.png) Final logo used from 1997 to 2008[a] | |
| Network | |
|---|---|
| Launched | September 9, 1995; 30 years ago (1995-09-09) |
| Closed |
|
| Country of origin | United States |
| Owner | Warner Bros. Television Studios (Time Warner) |
| Headquarters | Burbank,California, U.S. |
| Original language | English |
Kids' WB (stylized asKids' WB!) was an Americanchildren's programming block that originally aired onThe WB from September 9, 1995, to September 16, 2006, and later onThe CW from September 23, 2006, to May 17, 2008. Initially launched as a competitor toFox Kids, Kids' WB aired primarily during the Saturday morning and weekday after-school time slots, although airtimes for the block's programming varied at the local affiliate's discretion.
In 1999, the block gained a major foothold in the children's television market when it acquired the rights to4Kids Entertainment's English-dub of thePokémon anime (which had previously been syndicated on Fox-affiliated stations the previous year), helping cement the anime as a pop culture phenomenon among American audiences. Other notable series during the block's WB run includedAnimaniacs (a Fox Kids carryover) and spinoffPinky and the Brain (which began as a WB prime time series),Freakazoid!,The New Batman/Superman Adventures,Histeria!,Cardcaptors,Yu-Gi-Oh!,Jackie Chan Adventures,Static Shock, andJohnny Test.
The block moved toThe CW (a result of the merger ofTime Warner-ownedThe WB andCBS Corporation-ownedUPN) upon its launch in September 2006. Following a nearly 13-year run on broadcast television, on May 24, 2008, Kids' WB was replaced by successor blockThe CW4Kids (later renamedToonzai in 2010) under a time-lease agreement reached between The CW and4Kids Entertainment to take over programming the network's Saturday morning timeslot. An online version ofKids' WB featuring episodes of popular series from the block operated from April 29, 2008, to May 17, 2015.
In July 1994, ahead of the launch of The WB, plans for Kids' WB were already being made, with a September 1995 launch. The network planned new episodes ofAnimaniacs, as well as reruns for the weekday blocks, and two all-new series:The Sylvester & Tweety Mysteries andFreakazoid!.Animaniacs would continue on Fox for the entirety of the 1994–95 season.[1] Long-term plans included the expansion of the Saturday block to four hours in 1996, while the weekday block would expand to two hours by 1996 or 1997.[2] In February 1995, a further title from Warner Bros. Animation, theAnimaniacs spin-offPinky and the Brain, was announced for the block.[3] The block had plans to surpass Fox Kids within a ten-year window.[4]
The first announced series coming from a studio other than Warner Bros. Animation was Universal Cartoon Studios'Earthworm Jim, based on the video game series ofthe same name.[5] During August 1995, it struck a deal with Kraft Foods for "watch-and-win" sweepstakes.[6] On August 18, 1995, 30-second previews ofThe Sylvester & Tweety Mysteries were released for AOL subscribers as a test run. A full website was expected for September.[7]
Kids' WB launched in the United States on September 9, 1995, striving to compete against the dominance ofFox Kids at the time, and airing on Saturday mornings from 8:00 to 11:00 a.m. and Monday through Fridays from 4:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. The block was structured to air in alltime zones, airing on atape delay outside of theEastern Time Zone to adjust the recommended airtime of the block to each zone. However, during its first five years, an exact timeslot was not announced on-air, leaving viewers to check their local WB station listings; since the programs had different airtimes depending on the local WB affiliate schedule in the market. On September 7, 1996, the Saturday block was extended by one hour, airing from 8:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. Eastern Time.
Simultaneously with the launch of the block, it also launched an online service which was initially available exclusively for AOL subscribers.[8] Ratings for its first Saturday (its first day on air) had a share of 1.5%, ending in fourth place among the Saturday morning blocks, but the final figures were delayed due to some stations clearing Fox Kids on Saturdays, moving the Kids' WB block to Sundays.[9]
Although Kids' WB aired on almost all of The WB's affiliated stations (including those later affiliated withThe WB 100+ Station Group), the network'sChicago affiliateWGN-TV – owned by The WB's co-parent, theTribune Company – declined to carry the weekday and Saturday blocks. Instead, it opted to air itsweekday and Saturday morning newscasts (the first incarnation of the latter was canceled in 1998), and other locally-produced programming (such asThe Bozo Super Sunday Show) in the morning hours, and syndicated programming in the afternoons. Kids' WB programming instead aired onWeigel Broadcasting-ownedWCIU-TV. However, WGN'ssuperstation feed carried the block from 1995 to 1999, making the network available to markets without a local affiliate. WGN-TV began clearing Kids' WB on its Chicago broadcast signal in 2004, taking over the local rights from WCIU-TV.
