CN fastest growing Turner network -- thanks to Adult Swim

[GWOtaku]

Haven't seen this posted on any forum or the news ticker, so here's the lowdown. Quoted from Anime News Network (http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/article.php?id=5025).


Cartoon Network, the cable TV home of many anime series such as Case Closed, Wolf's Rain and Inu Yasha, is the fastest growing network in Turner Broadcasting's impressive line-up of networks that includes CNN, TBS and TNT. In fact, investors and press recently learned that Cartoon Network is more profitable than CNN. In 2003 Cartoon Network turned $650 million in revenue, 17% of the the entire Turner Broadcasting revenue, compared to $535 million (14%) in revenue for CNN and the rest of Turner Broadcastings news operations.

Cartoon Network's financial success is being attributed to increased ad revenue thanks to its ever increasing adult audience, and low operating costs. Adult Swim has consistently ranked #1 in its time period (11 pm - 2 am) on basic cable with adults 18-34, against competition from late night talk shows like NBC's Tonight Show with Jay Leno and the CBS Late Show with David Letterman.

In early July Cartoon Network reported impressive growth statistics over last year for Adult Swim in key adult demographics such as 23% in adults 18-34, 47% in adults 18-24 and 76% in women 18-24.

I'll leave the analysis to you guys for now. Peace out.

[Killtacular]

As said before, adults 18-34 are 35% of CN's audience now. The largest percentile.

[Bandit]

and just a couple of years ago adult swim didn't exist at all

[Mackaybear]

Well judging from a lot of the people I know. CN has always had an adult audience. Lots of people didn't "give up" animated cartoon just because they got older.

It's ironic that as Matt says a large portion of the audience is 18 to 34 when it seems they only are chasing the 6 to 11 portion of the audience most times.

I admit to not being very smart when it comes to network demographic type stuff. But it seems that CN has forgotten it's older audience except for Adult Swim. It seems that CN is trying to split the audience by age group into blocks.
I wish I knew if that was a good thing or a bad thing.

[Andrew T. Hingson]

Well I'd say that splitting it up can overall get them in less trouble but with that large of an adult audience you'd think they'd try harder for the 9-14 and 12-17 since they are even more likely to watch Adult Swim's comedies and most of the animes on CN. But they seem hell bent on getting 6-11 and only 6-11 (well some 2-11) nearly all day.

9-14 should be the focus in prime time and later prime time should have a 12-17 focus.

[TacoKid]

Will we ever see an "Adult Swim" type network?

[Andrew T. Hingson]

If it's profitable. But first they need enough funds to start such a project... and also enough shows.

[livingfruitvirus]

Will we ever see an "Adult Swim" type network? Probably not since Boomerang is tanking. Also not like many people would see it.

Meanwhile every channel MTV Networks spits out the cable companies can't buy up fast enough.

[Rabi~en~Rose]

thats pretty amazing and mostly all coming from AS :eek: if they can keep this up an all ages CN can't be far off :)

[Mr. Pedro]

You're welcome, Turner Network. :yawn:

[Andrew T. Hingson]

thats pretty amazing and mostly all coming from AS :eek: if they can keep this up an all ages CN can't be far off :)I'd like to think that to but as long as 2-11 dominates the channel except for between 11PM and 5AM then we are still way far off.

LFV, I wish for MTV to die. Die a horrible death. And then have MEGAS XLR re-enact that death. The channel is hardly a music channel these days... it's just a pop culture channel and a crappy one at that... and in general (other than a select few) they KILL every piece of animation they touch by airing them at crappy time slots and never continuing them even when they are good.

[livingfruitvirus]

Well all we seem to hear from Turner Broadcasting is that Boomerang loses millions per year. They're even going to add commercials to it soon.

The MTV Networks cable broadcasting company though has tossed out spinoff channels MTV2, Noggin, VH1 Classics, VH1 Megahits, VH1 Country, VH1 Soul, Nick:GAS, Nicktoons TV, and VH1Uno, and they just keep getting bought and MTV says they're all growing.

[Andrew T. Hingson]

And I assume they believe old cartoons are dead to this generation. I guess they'd be sorta right about that.

Maybe instead of having a clearly OLD Cartoon Network they could have a second Cartoon Network that focused on airing stuff from the 90's, 80's and of course the high quality stuff from Boomerang.

