posted
Looks like Warner Bros. is getting out of kids programming. From TV Week:
quote:CW Turns Over Saturday Morning Kids Block to 4Kids
By Jon Lafayette
The CW is getting out of the Saturday morning kids business and is making a deal that would have 4Kids Entertainment program the time periods.
4Kids will sell the advertising during the WB Saturday morning time periods and the CW will "participate" in those sales, said John Maatta, the CW's chief operating officer.
4Kids has been providing four hours of Saturday morning children's programming on Fox affiliates through a leasing arrangement since 2002. "Fox recently exercised its option to extend its deal through the end of the 2008-2009 season," 4Kids said in a statement.
When the WB folded and CBS and Warner Bros. formed The CW last year, the new network continued to run kids programming under the Kids WB banner, which for a while was the top-rated kids block on Saturdays. In its heyday, 4Kids’ “Pokemon” and “Yu-Gi-Oh” were among the network’s top-rated kids shows. A few years ago, Kids WB cut back on its after-school block, returning that weekday time to affiliates.
Shows on Kids WB now include “Tom and Jerry Tales,” “Shaggy & Scooby Doo Get a Clue,” “Legion of Super Heroes” and “The Batman.”
Some of those shows might continue to air on the WB after 4Kids takes over, Mr. Maatta said.
The once-lucrative kids market has become a difficult one for the broadcasters. Viewing has shifted to cable, where the Disney Channel, Nickelodeon and Cartoon Network provide a 24-hour destination for young viewers.
At the same time, ad dollars for kids programming have stagnated; the market is expected to turn even more difficult as governmental pressure on food marketers forces them to curtail advertising from products that can’t be described as healthful.
“The kids business in broadcast is a business where we’ve got to be very smart,” Mr. Maatta said. Teaming up with 4Kids allows the WB to offer kids programming and provides an ad sales force that’s dedicated to that market.
The WB has about 10 people dedicated to the kids business, he said. The department will be disbanded and the company will try to absorb its staffers.
The move would take Warner Bros. out of the broadcast arena for kids. The company has a formidable history of kids programming and a strong lineup of characters, including Bugs Bunny, Batman and Superman. But despite potential synergies with Cartoon Network, apparently the economics didn’t work out.
4Kids’ portfolio includes high-profile children’s brands Yu-Gi-Oh!, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and Cabbage Patch Kids.
The 4Kids lineup on Fox includes “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Fast Forward,” “Viva Piñata,” “Sonic X,” “Winx Club” and the new shows “Dinosaur King,” “Yu-Gi-Oh! GX” and “Adrenaline Project.”
4Kids Entertainment manages ad sales for the kids programming block on Fox and retains all advertising revenues.
Some of those shows might continue? The Batman is a given since it keeps winning Emmys but I honestly don't like 4Kids' portfolio of shows and all the other shows, to me, look like they may be in for it.
4Kids cares about one thing only, ad revenue. With them in charge of programming if a show isn't profitable it'll be dropped like the plague.
From: Utah | Registered: Jul 2003
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posted
How immediate a change is this? Why would Kids WB start a whole new season last month if they just turn the reigns over to someone else? Are we guaranteed to at least finish season 2?
Why doesn't Warner use it's own channel to cross support their own danged properties??????
I hate greed and money and profit margins and stupid shows already on the 4Kids block (except TMNT, my kids like that one still...)!!!
And maybe I don't hate 'money' all that much...
-------------------- Craig C.
- Time travel stories are told in chronillogical order.
From: Santa Ana, CA | Registered: Jul 2003
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posted
Season Two is already done I believe. I'm not sure how quickly this takes effect since the press release was very vague. But I would think that 4Kids is now who will decide if we get a season three.
From: Utah | Registered: Jul 2003
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posted
Statement from Warner Bros. that I just received:
quote:Clearly, this was an issue that we examined closely with our partners at CBS. We fully believe it makes the most business sense for The CW in this broadcast marketplace. That being said, Warner Bros. has a long, successful track record in the animation business and we absolutely intend to stay true to our heritage by producing world-class animated entertainment for the children's market be it for cable, direct-to-DVD, broadband, wireless and platforms of the future. This is an important business that touches many of the Warner Bros. divisions and we have confidence that Lisa Judson and her team at Warner Bros. Animation will continue to build towards future opportunities.
posted
Not sure where Comics Continuum got this info as it wasn't in the press release or the e-mail from the press guy. They say the agreement with 4Kids is for five years starting in September of 2008. So this could very well be the last season of the Legion all dependent, in my opinion, on this season's ratings at the end.
From: Utah | Registered: Jul 2003
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posted
LSH is doing well. Batman is almost a lock for another season and CW has already committed to Spiderman in September 2008. Also consider that 4Kids does not have enough product in their own stable to program 2 full Saturday Morning schedules, they will have to pick up additional series to fill holes. A look at currant CW offerings that are doing well would be the smartest place to start.
Then again, This is 4Kids
-------------------- I take pride in my mental instability. Go! Figure
From: New Mexico | Registered: Jun 2006
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posted
Even though I'm extremely apprehensive for this show dying young, I doubt that 4Kids(seriously!?!)will drop a show that has really good ratings. Of course, I also heard that Cartoon Network will pick up LOSH, but I'm not sure if that's true. In the meantime, we should just continue watching the show, possibly buy some merchandise, and pray to God those bastards don't kill the show. It's one of the only good shows that's on right now!
-------------------- "Do, or do not. There is no try." -Yoda
From: Naboo | Registered: Oct 2006
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I can't believe it! I mean, after all these years hoping for a Legion cartoon/movie it can't just end like this? Can it? It's a great show, more than great, it's *fantastic* and it's been nominated for 3 Emmys, it's won the "Best Animated Series" from Wizard magazine and there are rave reviews everywhere. This is certainly enough to make more seasons of the LSH a sure thing, isn't it?
From: Somewhere in the Multiverse | Registered: Apr 2006
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posted
Ugh. We have to let the decision-makers know there's an audience for this cartoon, if not on Kids WB then on another network or in another medium (e.g., direct-to-DVD). But who do we write to? Anyone know how to contact James Tucker? Maybe he'd be willing to spearhead a campaign.
From: Reimagined Trom | Registered: Jul 2003
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posted
If all episodes of Season 2 have already been filmed months ago, then the "powers-that-be" will decide whether there'll be a Season 3 soon. This means that whatever fans do to make them aware that they/we want more Legion cartoons, they/we gotta organize it and do it fast!
[ October 03, 2007, 10:04 PM: Message edited by: Dain ]
From: Somewhere in the Multiverse | Registered: Apr 2006
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