At launch, 30% of the network's 78 affiliates cleared the block for Sundays.[10] The total sum of the stations carrying the block, as affiliates of the network, accounted for 83% of the population.[11] Plans for a weekday morning block started in early 1996, mirroring a similar move from UPN Kids; the block was set to start in 1997.[12]
For its second season in 1996, the first batch of new shows joined: two series from Warner Bros.,Superman: The Animated Series andRoad Rovers, as well as WB-Nelvana coproWaynehead created byDamon Wayans.[13]Road Rovers was produced without the help of Steven Spielberg.[14] During the summer months of 1996, a promotional campaign withBest Western was held to promote the upcomingSuperman series, which included a limited promotional poster of the character in the months of August and September, when television promotion for the series was set to begin.[15]
On September 1, 1997, a weekday morning block was added from 7:00 a.m. to 8:00 a.m. and the weekday afternoon block was extended by one hour, running from 3:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. However, selected WB affiliates and WGN's superstation feed would not begin airing the morning block until the following day, due to local preemptions caused by preexisting commitments to airThe Jerry Lewis MDA Labor Day Telethon. Some areas (such asKTLA inLos Angeles) aired the weekday morning and afternoon lineups together as an expanded three-hour block, running from 2:00 to 5:00 p.m. On the same date, the block received an on-air rebranding – which included a revised logo and graphics package centered upon theWarner Bros. Studios lot theme that was also used in promotions for The WB's primetime programming during the network's first eight years on the air – which was developed by Riverstreet Productions, and lasted until 2005.
On February 13, 1999, Kids' WB made a breakthrough when the English dub of theanime seriesPokémon by4Kids Entertainment moved to the network frombroadcast syndication.[16] It became a major hit for the programming block,[17] helping it beatFox Kids with its animated lineup backed byWarner Bros.[18] Other anime shows aired on Kids' WB in later years, such asCardcaptors,Yu-Gi-Oh!,Astro Boy,MegaMan NT Warrior, andViewtiful Joe.
In July 2001, Kids' WB's weekday afternoon lineup was rebranded asToonami on Kids' WB, extending theCartoon Network action-animated blockToonami to broadcast television, and bringing shows such asSailor Moon,Dragon Ball Z, andThe Powerpuff Girls to broadcast network television. However, the sub-block was critically panned by industry observers, who noticed that the action branding of the block—which had added shows such asGeneration O!,Scooby-Doo, andThe Nightmare Room, a live-action series created byGoosebumps authorR. L. Stine—did not translate content-wise. And while the cross promotion between Cartoon Network and Kids' WB did allow for series to be shared between the networks, most of these only lasted a short period of time. This includedDragon Ball Z andSailor Moon appearing onToonami on Kids' WB for only two weeks, andCardcaptors appearing on the main Toonami block on Cartoon Network for only two weeks. In spring 2002, Kids' WB announced that they would drop the Toonami name from their weekday lineup, once again making the Toonami brand exclusive to Cartoon Network.
On September 3, 2001, the Kids' WB weekday morning block was retired, with The WB giving that slot back to its local affiliates to carry locally-produced shows, syndicated programming and/orinfomercials.
On May 31, 2005, The WB announced that the weekday afternoon Kids' WB block would be retired "at the request of the local affiliates," as it became financially unattractive due to the fact broadcast stations perceived that children's programming viewership on afternoon timeslots had gravitated more towards cable networks – these stations began to target more adult audiences withtalk shows and sitcom reruns in the daytime. Kids' WB's weekday programming continued, but with redundant programming and theme weeks until December 30, 2005 (the block began to increasingly promote Cartoon Network, their afternoonMiguzi block,Hi Hi Puffy AmiYumi, and the Kids' WB Saturday morning lineup during the transition). The weekday afternoon Kids' WB block aired for the last time on December 30, 2005, and was replaced on January 2, 2006, by "Daytime WB", a more adult-targeted general entertainment block featuring repeats of sitcoms and drama series formerly seen on the major networks. As a result, the Saturday morning Kids' WB lineup that remained was extended by one hour on January 7, 2006, running from 7:00 a.m. to noon, no longer affected bytime zone variances.
