Something about Kids' WB! from 2001 onward

[TheMisterManGuy]

Kids WB!, the former kids-sub-division of The CW and its predecessor, The WB was sort of the last of its kind by 2001. A 6-day-a-week broadcast children's service airing not just Saturday Mornings, but also weekday afternoons as well. While its longtime rival Fox Kids Network was bought by The Walt Disney Company, and the Big three only offered programming on Saturday Mornings, Kids WB! was the last remaining network/block of a by-gone pre-cable era.

While its' parent Network, The WB, targeted Teenagers and Young Adults (12-34). Kids WB! targeted primarily young, mostly male children aged 6-11, led by both WB's strong animation unit, and the smash-hit Pokemon. But starting with the 2001-02 Season, Kids WB! began to shift its target demo to a broader audience, to include both 2-5 year olds and young teenagers, bringing the bracket up to 2-14. So now 1/3rd of the daytime demographic, overlapped with 1/4th of the prime-time demographic, which meant that Kids' WB! began promoting The WB's prime-time shows much more often, including the upcoming Smallvile. The shift began when the network licensed the Toonami Brand from corporate sibling, Cartoon Network for its weekday afternoon lineup, as well as borrowed some of its programming like Dragon Ball Z and Sailor Moon. Toonami on Cartoon Network skewed slightly older than what Kids' WB! had typically geared its weekday programming towards, which was exactly what the network was hoping for. I know most people don't like the KWB version of Toonami, but I think it did what it set out do, attract pre- and early adolescent boys who didn't have cable to the network.

For younger kids, Kids WB! acquired both Rescue Heroes from Nelvana, and the classic Scooby-Doo series, also from Cartoon Network, to fill the weekday slots, as well as the FCC E/I mandate. The real shift for the network came when Fall rolled around. Kids WB! launched 3 new shows for the Fall 2001 Season, 2 of which were especially chosen to appeal to a tween/teen audience. R.L. Stein's The Nightmare Room, the network's first and only live-action show, which got an early debut on The WB to catch the eye of the young end of the prime-time audience. And Yu-Gi-Oh! the newest product from Pokemon Producer 4Kids Entertainment, based of the Weekly Shonen Jump Manga of the same name, which became the network's highest rated show among boys 9-14 for most of its run. Thanks to its more complex story-lines and older, teenage protagonists. Even with 4Kids' trademark editing, it was still able to bring in the pre-teen and middle school male audience to Kids' WB!

Of course, the block didn't forget about its core 6-11 audience either. New seasons of Pokemon, Jackie Chan Adventures, and the new show, The Mummy all rolled out as well.

 

[AdrenalineRush1996]

It's also worth knowing that the weekday block was phased out in January 2006 when The WB launched their Daytime WB block, eight months prior to their merger with UPN that became The CW and that the block was renamed The CW Daytime.

 

[Vuxovich]

Don't forget Xiaolin Showdown!

 

[wonderfly]

Kids WB!, the former kids-sub-division of The CW and its predecessor, The WB was sort of the last of its kind by 2001. A 6-day-a-week broadcast children's service airing not just Saturday Mornings, but also weekday afternoons as well. While its longtime rival Fox Kids Network was bought by The Walt Disney Company, and the Big three only offered programming on Saturday Mornings, Kids WB! was the last remaining network/block of a by-gone pre-cable era.

While its' parent Network, The WB, targeted Teenagers and Young Adults (12-34). Kids WB! targeted primarily young, mostly male children aged 6-11, led by both WB's strong animation unit, and the smash-hit Pokemon. But starting with the 2001-02 Season, Kids WB! began to shift its target demo to a broader audience, to include both 2-5 year olds and young teenagers, bringing the bracket up to 2-14. So now 1/3rd of the daytime demographic, overlapped with 1/4th of the prime-time demographic, which meant that Kids' WB! began promoting The WB's prime-time shows much more often, including the upcoming Smallvile. The shift began when the network licensed the Toonami Brand from corporate sibling, Cartoon Network for its weekday afternoon lineup, as well as borrowed some of its programming like Dragon Ball Z and Sailor Moon. Toonami on Cartoon Network skewed slightly older than what Kids' WB! had typically geared its weekday programming towards, which was exactly what the network was hoping for. I know most people don't like the KWB version of Toonami, but I think it did what it set out do, attract pre- and early adolescent boys who didn't have cable to the network.

