Is Toonami obsolete? Depends on who you ask.

If a block has to constantly struggle to snag the attention of one demographic while getting older demos instead, then maybe. If a similarly-programmed block has the same problems getting younger audiences, then maybe not.

Maybe it's not the block that's obsolete. Maybe it's the way they're trying to get the audiences. Cartoon Network has a lot of competition in all directions, mostly from Nickelodeon and Disney Channel. Understandably, they want to skewer towards a younger audience. After all, the revenue earned for ad sales for the kids market helps fuel the network's existance (along with carrier fees, of course). They have to find shows that kids like, and kids are a fickle market to please. Programming for kids is a fool's errand. Afterall, the market dictates what gets played.

If a program is marketable, it'll be treated like platinum on the network, thus the placement of toyetic shows on both action franchises on Cartoon Network. If a show isn't marketable, the series will be treated like garbage by the network, yet with kid gloves to those behind the production of the block. At least, that's how it is at Toonami. Saturday is a whole other thing where 3/4 of the lineup is either marketable or built up on popular brands. Nearly every series on SVES has some kind of marketing tie-in to it, whether it's action figures, DVDs, or comic books. SVES succeeds because that's something that audiences can get into, a sense of familiarity. That's one of the problems Toonami now faces.

Once upon a time, Toonami was created on familiar brands. By the middle of the fifth year (2001-02), Toonami had seen a variety of familiar brands make a run on the block as well as seen the premieres of numerous franchises that have grown to become familiar brands. 2001 was the last year that older fans were of importance to Toonami's success, mostly in the first half of that year with the premieres of two franchises, Outlaw Star and The Big O. By June 2001, Toonami became a lot more kid-oriented and toyetic and the older-skewering series came and went, and as a result, the familiarity the block once had is gone and will probably never return.

At least in its current incarnation. There is possibly a chance that the block could be salvagable. How?

Conclude the article.