Cartoon Network is a Latin American paytelevision channel distributed byWarner Bros. Discovery for theLatin American audience and theCaribbean. It is the Latin American version of the originalCartoon Network television channel in the United States. It is divided into three feeds: two are in Spanish (Mexico/Pan-Latin America and Caribbean), and the other is in Portuguese for Brazil. The feeds have different schedules.[1]
In March 1993, Turner Broadcasting announced the start of broadcasts to Latin America, in conjunction with its plan to launch in Europe.[2] Cartoon Network began broadcasting in Latin America on April 30, 1993. Although much is not known about its first broadcast in the region, it was, during its first years, similar to itsU.S. counterpart, whose programming focused solely on the classic cartoons of the Turner Entertainment film library, made up of studiosHanna-Barbera,MGM,Warner Bros., andFleischer Studios. Its programming and branding used at that time were the same as the U.S. feed, with the difference that between 1993 and 1995, the Latin American feed was just a Spanish-language feed from the United States, which was broadcast exclusively to the region. It was not until 1996 that this feed became completely independent of the US feed, and thus began to have its own programming with its own schedules, as well as new worldwide acquisitions for the channel.
The first edition ofCopa Toon (initially namedCopa Toon América) was held in July 1999, coinciding withthat year's Copa América. It consisted in a fictional competition with eight theams with characters from the channel, represented daily by two 30-minute series, as well as marathons lasting between two and seven hours in the last three days. The event had the participation of sports journalistsVíctor Hugo Morales (Latin American feed) and Toño de Valdés (Mexican feed), who narrated the highlights of each episode. The soccer special featured the cast of Space Ghost, whose theme was to interview several personalities from the world of sports and soccer, in addition to presenting a fictional tournament between the teams of the channel's series.[3]
In 2001, it launched its new sister channelBoomerang, at that time, a new channel that would be dedicated solely to broadcast of classic Hanna-Barbera cartoons that no longer aired in the programming of the main channel due to the arrival of new series. This channel had already been launched in 2000 in the United States, and until then, it was also a block broadcast in the main channel.[4] The channel observed its tenth anniversary withDel yunque a la Sustancia X (From Anvil to Chemical X), airing on April 30, 2003.[5]
On 1 January 2005, Cartoon Network introduced a new logo along with a new visual branding known as the "CN City", with a new sloganWe know what you really like (Spanish: Sabemos lo que realmente te gusta; Portuguese: Nós sabemos do que você realmente gosta). and with this rebrand, Cartoon Network introduced new original series such asFoster's Home for Imaginary Friends, besides new acquisitions and programming blocks. In October of the same year, the Adult Swim block was released in Latin America after 4 years of its original launch in the United States. The block debuted due to the popularity of the TV seriesSpace Ghost Coast to Coast, one of the first programs of the channel aimed exclusively at this audience.
In April 2008, Cartoon Network presented its new locally produced content, a new campaign with a new image and a complete redesign of its websites.[6] After these changes, theAdult Swim block was removed from the channel due to Jim Samples resigning in 2007 and the Programming Manager Cindy Kerr also leaving being succeeded by Pablo Zuccarino. However, the block continued to be broadcast byI.Sat until December 2010; years later, the block returned to the same channel in April 2015 until April 2020, when this block was moved toWarner Channel.
In June and August 2010, the channel began to use small idents with the logo in white and with the Toonix characters (similar to the Noods of the United States) originally promoting the 2010 Soccer World Cup. In September 2010, the Toonix era became official, using small ads and promotional campaigns similar to those used by the Noods era of Cartoon Network, from August 2008 to June 2010.[7] On July 13, 2011, the Toonix era began airing in the 16:9 aspect ratio (panoramic) with the seriesTotal Drama Island although it was only experimental.[8]
On January 1, 2012, the channel launched a new logo and visual identity. In March 2012, its high-definition simulcast was launched.[9][10] However, the launch of the new feed could not take place, as its distribution was still under negotiation with other cable operators in the region.
The network incorporated a new age rating system notices, identifying the type of content and what type of viewers could watch. In April 2013, the channel began its 20th-anniversary celebrations. Several Turner channels joined in the celebration, includingWarner,TruTV,I.Sat,Boomerang,TNT,TCM andTooncast. With this, the channel's TV series were broadcast in those channels for that month. The celebration took place again in September, celebrating the 21st anniversary of the American signal, this time with the premiere ofTeen Titans Go!.
