Jump to content

Saturday-morning cartoon

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

"Saturday-morning cartoon" is a colloquial term for the original animated series and live-action programming that was typically scheduled on Saturday and Sunday mornings in the United States on the "Big Three" television networks. The genre was a tradition from broadly the mid-1960s to mid-2010s;[1] over time its popularity declined, in the face of changing cultural norms, increased competition from formats available at all times, and heavier media regulations.[2][3][4] In the last years of the genre's existence, Saturday-morning and Sunday-morning cartoons were primarily created and aired to meet "educational and informational" (E/I) requirements. Minor television networks, in addition to the non-commercial PBS in some markets, continue to air animated programming on Saturday and Sunday while partially meeting those mandates.[5][6]

In the United States, the generally accepted times for these and other children's programs to air on Saturday mornings were from 8:00 a.m. to approximately 1:00 p.m. Eastern Time Zone. Until the late 1970s, American networks also had a schedule of children's programming on Sunday mornings, though most programs at this time were repeats of Saturday-morning shows that were already out of production.[7][8] In some markets, some shows were pre-empted in favor of syndicated or other types of local programming.[9]

History

[edit]
See also: Children's programming on NBC, Children's programming on the American Broadcasting Company, and Children's programming on CBS

1960s

[edit]

Beginning in the mid-1960s, the Saturday-morning timeslot would feature a great deal of series appropriate for children, although most of these were reruns of animated series originally broadcast in prime time and adventure series made in the 1950s, as well as telecasts of older cartoons made for movie theaters.[10] Later in the decade, the slot would be dominated by superhero and action cartoon series, influenced by the success of Space Ghost.[11][12] These were heavily criticized by parents for their violence.[13]

1970s

[edit]

By 1972, most action programming had been removed from the Saturday-morning slot, following pressure from parents' lobbying groups such as the Action for Children's Television (ACT).[14] These groups voiced concerns about the presentation of commercialism, violence, anti-social attitudes and stereotypes in Saturday-morning cartoons.[14] By the 1970s, these groups exercised enough influence, especially with the U.S. Congress and the Federal Communications Commission, that the television networks felt compelled to impose more stringent content rules for the animation houses.[15][16][17] In 1978, the Federal Trade Commission was openly considering a ban on all advertising during television programming targeting preschoolers, and severe restrictions on other children's program advertising, both of which would have effectively killed off the format; the commission ultimately dropped the proposal.[18]

The networks were encouraged to create educational spots that endeavored to use animation and/or live-action for enriching content,[19] including the Schoolhouse Rock! series on ABC which became a fondly-remembered television classic. With the 1970s came a wave of animated versions of popular live-action prime time series, mainly with the voices of the original casts, as well as imitations of the highly successful Scooby-Doo[20] combining teen characters and talking animals with supernatural mystery stories.

1980s

[edit]

By 1982, under President Ronald Reagan, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) had loosened programming and advertising regulations,[21] leading to the era of "half-hour toy commercials", starting with He-Man and the Masters of the Universe and continuing with such series as The Transformers and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. These were heavily criticized by ACT, but were nevertheless successful.[22] As well, several more lighthearted series appeared, popularized by Hanna-Barbera’s The Smurfs and Jim Henson’s Muppet Babies.[23] These included series based on popular video games, such as Saturday Supercade.[24]

1990s

[edit]

Despite increased competition from cable television networks (such as Nickelodeon, Cartoon Network, and Disney Channel),[25][26][27] Saturday-morning and weekday cartoon blocks continued to remain popular in the 1990s. Such examples included Disney's Disney Afternoon in syndication, Fox's Fox Kids, UPN's UPN Kids, CBS's CBS Saturday, The WB's Kids' WB, and Amazin' Adventures (later Bohbot Kids Network) in syndication.

