-second vignettes, structured akin to morning radio. Late afternoons will be geared toward children returning from school, with well-known Hanna-Barbera features and rap music segues.
Overnight programming will feature repeats of cartoons shown earlier in the day, Cohen said. Original programs may be produced in three years, she said.
"Things like the Flintstones and the Jetsons and the Bugs Bunny cartoons are airing at prime time at night because we know they'll have a dual appeal - that's where we're expecting to get both kids and adults watching," she said.
The approach is similar to that taken by Nickelodeon, the highly successful New York-based cable channel owned by MTV Networks Inc., which programs for youngsters during the day and trots out 1960s reruns for the boomers at night.
The market for such programming has not been fully tapped, said Barry Sherman, chairman of the telecommunications department at the University of Georgia.
"Frankly, Nickelodeon has had the children's franchise on cable for 10 years, and I think it is time for some competition," Sherman said.
Finding an audience may be less of a challenge for TBS than finding a place for the network on the nation's crowded cable systems, he said.
"You have a situation where the parking lot's full on cable, and more and more cars are trying to squeeze in," Sherman said.
Cohen said the number of systems set to carry the network at its launch is not yet set.
Cohen, a former Nickelodeon promotions director who helped Ted Turner launch Turner Network Television, said the company has no illusions about the uncertain climate in the cable business.
"Everyone in the industry knows we're launching at a difficult time," she said.
In addition to the limited space on cable systems, she said, operators are cautious because a bill to regulate cable, vehemently opposed by the industry, is moving through Congress.
"But we did a very cautious business plan. We own all this programming from now until the end of time, so we can afford to have a small launch and a slow and steady growth," Cohen said. "And Ted is in it for the long run."
Cohen said demographic studies show 46 percent of the viewing audience watching cartoons on cable television consists of children ages 2 to 11; the rest of the audience is adults.
Atlanta-based TBS started planning for the cable network – the company's fifth – after last year's $320 million acquisition of the Hanna-Barbera animation library. Combined with Turner's existing stockpile of MGM, Paramount, and Warner Bros. cartoons, the company owns more than 8,500 animation titles.
That gives Turner plenty of Popeye, Daffy Duck, and Jetsons to play with.
Cohen said the network has spent the past eight months sorting through the cartoons to avoid assaulting viewers with a hodgepodge of animation.
"How do you schedule that so you don't become like cartoon wallpaper, where people don't think all we are is a bunch of cartoons? We had to come up with programming hooks, things that certain times of day, people could count on certain sorts of things to happen,
she said in a recent interview.
For example, the network's weeknight schedule will include the Flintstones and the Jetsons, both originally ABC prime-time half-hour programs, and a two-hour "Bugs & Daffy Tonight," featuring cartoons from the Warner Bros. Looney Tunes series.
Weekday mornings will feature a fast-paced procession of cartoons linked by 10-second vignettes, structured akin to morning radio. Late afternoons will be geared toward children returning from school, with well-known Hanna-Barbera features and rap music segues.
Overnight programming will feature repeats of cartoons shown earlier in the day, Cohen said. Original programs may be produced in three years, she said.
"Things like the Flintstones and the Jetsons and the Bugs Bunny cartoons are airing at prime time at night because we know they'll have a dual appeal - that's where we're expecting to get both kids and adults watching," she said.
The approach is similar to that taken by Nickelodeon, the highly successful New York-based cable channel owned by MTV Networks Inc., which programs for youngsters during the day and trots out 1960s reruns for the boomers at night.
The market for such programming has not been fully tapped, said Barry Sherman, chairman of the telecommunications department at the University of Georgia.
"Frankly, Nickelodeon has had the children's franchise on cable for 10 years, and I think it is time for some competition," Sherman said.
Finding an audience may be less of a challenge for TBS than finding a place for the network on the nation's crowded cable systems, he said.
"You have a situation where the parking lot's full on cable, and more and more cars are trying to squeeze in," Sherman said.
Cohen said the number of systems set to carry the network at its launch is not yet set.
Cohen, a former Nickelodeon promotions director who helped Ted Turner launch Turner Network Television, said the company has no illusions about the uncertain climate in the cable business.
"Everyone in the industry knows we're launching at a difficult time," she said.
In addition to the limited space on cable systems, she said, operators are cautious because a bill to regulate cable, vehemently opposed by the industry, is moving through Congress.
"But we did a very cautious business plan. We own all this programming from now until the end of time, so we can afford to have a small launch and a slow and steady growth," Cohen said. "And Ted is in it for the long run."
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