Introduction to Cartoon Network
The CartoonNetwork is a channel of the cable television, produced by Turner Broadcasting. As the name suggests, the channel airs cartoons and is one of the favorite channels for kids, the world over. It premiered on October 1, 1992.
Ted Turner’s cable TV conglomerate had a repertoire of animation films which included the MGM film library, consisting of the older catalog of Warner Bros. cartoons, and its cable channel Turner Network Television had acquired quite an audience for these animations. To add to their viewer ship, they also purchased Hanna-Barbera Productions. The Cartoon Network channel was created solely for the exclusive reruns of these programs on television.
When Time Warner purchased Turner Broadcasting (a company managing the collection of cable networks and properties started by Ted Turner in the mid 1970s), in 1996, the Cartoon Network channel gained access to the Warner Brothers cartoon library from the 1950s and 1960s and newer cartoons like Road Rovers, Animaniacs, Freakazoid, and Pinky and the Brain. Some new shows like Dexter’s Laboratory (1996), Johnny Bravo (1997), Cow and Chicken (1997 and Powerpuff Girls (1998) were also produced.
Cartoon Network later tried to cover an audience besides young children and created programs for teenagers as young adults as well. It gave out slots during mid-afternoon and late night for such programs. It also acquired a voting system wherein the audience could call in and put in requests for their programs. The program with higher votes would be aired that day. The old Hanna- Barbera cartoons have now been moved from Cartoon Network to the nostalgia-themed Boomerang Network, which is aired in the UK and the US. This channel is also owned by the Cartoon Network and shows animated cartoon classics mainly from the MGM, Warner brothers and Hanna-Barbera archives.
In 2001, Cartoon Network also developed an online feature called Cartoon Orbit, to stay at part with the changing times and be ahead of other animation channels on cable television. |
