Viacom starting Nickelodeon Cartoon Channel

[J Lee]

This little note was posted on Jerry Beck's (http://www.cartoonresearch.com) website Tuesday night, on Viacom starting a Nicktoons cartoon channel.

Assuming Sumner Redstone does not log onto this board, I would guess this was in the works well before the topic came up a couple of weeks ago. Jerry ends his little brief with the comment "Terrytoons anyone?" and of course, Viacom also owns all the 1929-50 and 1962-67 non-Popeye/Superman Paramount cartoons as well. Obviously, prime time is going to be the made-for-TV stuff, but with 168 hours a week to fill, Nickelodeon should be able to find a spot for 1000 or so theatrical cartoons that they already own, instead of running Rugrats and Cat-Dog reruns four times a day the way Toon Disney does with their made-for-TV stuff.

[Nelson]

With Cartoon Network going down toilet and Toon Disney being bad from the very start, I would be shocked if Viacom DOESN'T show any theatrical cartoon classics that they own in their huge library.Considering all of the Terrytoons, Fleischer, George Pal Puppetoons and Famous Studios.

I don't think can sit through a new cartoon channel that show's only Nicktoons :yawn: :yawn: :yawn:

DO THE RIGHT THING VIACOM....BRING BACK THE CLASSICS THAT YOU OWN....

[Nelson]

What we should do is this...Start either a petiton or send as soon as possible, countless e-mails to VIACOM and get their attention they have to present all of these classic theatrical catoons on their brand new network they own in their vaults.This is the only way our voices can be heard on this subject matter and it would be a major waste for these classic gems to be kept in a vault collecting dust.I truly hope that Viacom doesn't think for one second that adults would rather sit through home made Nicktoons, 24 hours a day instead of seeing the great works of TERRYTOONS, THE MAX FLEISCHER CARTOONS and FAMOUS STUDIOS.And if that's Viacom's beliefs, then they are sadly mistaken very bad. :mad: :mad: :mad:

[Sogturtle]

In my remembrance this notion of Viacom (aka Paramount/CBS/Republic/Spelling) starting their own all-cartoon channel was suggested here previous to the mention a couple weeks back... Whether anybody with any authority from that entity reads this message board is a matter of speculation. The odds would be that at least SOME of the underlings are reading our words at one point or another searching for input on their own cartoon programming....

Annnnnd just think... with this new channel they can not only bring us all the Nicktoons, but also those great "cartoons" made for MTV as well...!! :eek: :eek: But who knows? Some inventory-specialist has to have discovered ALL those reels of films containing Betty Boop, and the Terrytoons, and the final Paramount output laying around in the forgotten cupboards of the commisary and stalls in the bathroom. He/She/They have to have inventoried the whole shebang and sent the list upwards through the food-chain with a suggestion for possible usage... Ifffff this giant Toon-ography bumped into the hypothetical research reports of aforementioned underlings then we MIGHT have some cause to hope for better things... Everybody cross your fingers ;) ;) ;) :yakko: :wakko: :bosko: :bosko: A petition/emails wouldn't hurt anything (that's for sure!!)

[Cartman]

That will be nice. It woud sure be interesting seeing cartoons from the different studios other than Disney, WB or MGM.

[Gossamer]

Don't forget the other side of the equation: cable providers. If Viacom can't get enough interest on that score, all the good intentions won't get it launched or guarantee its survival. Not to mention actually being able to see the channel! Or do you want another Boomerang situation?


Just looked at the press release. It says that in some areas of the West Coast, Nicktoons will replace Nick Too. Whether that will affect AZ remains to be seen, but my cable provider carries Nick Too. It also sounds as though they will be developing some new series as well as showing the old ones. It may be a very good idea to remind them that Viacom has the older toons already to hand that cn be used to flesh out a 24 hour schedule CHEAPLY! (much lower cost-no production costs for the shorts) and even in O Dark 30 time, they'd be on the air. That's what VCRs are for.

[Joe Tully]

If they want the channel to be at all successful, they will have to bring in more than just the Nicktoons. Not because the Nicktoons won't bring in ratings, just because there's not enough of them. There aren't a whole lot of Nicktoons series to start with (not when you realize how many blocks there are to program) and then most of them only had 60 or so episodes, and have been repeated to death on Nick.

I probably won't get this network anytime soon, but still, I'll be keeping my fingers crossed, along with my toes, elbows, knees and eyes...

[Sogturtle]

Originally posted by Gossamer
Don't forget the other side of the equation: cable providers. If Viacom can't get enough interest on that score, all the good intentions won't get it launched or guarantee its survival. Not to mention actually being able to see the channel! Or do you want another Boomerang situation?

Exactly!! Sooooo I'd be in favor of reprogamming either TNN, VH1 or (gasp) MTV as this new Viacom cartoon channel. ALL of them have seen better days! ;) Any takers on any of those notions???

[chuckamuck43]

Originally posted by J Lee
...Viacom also owns all the 1929-50 and 1962-67 non-Popeye/Superman Paramount cartoons as well. Obviously, prime time is going to be the made-for-TV stuff, but with 168 hours a week to fill, Nickelodeon should be able to find a spot for 1000 or so theatrical cartoons that they already own...

Dream on...

Just like CN and Cartoon Cartoons, Nick has a greater marketing stake in Nicktoons.
Just watch them fill up their late night schedule with Ren & Stimpy and infomercials!

And do you all want to see 2 minute cartoons? How much surgery do you think they'll do on Herman & Katnip? Baby Huey? BUZZY ?!?!

