What will happen to saturday morning cartoon if Litton were to shut down?

logo70

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Well, there are rumors that 1 e/i show by Litton entertainment gets more views that today’s cartoon network.
 

PinkieLopBun

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Well. I saw rumors that Litton is closing down all their blocks by july 6. However, I can’t say its that true since wikipideas is the only source and I can’t find info anywhere else
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Litton's_Weekend_Adventure
I hope someone has proof. I want saturday mornings back. If
Since there’s no source, I took it off the pages. I doubt it’s true anyway, and even if it was, this wouldn’t bring the cartoons back.
 

jaylop97

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Well. I saw rumors that Litton is closing down all their blocks by july 6. However, I can’t say its that true since wikipideas is the only source and I can’t find info anywhere else
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Litton's_Weekend_Adventure
I hope someone has proof. I want saturday mornings back. If
If Litton was to drop it would not be all that likely to see a resurge of the Sat morning genre, considering how cable is declining and how online streaming is becoming more of a popular choice to most.
 

Light Lucario

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How would Litton's block ending mean anything for Saturday morning blocks? Networks didn't stop using traditional Saturday morning blocks because Litton came along. It was because they were unprofitable and the concept itself is extremely outdated. It's like being sad over losing Blockbusters and thinking that it could come back if Netflix went under. Traditional Saturday morning blocks won't be coming back regardless of what happens with Litton. If Litton does lose its block, then we'll probably just see it being replaced with infomercials or reruns of network shows.
 

Philblue7

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Well here's my concept if Saturday morning cartoons returned to replace Litton's block:
  • Disney Junior on ABC
  • Atomic Cartoons on FOX
  • Cookie Jar TV on CBS (revival)
  • Toonami on The CW
  • NBC Kids (revival)
 

Mandouga

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Well....TECHNICALLY, Saturday mornings have come back, thanks to KidsClick. I just wish they would actually show more than just the same old episodes.

Anyway, they only said that they would "reexamine" the rules, and are considering "roll[ing] back" or "reconsider[ing]" them; both of which could mean anything. They never said anything about "relaxing" the rules.

In any case, this is a very major thing. I think everyone should stay on top of this.
 

Takao

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A lot of the FCC's rules were written before the internet and are desperately in need of updating. E/I was a failure. The content was seldom watched by anyone, let alone kids, leading to shows staying on the air for much longer than they should have.

That said, anyone expecting FOX or ABC to get back into Saturday morning cartoons is probably in for a disappointment. Skimming through that post, the person is arguing in favour of removing E/I programming entirely. I suspect most local stations will use that as a way to air syndicated sitcom re-runs, infomercials or local programming.

The only one I suspect will look at this as an opportunity is Sinclair. They might be planning on a full-scale KidsClick digital OTA channel. But if you watch the block right now, you'll notice they only really have a few appropriate advertisers (Chuck E. Cheese, Bandai America's Zak Storm toys and some really small toy companies) and part of that is tied to the restrictions laid out by the FCC. While they might be well-meaning, the internet has made a lot of them null.
 

Mandouga

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Personally, I don't think it was a failure or a success. It's just...there. I will say that for some people, it was/is an insult to their intelligence; something that only happened because Media Watchdog/Moral Guardian groups either criticized what they didn't (and to a degree, still don't) understand, blamed "cartoons" (in quotes, because that word may not necessarily mean what they think it means) for the all the bad things that have happened in America* (let alone the world) or both, but ultimately got their way. While there's nothing wrong with educational stuff, just because people aren't watching it regularly doesn't mean they're stupid, but it especially doesn't mean that other shows are "influencing" them to do bad things (indeed, people who say they did this bad thing, or that bad thing because they saw it in a "cartoon"^ are people who are/were already messed up long before that). Will removing the E/I rule improve things? Who can say, really. If it does happen, we can only wait and see what happens afterwards...

*Along with rock music (which ultimately led to the creation of the "Parental Advisory" label), and video games (which are blamed even more than "cartoons", movies, or other TV shows ever were/have ever been).

