April Fools Day 2024 Megathread

[J10]

Slavena Dimova, Distribution Manager for NEE & EMEA, leaves WBD EMEA and the role is absorbed to the Discovery part.

Cartoon Network and Cartoonito local channels are effected in couple of weeks, since newly-merged feeds will be operated from Discovery Benelux Playouts.

 

[J10]

Following the failure of Cartoonito, due to not having a proper preschool channel until now and is still considered a Boomerang channel, Boomerang is returning back again in the EMEA region.

 

[RandomMe]

David Zaslav announced yesterday that Cartoon Network will shut down as a channel if demands for producing new series for both linear TV and streaming aren't needed.

Boomerang will also shut down.

As part of the plan, Cartoon Network will move to FAST platforms whereas Adult Swim will become a 24/7 channel taking the former channel capacity. The channel now plans to compete with Freeform for viewers in what remains of linear television.

"We had to take this decision because linear television is no longer a necessity in the United States", said Zaslav in the Easter press conference. "Our audiences are more and more online and less and less heterogenous".

Facing other problems, he also said that "Cartoon Network will live on in our hearts".

Cartoon Network has to find a new savior in-house (as a label, because the production company shut down).

One of the plans is a crossover series involving the Cartoon Network characters, excluding WBA properties, which will be handed down to the "new school" of animators.

If the project succeeds, Cartoon Network's savior is found and the channel will continue operating at limited capacity.

 

[cartoonnetworkpoke]

Yooo you got me!

 

[Spacething7474]

the people of teletoon, cartoon network, fresh t(oon)v, cake "there's a toon somewhere" entertainment, and like 6 other companies, have big plans to celebrate total drama's sour 17 (the infamous forgotten sequel to sweet 16). and what better way to celebrate such an infamous milestone than with a complete alienation?

introducing amard latot, a completely reversed version of total drama that'll either be way worse or way better depending on yuor'e taste. in the meentiem, get a load of these finalists!!

s1: ezekiel/eva
s2: geoff/bridgette
s3: duncan/harold*
s4: staci/dakota
s5: lindsay/lightning
s6: beardo/leonard
s7: tennis rivals/adversity twins*

the event kicks off june 1th (oka canada day), as a celebration to the debatably best or worst (depending on how you ask) country of north america!

Spoiler

while presented as a joke, this is also a shill for my reversed elimination order au on deviantart, which you can read here (spoilers for the 2nd newest season's elimination order!): Total Drama but the elimination order is reversed by Spacething7474 on DeviantArt

the asteriks on harold and the adversity twins (which i also explained in the da journal) are to prevent ezekiel and leonard from being double finalists; harold was simply moved up to 3rd and the twins came back because they're opposite placements of the surfer' original elimination)

 

[J10]

New Series is coming!

Bongo the clown is saying this quote, "What's wrong with you people?! This isn't Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends, it's Foster's Home for Crazy People!".

 

[harry580]

due to being a big hit back in 2023, adult swim announced plans to launch adult swim jr, replacing cartoon network & cartoonito

this will be a big hit on a network says one guy working for adult swim who announced it today

 

[Daffyrocks]

when is it being released?

 

[Daffyrocks]

at least this way, there will be a proper and fitting place for Mr. Bean, Grizzy and The Lemmings and Tom and Jerry again

 

[J10]

when is it being released?

I guess it's in process and will be debuted by summer.

 

[Daffyrocks]

I guess it's in process and will be debuted by summer.

if it's in the process, then this Summer is way too crazy early!

 

[RandomMe]

The channel is a failure nobody even watches it xb

 

[Tacomaster]

Cartoon Network and Adult Swim, both animation-focused brands owned by Warner Bros. Discovery, will be merging their operations. This includes general channel operations, advertising sales, marketing, and programming.

Both kid-oriented Cartoon Network and young adult-targeting Adult Swim share a channel, both have Michael Ouwleen as president, and both fall under The Cartoon Network, Inc., the unit of Warner Bros. Discovery that operates their kids and animation portfolio of networks that also includes retro-focused spin-off channel Boomerang, floundering preschool block Cartoonito, and Hasbro joint venture Discovery Family. The operations for all of these will also be consolidated alongside Cartoon Network and Adult Swim.

This follows a string of losses to Cartoon Network in the past few years, such as a continued decline in ratings, kid-targeted advertisers fleeing, a layoff of the majority of marketing department, and the loss of the prime 5-8 PM evening timeslots to Adult Swim- timeslots still held by other childrens' networks such as Nickelodeon and Disney Channel.

