.svg) Final logo, used from 2000 to 2002 | |
| Network | NBC |
|---|---|
| Launched | September 12, 1992 (1992-09-12) |
| Closed | September 28, 2002 (2002-09-28) |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Format | Saturday morning live-action teen programming block |
| Running time | 2½ hours (1992–97) 3 hours (1997–2002) |
| Original language | English |
TNBC (orTeen NBC) was an American teen-orientedtelevision programming block that aired onNBC from September 12, 1992 to September 28, 2002, due to its replacement with the children's-orientedDiscovery Kids on NBC educational lineup. The Saturday morning block featured comical live-action series – primarily in the form of scripted sitcoms and variety series such asSaved by the Bell,California Dreams,Hang Time,One World,City Guys and others – geared toward teenagers and sometimes young adults, the majority of which were produced by such key people asPeter Engel and the network's in-house production unitsNBC Studios and NBC Enterprises.
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As early as 1988, NBC had been openly contemplating replacing its Saturday morning cartoonprogramming block of children's animation with less expensive, in-house programming oriented towards older audiences, such as talk shows and travel-themed programs, due to increasing competition fromweekday afternoon cartoons airing infirst-run syndication.[1] The idea for a block specifically oriented towards a teenage demographic sprang from the popularity of the live-action teen sitcomSaved by the Bell, which debuted on the network's Saturday morning lineup in September 1989 and centered on a group of six students attending the fictional Bayside High School inPacific Palisades, Los Angeles.
In 2000,Just Deal became the first TNBC scripted series not to be produced by Peter Engel since the 1993 seriesRunning the Halls, and the first series to be shot in asingle-camera format. The following year,Sk8 premiered on the block, lasting for one season before being canceled. BothJust Deal andSk8 were productions ofThomas W. Lynch, who had previously produced several hit teen dramas forNickelodeon. By 2001, the block was suffering from declining viewership, particularly among its intended audience of teens; much of its audience by this point was from older viewers who had left their TV on afterWeekend Today ended, and by its last season, the average age of a TNBC viewer was 41 years old.[2]
NBC shut down the program block in 2002, leasing out its children's programming toDiscovery Kids ina brokered programming arrangement. NBC blamed TNBC's failure on the network's poor performance among younger viewers in its regularprime time program lineup, leaving no opportunity to promote children's programming there; the network would have abandoned children's programming altogether if not for federalE/I mandates requiring them.[3][4]
On June 29, 2023,NBCUniversal announced it would revive the TNBC brand for afree ad-supported streaming television channel to launch on Amazon Freevee and Xumo Play later that summer. Debuting as part of a larger slate of FAST channels featuring content from the NBCUniversal library, the channel will include reruns of programming from the TNBC block, as well as other NBCUniversal-owned sitcoms such asPunky Brewster andMajor Dad.[5] On May 31, 2024, it was announced that TNBC would be rebranded the next day as NBC Comedy Vault.[6]