Cartoon Network (British and Irish TV channel) facts for kids
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| Country |  United Kingdom Ireland |
|---|---|
| Broadcast area | United Kingdom Ireland Malta |
| Slogan | CHECK it. |
| Headquarters | UK: 160 Old Street, London, England, United Kingdom Ireland & Malta:HBO Europe s.r.o., Jankovcova 1037/49 170 00 Praha, Czech Republic. |
| Programming | |
| Language(s) | English Irish |
| Picture format | 576i (SDTV) 1080i (HDTV) |
| Timeshift service | Cartoon Network +1 |
| Ownership | |
| Owner | WarnerMedia International |
| Key people | Pete Flamman Anthony Lukom Daniel Lennard |
| Sister channels | Boomerang Cartoonito CNN International TCM Movies |
| History | |
| Launched | 17 September 1993 (As Cartoon Network Europe) 15 October 1999 (Ex Pan-European Feed Becomes UK and Ireland Only) |
| Availability | |
| Terrestrial | |
| GO (Malta) | On Demand and Channel 602 |
| Cable | |
| Virgin Media (UK) | Channel 704 Channel 705 (+1) Channel 732 (HD) TV Choice on Demand: Kids |
| Virgin Media Ireland | Channel 617 (+1) Channel 620 |
| Melita (Malta) | Channel 453 |
| WightFibre (UK) | Channel 56 (+1) Channel 10 |
| Satellite | |
| Sky (UK & Ireland) | Channel 601 (SD/HD) Channel 602 (+1) Channel 640 (SD) On Demand |
| IPTV | |
| TalkTalk Plus TV (UK) | Channel 486 |
| BT (UK) | Channel 486 On-demand |
| BT (UK, via Now TV) | Channel 466 Channel 473 (HD) |
| Plusnet (UK) | Channel 486 |
| eir Vision (Ireland) | Channel 603 |
| Streaming media | |
| Sky Go | Watch live (UK and Ireland only) |
| Now TV | Watch live (UK and Ireland only) |
| TVPlayer | Watch live (UK only) (TVPlayer Plus subscription required) |
| Virgin TV Go | Watch live (UK only) |
| Virgin TV Anywhere Ireland | [1] (Ireland only) |
Cartoon Network (commonly abbreviated as CN) is a children's television channel which airs animated programming targeting children aged 7 to 15. It is run by AT&T's WarnerMedia under its International division.
The channel initially launched on 17 September 1993 as a larger pan-European feed, serving the UK market along with Western and Northern Europe. In 1999, Cartoon Network further nationalized its feed by adding different language tracks to certain programmes. On 15 October of that year, the British arm of the feed was split off.
Contents
Cartoon Network programs
Original scheduling
When Cartoon Network initially launched, its schedule was mainly made up of short cartoons from both Warner Bros. and other studios, such as Looney Tunes, Merrie Melodies and Tom and Jerry. A few years after, it started to broadcast its own programming such as The Powerpuff Girls and Dexter's Laboratory. Eventually, most of Cartoon Network's acquired programming was shifted to the sidelines, with the company's original animated series taking up the majority of Cartoon Network's timeslots.
Programming blocks
In September 2000, Toonami began broadcasting weekdays for two hours between 4 pm until 6 pm, and from 9 pm until 11 pm, as well as weekends from 10 am until noon and 10 pm until midnight. Dragonball Z had already been airing on Cartoon Network since March 2000, and had been attracting very good ratings, which may have contributed to the decision to launch Toonami in the UK. Its output consisted almost solely of Japanese anime such as the cult Dragonball Z, Tenchi Muyo, and Gundam Wing. The only non-Japanese shows for quite some time were The Real Adventures of Jonny Quest and Batman Beyond. As time went on, Toonami started to shift away from Japanese anime and action programming, eventually morphing into CN Too.
Around the same time, there was almost completely new programming on the channel, and so Boomerang began in a late night slot; it ultimately branched off into its own channel after the block was discontinued.
From February 2012 until July 2017, Cartoon Network shifted its major night of premieres to Monday evenings, under the names "Meaty Mondays", and as of April 2014 "Mega Mondays". Additionally, the block's name would change to "Mince Pie Mondays" every December, sporting a more festive look and airing Christmas specials to boot. In May 2014, a much smaller Friday variety block, titled "Funsize Fridays" was launched. This block only ran for around 2014, and consisted of playing "a different show every fifteen minutes". The shows featured in the block were Adventure Time, The Amazing World of Gumball, Clarence, Johnny Test, Regular Show, Steven Universe, Teen Titans Go!, and Uncle Grandpa. Only one of these shows would air new episodes in this block, passing the baton to a different show monthly.