Creator-driven animation experienced a renaissance at this time, some examples being Fox Kids's acclaimed Batman: The Animated Series,[28] X-Men: The Animated Series,[29] and Animaniacs.[30] Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles continued to be produced into the 1990s, experiencing a popularity peak known as "Turtlemania".[31]

2000s

[edit]

In the late 1990s and early 2000s, Japanese anime shows such as Pokémon, Dragon Ball, Sailor Moon, Digimon and Yu-Gi-Oh! were introduced to American Saturday-morning television, and came to dominate the timeslot.[32] By this point, Kids' WB had pulled ahead of Fox Kids in ratings due to its anime series (particularly Pokémon).[33] Despite the popularity of its own Digimon, Fox Kids declined in ratings and rebranded in 2002 to the anime-oriented Fox Box, then to 4Kids TV in 2005. 4Kids TV ended its run in 2008; Fox opted to drop children's programming altogether rather than lease the block to another company,[34] and would not carry children's programming for six years until the launch of Xploration Station.[35]

Networks continued to carry Saturday-morning cartoons into the 2000s, with other blocks such as Disney's One Saturday Morning[36] (later ABC Kids) on ABC, Disney's One Too[37] on UPN, and NBC's Qubo. By this point, much of the non-E/I programming consisted of either dubbed anime from Japan or reruns of cable programs. Among the "Big Three" traditional major networks, the final non-E/I cartoon to date (Kim Possible) was last aired in 2006.

2010s

[edit]

By the 2010s, the increased availability of streaming services led to a further decline in Saturday-morning viewership, as they allowed children to watch their favorite cartoons at any given time.[1] As the popularity of these blocks continued to wane, Litton Entertainment took over programming the Saturday-morning children's blocks from ABC, CBS, The CW, and NBC in 2011,[38][39][40] 2013,[41] 2014,[42][43] and 2016,[44][45] respectively. Under Litton, these networks shifted from weekend-morning educational programming aimed towards preteen audiences, to live-action documentary programming ostensibly targeted at teenagers. These series were relatively less expensive to produce, met the FCC's educational mandates, and were less likely to cause a clash with morning news programs. This documentary programming also benefited from having less restrictive rules for advertising compared to programming targeted to children.[46]

In the United States, The CW continued to air non-E/I cartoons until 2014, with the discontinuation of the Vortexx block, which was viewed by some media outlets as the end of an era.[1] Sinclair Broadcast Group's KidsClick block, which ran from 2017[47] to 2019[48] on This TV and later TBD,[49] aired no E/I programming. Since then, some cable television networks have revived the practice of debuting their most popular animated programming on Saturday and Sunday mornings on a sporadic basis. A handful of digital subchannels also make use of Saturday-morning cartoon reruns, including Get After It Media's PBJ, Ion Media's Qubo, Retro Television Network, and MeTV[50] (as well as its companion network MeTV Plus).

Factors contributing to decline

[edit]

Multiple factors contributed to the decline of the Saturday-morning timeslot. Among them were the introduction of people meters that children found difficult to operate in the late 1980s,[51][52] an increasingly competitive market fueled by the multi-channel transition,[53][26] a boom in first-run syndicated content,[54] viewers growing bored with stagnant tropes and limited animation from studios such as Hanna-Barbera and Filmation,[55][51] the introduction of home video[1] (and later video on demand)[51] and video games,[56] the FCC's educational content mandates[57][1] and FTC's increasing restrictions on advertising,[1] and broader cultural changes stemming from an increase in no-fault divorces and the end of the post-World War II baby boom.[27][1][51]

Some networks would replace their Saturday-morning cartoon lineups with live-action teen-oriented series[58] or infomercials.[59] Others would expand their morning news shows onto the weekend lineup, leaving less time for animation.[60][61][62] Attempting to pair the newscasts with the remaining cartoons was largely unsuccessful because the two program formats drew widely different audiences that did not lend themselves to leading in and out of each other, leading to viewership oddities (such as NBC's children's block having an average viewership age of over 40 years old).[63][46]

Legacy

[edit]

