Checkerboard

The Checkerboard era of Cartoon Network is associated with their inaugural branding period, starting with the network's launch on October 1, 1992.
==Description from studio==
==History==
In 1986, after a failed attempt to acquire CBS, Turner Broadcasting System purchased MGM/UA Entertainment Co. from Kirk Kerkorian for $1.5 billion. Due to significant debt, Turner sold parts of the acquisition, including MGM/UA Entertainment, which was returned to Kerkorian. Turner retained MGM's pre-1986 film and television library, as well as the Associated Artists Productions library, which included the pre-1950 library of Warner Bros. cartoons and Fleischer Studios' Popeye cartoons. With this foundation, Turner Entertainment Co. was founded on August 2, 1986, with focus on managing and distributing the extensive library of films, television shows, and cartoons that Ted Turner acquired. In 1988, Turner Broadcasting launched cable channel TNT to utilize their film library, as well as producing content exclusive to the network.
On October 29, 1991, Turner acquired Hanna-Barbera Productions and the pre-1991 Ruby-Spears library for $320 million. Shortly after, Turner Broadcasting began plans of a new channel centered around the library, appointing TNT Senior Vice President Betty Cohen to lead the development. On February 18, 1992, Turner Broadcasting announced plans to launch Cartoon Network.
The Cartoon Network, Inc. was founded on March 12, 1992, and the channel officially launched on October 1, 1992, with its first program, Droopy's Guide to the Cartoon Network. In 1994, Cohen became president of Cartoon Network worldwide, following the network's expansion into a brand. This growth led to the launch of various international feeds and the establishing of a new division under Hanna-Barbera to produce content exclusive to Cartoon Network. 
In 1996, Turner Broadcasting System merged with Time Warner. Through this merger, Warner Bros. regained the rights to its pre-1950 library, while Turner gained access to the post-1950 library and other properties. This allowed Cartoon Network to broadcast post-July 1948 Warner Bros. cartoons, though many remained under contract with Nickelodeon and ABC until 1999 and 2000. Meanwhile, reruns of Warner Bros. Animation productions from Kids' WB and Fox Kids, as well as new programs exclusive to the network, also began appearing.
===Programming===
During the Checkerboard era, Cartoon Network's programming mainly consisted of classic animated shorts, including Warner Bros' Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies, Fleischer's Popeye, and MGM cartoons, as well as programs from Hanna-Barbera. These were formatted into half-hour or hour-long blocks. One of the network's first ventures into exclusive programming was The Moxy Show, Cartoon Network's effort to create a mascot that would appear in animated skits in-between shows, along with live-hosting for special events.
Cohen recognized the opportunity for Cartoon Network to expand beyond being a platform solely focused on Turner's animation library. She envisioned it as a venue for the animation medium as a whole, including programs not just aimed at kids and families, but also targeting adult audiences. This strategy was exemplified by the creation of Space Ghost Coast to Coast, which grew to be successful in the long run. The creators of this show would later go on to develop more output aimed at adult audiences on Cartoon Network at the later future.
The network also included newer output produced by its sister studio, Hanna-Barbera, which experienced a resurgence under Turner's leadership. Turner refocused the studio to capitalize on its classic characters and create new franchises through year-long "Turner-wide initiatives." One such initiative was What a Cartoon!, created by then-CEO Fred Seibert, which showcased 48 original animated shorts exclusively for Cartoon Network. These cartoons, designed in the format of theatrical animations and completely creator-driven, were first broadcast under the World Premiere Toons label starting February 26, 1995, before being renamed The What a Cartoon Show in 1996.
On March 17, 1997, Cartoon Network launched Toonami, a new action animation block replacing Afternoon Adventures, which was hosted by Space Ghost's Moltar. The lineup included reruns of Japanese and American action animation series such as Voltron, ThunderCats, Cartoon Roulette, and The Real Adventures of Jonny Quest.
==On-air identity==
The creation of Cartoon Network’s branding began with the development of a distinctive logo designed to remain legible across bright color palettes of their animated content. The black-and-white checkerboard logo was chosen to stand out against vibrant backgrounds while reflecting the channel’s playful tone. This motif extended to background elements, promotional formats, and stationery. Other on-air elements incorporated cartoon-inspired transitions like explosions, zippers, and white splatters.
Checkerboard bumpers featured Cartoon Network characters' body parts or iconography within tiles, as well as animated bumpers with the logo integrated into designs like bathtub tiles or taxi patterns. Another set of bumpers introduced Hi-Ball the Jester, the network's first mascot created by Danny Antonucci (who would later create Ed, Edd n Eddy), portrayed as an annoying entertainer often subjected to exaggerated cartoon abuse.
===Starburst===
The Starburst era of Cartoon Network refers to its second branding period, beginning in June 2, 1997 and lasting until March 1, 1998, running concurrent with the Checkerboard era, as it's still in the overall first phase of the network.
By April 1996, Cartoon Network's transition to original programming began to take shape: the network debuted its first full-length series, Dexter's Laboratory, on April 27, following its success of the What a Cartoon! animated shorts initiative. Additional series that were also from the initiative, including Cow and Chicken and Johnny Bravo, premiered in July 1997, with the latter promoted under the emerging Cartoon Cartoons brand. Rather than focusing exclusively on children, the network adopted a dual-layered strategy with promos and interstitials featuring witty, tongue-in-cheek writing that appealed to older viewers, that was encouraged by Cohen. Most of them were written by Ghost Planet Industries employees, who were also on-air creative directors for Cartoon Network.
Virtually all of the promos during the Starburst era of Cartoon Network featured the network’s logo placed over a colorful starburst on a white background. These promos were often accompanied by an electric guitar riff that concluded with a 12-note stinger as the starburst logo closed.
Most of the 'Up Next / Generic Strings' bumpers from Checkerboard were replaced with Starburst's own set of next bumpers of segments featuring curtains that opened to reveal a clip from the upcoming show. For the Cartoon Cartoons, bumpers included a four-square grid in the background, with characters appearing inside their respective squares of the Cartoon Network logo, interacting with the letters. In some variations, the letters rearranged themselves to display "Cartoon" on both rows, replacing "Network." Following this, the words "Cartoon Cartoon" would break out of the checkerboard pattern onto a textured green background with a starburst. Sound waves visible on screen synchronized with the music’s beats.
When the Powerhouse era began, a blue version of this format was introduced, featuring updated text that reflected the network's following era. By March 1998, on-air appearances of Checkerboard and Starburst IDs were discontinued, with the Powerhouse era fully taking over as Cartoon Network’s main branding, using brand elements similar to this era, proving possibility that this was an early prototype of Powerhouse itself. Aside from the removal of the IDs, several remnants of the Checkerboard and the Starburst eras would air for a few more months before disappearing entirely.
==Transition==
By June 1, 1997, the Checkerboard era ended as Cartoon Network's primary branding style, transitioning to the Starburst branding, which coexisted until both officially concluded on March 1, 1998, to its first official reface: Powerhouse, the following day.
==External links==
*Cartoon Network Identity on Hatmaker Studios
*Cartoon Network Logo on Hatmaker Studios
Category:Eras