It's the end of an era...

[capri0mni]

As of January 1, the WB has stopped showing children's cartoons in the afternoon. In that two hour block fro 3 to 5, they are now showing repeats of ER and 8 simple rules for dating my teenage daughter.

The WB was the last commercial broadcast station to show children's cartoons in the "after school" time period.

I remember when such programming was the rule, rather than the exception, when Donahue was the only talk show on the air.

:::Sigh::: I'm feeling one more vestige of my childhood evaporate into the ether. Excuse me while I have an "I feel Old" moment...

(ps. Is this the result even more tv deregulation, and a relaxation on the requirements to provide a minimum of children's programing in order to keep your broadcasting license?)

[Edit: using this oportunity to add a GIP to this entry, since this entry prompted the thought that I needed a certain icon]

Comments

[pete-wisdom.livejournal.com]

Actually, this is more of the WB's resolve to retool their own network programming so that they can go after the target demographic that seems to be the ones with more free-will and disposable income (you know, the 12-17 year olds that probably have some sort of part time job, but aren't really tethered down by adult issues like retirement accounts just yet).

[capriuni.livejournal.com]

And yet, most of the ads during those two hours are still for retirement plans and life insurance.

I know the WB (like all tv stations) would rather broadcast to just one group of people with the most money to spend. But aren't there laws, or didn't there used to be laws, that prevented them from doing that?

(...And I wouldn't have thought that an angsty show with slight political overtones, like ER would be exactly what a thirteen year old boy would want to watch, first thing off the school bus, anyway. I thought that's what "The Batman" was for.)

[jekesta]

When you say 'the last commercial broadcast station', there are other channels then which are still doing children's tv? Because if all the children's tv has gone away then !!!!!

[capriuni.livejournal.com]

Well, there's the Public Broadcasting Service, which still does educational shows, but they don't get their funding from commercials; they get it from members who pay for it (and government grants and corporate sponsers, but mostly members).

And there's cable stations, like The Cartoon Network, but you have to pay subscriptions to cable, and have your house wired for it. And I have neither.

Saturday morning is still a staple for cartoon watching time on regular broadcast tv (for about three stations), too. But that time is shrinking, too.

So, yeah. In recent years, the WB and PBS were the only stations showing cartoony stuff between the after-school time and dinnertime, during the weekday, for free. Now, it's just PBS. And PBS cartoons are all educational and socially meaningful, and stuff... not just mindless fun.

...I need a :::Sigh::: icon, or maybe an "I feel old" icon. Maybe I'll make one, today.

[jekesta]

Wow. I'd never really thought about american television for children. I'm having trouble imagining there not being children's programming on at least the most major (free) stations, no wonder you're upset, that's awful.

Over here on terrestrial television we have the BBC (state funded) and ITV (funded through commercials) and both have a really good (bbc obviously better, but ITV at least trying <--natural snobbish love of bbc yo) children's programming between 3.30 and 5.30 every weekday, showing cartoons and things like the teletubbies for younger children for the first hour and then usually drama series (which get a lot of adult viewers as well because the bbc is good at children's drama) and older age cartoons, or magazine type things like blue peter type things, art shows, that type of stuff for the second hour. And there's children's programming every morning as well on both stations. It's really excellent, and I don't think I'd ever thought about how good it was before because I hadn't considered anyone not having it.

*Sigh* indeed.

[capriuni.livejournal.com]

It used to be like that, over here, too. All the time I was growing up. Cartoons and other children's programming in the early, early morning, for the little kiddies to watch in the morning before their parents woke up, and cartoons for slightly older kids during the breakfast hour, to watch while getting ready for school.

But the morning programming started dying out years ago. I never suspected it would happen to the afternoon programming.

I guess many folks don't consider it as important, anymore, because there are now cable stations for nothing but children's programs, and nothing but cartoons. But even basic cable can cost $30-$40 a month.

But, really -- ER?! Puhleeze.