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View Full Version : A possible brand new cartoon channel????


Nelson
05-08-2006, 06:04 PM
I had to bring this news article to everyone, about the possiblity of a brand new cartoon channel and allow me to presnt the entire article that ran in today's New York Post...

TV LAND WHERE BULLWINKLE RUBS OUT TONY THE TIGER. 5/8/06 NY POST
By Janet Whitman

"A consortium of family-friendly companies is creating a 24 hour TV channel for kids that will be free of junk-food ads and other marketing that has raise3d the ire of parents, The Post has learned.

The network will be broadcast over digital spectrum owned by Paxson, the wholesome TV station owner that has re-branded itself as Ion Media Netowrksw, people with knowledge of the plan said.

Other partners in the venture include NBC, children's book publisher Scholastic and kid's TV content owners Classic Media and Nelvana, sources said.

The digital network will mostly air cartoons and other animated shows, relying on the thousands of hours of content already owned by it's partners and new programming they create, sources said.Specific programming plans have yet to be determined, sources said.

Classic Media owns the rights to classic cartoons like "Rocky And Bullwinkle", while Canada based Nelvana produces "Babar", "Franklin" and other popular children's programs.Scholastic's red-hot Harry Potter franchise probably won't be included in the pact, sources sdai.

The move comes as anti-junk food groups and concerned against advertising directed at kids.Eariler this year, Nickelodeon dand Kelloggs were sued for $2 billion in a bid to stop them from using "Tony The Tiger" and "SpongeBob Squarepants" to hawk sugary cereals.

This netowrk is going to be a lot more responible and discrimanating one person working on the pact told the Post."It won't be accepting certain types of advertising.It's won't be positioning itself as a safe place for kids and parents".In addition to providing content for the 24 hour channel, the partners will supply a block of children's programming for Saturday mornings on NBC, which owns a 32 precent stake in Ion, sources said.

The new content will replace the programming NBC is losing after ending it's four-year pact with Discovery Networks in March, they added.NBC'S Spanish-language stattion, Telemundo and Ion also will air blocks of the kids' content during the week and will promote the new network, sources said.

The partners which in Febuary began talking in earnest about introducing the network, air aiming for a September launch, sources said.

Ion will own 51 percent of the network and the other four partners will split the remaining stake, sources said.

So what does this mean for us?Who know's but it would be ideal for NBC/Universal to air the Lantz library and Classic Media to air their animated holdings and possibly get Sony's "Totally Tooned In" on the airwaves here in the states.

I wonder if Jerry has heard anything about this?

Bugsmer
05-08-2006, 08:38 PM
It sounds like if they air any classic cartoons, they'll be hacked to pieces. Anything "parents approved" is generally devoid of violence, sex, crime, and, eventually, humour. They may decide to edit Spongebob, although I can see them leaving Franklin alone. They may indeed begin to air theatrical cartoons, but the atmosphere will be very controlled.

corey3rd
05-08-2006, 09:00 PM
what's the point of watching kids shows without cereal and fast food ads? Cap'n Crunch ads were more entertaining than most cartoons.

CueBallCat79
05-08-2006, 09:19 PM
Man, this whole thing really stems from overweight kids who are able to make their own choices but instead eat McDonalds and Lucky Charms every single day. And, oh no, our children have no willpower, we must sue!!

Absolutely pathetic. Check this out:

http://jimhillmedia.com/blogs/jim_hill/archive/2006/05/08/2288.aspx

I dont necessarily love Jim Hill referring to the Disney Corporation as "The Mouse" in every paragraph. But it's an interesting read. At least I think so.

Studio Toledo
05-09-2006, 12:00 AM
It sounds like if they air any classic cartoons, they'll be hacked to pieces. Anything "parents approved" is generally devoid of violence, sex, crime, and, eventually, humour. They may decide to edit Spongebob, although I can see them leaving Franklin alone. They may indeed begin to air theatrical cartoons, but the atmosphere will be very controlled.
True, I don't think I would enjoy such a channel

Rather, I wish it was 25 years ago, when cable TV was still young, and channels like Nickelodeon was commercial-free (of course the best cartoons they could afford to air came from Europe with limited appeal but very unbaised liberal nature).

Studio Toledo
05-09-2006, 12:02 AM
what's the point of watching kids shows without cereal and fast food ads? Cap'n Crunch ads were more entertaining than most cartoons.
The way parents are other groups are threating to sue corporations for using cartoon characters to pimp sugar-coated cereals, those days might finally be over before it's too late.

Studio Toledo
05-09-2006, 12:15 AM
Man, this whole thing really stems from overweight kids who are able to make their own choices but instead eat McDonalds and Lucky Charms every single day. And, oh no, our children have no willpower, we must sue!!
Seems to be the common mentality among most of America these days to go fingerpoint at something.

I'm still an overweight individual, yet I don't find it in my heart to go make noise about it (I blame my obesity on heredity and growing up in a blue-collar family).

