Our years of experience in entertaining kids have shown us that older kids in particular gravitate toward programming that is new and contemporary. And as competition for kid audiences grew dramatically during the 1990s, we found if we were going to keep kids coming back to Cartoon Network in prime time, we needed new original programming that spoke specifically to them. They make up seven of our top 10 most highly rated series among 6-11 year olds. And on a broader scale, I think original programming today defines brand identity of cable networks. Ours reflects the unique style and irreverent attitude we've claimed in the marketplace, and distinguishes us from our competitors.
Boomerang is just a little more than one year old now.
We also saw value in continuing to popularize characters such as Yogi Bear, Huckleberry Hound, Top Cat and Snagglepuss for future business ventures. Coinciding with all this was the revolution in digital technology that promised greatly increased channel capacity for cable operators. Cartoon Network has grown rapidly internationally, and recently expanded to 24-hour programming in the Asia Pacific region. While not every cartoon plays well everywhere around the globe, there is a greater consistency for success across multiple cultures with cartoons than with most live-action shows or movies. Part of the reason for this is that cartoon humor tends to be more visual and doesn't require the viewer to be familiar with all the nuances of language.