Jamie Kellner
First Listed: Fall 1999
In 1999, when I paired Jamie Kellner with WGN in the HFIL, more people knew about the Chicago Superstation than the network exec. In 2004, more people know about the former head of Turner Broadcasting than the network that's more or less the cable home of the Cubbies.
2003 was a watershed year for the man known as the K-Beast throughout the Toonami fanbase as his power was lessened as the tide shifted towards a new regime, and as everybody knows, I'm a huge fan of regime change.
In February 2003, weeks after the abrupt resignation of cable pioneer Ted Turner, AOL Time Warner announced that Jamie Kellner would be leaving the company by the end of 2004. That wasn't so much a shock because Kellner had already stated that he would be leaving The WB by then, after giving Warner Bros. his 11% of the network. What was a little more shocking is that the company also stated that Kellner would be replaced as the head of Turner Broadcasting by former CNN International chief Philip Kent almost immediately.
And the crowd went crazy hearing that the man who ruined several Turner networks (especially Cartoon Network) is knocked off his pedestal. No longer would he have power over a significant part of the TimeWarner company, and no longer would he rule with an iron fist.
But the damage was already done. Cartoon Network and Kids' WB are virtually joined at the hip, despite very public protests by CN staffers and execs (with the exception of Jim Samples, the defacto head of the network who seems to agree with everything Kellner and TW entertainment head Jeff Bewkes had to offer, without hesitation). Viewership in primetime on all the Turner networks is plummeting. The only bright spot was Cartoon Network dominating late nights on cable with Adult Swim, even beating out six of the seven major late-night shows (Conan O'Brien, who has appeared on a couple of Adult Swim shows himself, has higher ratings). As for the block that was cutting into ratings of Kids' WB, Toonami is pretty much in a strange place after Kellner's dismissal, much to his pleasure. Of course, a year later, Toonami not only was revamped into a weekly block, but also the highest rated programming block outside of Adult Swim, which is technically not Cartoon Network, but airs there. In January 2006, Kids' WB's afternoon block was cancelled, and weeks later, The WB merged with UPN to become The CW, a new fifth network. Meanwhile, at Cartoon Network, still under the management of Samples, they've began airing live-action programming, but that's a whole level of idiocity that'll be discussed at another time.
Kellner may not be in power anymore, but as long as Bewkes and Samples remain in their positions, the legacy he made will continue to grow stronger while the Cartoon Network brand name grows even more diluted.