Absolutely pathetic. Check this out:

http://jimhillmedia.com/blogs/jim_hill/archive/2006/05/08/2288.aspx

I dont necessarily love Jim Hill referring to the Disney Corporation as "The Mouse" in every paragraph. But it's an interesting read. At least I think so.
I don't mind calling them that nowadays, I usally like to use "Mouse House" as well.

corey3rd
05-09-2006, 01:09 AM
Heaven forbid we blame mothers who can't cook a decent meal. Or fathers who can't light the grill. These are the same parents who don't care when PE and recess get yanked out of the school systems, but they'll blame Tony the Tiger for their kid being a desk bound flab. Guess you can't sue the school system so you go for the Spongebob money.

Studio Toledo
05-09-2006, 02:13 AM
Heaven forbid we blame mothers who can't cook a decent meal. Or fathers who can't light the grill. These are the same parents who don't care when PE and recess get yanked out of the school systems, but they'll blame Tony the Tiger for their kid being a desk bound flab. Guess you can't sue the school system so you go for the Spongebob money.
So much irony!

Jon Cooke
05-09-2006, 06:36 AM
True, I don't think I would enjoy such a channel

Well, any cable station that airs Rocky & Bullwinkle can't be all bad...

Dell Comics Fan
05-09-2006, 07:18 AM
What?! No more cereal cartoon characters?? (Sigh!) Another tradition bites
the dust. Why can't some people leave well enough alone?

MF TOON
05-09-2006, 10:55 AM
I can't understand why anyone in this day and age would even bother to watch cartoons on television when entire series of almost every imaginable TV show from the 50s to presents, is available in some form or another on DVD... Why would anybody need to watch LT/MM on CN for instance, when you own the exact same cartoons in complete and unaltered prints on home video?

The only thing I use my television for is the 6pm news and Discovery/Life/A&E/TCM networks.

Larry T
05-09-2006, 11:07 AM
Why would anybody need to watch LT/MM on CN for instance, when you own the exact same cartoons in complete and unaltered prints on home video?

The only thing I use my television for is the 6pm news and Discovery/Life/A&E/TCM networks.


Actually, I'm finding that too. I rarely watch anything on TV anymore because I'm sick and tired of hacked-up series with 15 minutes of commercials and previews. Most of the series that are any good are available in boxsets with additional material left in.... plus I can watch them at my leisure.

Seems to be the common mentality among most of America these days to go fingerpoint at something.

My rants about censorship fall in this same category.

And I totally agree with CueBallCat79: God forbid a mother or father should learn how to cook at home with nutritious, healthy, raw ingredients rather than advocate these fast-food, pre-packaged, additive-rich, chemical offerings that just barely pass over the line of being considered food.

But Jon's right, they are showing Rocky and Bullwinkle.

Jon Cooke
05-09-2006, 12:41 PM
Why would anybody need to watch LT/MM on CN for instance, when you own the exact same cartoons in complete and unaltered prints on home video?

Well, there are still a LOT of Warner cartoons that are unavailable on DVD yet and they are only releasing one DVD set per year (give or take whatever shorts are thrown onto various discs as bonus features). So having them air on TV isn't totally useless to cartoon fans. It isn't like, say, Top Cat or Yogi Bear, where you can easily go out and buy every episode of your favorite show.

frizfrelengfan
05-09-2006, 12:52 PM
I like the box sets, but I wish that classic cartoons were still on TV because I know I'll never own every cartoon ever made. And, I like to be surprised by the cartoons that the program directors choose to air.

Leviathan
05-09-2006, 04:41 PM
Speaking of DVD's, does anyone else think that Classic Media's Affiliation with this network might have something to do with the indefinite delays of the Made-for-TV Mr. Magoo and Harveytoon boxsets?

dandu
05-10-2006, 10:39 AM
It sounds like if they air any classic cartoons, they'll be hacked to pieces. Anything "parents approved" is generally devoid of violence, sex, crime, and, eventually, humour. They may decide to edit Spongebob, although I can see them leaving Franklin alone. They may indeed begin to air theatrical cartoons, but the atmosphere will be very controlled.

I just thought of something funny. During the 1980s there was a public domain video company named "Parents Approved Video" and it had a tape with Popeye's Alladin and on it as filler, it had "Jungle Jitters"!
Tsk Tsk!

But the idea of the channel is still interesting, too bad the stuff will probably be hacked to peices as you say.

Studio Toledo
05-10-2006, 12:13 PM
I just thought of something funny. During the 1980s there was a public domain video company named "Parents Approved Video" and it had a tape with Popeye's Alladin and on it as filler, it had "Jungle Jitters"!
Tsk Tsk!

But the idea of the channel is still interesting, too bad the stuff will probably be hacked to peices as you say.
That's nothing, I once had a blooper tape from the same label of "Hollywood Bloopers" that obviously wouldn't be something parents would approve for their kids to see!