While Adult Swim has been doing much better in this regard, being one of the highest rated cable networks among adults 18-35, they are not without their problems. Most notably, after seeing that Cartoon Network was still doing decently with the 18-35 market (with the average viewership age of 29), Adult Swim decided to capitalize on the market of adults who enjoyed the family-friendly programming Cartoon Network had to offer. The results of this were the aforementioned taking of the 5-8 PM hours, as well as a handful of newer, older-skewing shows greenlit for Cartoon Network under previous president Tom Ascheim (like "My Adventures with Superman" and "Unicorn: Warriors Eternal"), the ACME Night family movie block, and the addition of a block called Checkered Past (consisting of classic Cartoon Network programs like "Dexter's Laboratory" and "Courage the Cowardly Dog") to take up the new early evening hours.

While "My Adventures with Superman" was successful on social media, it only gained average ratings for Adult Swim. "Unicorn: Warriors Eternal" came and went, ACME Night's ratings decreased despite having the same Sunday evening timeslot, and according to Ouwleen, while Checkered Past had strong ratings during its first few weeks, they decreased dramatically, in part due to the shows, which had ended years ago, being readily available on other services. "The long-term viewership just wasn't there," Ouwleen admitted. He also confessed that these programs, in hindsight, did not fit the Adult Swim brand, which is more known for edgier shows like "American Dad!" and "Rick and Morty"

Under the new united system, Cartoon Network will be able to take advantage of Adult Swim's advertising sales and marketing department, both areas that are practically nonexistent in the network's current standalone state. In addition, Cartoon Network will gradually increase its hours again, aiming to switch over to Adult Swim at 9 or 10 PM, and refocus its target audience to young adults (the ones actually watching) while still having a family-friendly charm to counteract Adult Swim's edge. Cartoon Network's existing programming, such as "Adventure Time" and "The Amazing World of Gumball", features adult appeal that will help with this new direction, but the united operations will also mean that Cartoon Network can also air the more lighthearted series from Adult Swim's catalog of programming. This includes the aforementioned "My Adventures with Superman" and "Unicorn: Warriors Eternal", as well as popular teen-oriented anime series such as "Dragon Ball Z Kai", "Naruto: Shippuden", and "One Piece". They will also share reruns of the popular Fox animated series "Bob's Burgers" with Adult Swim, alongside existing Cartoon Network series "Regular Show".

Cartoonito and Checkered Past, the struggling blocks from both Cartoon Network and Adult Swim, will be shut down later this year as part of the transition to their new direction. In their place, Cartoon Network will dedicate midday to classic animated series, such as "Looney Tunes" and "Scooby-Doo". According to Ouwleen, there's less people in general watching in the midday slots (due to kids going to school and adults going to work), so there's less risk airing older cartoons there instead of the prime 5-8 PM evening slot. However, he noted that it also works for counter-programming against preschool blocks like Nick Jr., Disney Junior, and PBS Kids. They also work to attract a similar younger target audience while not alienating the existing viewers, which Ouwleen notes is where Cartoonito (and its short-lived predecessor from 2005, Tickle U) failed. The fate of ACME Night is yet to be determined, as well as the fates of little-watched sister networks Boomerang and Discovery Family.

Ouwleen is also head of kids, family, and animation for Warner Bros. Discovery's streaming service Max. Max includes several original series of its own, including family-friendly cartoon reboots "Jellystone!" and "Looney Tunes Cartoons", and adult-oriented animated series "Harley Quinn" and "Velma", and also showcases animated films in its vast catalog, including a deal with GKIDS to distribute Studio Ghibli movies. According to Ouwleen, he is unable to merge its operations into The Cartoon Network, Inc. at this time, though he hopes to do so in the future.

 

[Eggy]

Warner Bros. Discovery has announced that it will be rebranding its popular nighttime Cartoon Network movie block ACME Night, which has been aimed at a family co-viewing audience since 2021, in order to reorientate it to a more teenybopper and pimple-laden audience under its new name A.C.N.E. (Absolutely Cool Nightly Extravaganza) Night on all nights of the week.
The conglomerate wanted to address its lack of an offering for the YA demographic that is between the age ranges of Cartoon Network and Adult Swim and compete with the likes of rival outlets such as TeenNick and Disney's Disney Channel and ABC Family.

As a nice buffer between CN proper and Adult Swim, A.C.N.E. Night is going to be the basic cable TV home of cinematic cult classics such as Mean Girls and Clueless, live-action HBO Max originals such as the Italian-Canadian co-production Home Sweet Rome and the upcoming reboot of the evergreen Degrassi franchise, acquired animation such as 6teen, Anatane: Saving the Children of Okura, Carl², Dodo, Fred's Head and the 2023 version of Total Drama Island, of course, interstitials from the best skits and dances from every adolescent's favourite TikTok stars.

Not a fan of that, right?
Here's the kicker: Somewhere down the line, it will also be the home for animated Cartoon Network originals with a known youth following such as the anticipated Book 5 of Infinity Train, a time-skipped spin-off of OK K.O.! titled OK K.O.! Let's Talk About Hormones, Close Enough, Steven Universe Future, Teenage Euthanasia and SEASON 6 of Teen Titans.

 

[Otakuninja2006]

I'd be down!