^Or saw it in a movie/other TV show, or heard it in a song, etc.
 

hobbyfan

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Logo70 is a teenager who doesn't quite grasp the entire point.

When Saturday morning programming began back in the early, early days of television networks, they repurposed reruns of night time programming that was safe for the whole family (i.e. The Roy Rogers Show). Animated fare began entering the mix in the early 60's, mostly repackaged theatrical shorts (i.e. Bugs Bunny, Casper) for the networks to use. After Bugs moved from prime-time to SatAM, the networks slowly began to see the value of animated fare, which is how Total Television got in with King Leonardo, Tennessee Tuxedo, & Underdog. Bullwinkle also transitioned from night to SatAM, and got a few extra years out of it.

Logo70 doesn't like that Litton has taken over programming four networks (NBC, ABC, CBS, CW) with educationally driven programming, some of which is available on some cable channels. What he doesn't understand is that kids have been gravitating toward their computers for their favorite cartoons for the last 20 years or so. Comes across to me as someone who doesn't want to be treated like he's in school on the weekends.

The idea I get is that the networks are trying to help build the younger audiences into tomorrow's leaders by using the Litton blocks as teaching tools. But, like Logo70, I think there are a lot of kids who are resisting the broadcast networks' fare, opting to either go out and play (also encouraged) or let their brains turn to mush from endless reruns of certain unfunny cable cartoons.

I'd like to think the kid has an idea, but doesn't know how to properly communicate his ideas without sounding like a whiny, uninformed viewer.
 

aegisrawks

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Now that CBS has said they had plans for airing kids stuff again I am much more interested in seeing Litton stop their monopoly.
 

Philblue7

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Here's my concept if weekend morning cartoons returned and replaces Litton's blocks:

Saturdays:
  • ABC Kids (ABC) [revival]
  • Nick on CBS (CBS) [revival]
  • Kids' WB! (The CW) [revival]
  • 4Kids TV (FOX) [revival]
  • KidsClick (MyNetworkTV) [revival]
  • Universal Kids on NBC (NBC)
Sundays:
  • Nat Geo Kids on FOX (FOX)
  • KidsClick (MyNetworkTV) [revival]
 

aegisrawks

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I really hope Konami Cross Media will try again. They wanted to buy the block on their own but Saban couldnt well leave things alone.
 

Lex The Bookworm

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Seeing how there's no more 4Kids Entertainment (the company is now 4Licensing Corporation), I imagine that name will not be on the table.
4Licensing Corporation was shutdown after second bankruptcy 4KidsTV is still on YouTube channel now renamed to 4KidsTV Animation.
 

Low Spark of Lyman

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4Licensing Corporation was shutdown after second bankruptcy 4KidsTV is still on YouTube channel now renamed to 4KidsTV Animation.
2017, I see. Somehow I'm only now finding out about that.
4KidsTV Animation - Assuming this is the channel you're referring to, there appear to be only two shows represented, and the last video upload was "9 years ago".
 

AdrenalineRush1996

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Here's the quote from the related thread that contains news links about it.
Following the announcement of the second merger between Viacom and CBS Corporation, current CBS Corporation CEO Joseph Ianniello was receptive to the possibility of the return of Nickelodeon children's programming to CBS.[24] As CBS is currently under contract with Litton Entertainment to carry the CBS Dream Team E/I programming block until the end of the 2022-23 television season, any Nickelodeon programming that CBS would decide to add would not be required to meet E/I requirements; advertising restrictions would still be enforced for any programming targeted at children under 13.[23]
 

Mandouga

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(sigh) Boy oh boy oh boy...

First of all, aegisrawks, being "receptive to the possibility" is not, I repeat, NOT the same thing as saying that it will actually be happening, or even "[having] plans" to do it. Second, even if it were to happen...

As CBS is currently under contract with Litton Entertainment to carry the CBS Dream Team E/I programming block until the end of the 2022-23 television season

(quoted for emphasis)

...it's still a long way off. For this reason, there's no actual guarantee that it will happen. Look, I want it to happen too, but right now this is all just speculation based on a casual remark made by someone in a senior executive position that doesn't really say anything.

You know, just saying...
 

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