ABN Animation Network

**ABN Animation Network**is a 24-hour cable and satellite television network airing motion picture animation, feature length animated films, computer graphics animation (CG) and Japanese anime. The network launched in 1994 as **Toonopolis** with Ray Roene as network executive. The name was later changed in 1996 to ABN Animation Network with the launch of ABN Kids. In third and fourth quarters of 1996, ABN Domestic Television Corporation devised a plan to make ABN Animation Network and ABN Kids as one entity, but later opted to keep Animation Network and Kids as two whole networks.

The demographics cover ages 8 up to 26. The action cartoon block, **Powerime** (a portmanteau of "power" and "anime" with the variety of Western action animation and Japanese anime) covers ages 14-23 while the late night block, **Midnight X**, covers ages 21-35. Most of the programming are produced by ABN Digital Entertainment.

### **Main Lineup - 7:00 AM-3:00 PM, 6:00 PM-12:00 AM**

* *Apache Jones* (a spin off of the *Billy Haymen Files* series by ABN Digital Entertainment)
* *Beverly Hills Undercover* (a loose spin on *Totally Spies!* by ABN Animation Studios and Marathon Media)
* *Chroma Guardians: Defenders of the Great Golden Star* (similar to DHX Media's animated series *Rainbow Brite*) (produced by DHX Media/ABN Animationa Studios)
* *G-Force*(a retelling of the 1986 anime *G-Force: Guardians of Space* with new elements)
* *Hatsune Miku: The American Tour* (produced by Sega and Crypton Future Media)
* *Holmes and Watson: Crime Scene Agents*
* *J.J. Kash and Richy Monday*(comedy series produced by Altered Illusions Studios)
* *Kid Kassidy*
* *Lunar Crusaders*
* *Loose Cannons* (animated sitcom)
* *Need For Speed* (produced by EA Digital Entertainment)
* *Riders of Avalon: Quest for the Imperial Diamond*
* *Selena: Rising Superstar*
* *The Slicks* (new comedy series by G-Net Media)
* *Thunderbirds XG: Destiny*(Spin-off of the original *Thunderbirds 2086*anime)
* *Tokimeki Memorial: 3rd Story* (was under Konami ownership, now under ABN DTC ownership)
* *Voltron: Combat Evolved*
* *Wings*

###

### **Powerime Lineup - 3:00 PM-6:00 PM**

* *Billy Haymen Files: Legend of the Secret Door* (ABN Digital Entertainment)
* *The Centurions* (a reboot of the 1986 Ruby-Spears animated series produced by ABN Digital Entertainment)
* *Christiana: Super GT* (ABN Digital Entertainment)
* *Code Red: Black Ops Z* (Sonar Animation)
* *Domination: The Series* (based on the Hasbro board game "Battleship" produced by Mantis Visuals, LLC)
* *Halo Chronicles* (Microsoft Studios and 343 Industries)
* *Lancer: The Animated Series* (Media X-Ray Studios)
* *Liberty Alliance* (ABN Digital Entertainment)
* *Mystic Dragon: The Prophecies of Chroma Dragon* (Telenet//RKO Animation Studios)
* *Red Vs. Blue: The Series* (Rooster Teeth Entertainment, based on the online spin-off to the Halo video game series, *Red Vs. Blue*)
* *Sailor Moon Revolution* (Toei Animation/ABN Animation Studios)
* *Sky Hawks: The Legend of Magnabeak*(Hexagon Studios)
* *Speed Kings* (ABN Animation Studios)
* *Transformers: Ultra*(Hasbro Studios)
* *Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann: Max G*(Gainax/ABN Digital Entertainment)
* *Thundar*(Hanna-Barbera and Warner Bros.)
* *Ultimate Tekken*(Bandai-Namco Digital Entertainment)
* *Valis: Legend of the Fantasm Soldier* (Telenet/Toei Animation/ABN Animation Studios)