For younger kids, Kids WB! acquired both Rescue Heroes from Nelvana, and the classic Scooby-Doo series, also from Cartoon Network, to fill the weekday slots, as well as the FCC E/I mandate. The real shift for the network came when Fall rolled around. Kids WB! launched 3 new shows for the Fall 2001 Season, 2 of which were especially chosen to appeal to a tween/teen audience. R.L. Stein's The Nightmare Room, the network's first and only live-action show, which got an early debut on The WB to catch the eye of the young end of the prime-time audience. And Yu-Gi-Oh! the newest product from Pokemon Producer 4Kids Entertainment, based of the Weekly Shonen Jump Manga of the same name, which became the network's highest rated show among boys 9-14 for most of its run. Thanks to its more complex story-lines and older, teenage protagonists. Even with 4Kids' trademark editing, it was still able to bring in the pre-teen and middle school male audience to Kids' WB!

Of course, the block didn't forget about its core 6-11 audience either. New seasons of Pokemon, Jackie Chan Adventures, and the new show, The Mummy all rolled out as well.

Are you just trying to describe how Kids WB was different from 2001 onward?

I do think of the Fall 2001 season as the start of the 2nd half of Kids WB, mostly due to the premiere of Yu-Gi-Oh (plus no Animaniacs/Hysteria/Warner Bros. properties after the year 2000, and outside of the final seasons of The Zeta Project and Static Shock, the DC action shows were done).

I think I've mentioned this elsewhere, but you could divide up Kids WB like this:
1995-2001: The Kids WB Golden Age
2001-2006: The Kids WB Silver Age
2006-2008: Kids WB Twilight Years

Or arguably like this:
1995-1997: Kids WB "Early" years (over reliance on Animaniacs, Pinky and the Brain, and Superman)
1997-2001: Kids WB transitions into an action cartoon block, plus the rise of Pokemon
2001-2006: The Rise of Yu-Gi-Oh, plus the post- DC action show years.
2006-2008: The Twilight years

 

[TheMisterManGuy]

Are you just trying to describe how Kids WB was different from 2001 onward?

Basically. Kids' WB! starting in 2001, began moving away from the narrow Boys 6-11 it had targeted for the past few years, to a much broader Kids 2-14 audience, and its new shows from that season onward reflected the network's shift in direction.

I should also mention that 2001 was also the year that The WB Television Network was consolidated under Turner for a short time, which brought Kids' WB! and Cartoon Network closer to each-other, thus allowing for the cross-promotion of shows and brands like Toonami and The Powerpuff Girls.

 

[TheFZAtUGSOnline]

I think I've mentioned this elsewhere, but you could divide up Kids WB like this:
1995-2001: The Kids WB Golden Age
2001-2006: The Kids WB Silver Age
2006-2008: Kids WB Twilight Years

Or arguably like this:
1995-1997: Kids WB "Early" years (over reliance on Animaniacs, Pinky and the Brain, and Superman)
1997-2001: Kids WB transitions into an action cartoon block, plus the rise of Pokemon
2001-2006: The Rise of Yu-Gi-Oh, plus the post- DC action show years.
2006-2008: The Twilight years

And then there's TheCW4Kids (ToonZai) (ugh, now that I think of that, boy was that a mess!)
But the real reason for KWB's Successes was Pokemon and Yu-Gi-Oh! (Because, 4Kids)
Most of the old KWB stuff is now at WBKidsGo!, a streaming service provided by WarnerMedia (Soon to be replaced by HBO Max?)