On January 23, 2014, the Panregional and South Atlantic feeds merged, causing the establishment of the Argentine schedule in the same feed, being one of the two official times of the feed, along with the Colombian. On August 4, 2014, the channel began the "Check It 3.0" era branding (known in Latin America as "Cartoon Network Renovado") and, also, it changed its aspect ratio from 4:3 to 16:9 in all its feeds. Cartoon Network's HD feed was launched in Mexico on November 28, 2014, being Axtel the first cable operator to acquire the feed. It was an HD simulcast of the channel's Mexico feed.
On June 1, 2015, the South Atlantic feed was separated from the Panregional feed, the latter being divided in two, leading to the creation of new independent feeds for the general public. These were the North Atlantic feed (available for Colombia, Venezuela, Central America and the Caribbean) and the Pacific feed (available for Chile, Peru, Ecuador and Bolivia); this was done for the purpose of launching new individual high-definition feeds throughout the region. On August 3, new bumpers were shown depicting children imitating their favourite characters; this event was named a sub-rebrand of the Check it 3.0 era listed as 3.5. For this purpose, CN Blah!, a mobile app, was launched.
On January 4, 2016, the channel introduced a new visual identity, the "Check it 4.0" era. On January 2, 2017, Cartoon Network began using the "Dimensional" era with new branding in the ads of the programming blocksJa, Ja, Ja/Ha, Ha, Ha (Brazil),Heroes (Héroes/Heróis) andCine Cartoon, and the introduction of new bumpers and the premiere ofMighty Magiswords, andJustice League Action.[11] The channel celebrated its 25th anniversary on April 30, 2018, and a block was created to commemorate it. The block "Que No Pare la Fiesta"/"Que Não Pare a Festa" was broadcast in April and September to commemorate the channel's 25th anniversary.
On April 1, 2022, it introduced the "Redraw Your World" era with new branding and a new typeface. On November 7, 2023, it rebranded to the "Pastel" era.[12]
Although these shows are currently not in the regular line-up, some are periodically aired during corresponding blocks or special events (like Cartoon Pop), or as filler after Cartoon Movie. Others can be viewed onCartoonito andTooncast.
Cartoon Network Latin America started offering a website in October 1998, offering games, schedules, information on its shows and activities such as printable coloring pages.[25]
Mensualidad Cartoon was an Argentine exclusive. It launched in August 2006 and was accessible through pre-paid collectible cards sold in retail outlets, featuring full episodes, online games and downloadable games. There was also the chance of launching it in.[26]
All three feeds are generated at the central headquarters inAtlanta, Georgia and also broadcast both programming and continuity in English through SAP. Despite being under this umbrella, the Brazilian feed is treated by the company as an independent channel.
Feed 1:Mexico and some parts of Caribbean and Central America: generated inMexico City
On December 2, 2002, Cartoon Network premieredToonami, replacing a similarly themed block, Talisman. Toonami aired shows that were already on the lineup, these beingGundam Wing andPokémon, and served as the home ofInuyasha andDragon Ball GT. Over the years, Toonami added shows such asSaint Seiya, andYu Yu Hakusho, as well as the revamped version ofCyborg 009 andCaptain Tsubasa. However, the block had to move to the late-night slots on CN Latin America, due to protests of violent scenes on the block.[citation needed] CN moved the block in November 2004.
In 2005, Toonami had short-lived weekend schedules, which were later replaced byAdult Swim in Latin America.
In March 2006, Toonami revamped its lineup to include more adult-oriented series, such asLove Hina, taking advantage of the schedule and the refusal of anime on Adult Swim, as well as to compete against anime channelAnimax for new anime series. In June 2006, Toonami premiered anime movies in two monthly variations:Dragon Ball Theatricals (which had 17 differentDragon Ball movies), and Toonami Movies (general animated action movies).
In 2007, Cartoon Network retired Toonami. The movies were no longer aired (with the exception of theDragon Ball movies). After its cancellation in Latin America on April 2, 2007, the block's programming gradually vanished. In January 2010, the blockAnimaction was created, showing on Wednesday evenings. This block broadcast both action programming and anime programming before it was removed in April 2011.
On August 18, 2020, Cartoon Network announced that the Toonami programming block was being revived in partnership withCrunchyroll. It was announced thatDragon Ball Super andMob Psycho 100 would start airing in the one hour weeknight block. The new incarnation debuted on August 31.[27] The block was removed on August 30, 2022.
Cartoon Network on YouTube
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