This era continues to be satirized and/or spoofed in popular culture. The tribute album Saturday Morning: Cartoons' Greatest Hits was released in 1995, featuring covers of Saturday-morning cartoon themes from the 1960s and 1970s as performed by alternative rock artists.[64][65] The Netflix animated series Saturday Morning All Star Hits! parodies the mid-1980s to early 1990s era of Saturday-morning animation, such as Thundercats, Care Bears, and Denver, the Last Dinosaur.[66] The science fiction animated series Futurama also spoofed 1970s and 1980s Saturday-morning cartoons in the episode "Saturday Morning Fun Pit".[67]

See also

[edit]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ a b c d e f g Sullivan, Gail (September 30, 2014). "Saturday morning cartoons are no more". The Washington Post. Retrieved October 2, 2014.
  2. ^ Holz, Jo (2017). Kids' TV Grows Up: The Path from Howdy Doody to SpongeBob. Jefferson, NC: McFarland. pp. 73–171. ISBN 978-1-4766-6874-1.
  3. ^ Raiti, Gerard (April 30, 2003). "The Disappearance of Saturday Morning". Animation World Network. Retrieved 2024-03-20.
  4. ^ Moss, Charles (May 20, 2021). "The Rise and Fall of Saturday Morning Cartoons". The Saturday Evening Post. Retrieved 2024-03-20.
  5. ^ Mifflin, Lawrie (October 29, 1996). "Pied Piper Of Cable Beguiles Rivals' Children". The New York Times. Retrieved August 21, 2010.
  6. ^ The Christian Science Monitor (30 April 1990). "Mutant Ninja Turtles, Profits, and Children". The Christian Science Monitor.
  7. ^ McFarland, Melanie (September 14, 2002). "Saturday-morning TV gets ready to rumble". The Seattle Times. Retrieved June 9, 2014.
  8. ^ Strauss, Neil (January 5, 1997). "It's Saturday Morning, Dude, Time for TV". The New York Times. Retrieved August 12, 2010.
  9. ^ "Television: trouble in toontown". Time. November 25, 1996. Archived from the original on October 29, 2010. Retrieved August 12, 2010.
  10. ^ "Saturday Morning Television Programs". The Clarion-Ledger. December 5, 1964. p. 13. Retrieved 2024-06-23.
  11. ^ "Saturday morning television programs, including Space Ghost and similar cartoons". The Wichita Eagle. April 6, 1968. p. 20. Retrieved 2024-06-23.
  12. ^ Sennett, Ted (October 30, 1989). The Art of Hanna-Barbera: Fifty Years of Creativity. Studio. ISBN 978-0670829781.
  13. ^ "Protests Rise over TV Cartoons". Democrat and Chronicle. December 3, 1967. p. 184. Retrieved 2024-06-23.
  14. ^ a b Gent, George (1972-01-13). "Networks Say They Eliminated Most Violent Children's Shows". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2022-08-24.
  15. ^ Pogue, Paul (2002). "Saturday-Morning Cartoons". St. James Encyclopedia of Pop Culture. Archived from the original on July 10, 2012. Retrieved July 30, 2022.
  16. ^ Boyer, Peter (February 3, 1986). "Toy-based TV: effects on children debated". The New York Times. Retrieved August 10, 2010.
  17. ^ Collins, Glenn (December 12, 1985). "CONTROVERSY ABOUT TOYS, TV VIOLENCE". The New York Times. Retrieved August 10, 2010.
  18. ^ Brown, Les (March 19, 1978). "TV cartoons face dim future". The New York Times. Retrieved April 26, 2015.
  19. ^ "Children's TV: Little by Little it's Getting Better". The Los Angeles Times. September 29, 1974. p. 448. Retrieved 2024-06-23.
  20. ^ "TV Kiddie Shows Abound". The Tribune. April 14, 1974. p. 22. Retrieved 2024-06-23.
