>Opinions | Checkerboard Confusion

Problem #1: Uninspired Primetime

When you think of Cartoon Network's primetime lineup, do you think of Totally Spies? How about Pokemon? What about X-Men Evolution or Jackie Chan Adventures?

If your answer is no, then you understand the first problem I see about Cartoon Network. The primetime lineup isn't exactly the best one in the network's history. I have a problem with over half the lineup not being exclusive to Cartoon Network. Seriously, Jackie Chan Advenutures, Pokemon, and Yu-Gi-Oh are already seen weekday afternoons on broadcast television in most major markets. Why would we need to see them again in primetime on cable? Granted, they're not the same episodes as earlier in the day, but the idea that these shows have to have a hammerlock on the minds of the youth more than once in a day is revolting.

Both Cartoon Network and Kids' WB are so gung-ho on pleasing 4Kids Entertainment every chance that they give, and I don't know why they feel they have to be bullied by that small company to get what they want. In March 2003, the New York Daily News published a story about the failure of Cartoon Network in the kid sector. It was an obviously biased article, with most the comments coming from competitors, not the network brass. Some comments came from a spokesman from Summit Media, who said that the network needs to stop focusing so much of their energies on Adult Swim and more on the prime-time shows. In case you didn't know, Summit Media is owned by 4Kids Entertainment, and by stating that, 4Kids basically forced Cartoon Network to put more of their programming on the primetime lineup or risk losing ad funds from Summit Media. Either that or Summit was just crying over spilled milk because both Pokemon and Yu-Gi-Oh weren't on the weeknight lineup anymore. If the writer of the article knew the relationship between Summit and 4Kids, perhaps it would have been acknowledged in the article and not hidden from the average, uneducated reader who thinks that Summit was just some independent ad firm.

My advice to Cartoon Network? Don't just listen to 4Kids. They only want you to better serve their needs and desires, and like your corporate cousin Kids' WB, you've become taken with their charms and whims. Cartoon Network managed to be on the air 10 years without their help, and quite frankly, you don't need to subject yourself to the verbal abuse of 4Kids.

I don't have a problem with Kids' WB shows on the lineup that weren't forced on CN. It's just that if they're on the daily lineup on KWB, perhaps a limited airing of a particular show on CN is best. A slot in the primetime cable lineup isn't the best place for a show already in rotation in the afternoon broadcast lineup. A primetime cable lineup needs to be unique. That's where viewers and ad representatives get their best idea about what a network's all about.

Something that has given the general public a perception of Cartoon Network is their original animated comedies known as Cartoon Cartoons. They're slowly becoming a joke to viewers and it shows in the ratings. Problem #2: Too Many Cartoon Cartoons - next.