CN2 instead of Boomerang. A channel that's not afraid to air slightly vintage and clearly vintage programs as well as the anime that Toonami and Adult Swim wont air anymore... and of course dead originals like Samurai Jack and Sheep in the Big City.

If they tagged Adult Swim on that (in some form) then some cable company is bound to pick it up.

[Matthew Williams]

Maybe it's because Boomerang really doesn't have a "hook" like the MTV networks do. I mean - VH1 Classic has classic music videos and gets a TON of buzz. Nicktoons brings 24 hour nicktoons to the table. MTV2 used to be 24/7 music videos and programming, but it's now a mix of lesser-known MTV programming and some classics as far as I can see, which isn't too bad.

Boomerang is... old Hanna-Barbera cartoons. Unless something is done to freshen it up I don't think it'll get buzz, even though I do think that it's one of the most requested networks out there.

An AS network would actually be something cable operators'd like to see, I think. One of the biggest blocks on cable, in 24/7 form? Definitely could work, but it would still be a ways off.

[Andrew T. Hingson]

An Adult Swim channel may be able to come about sooner than we think. If the ratings stay high (and I assume they will) and the pilots and original shows over the next year or so do well. Then with their extended acquisitions licenses and some help from Bandai and maybe FUNimation on the anime side they could manage of channel that could be quite successful. It'll no doubt start out a little redundant but I've said it before and I'll say it again... no matter how many times I see them I always laught at ATHF.

[Anime Freak]

Heh, all they need to do to get more people watching Boomerang is to bring it to basic cable, Turner did that with TCM and look what happened. ;)

I still think its way too early for a 24/7 adult swim channel, I think on demand is good enough for right now until AS acquires more shows.

[Swordfish_II]

I was hoping to come back from the beach and find AS OnDemand or Anime Network added (wishful thinking++) added.

But of course not. Instead CBS-2, which seams to be nothing but a digital cable version of channel that's on the basic teir and on the HD teir. And ABC-2, which seems like some 24 hour news channel.

[William C. Maune]

Heh, all they need to do to get more people watching Boomerang is to bring it to basic cable, Turner did that with TCM and look what happened. ;)

Turner can't just bring things to basic cable, it's generally the cable companies that decide where channels go.

[Paul_Cousins]

Finally, anime is getting some credit for helping Adult Swim and the rest of Cartoon Network in the ratings department. :)


And I assume they believe old cartoons are dead to this generation. I guess they'd be sorta right about that.
It depends on the Cartoon Series, except for CN showing about 25 episdoes of GI Joe out of order, no one has shown any good 80's cartoons in almost a decade. :rolleyes:

Thankfully, Rhino is releasing those good 80's cartoons series on DVD Boxset. :D

[PaQ]

I'm glad to see Cartoon Network doing well in part due to AS. It's definitely doing good in that demographic, which is good.

And for what it's worth, I watch Boomerang a good amount of time, rarely is there something on there that I won't watch..

[Bigdaddy83]

As said before, adults 18-34 are 35% of CN's audience now. The largest percentile.
That's an enigma for sure. AS is on from 11PM-5AM and yet, most of the schedule is occupied by Cartoon Cartoons, and other stuff. How can that be possible?:confused:

[chevy citation]

I doubt Boomerang is coming to basic cable anytime soon. My digital cable provider doesn't even offer it but we get all the extra MTV, VH1 and Nick channels plus Nick West coast.

[bigddan11]

Well, AS does now have their "Old Style Anime" block on Mondays thru Thursdays, and they even have commercials out for it, so I only expect to see AS continue to grow. Imagine CN actually progressing the day slowly but surely. I could see it now:

Every day:
5 AM- 4 PM- The kid type shows like Hamtaro, Transformers, Baby Looney Tunes, etc.
4 PM- 7 PM- Miguzi- This block is doing well enough where they could add another hour and not have any harm as long as they got some fresh shows.
7 PM- 11 PM- Make Toonami an evey night affair (Granted this won't happen any time soon, but it would show an age advancement as the night goes on)
11 PM- 5 AM- No surprise, but here's AS.

[Rabi~en~Rose]

7 PM- 11 PM- Make Toonami an evey night affair (Granted this won't happen any time soon, but it would show an age advancement as the night goes on)

theres another reason to not want Toonami weekdays :eek: the channel is "blocked" off enough as it is having a schedule like that would mean bye bye primetime and the only times for real change would be 5 am - 4 pm :(