Saturday-morning cartoon facts for kids
A Saturday-morning cartoon was a special kind of cartoon show. These shows usually played on Saturday mornings in the United States. They were shown on the biggest TV channels, often called the "Big Three" networks.
These cartoons were super popular from the mid-1960s to the mid-1990s. After that, their popularity started to go down. This happened because people's habits changed, there were more shows available all the time, and new rules for kids' TV came in.
In their later years, many Saturday-morning cartoons were made to follow special rules. These rules were about making sure shows were educational or informative (E/I). Even today, some smaller TV channels and PBS (a non-commercial network) still show cartoons on Saturdays.
What Were Saturday Morning Cartoons?
Saturday-morning cartoons were a big part of growing up for many kids in the United States. They were a special time when new episodes of your favorite cartoons would air. This was different from other times when you might only see reruns.
The main time for these shows was from 8:00 a.m. to noon in the Eastern Time Zone. This meant kids would wake up early on Saturday to watch them.
When Were They Popular?
The golden age of Saturday-morning cartoons lasted for about 30 years. From the mid-1960s to the mid-1990s, almost every kid watched them. It was a weekly tradition for many families.
Before the late 1970s, some TV channels also showed kids' programs on Sunday mornings. However, these were often just repeats of shows that had already aired on Saturdays.
Why Did Saturday Cartoons Change?
Over time, things changed for Saturday-morning cartoons. More TV channels became available, like cable TV, which showed cartoons all day, every day. This meant kids didn't have to wait until Saturday morning to watch their favorite shows.
Also, new rules were put in place for children's TV. These rules, called E/I (Educational/Informational) mandates, meant that cartoons had to teach kids something. This changed the types of shows that were made.
In Canada, Saturday-morning cartoons mostly stopped by 2002. In the United States, the "Big Three" networks stopped showing new non-educational cartoons by 2006. For example, the last non-E/I cartoon on a major network was Kim Possible.
Even though the traditional Saturday-morning cartoon block is mostly gone, some cable TV channels still premiere popular animated shows on Saturday mornings sometimes.
