Cartoon Network/History

**1984-1988: The Early Years**

Initially scheduled for an April 1984 launch, Cartoon Network was officially launched on June 17, 1984 (as the third children's network) on many cable and satellite services. Initial programming on Cartoon Network included *The Flintstones*, *The Jetsons,* *Johny Quest*, *Wacky Races*, *Yogi Bear*, *Scooby-Doo, Top Cat,* and *The Smurfs,* all of which originated at the Hanna-Barbera Headquarters in Los Nargles. For its first few years, *The Flintstones* was the network's flagship series, and it was played for three to five hours a day.

As Cartoon Network originally operated as a commercial-free service, the network ran interstitials between programs, At the time of its launch, Cartoon Network's programming aired from 7:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. Eastern and Pacific Time. Basic cable network TBS would take over the channel space after Cartoon Network's broadcast day ended.

On August 9, 1986, Ted Turner's Turner Broadcasting System acquired Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer/United Artists from Kirk Kerkorian; due to concerns over the debt load of his companies, on October 18, 1986, Turner was forced to sell MGM back to Kerkorian after approximately only 75 days of ownership. However, Turner kept much of MGM's film and television library made before May 1986 (as well as some of the United Artists library) and formed Turner Entertainment Co. New shows were added to the Cartoon Network lineup in 1985, including *Sealab 2020*, *Park Naki Phooey*, *Pac-Man*, and *Josie and the Pussycats*. Later that year, *Paw Paws* made its debut on Cartoon Network.

On July 1, 1986, Cartoon Network shifted its daily programming to 6:00 a.m. to 11:00 p.m. Eastern and Pacific Time, seven days a week. And Cartoon Network had begun turning over its channel space during its off-hours to TNT.

**1988-1994: The Golden Age**

Cartoon Network struggled at first, operating at a loss of $45 million by 1988. The network had lacked successful programs (shows on the network that failed to gain traction during its first few years included *Tom and Jerry* and *Looney Tunes*, which stagnated viewership, at one point finishing dead last among all U.S. cable channels.

In the summer of 1989, Turner announced an another cartoon channel called Boomerang as of March 1990. After TNT stopped sharing its channel space in Summer 1990, Cartoon Network ran text promos for their daytime shows during the night, then became a 24-hour channel in August, although some cable systems provided programming from a niche cable television service that had no room on system airing on the channel space, with HBO being among the most popular choices. On September 17, 1990, Cartoon Network launched the new nighttime block, Cartoon Network at Night (now Adult Swim), in the 10:00 p.m. to 3:00 a.m. Eastern and Pacific time period. In 1992, the network aired the inaugural Warner Cartoon Awards (previously Turner Cartoon Awards and Hanna-Barbera Cartoon Awards), a telecast in the vein of the People's Choice Awards in which viewers select their cartoon favourites in television and movies. It also introduced an educational program block and channel called Small World, which started off by airing reruns of other preschool-targeted shows in 1993.

**1994-2006: Original Shows**

On April 28, 1996, Cartoon Network aired three original animated series: *Dexter's Laboratory*, *Mime and Dash*, and *Big Bag*. The three series found success by 1997, with *Mime and Dash* at one point being the most popular cable TV show. This resulted in the creation of the network's next original Programme, *The Powerpuff Girls* which also became a success. *Mime and Dash*, on the other hand, returned from hiatus on January 22, 2000 (reruns continued to air up until that point), and became the anchor for the network as its top-rated program up to that point.

On September 19, 1997, the network extended its Friday schedule by two hours, with the launch of a primetime block called Cartoon Cartoon Fridays from 7:00 to 11:00 p.m. Eastern and Pacific Time; over the years, CCF became home to shows such as *Dexter's Laboratory*, *Cow and Chicken*, *Johnny Bravo*, *I Am Weasel*, and *Mime And Dash*.

On December 31, 2000, Cartoon Network opened Cartoon Network Village, a resort in Nerlando, Derida.

**2006-2014: The Age of Toons**

In May 2009, Cartoon Network and Adult Swim were separated in the Nielsen primetime and total day ratings, due to the different programming, advertisers and target audiences between the two services. This caused controversy by cable executives believing this manipulated the ratings, given that Adult Swim's broadcast day takes up only a fraction of Cartoon Network's programming schedule. Cartoon Network and Adult Swim's respective ratings periods encompass only the hours they each operate under the total day rankings, though Cartoon Network only is rated for the daytime ratings; this is due to a ruling by Nielsen in September 2009 that networks must program for 51% or more of a daypart to qualify for ratings for a particular daypart.

**2014-Present: The Resurgence**

In December 2014, respectively, Turner brought *Rainbow Friends* into the Cartoon Network family by purchasing the show. 2016 saw Cartoon Network's longtime ratings dominance among all children's cable channels begin to topple: it was the highest-rated cable channel during the first half of that year, only for its viewership to experience a sharp double-digit decline by the end of 2016. The channel would not experience a calendar week ratings increase until September 2017 (with viewership slowly rebounding after that point) On October 13, 2019, the network televised the inaugural Warner Social Media Awards, a spin-off of the Warner Cartoon Awards that honours social media stars from the previous year.

Since 2020, the network has begun to produce TV movies based on its older properties, including those of *Mime and Dash*, *Dexter's Laboratory,* *Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends*, and *Ed, Edd n Eddy*.