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Saturday Morning Cartoons

Sep 27, 2014#1

PatrThom

It seems that today (September 27, 2014) will be the last day (at least for broadcast TV in the US) for a traditional weekend meal of sugary cereal eaten out of a salad bowl while wearing pajamas in front of your television set. Pour out a glass of Tang and offer up a pack of Ding Dongs, because after these messages, they won't be back.

--Patrick

Sep 27, 2014#2

DarkAudit

In Loving Memory...

Sep 27, 2014#3

sixpackshaker

Why get up on Saturday morning when there are plenty of channels dedicated to kid's programming? I can't believe it lasted this long.

Sep 27, 2014#4

DarkAudit

sixpackshaker said:
Why get up on Saturday morning when there are plenty of channels dedicated to kid's programming?

Sep 27, 2014#5

PatrThom

stienman said:
Meh. We will never get back to the Saturday creature features, morning cartoons, and rated r movies cut down to PG in the evening.

Yes. This is more like the breaking off of some important part, hastening TV's slide into irrelevance.
I have a picture (on another computer, sorry) of a kiosk advertising Queen Latifah's talk show in a mall. When you have to advertise your television show IN A MALL, you know television as an (ad-supported) industry is in its death spiral.

--Patrick

Sep 27, 2014#6

Frank

stienman said:
Meh. We will never get back to the Saturday creature features, morning cartoons, and rated r movies cut down to PG in the evening.

Sep 28, 2014#7

Celt Z

But NBC still airs kids cartoons Saturday mornings. Granted, they're skewed towards the preschool crowd, but still: cartoons. (Or is it CBS? I forget.)

Sep 29, 2014#8

PatrThom

Celt Z said:
But NBC still airs kids cartoons Saturday mornings. Granted, they're skewed towards the preschool crowd, but still: cartoons. (Or is it CBS? I forget.)

When I checked the TV Guide listings, the only stations I saw who aired cartoons were Cartoon Network (obviously) and CW. When I checked next week's listings, they were gone (except CN). The big networks (NBC/CBS/ABC) just had paid programming/talk. PBS still has preschool-age programming, but they've had that a while.

--Patrick

Sep 29, 2014#9

Celt Z

PatrThom said:
When I checked the TV Guide listings, the only stations I saw who aired cartoons were Cartoon Network (obviously) and CW. When I checked next week's listings, they were gone (except CN). The big networks (NBC/CBS/ABC) just had paid programming/talk. PBS still has preschool-age programming, but they've had that a while.

--Patrick

According to this, it still exists. I catch it with Li'l Z sometimes because it has some of his Sprout shows on. It used to be called Qubo or something. Granted, it's on after NBC's Today weekend show, but last I saw it was still there. Again, I could be wrong since it's been a few weeks since I've seen it.

EDIT: Yep, according to the TV Guide listings, 10 AM-12:30 PM is still cartoons. It's the last hold-out on the major networks.

Sep 29, 2014#10

Shakey

Didn't it have something to do with having to have a certain amount of educational programming per cartoon? The networks just said screw it and dropped the cartoons because it cost too much.

Sep 29, 2014#11

Covar

Meh

Sep 29, 2014#12

PatrThom

Celt Z said:
10 AM-12:30 PM is still cartoons. It's the last hold-out on the major networks.

stienman said:
Local stations may still choose to show what they believe best fits their market, but it's no longer network-wide.

Yes, the TV Guide listings were actually "local programming." I just said "paid programming" because I assume the local stations will fill their local time with informercials and the like rather than trying to do anything responsible with it.

--Patrick

Sep 29, 2014#13

Celt Z

stienman said:
Our local CBS station is all talk and other shows, no cartoons. I suspect your existing cartoons are not network programming, but local station programming.

However all the major networks have stopped network programming of saturday morning cartoons. Local stations may still choose to show what they believe best fits their market, but it's no longer network-wide.

Sorry, it was NBC, but it's a deal they made with PBS/Sprout, not their own original programming. Shame that it's only the NY/NJ area.

Shakey said:
Didn't it have something to do with having to have a certain amount of educational programming per cartoon? The networks just said screw it and dropped the cartoons because it cost too much.

IIRC, it had nothing to do with education and everything to do with advertising. Saturday morning cartoons were there to be advertisements, or hold kids' attention for the commercials of the program's sponsors. With the rise of cable and 24 hr. children-centric networks, advertisers no longer wanted to shell out the big bucks for cartoons with no guaranteed captive audience, so the major networks dropped them. Traditional-style cartoons aren't cheap to make and without the advertiser's sponsorship, networks would lose money airing them.

Sep 29, 2014#14

rac3r_x

The long gone theme song of my long gone childhood Saturday mornings

meep *sob* meep

Sep 29, 2014#15

GasBandit

With Netflix, DVRs, and Bittorrent, it can be saturday morning whenever you want. Though maybe it'll never be the same if you don't have to turn up the TV to drown out the noise of you parents doing it in the room above you.

Sep 29, 2014#16

Ravenpoe

GasBandit said:
Though maybe it'll never be the same if you don't have to turn up the TV to drown out the noise of you parents ~~doing it~~ fighting in the room above you.

There we go, now it's how I remember it.

Sep 30, 2014#17

GasBandit

Ravenpoe said:
There we go, now it's how I remember it.

Eh, my parents divorced before I was 2. So by the time I was watching cartoons and able to form and retain memories, mom had found somebody else who was a better fit/could put up with her crazy shit better.

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