  21. ^ "Rules Died after Reagan elected". Statesman Journal. January 12, 1982. p. 15. Retrieved 2024-06-23.
  22. ^ "30-minute Commercials". Fort Worth Star-Telegram. June 7, 1987. p. 98. Retrieved 2024-06-23.
  23. ^ "You can find good shows for kids Saturday morning". The Baltimore Sun. September 28, 1985. p. 45. Retrieved 2024-06-23.
  24. ^ "What's new for kids on TV Saturday morning". Democrat and Chronicle. September 6, 1983. p. 14. Retrieved 2024-06-23.
  25. ^ "Nick Retains Saturday Crown". Broadcasting & Cable. June 18, 2001. Archived from the original on November 6, 2013. Retrieved October 30, 2013.
  26. ^ a b Bernstein, Paula (September 29, 2002). "Kid skeds tread on joint strategy". Variety. Retrieved July 14, 2018.
  27. ^ a b "The Disappearance of Saturday Morning". Animation World Network. Retrieved October 2, 2009.
  28. ^ Erickson, Hal (2005). Television Cartoon Shows: An Illustrated Encyclopedia, 1949 Through 2003 (2nd ed.). McFarland & Co. pp. 114–122. ISBN 978-1476665993.
  29. ^ "Top 10 Comic to TV Adaptations". IGN. June 21, 2007. Archived from the original on March 8, 2021. Retrieved 2010-08-15.
  30. ^ Mangan, Jennifer (December 21, 1993). "'Animaniacs' Stars Can Make Even A Parent Laugh". Chicago Tribune. USA. Archived from the original on September 29, 2012. Retrieved May 28, 2011.
  31. ^ "Shell Schlocked". Entertainment Weekly. October 12, 1990. Archived from the original on June 30, 2014. Retrieved December 19, 2010.
  32. ^ O'Melia, Gina (2019). Japanese Influence on American Children's Television: Transforming Saturday Morning. Springer. ISBN 978-3-030-17416-3.
  33. ^ "One-Two Punch of Pokémon and Batman Beyond Flattens Competition for Kids' WB" (Press release). Time Warner. June 4, 1999. Archived from the original on April 27, 2012. Retrieved July 5, 2011.
  34. ^ "4Kids Entertainment, Inc. Q3 2008 Earnings Call Transcript". Seeking Alpha. November 10, 2008. Archived from the original on April 15, 2012. Retrieved November 10, 2008.
  35. ^ Albiniak, Paige (December 17, 2013). "Fox Stations Add SRP's Two-Hour STEM Block". Broadcasting & Cable. Retrieved June 29, 2014.
  36. ^ Grove, Christopher (August 29, 1997). "Webs roll out season geared to kids". Variety. Reed Business Information. Retrieved August 13, 2009.
  37. ^ Pursell, Chris (July 19, 1999). "Mouse brands UPN kidvid". Variety. Reed Business Information. Retrieved August 13, 2009.
  38. ^ Albiniak, Paige (May 24, 2011). "ABC to Premiere ABC Weekend Adventure on Sept. 3". Broadcasting & Cable. Archived from the original on September 28, 2013. Retrieved May 24, 2011.
  39. ^ "Litton Announces "ABC Weekend Adventure"". Business Wire. May 24, 2011. Archived from the original on March 4, 2016. Retrieved May 24, 2011.
  40. ^ "Litton To Supply Kids Block For ABC Stations". TV News Check. May 24, 2011. Archived from the original on December 4, 2013. Retrieved May 24, 2011.
  41. ^ James, Meg (July 24, 2013). "CBS partners with Litton Entertainment for Saturday teen block". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved July 26, 2013.
  42. ^ "Exclusive: Traditional Saturday Morning Programming Ends This Fall as Saban Brands Pulls the Plug on the Vortexx". Toon Zone. May 31, 2014. Retrieved June 1, 2014.
  43. ^ Bibel, Sara (May 31, 2014). "The CW Replacing 'Vortexx' Saturday Morning Programming With Live Action 'One Magnificent Morning'". TV by the Numbers. Archived from the original on June 3, 2014. Retrieved June 1, 2014.