On January 24, 2006,Warner Bros. Television (producer ofKids' WB and owner of the block's original broadcaster from 1995 to 2006, The WB) andCBS Corporation (owner ofUPN and subsidiary ofNational Amusements who also owns film studioParamount Pictures' parent companyViacom) announced that they would merge both The WB and UPN and intoThe CW, which would primarily air programs aired by its two soon-to-be predecessor networks as part of its initial lineup.[19] The combined network utilized The WB's scheduling practices (inheriting the 30-hour weekly programming schedule that the network utilized at the time of the announcement) and brought the Kids' WB block, still run by Warner Bros. Television and maintaining the same name, to the new lineup (The CW's decision to use The WB's scheduling model was mainly due to the fact that it included children's and daytime programming blocks that were not offered by UPN, which had not aired any children's programming since theDisney's One Too block was cancelled in August 2003). Notably, during this timeAOL—then a sister company to Warner Bros.—was the main sponsor of CBS' own Saturday morning blockKOL Secret Slumber Party, but at no point did neither Kids' WB nor SSP advertise each other's programs—most likely because SSP was produced and operated byDIC Entertainment and was aimed at girls, as opposed to the boy-centric Kids' WB.[20]
On October 2, 2007, The CW announced that it would cancel the Kids' WB programming block through a joint decision between corporate parents Time Warner and CBS Corporation, due to the effects of children's advertising limits and cable competition; the network also announced that it would sell the five-hour Saturday programming slot to4Kids Entertainment.[21] The Kids' WB block aired for the final time on May 17, 2008 (for some stations that aired the block on a day-behind basis, the block's last airdate was on May 18, 2008).
On May 24, 2008, 4Kids launchedThe CW4Kids in place of Kids' WB. The lineup for the block consisted of 4Kids-produced shows, such asChaotic, as well as new seasons ofYu-Gi-Oh! andTeenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.[22] The official site, TheCW4Kids.com, officially launched on April 20, 2008. The block was renamedToonzai on August 14, 2010, it was replaced byVortexx (programmed bySaban Brands) on August 25, 2012, and it continued to air until it ended on September 27, 2014; the block that currently airs on The CW isOne Magnificent Morning, which debuted on October 4, 2014.
.svg) | |
Type of site | Children's |
|---|---|
| Available in | English |
| Headquarters | Burbank,California, U.S. |
| Parent | Warner Bros. |
| URL | www |
| Commercial | Yes |
| Registration | Closed |
| Launched | 1996; 29 years ago (1996) |
| Current status | Closed |
 | |
Type of site | Children's |
|---|---|
| Available in | English |
| Headquarters | Burbank,California, U.S. |
| Parent | DC Entertainment |
| URL | www |
| Commercial | Yes |
| Registration | Closed |
| Launched | April 28, 2008; 17 years ago (2008-04-28) |
| Current status | Closed |
On April 28, 2008, Warner Bros. Entertainment announced that The WB and Kids' WB brands would be relaunched as online networks, with the Kids' WB network consisting of five subchannels:Kids' WB! (for WB shows for kids and families),Kids' WB! Jr. (for shows for younger children),Scooby-Doo,Looney Tunes, and two different websites ofDC Kids:DC HeroZone.com andDC Beyond.com (for action-oriented animated shows for DC fans).[23][24][25] After the dissolution ofIn2TV, the Kids' WB online portal absorbed most of that service's children's programming. The service was significantly scaled back in 2013, with most of the archival content being removed. The archival content can be easily accessed through theInternet Archive'sWayback Machine.
The site was split into 3 websites on May 17, 2015. These sites are: DCKids.com, LooneyTunes.com and ScoobyDoo.com. All three are grouped intoWB Kids Sites. The decision to split the site into three ended, after almost twenty years, the use of the "Kids' WB!" brand name. Also, the WB Kids Sites got new YouTube channels: WB Kids for main Warner Bros. properties, and DC Kids for DC Comics properties. In July 2016, 2 of the 3 websites re-merged into "WBKids GO!". DCKids.com remains active until 2023. On December 14, 2023, the WBKids GO! and DC Kids websites appear to have been shut down; the links to their websites now redirect to the respective YouTube channels.