C'mon, Black & White on the same network as Ginger and Rocket Power? Are you KIDDING?
Today's hip 12 year-old-demographic doesn't watch black and white!!!

Im no different than the rest of you. I would LOVE to see these cartoons (I haven't seen them uncut or un-dubbed in probably thirty years, heck, I'm salivating!!!) but don't get your hopes up.

As far as the suits are concerned, Cartoon Network is THE model for how to run a profitable cartoon channel. And you've all seen where classic animation fits into that picture...

Example - Cartoon Network was built on a foundation of Looney Tunes/Merrie Melodies and other CLASSIC animation. But where is Chuck Jones' tribute being held?

BOOMERANG!

We all know why. CN will NOT pre-empt its most profitable programming - even for CHUCK JONES!!!!!!!:mad:

Sorry guys, but I'm not holding out much hope for this.

[Nelson]

The simple fact is this, I do have Nick2 on my digital cable service so there may be hope that I will get this channel once it begins.VIACOM can't fill a weeks worth of Nicktoons and their new channel and that's why it's very important to get the classic cartoons on this network as well.

[Thad Komorowski]

We can only hope that the Terrytoons and Paramounts will be shown... :(


-Thad

[Jon Cooke]

I will be VERY surprised if this new "Nicktoons TV" channel will air any theatrical shorts. Or if they do, they will be used as late-night filler after a showing of a Cat-Dog or Rugrats movie. (Just look at the shoddy treatment Mickey, Donald, and Goofy get over on Toon Disney.)

I am expecting to see a schedule packed with showings of Doug and Spongebob. But maybe... just maybe... they will have a "Nicktoons TV" equivalent to Nick at Nite on there somewhere.


-Jon

[J Lee]

Just like CN and Cartoon Cartoons, Nick has a greater marketing stake in Nicktoons. Just watch them fill up their late night schedule with Ren & Stimpy and infomercials!

And do you all want to see 2 minute cartoons? How much surgery do you think they'll do on Herman & Katnip? Baby Huey? BUZZY ?!?!

TV Land does run infomercials overnight on occassion (i.e. when the price is right), so that could be an option, though I would think those people would rather advertise on a more adult-targeted Viacom channel, since there are more credit card numbers to harvest there.

As for those Paramount cartoons you mentioned, they're the ones Viacom doesn't own -- well, they own one Baby Huey ("Quack A-Doodle-Do"), one Buzzy ("The Stupidsticious Cat") and no H&Ks except for the prototype `toon ("Naughty But Mice") and a few Herman solo outings.

Paramount/Famous and the Fleischer color output of the 1930s and 40s has some disturbing images, but not the gratuatous violence the 1950s Noveltoons are known for. If Viacom aired those shorts, they would be more likely to have edits for racial content (The Littles -- Lulu and Audrey -- had their own black maid characters in several shorts), while the airing of the Betty Boop cartoons would depend on whether the continued popularity of the character would offset the fact that the cartoons are in black and white (of course they could show the NTA-colorized Bettys, but then we would have to disable their satellite uplink site ;) ).

[Pietro]

If Viacom is planning on making a cartoon station, and if they plan on showing the classics (which is doubtful), this is the one cartoon I want to see most:

"HOT DOG!"

Not only that they should show all the "Noveltoons" uncut, including those Buzzy the Crow cartoons, which are extremely hard to find with their original Paramount logo (although I do have an absolutely 100% mint print of "Stupidstitious Cat" uncut with the original Paramount logo).

-Pietro:D

[Nelson]

We have got to start a petiton right away to get Viacom's attention about this subject matter,I for one am an adult and I don't want to sit through all day, all night Nicktoons...Iwan't them to show the classics on their new channel.

[The Dork Knight]

As much as I want to see Classic animation on this upcoming network there is......
NO CHANCE IN HELL

Trust me, it'll be the 24-hour Rugrats channel.

- Foley Is Good

[Argus Sventon]

Now that this new network is being formed, will AMC give up the rights to show the Paramount toons that air as fillers? This new network should have them.

Personally, I would like to see a sort of "ACME HOUR" type show to air in the 4pm ET time slot featuring Paramount and Terrytoon cartoons. Plus late night showings ala CN should occur.

As for the censored problems, I think this new network eventually, after much growth, should do a special devoted to these toons.

[Brandon Pierce]

On this new Nickelodeon channel, will the missing Angry Beavers episodes air finally?

[Nelson]

YES! The Angry Beavers will be on the new channel, but the topic of this story is will Viacom present the Theatrical cartoon classics that they own in their library...They would be so stupid if they don't show them on the new toon channel.

[The Dork Knight]

Originally posted by Brandon Pierce
On this new Nickelodeon channel, will the missing Angry Beavers episodes air finally?

If Herb Scannel is behind the helm, they'll never see daylight in the USA.

- Foley Is Good

[Pilmedium]

Maybe one hour late at night, but 4pm is a joke.

Will this channel even become widely available? If not, they will probably show a lot of theatrical cartoons. :rolleyes:

[Dave Mackey]

Cablevision is the first to sign on for the new MTV Networks digital tier offerings, which besides Nicktoons TV also include MTV Hits, MTV Jams and VH1 Mega Hits. They will be adding the new Nicktoons TV to their iO:Interactive Optimum digital offering. Viacom did not disclose a launch date for the four new channels.

[all41]

Maybe with MGM being for sale, Viacom will pick them up and include some of the MGM owned toons in their toon channel. DePatie-Freleng and Pink Panthers especially!!

The point about a 24 hour Rugrats channel is well taken, though.

[Nelson]

I believe that all four channels will launch next year from what I've heard.