  44. ^ "NBC and Litton Entertainment Expand Iconic 'The More You Know' Platform Into New Three-Hour Saturday Morning Programming Block". Broadcasting & Cable. February 24, 2016. Retrieved February 25, 2016.
  45. ^ Malone, Michael (February 24, 2016). "NBC, Litton Partner on 'The More You Know' Block". Broadcasting & Cable. Retrieved February 25, 2016.
  46. ^ a b Robb, David (June 20, 2016). "Preteen Saturday Morning Kids Shows Abandoned By Broadcast Networks". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved June 26, 2016.
  47. ^ "Sinclair To Launch 'KidsClick' Multiplatform Programming Block For Children". PR Newswire. May 2, 2017. Retrieved July 20, 2017.
  48. ^ "Kidsclick". www.facebook.com. Retrieved 2019-03-29.
  49. ^ KidsClick [@KidsClickTV] (July 5, 2018). "We were sad too, but the good news is we are still on TV on TBD. You can check their market list to see where we are in your area: http://tbd.com/watch-on-tv. You can always watch on our app or site as well: https://kidsclick.com" (Tweet). Retrieved July 19, 2018 – via Twitter.
  50. ^ Milligan, Mercedes (2020-10-23). "MeTV Announces Hosted Morning Classics Show 'Toon In With Me' for 2021". Animation Magazine. Retrieved 2021-08-21.
  51. ^ a b c d Harmetz, Aljean (June 7, 1988). "Kids Like Tube, But Tune Out Networks". Chicago Tribune. New York Times News Service.
  52. ^ Tiegel, Eliot; Sobel, Robert (August 8, 1988). "Syndicators look to new form" [People meters blamed] (PDF). Television Radio/Age. p. 53.
  53. ^ "Fox Ends Saturday-Morning Cartoons". The New York Times. November 25, 2008. Retrieved October 2, 2009.
  54. ^ Boyer, Peter (September 19, 1988). "THE MEDIA BUSINESS; NBC Considers Scrapping Saturday Cartoons". The New York Times. Retrieved September 10, 2013.
  55. ^ Perlmutter, David (2014). America Toons In: A History of Television Animation. McFarland. ISBN 978-0-7864-7650-3.
  56. ^ Hester, Larry (April 3, 2013). "The History Of Video Games On TV". Complex. Retrieved February 17, 2019.
  57. ^ Gaines, Caseen (September 23, 2017). "'The Weird Al Show': The Complete Oral History". Rolling Stone. Retrieved November 15, 2017.
  58. ^ "Merrie Melodies and More! NBC replaces cartoons with fare for teens". The Journal News. September 19, 1992. p. 15. Retrieved 2024-06-24.
  59. ^ Schneider, Michael (November 23, 2008). "Longform ads replace kid fare on Fox". Variety. Retrieved December 29, 2008.
  60. ^ "Channel 7 to offer weekend morning newscasts". Idaho Statesman. March 17, 1992. p. 27. Retrieved 2024-06-24.
  61. ^ "KELO expands morning show, KDLT adds "In Focus"". Argus Leader. August 30, 1997. p. 9. Retrieved 2024-06-24.
  62. ^ "Saturday Morning television guide". The Morning Call. October 17, 2004. p. 160. Retrieved 2024-06-24.
  63. ^ "Adults 'Discover' kiddie programs". 23 February 2003.
  64. ^ Saturday-morning cartoon at AllMusic
  65. ^ Stegall, Tim (May 1996). "Music Reviews". Alternative Press. Vol. 10, no. 94. pp. 88–89.
  66. ^ Saturday Morning All Star Hits! review: Kyle Mooney brings his weird to Netflix - Polygon
  67. ^ Nicholson, Max (July 18, 2013). "Futurama: "Saturday Morning Fun Pit" Review". IGN. San Francisco, California: j2 Global. Retrieved December 22, 2016.
[edit]
Look up Saturday-morning cartoon in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Saturday-morning_cartoon&oldid=1240771198"