Eventually, both of these blocks were discontinued, and Cartoon Network was completely devoid of programming blocks for some time. However, in March 2018, a brand new Friday night premiere block launched, under the simple name "New Fridays". The block aired on Friday nights from 4pm to 9pm, and it was based upon the United States feed's "NEW NEW NEW NEW" block, carrying the same neon light branding from its international counterpart. Despite only lasting around four months, the block had a large variety of shows rotating in and out of premiere slots, including Adventure Time, The Amazing World of Gumball, Ben 10, Clarence, Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs, Mighty Magiswords, Ninjago: Masters of Spinjitzu, OK K.O.! Let's Be Heroes, The Powerpuff Girls, Regular Show, Steven Universe, Supernoobs, Teen Titans Go!, We Bare Bears, Uncle Grandpa, and Unikitty!. The Canadian import Wishfart also had its premiere and new episodes restricted to the block. In July 2018, the block was discontinued unexpectedly.
Sister networks
Boomerang
In May 2000, Boomerang was launched by Cartoon Network in the UK and Ireland, and most "classic" cartoons were moved from Cartoon Network to Boomerang, which initially broadcast from 6 am to 12 am. In October 2001, Boomerang became a 24-hour channel and the remaining "classic" cartoons like The Smurfs, also moved to Boomerang.
Cartoonito
In May 2007, Cartoonito was launched as a pre-school channel replacing Cartoon Network Too. Cartoonito aired from 4am to 9pm daily. In January 2018, Cartoonito officially began airing 24 hours a day.
Defunct sister networks
CNX
CNX was a channel operated by Turner Broadcasting System Europe in the UK and Ireland between 2002 and 2003. It was aimed at a male audience, with daytime programming aimed at older children and teenagers, and evening programming aimed at older teenagers and young adults. CNX was carried in the 'Entertainment' section of the Sky programme guide, and was also available on cable
Toonami
Toonami launched in September 2003 showing action programming. Toonami had originally replaced CNX, which launched in October 2002. In May 2007, Toonami was replaced with Cartoon Network Too.
Cartoon Network Too
In April 2006, Cartoon Network Too was launched on Sky on the same day as sister TCM 2 and Nick Jr. 2, broadcasting cartoons primarily made by Hanna-Barbera such as Dexter's Laboratory, The Powerpuff Girls, Johnny Bravo and Wacky Races. Cartoon Network Too aired from 3 am to 7 pm every day until May 2007, when it became a 24-hour channel, taking Toonami's slot and getting a new identity. In April 2014, Cartoon Network Too was replaced by a relaunched version of Cartoon Network +1.
Related services
Cartoon Network +1
Cartoon Network +1 originally launched in 1998 as a one-hour timeshift of Cartoon Network before it was replaced by Cartoon Network Too in April 2006. Cartoon Network +1 was relaunched in April 2014 replacing Cartoon Network Too, just as Cartoon Network Too had replaced them in 2006. In July 2018, Cartoon Network +1 was temporarily replaced by a Ben 10 thematic pop-up channel, the channel reverted to Cartoon Network +1 in July 2018.
Cartoon Network HD
In September 2011, Cartoon Network HD launched on Sky. In January 2013, Cartoon Network HD launched on Virgin Media's cable TV platform.
Virgin On Demand service
In April 2007, Cartoon Network launched onto Virgin Media's On Demand system, thus allowing Virgin Media customers to watch Cartoon Network programmes whenever they like. They can also take advantage of pause, rewind and fast forward functions, when watching these programmes.
Cartoon Network Studios Europe
Cartoon Network Studios Europe is based in Shoreditch, London, located three miles away from Turner EMEA's headquarters. The studio was named after Great Marlborough Street where Turner Europe, Middle East and Africa's headquarters is located. The studio is the European equivalent to Cartoon Network Studios based in Burbank, California, USA. The studio was founded in 2007 and in 2011 it produced its first show, The Amazing World of Gumball, created by Ben Bocquelet. Cartoon Network Europe has also been involved in other co-productions in the past such as The Cramp Twins, Fat Dog Mendoza, Robotboy, Scooby-Doo! Mystery Incorporated, Elfy Food, The Happos Family, Hero 108, Spaced Out, VBirds, Cult Toons, Taffy, Best Ed, Chop Socky Chooks, Skatoony and The Heroic Quest of the Valiant Prince Ivandoe. The studio has also produced animation for the Malaria No More organisation. Originally, the studio's main focus was to produce animated shorts that could potentially become animated shows, this changed when production of The Amazing World of Gumball moved from Boulder Media and Dandelion Studios and went in-house with Studio Soi offering support. In September 2018, Cartoon Network Studios Europe's London-based studio will start production on a new animated show, Elliott From Earth.
Animated shorts
The studio has also produced animated shorts. Animated shorts produced by the studio include The Furry Pals, Mutant Moments, Hamshanks and the Himalolly Railway, Elliot's Zoo, Pinky Malinky and Verne on Vacation. The shorts were showcased in a similar way to Cartoonstitute by the American version of Cartoon Network. The videos were available to watch on the Cartoon Network Development Studio Europe YouTube channel which has since closed.
Images for kids
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An example of a bumper during the 2002-2005 Casillas Era. Each box shows a different video clip from the same or different cartoon. In each box, a character does an action, when they leave a box, they move to another box or their action is taken over by another character in another box.
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See also
In Spanish: Cartoon Network (Reino Unido e Irlanda) para niños