### **Midnight X Lineup - 12:00 AM-6:00 AM**

* *After Dawn* (Matrix Pro Video Labs, Inc)
* *Excalibur* (based on the *Soulcalibur* video game series by Project Soul, Bandai-Namco Digital Entertainment and Telenet)
* *Fire Flash Knights* (AEC Klaxxon Studios)
* *Go Go Ryuga!* (Double Dog Entertainment)
* *Lockdown* (ATI Digital Video Vancouver)
* *LSPD Blue* (a loose ploy on the 80's TV series *NYPD Blue* based in the Grand Theft Auto universe of Los Santos, San Andreas) (ABN Digital Entertainment)
* *MacGruder* (Marathon Studios)
* *Omega Protocol* (Telenet)
* *Rise of the Juggernauts* (ABN Digital Entertainment/Rankin)
* *Ryder Coast to Coast* (Magnus Studios)
* *Seekers: The Animated Series*(based on the UBC TV series of the same name)
* *Sigma X* (Eiken/TruVu Visual Studios)
* *Strawberry Coyote* (Lacewood/LInex Montreal/Telenet/ABN Animation Studios)
* *Sixshot Girls* (Phoenix Visual Studios/Gainax)
* *Ted Texas: American Trucker* (ABN Digital Entertainment)
* *V: Sector 99* (Visimax Studios)
* *Woodland Legends* (Lenox Digital Studios)

## Programming hiccups/disputes/cancellations/banned programming

Programming hiccups, disputes or cancellations happen often and not every production of animated TV series is perfect. Production teams tend to break up. Funds are lost. Disputes are ongoing causing the loss of revenue to many production companies. People move from one studio to the next. Outside circumstances also play a key factor in a program's future, often becoming the deciding factor for the company itself. A lot of times, some programs can end up banned if they violate broadcast rules and regulations.

* Several questions were raised about Konami Digital Entertainment Studios (KDES) and their ownership of two Japanese animated series: *Tokimeki Memorial: 3rd Story* and *Otomedius Excellent X 2nd*, two programs under their ownership and distributed by ABN Animation Studios in light of news of a cancelled Silent Hill game installment and the removal from the U.S. New York Stock Exchange. With it came an unexpected result, the first of which Konami shifted ownership of the *Tokimeki Memorial: 3rd Story* anime to ABN and removal of *Otomedius Excellent X 2nd* due to erratic content by several television counsels. 17 of 53 episodes from its second season were cut based on aggravating circumstances. 6 are presently banned from airtime.
* *Gin Blossom Hill* was an ABN Animation Studios exclusive production beginning in 2014. Due to erratic content, the International Television Counsel (ITVC) has banned this production from airtime.
* *Jessie and Kellie* was produced by 406 Productions in Bozeman, Montana. A full season was cut from airtime due to erratic content and aggravating circumstances stemming from several rape cases and indecent conduct. It is banned worldwide and all traces of the production had been destroyed. The building near the Bozeman metro city of Manhattan, Montana was raided by the Federal Communications Administration in March of 2015, the owner jailed.
* Linex Montreal based in Mirabel was docked 2.5 million Canadian dollars and ABN Animation Network was docked 1.7 million U.S. dollars for erratic and indecent content stemming from Linex Montreal's production *La Femme Kurosagi*. The Canadian Ministry of Mass Media and Communications raided the digital files and destroyed them. A worldwide ban has now barred the viewership of the production on any digital platform.
* *Ganton's Hyper Bullies* was also banned due to violent content.

## Acquisitions/buyouts/co-productions

* It is now been confirmed of a possible release of *Dragonball Super* that is supposedly based on *Dragonball Z*'s Buu Saga. The question that comes to mind now that its creator, Akira Toriyama, has returned to the top ladder of its production run is this: Where will the series be broadcast? ABN Animation Network? Funimation Network? Maybe Cartoon Network perhaps? RKO? Maybe PBC? Could this be co-produced by ABN? RKO? Funimation? It's endless with the rumors spreading around. The same was asked about the English "new" Sailor Moon anime, but PBC already has the broadcast rights to the original and new manga adaptation of the franchise while ABN has the broadcast rights to its *Revolution* spinoff sub series which is coming upon its third season this July.
* While the future of the *Tokimeki Memorial* franchise is unclear, as noted before, Pierrot, Imagica, ABN Animation Studios and Toei Animation are teaming to hopefully begin the fifth season of its latest installment, *3rd Story*. Konami executives dispute claims that it has dropped the series altogether.

## Logo types

This is an alternate logo that is used for press releases, promotions, etc.On-screen version used as lower right third logo bug