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View Full Version : Take 2: Do classic cartoons really fail in ratings, or are they just successful


Antiyonder
03-06-2006, 04:57 AM
The kiddies don't like the old toons and their aren't enough older animation fans to keep boomerang's ratings at a good level.

From the thread: I'm sorry, but this has to be said about Boomerang.

First of all, I can understand cartoons from the 70's bombing, as BS&P were down on them hard (Except for Scooby Doo & Superfriends). But you can't tell me that ones such as Looney Tunes, Flintstones, Jetsons, Scooby Doo, The Smurfs fail in ratings.

Second, getting to the point of the thread title: Are classic cartoons really failing, or are they mere successes? Here's a quote from Looney Tunes "Back In Action" that sums up my belief perfectly:

Commenting on the Bugs Bunny Cartoons without Daffy appearing:

Kate- My films have made $950,000,000.
Warner Brother: But that's not billions.
Warner Brother 2: That's right, not billions.


While there's no denying that making money has always been top priority in the network business, the desire back then to make money was a healthy one. Compared to today where it's a borderline obsession. Anyone remember Walt Disney's Quote:

"Let the accountants worry about the money, our job is to provide the customers with top quality products".


Back then shows/cartoons didn't have to be a full blown fad/trend/flavor of the month/quick fix. It just had to pay the bills/be a success, not out rival Bill Gates. Nowadays, if a show fails to become the next fad (like Power Rangers during the mid 90s, Pokemon, Dragonball Z, Yu-Gi-Oh), regardless of it succeeding, then it's dog meat. Now, I'm betting the majority of Boomerangs line up would be successful, even if it doesn't brainwash the masses. As someone on Toonzone mentioned, some shows fail in ratings, not because of low quality, but due to poor market or handling (Such as airing too many times Teen Titans, or hardly at all Justice League Unlimited, Zeta Project, Static Shock). Yet they blame the quality as opposed to their business decisions.

Heck, The Mighty Max cartoons while not exploding in ratings got a respectable run (Compared to Invader Zim, Freakazoid for instance).

Take the upcoming Legion Of Superheroes cartoon, 9 to 1 the higher ups expect it to make at least $1,000,000,000. Chances are, if the 1st Season finishes, bringing in $999,999,900 they'll panic and dump the series rather than renewing it.

It's like they say, you try to hard to accomplish something you crash and burn. So, maybe the higher ups need to ease up in getting rich. Don't try to hard. Don't create a show or a character for the sole sake of popularity. Take a few chances. Think I'm smoking something do you? Here's comment from a Spider-Man Site.

Courtesy of the site spideykicksbutt:
After all, you never know when a new character may prove to be a breakout franchise character, who just needs an "incubator" title to get their feet on the ground (Wolverine is probably the best example of this – he was originally just a one-shot character created to fight the Hulk). Spider-Man himself was a radical concept at one time – a teenager as the hero, rather than the sidekick? It certainly would have seemed “safer” to go with Jack Kirby’s and Joe Simon’s concept of “Spiderman,” than Stan Lee and Steve Ditko’s.

See, Spider-Man and Wolverine weren't meant to be such popular characters when they were created. Yet, Spider-Man has multiple titles, has been part of different medias, became an icon to the company that supported him. Wolverine like Spidey has been in different medias, also appears in various titles and is part of two groups (X-Men and Avengers).

darth wall
03-06-2006, 09:04 AM
Maybe it's time for Boomerang to start having commercials.

SAMaine
03-10-2006, 08:22 PM
Maybe it's time for Boomerang to start having commercials.

Agreed. Networks make nearly all of thier money off commercial time. Even PBS, which has no commercials per say still have sponsers who get an 'ad' at the front and rear of programs, just for being a sponsor. Most people think, they make money off of franchises, but my Dad works in local television and it's commercial time that is more important.

JCorey3rd
03-12-2006, 09:46 AM
Maybe it's time for Boomerang to start having commercials.
But what sort of rate? Has anyone heard what sort of ratings this channel racks up? Adult Swim has over 85 million homes and Boondocks pulls in a million viewers. How many eyeballs watch the Banana Splits on the barely 15 million houses that get Boomerang? How much can they charge for such a low viewership? When Trio dipped below 20 million (in the months before they went off the air), they mainly ran station promos.

And what non-operational expenses are their to Boomerang? The bumpers are old. They have no on-air personalities. How much does it cost them to run H-B programs?

CookieS
03-12-2006, 08:37 PM
Money isn't the only issue when it comes to classic animation revival. Often characters are retooled before they're brought back and most fans don't like it. Unfortunately without upcoming DVDs, a toy line, a feature film, or some secured ad dollars, classic cartoons will not make it to air.

For Boomerang to switch to an ad-based network would almost mean its death. They'd have to be able to be competitive with programming and really beat out other networks in at least one demographic range.

When these Hanna Barbera toons were shown, there wasn't the cable competition and such a diverse market. When you're the pioneer for television-based animation, not many have a chance. Now that the playing field is wide open with networks, cable, and syndication, there is no sure-fire bets that even a good show will last.