Why is the topic of Saturday Morning Cartoons so taboo in the Cartoon Community

[Anitoon1000]

Besides people talking about reminiscing the shows they saw on Saturday morning cartoon when they were kids / young. There's little or no real in depth discussion regarding the current state of Saturday morning cartoons , why Saturday morning cartoons declined and the future of Saturday morning cartoons.

 

[wonderfly]

"why Saturday mornings declined" has been discussed repeatedly.

I don't think it's "taboo", I just don't think it's an acceptable format in 2021, to have a Saturday morning block.

 

[aegisrawks]

There is MeTV. And its doing well.

 

[AdrenalineRush1996]

To be honest, it's not really taboo.

 

[Goldstar!]

I wouldn't say that Saturday morning TV is considered to be a taboo subject; it's just that the entertainment industry has changed too much for SatAM TV to be a viable format anymore, so most people tend not to discuss it outside of reminiscing.

 

[Silverstar]

Also there's no real need for a deep discussion about how and why the Saturday Morning Cartoon experienced declined on broadcast television because most people already know why:

First there was the one-two punch of newer outlets: the advent of cable and satellite TV killed broadcast SatAM blocks and then the internet and online streaming services made them irrelevant. Kids today don't need to wait for one day to watch a 3 to 4 hour programming block when there are channels that run cartoons and kids' shows all day every day or they can just go online and cherry pick whatever they want to watch. The likes of Tribune and Sinclair actually told their affiliates to end blocks like Fox Kids and Kids' WB! because they were losing money on them.

Also broadcast networks don't program their own SatAM kids' shows anymore; they outsource them, and most of the studios who used to produce Saturday morning shows are currently under the umbrella of big corporations, who'd rather run the shows on their own venues. For example, when Disney bought ABC, they axed all of the non-Disney shows to launch their own block, One Saturday Morning, then in 2002 they revamped that into ABC Kids, which was just mini-Disney Channel on ABC, then eventually they felt that even this was a waste of time and money; if kids want to watch Disney Channel shows, they can watch them on the Disney Channel.

There are still OTA channels and syndicated blocks like Me TV and Litton, but they're the exception, not the norm. These days local stations and broadcast networks make more money airing news, sports and infomercials than they would airing cartoons, so most of them air news, sports and infomercials.

To sum up: it's not that Saturday Morning has become a taboo subject, it's just that by now it's a story that everyone knows. Like @wonderfly said a few posts back, it's been covered rather frequently (Often by me! ). There's really nothing new to discuss.

 

[Moe]

I don't think that discussion about Saturday morning cartoon is taboo but it served the purpose.

Children's Television Act (CTA) that passed in 1990, strict E/I requirement started under Clinton Admin and strong competition on cable channels led to demise of Saturday morning cartoons, so cable channels don't have to follow CTA nor E/I requirement. Most kids want entertainment value, not bored educational value.

USA Network, TNT, TBS and SYFY used to had children programming in 1980s and 1990s, prior to CN launch in 1992 and Disney Channel transitioned from premium channel to basic channel and launch of secondary channels like Boomerang, Noggin/The N, Nicktoons and Toon Disney in late 90s and early 2000s rendered Saturday morning cartoons pointless and popularity of DVR rendered all Saturday morning cartoon as unnecessary now. Streaming services nailed Saturday morning cartoon in the coffin.

Streaming services made secondary channels like Boomerang, Nicktoons, Disney XD, Discovery Family as unnecessary, so kids can watch Hasbro contents for free on Tubi TV, despite no closed caption support for deaf and hard of hearing audiences.

Edit: Some parents banned kids from watch live TV so they forced kids to watch approved contents that recorded with DVR but it wasn't thing back in 80s and 90s.

 

[homeofthebadguys]

Some parents banned kids from watch live TV so they forced kids to watch approved contents that recorded with DVR but it wasn't thing back in 80s and 90s.

TV on video was a thing around this time, but didn't break out until disc-based mediums started. The reason: a TV show required a collection of tapes (13 25-minute episodes are 5.4 hours of content. That could easily go over 3 tapes [four episodes per 247mtr (2hr04min) of tape, NTSC recording], leaving room on the fifth to spare.) and could be fractured by the wrath of a hungry player/recorder. One could also timeshift with a VCR (that's what tapes were supposed to do, after all).

 

[Petran Markou]

Considering how many strict rules there are today when it comes to kids ads and morning cartoons, it is more profitable showing Disney movies on evening hours and without toy ads restrictions.

 

[Moe]

I know why about Disney prefer to air Disney movies on Freeform instead of Disney Channel.

 

[harry580]

I know why about Disney prefer to air Disney movies on Freeform instead of Disney Channel.

its because Disney Channel under went a change at the time due to the launch of Jetix and due to the fact Disney bought fox family from saban and news corporation

 

[AdrenalineRush1996]

TV on video was a thing around this time, but didn't break out until disc-based mediums started.

Correct as I used to have a compilation of Simpsons episodes on VHS.

 

[CookieS]

I always thought the idea of "Saturday Morning" was a construct of a bygone era. For many generations it was a child's indulgent escape. Cartoons, cereal, and shutting out the outside world. What made it special was the rarity of programming. At the height of Saturday morning cartoon time, animation on television was rare. If you missed it for a week, you'd have to wait until the following Saturday. It was appointment television.

As @Silverstar and @SilentYoda explained, a lot has changed since those days, in business, technology, and the public's viewing habits. I think the idea that we don't discuss this with depth is incorrect. We don't discuss it because it just is not what it used to be. Defining programming based on when it airs seems like a foreign concept today with various streaming options, DVRs, and online rentals. It has become less of a shared experience to watch a collection of animation at a shared time, and more about discussions on individual series.

If you're interested in the history of Saturday morning cartoons, I'd recommend checking out the following books which cover the historical aspect well:

• "Saturday Morning Fever: Growing up with Cartoon Culture" by Timothy Burke
• "It's Saturday Morning!: Celebrating the Golden Era of Cartoons 1960s - 1990s" by Joe Garner & Michael Ashley
• "Totally Awesome: The Greatest Cartoons of the Eighties" by Andrew Farago

 

[Silverstar]

If you're interested in the history of Saturday morning cartoons, I'd recommend checking out the following books which cover the historical aspect well:

• "Saturday Morning Fever: Growing up with Cartoon Culture" by Timothy Burke
• "It's Saturday Morning!: Celebrating the Golden Era of Cartoons 1960s - 1990s" by Joe Garner & Michael Ashley
• "Totally Awesome: The Greatest Cartoons of the Eighties" by Andrew Farago

I own the first two of those. I'll have to check out the third one.