Margaret Loesch To Lead Discovery Kids/Hasbro Venture

[Jeff Harris]

Margaret Loesch may not be a household name, but she was very instrumental in the DNA blueprint of many animation fans, including myself. She was involved in shows like The Smurfs, G.I. Joe, Transformers, Muppet Babies, Scooby-Doo, Superfriends, Batman: The Animated Series, Animaniacs, Eek! The Cat, and many other cartoons. As the co-founder and head of Fox Kids, she led the network in its golden age, bringing a diverse lineup of programming to the airwaves daily, including taking a chance on a live-action property known as Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers. She also founded The Hatchery, a production company that has produced shows like Zula Patrol balancing education and entertainment in a quirky, yet fun way.

No one has done what Mrs. Loesch has done in the annals of children's entertainment, and starting August 17, she will head the new joint venture between Discovery Communications and Hasbro as President and CEO running all aspects of the joint venture, including the rebranded Discovery Kids Channel, and I wish her luck.

[The Spiritual M]

I, too, am of an age where Margaret Loesch is remembered being a coexecutive in charge of production at Hanna/Barbera. And I still recall reading in the 1990s a magazine article about Haim Saban attempting to throw her under the bus, all the while formulating lies such as this: "Margaret Loesch is my sister..."

In this Discovery Communications/Hasbro venture, I, too, wish her luck.

[Gonzales]

So...

Is this going to be a straight up kids channel? A psuedo-educational thing? Is it going to have actually decent shows or just more of the same lame E/I stuff?

[The Huntsman]

Is this going to be a straight up kids channel? A psuedo-educational thing? Is it going to have actually decent shows or just more of the same lame E/I stuff?

You’re acting as if shows that are E/I can’t be entertaining. That’s simply not true. I happen to like several animated programs that are currently on Discovery Kids and they are rated E/I, but I digress. I wish Mrs. Loesch the best of luck.

[Tay the Cat]

So...

Is this going to be a straight up kids channel? A psuedo-educational thing? Is it going to have actually decent shows or just more of the same lame E/I stuff?

I must second The Huntsman in finding out what exactly is "lame" about E/I.

I also enjoy some E/I programming, not only on Discovery Kids, but PBS as well.

[Dudley]

So...

Is this going to be a straight up kids channel? A psuedo-educational thing? Is it going to have actually decent shows or just more of the same lame E/I stuff?

I dunno, Time Warp Trio and Word Girl are pretty good for E/I shows.

[Mario500]

Many TV programs now labeled "educational/informational" were created long before they were required to have the letters "E/I" on screen at all times. "The Flying House" is one program I have enjoyed long before it was given the "E/I" label and due to the requirement I cannot record episodes I could not see in the past due to the network (FamilyNet) skipping some of them.

[Gold Guy]

I like a few E/I shows, most specially Time Warp Trio.

[spidey4545]

It couldn't have happened to a better person. She's definitely the right person for the job and I wish her all the best of luck.

[Master Toon]

Sounds good but is it strange that I, an adult, am anticipating a kids network? I've started to take a look at the stuff I find entertaining and I'm wondering if it's ok that I like this stuff.

[AJ1]

Is this channel going to be available to extended cable subscribers or is it going to be like Boomerang, Nicktoons and XD and only be an option for the mega-subscibers? I am sure it will be the latter, but I figured I would ask anyhow in hopes that if it's good that a lot of people who don't have the bigtime packages can enjoy it, but I will be able to watch it regardless because I have the good package.

When does this go live....?

[Master Toon]

Is this channel going to be available to extended cable subscribers or is it going to be like Boomerang, Nicktoons and XD and only be an option for the mega-subscibers? I am sure it will be the latter, but I figured I would ask anyhow in hopes that if it's good that a lot of people who don't have the bigtime packages can enjoy it, but I will be able to watch it regardless because I have the good package.

When does this go live....?

Both questions are answered in the link that Jeff provided but in an effort to be helpful I'll just quote them for you. As you can see the network will be on the same channel number and package as Discovery Kids.

Discovery Communications and Hasbro said they’ve hired kids’ programming veteran Margaret Loesch as CEO of the yet-unnamed new network that will take the place of the Discovery Kids channel in fall 2010.

The network will continue to operate as Discovery Kids until the debut of the to-be-named channel and new programming slate, planned for Fall 2010. Following the debut, Discovery Communications will retain the Discovery Kids brand for, among other things, its international networks and its licensing and merchandising business.

[TMC1982]

So...

Is this going to be a straight up kids channel? A psuedo-educational thing? Is it going to have actually decent shows or just more of the same lame E/I stuff?

I'm guessing that that since Hasbro is involved, they'll at least, show stuff like G.I. Joe, Transformers, Jem, and Romper Room.

[Mandouga]

Unfortunately, only "Romper Room" has been confirmed...

[Kaveh77]

So is there a chance this channel will move to a lower satellite and cable package

[Taco Wiz]

I didn't even know there WAS a Discovery Kids channel.

[Master Toon]

I didn't even know there WAS a Discovery Kids channel.

You didn't?! Well there is and they produced and aired some pretty good stuff throughout the years.

[Blueranger]

I want to be excited but Is the new channel gonna still be E/I formatted like the current one?

[Jeff Harris]

Is this going to be a straight up kids channel? A psuedo-educational thing? Is it going to have actually decent shows or just more of the same lame E/I stuff?

I want to be excited but Is the new channel gonna still be E/I formatted like the current one?

Unfortunately, only "Romper Room" has been confirmed...

You know, the internet is a wonderful thing, and the original press release from Discovery Communications and Hasbro spilled out their plans for the revamped network. Here are the highlights from the press release because some people don't really like to read things without pictures:

Both the network and the venture's online component will feature content from Hasbro's rich portfolio of entertainment and educational properties built over the past 90 years, including original programming for animation, game shows, and live-action series and specials.

Translation: The network will air Hasbro-owned titles form over the years, including their recently-reacquired animation library, which includes the likes of G.I. Joe, My Little Pony, and Transformers.

The TV network and online presence also will include content from Discovery's extensive library of award-winning children's educational programming, such as BINDI THE JUNGLE GIRL, ENDURANCE, TUTENSTEIN, HI-5, FLIGHT 29 DOWN and PEEP AND THE BIG WIDE WORLD, as well as programming from third-party producers.

Translation: Discovery Kids programming will also continue airing on the network alongside the Hasbro shows. Plus, they're going to air properties from third party producers that may become available by the time the network launches. So, yeah, it'll be half-and-half.

And I take offense of the assertion that E/I programming can't be entertaining. It's just that a lot of producers and distributors are lazy with the concept and don't do anything creative with it. I mean, how many times can you make a show with a little Hispanic child talk at the viewers? Obviously three (Dora the Explorer, Go Diego Go, and Super Why). Those shows tend to overshadow the ones that are creative. Martha Speaks and WordGirl are two different yet similar shows (both have unique ways of introducing vocabulary to youngsters), and both succeed in making educational programs that are entertaining, not to mention being two of the best-written, funniest cartoons on the air today. But you won't hear about that because viewers tend to be turned off by anything from PBS or with the E/I label. Zula Patrol, a series co-produced by Mrs. Loesch's production company, The Hatchery, is also a well-produced and well-written series mixing humor and science without insulting the viewer's intelligence.

New programming will be based on brands such as ROMPER ROOM, TRIVIAL PURSUIT, SCRABBLE, CRANIUM, MY LITTLE PONY, G.I. JOE, GAME OF LIFE, TONKA and TRANSFORMERS, among many others. Creative work will start in the next few months beginning with early stage development for properties including ROMPER ROOM, TONKA, G.I. JOE, TRANSFORMERS and MY LITTLE PONY. The creative team will have the capability to produce animated, live-action, and game show programming as well as content designed for digital and mobile extensions.

Translation: They're developing shows, including a new Romper Room, as well as in the early stages of developing new shows based on existing Hasbro properties, INCLUDING Transformers and G.I Joe.

Programming on the network will be designed to entertain and educate, echoing the popularity and appeal of Hasbro's portfolio of brands and Discovery's long-standing commitment to life-long learning with the goal of making our emerging networks more valuable to affiliates and more compelling for viewers. In the tradition of Discovery Kids, this will include a number of daily hours voluntarily devoted to educational/informative content.

Translation: The network will be an equal mix of educational/informative content and traditional entertainment programming. It won't be just E/I programming, but they're not going to be a network-wide commercial either.

If more people paid attention to the world around them, they could learn a lot of things.

[Mandouga]

Well, excuse me for having a bad memory. It's been months since I read the report on AWN. I only remembered it mentioning Romper Room.

You take offense at the assertion that E/I programming can't be entertaining? Well, so do I, but I also take offense at your assumption that people make statements and ask "dumb" questions without doing the research. Okay, so there might be some people like that, but OTOH, maybe some of us have asked such questions and made such statements (like me, I'll admit), but don't remember all the details; in other words, it doesn't always mean we didn't do the research (I did when I read the AWN article about it). I can't speak for anyone else, but I was kind of in a hurry, and I didn't have time to look it up, that doesn't mean I'm lazy or don't know any better.

So with all due respect, don't insult our intelligence by treating us like we don't know any better or are otherwise "stupid" (stating that "some people don't really like to read things without pictures" implies this among other things). I'm sorry if you're offended by this post, but how do you think I feel? Okay, so there will be shows involving Transformers, G.I. Joe, and My Little Pony as well as Romper Room (I also knew that some parts of the old Discovery Kids would still be there; I remember that much). I just didn't think to look it up again. That doesn't mean I don't know any better.

Look, don't take this personally, but I just didn't like the insinuation you made with your post. I really did feel both insulted and offended. I hope you understand.

FWIW though, I myself am looking forward to this new channel, and I hope that Margaret Loesch will do a good job.