Cartoon Network (commonly abbreviated as CN) is a British pay television channel aimed at children which airs animated programming targeting children and young aged 6 to 12. It is run by Warner Bros. Discovery under its EMEA division. The channel primarily airs animated programming.
The channel initially launched on 17 September 1993 as a larger pan-European feed, serving the UK market along with Western and Northern Europe. In August 1999, the pan-European aspect of Cartoon Network Europe was spun-off as a new feed with an identical schedule to Cartoon Network UK (the former pan-European feed). Cartoon Network UK completely ceased being a pan-European feed on 15 October 1999, which was when it was scrambled with Videocrypt and the launch of the UK only version of TNT. The pan-European feed continued to shadow Cartoon Network UK's schedule until 2001. The pan-European feed excluded shows such as Dragon Ball Z and Angela Anaconda and were substituted, as Cartoon Network did not have the pan-European broadcasting rights to these shows, only the rights for the UK and the Netherlands.
History
Pre-launch
In October 1992, the original Cartoon Network channel was launched at CNN Center, Atlanta, US. Cartoon Network was created in response of Turner Entertainment acquiring MGM's animation library in 1986 and the acquisition of the Hanna-Barbera animation studio and cartoon library in 1991. As a result of Turner purchasing MGM's Cartoon and Film library, Warner Bros. pre-1948 content was also acquired, including early Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies shorts. At launch in the United States, Cartoon Network had an 8,500-hour cartoon library, and it became the first channel dedicated to cartoons. In April 1993, Cartoon Network expanded into foreign markets by launching a Latin American version of Cartoon Network dubbed in both Spanish, Portuguese and English. Cartoon Network's large animation library was in high demand in Western Europe and as a response to consumer demand, Astra 1C, the satellite on which Cartoon Network broadcast on, was launched in May 1993 on board an Ariane 42L rocket from Kourou, French Guiana. Cartoon Network Europe was launched on 17 September 1993, broadcasting from London. It launched only less than 12 months after the original American version and only 16 days after Nickelodeon.
Launch (1993–1999)
Cartoon Network was originally twinned with TNT and ran from 5am until 7pm, with TNT taking over from 7pm to 5am. Sunday afternoons saw "Super Chunk", which showed back to back episodes of one show for two hours between 1pm and 3pm. Another feature was "The Longest Day", in which Cartoon Network ran for an extra four hours until 11pm in June 1994, every year beginning in 1994. This slot was dedicated to full-length cartoon movies. The first theme was the Checkerboard theme, which showed graphics from its US counterpart and lasted until 1999. The Checkerboard branding package was developed by Hatmaker Studios, now merged and part of its sister company - Corey, McPherson and Nash. Also unlike Nickelodeon, which was part of Sky Multichannels, Cartoon Network was free-to-air across Europe.
Introduction of 24-hour service
In August 1996, Cartoon Network began running for an extra two hours until 9pm, and in December 1996, along with TNT, it became a 24-hour channel. The full time version was only available on the Astra 1G satellite as the timesharing version of the channel continued to appear on analogue platforms, including on all providers in the UK. In December 1998, Cartoon Network launched as part of the Sky Digital satellite platform on the Astra 2A satellite. Also, in February 1997, Dutch cable provider A2000/KTA added the 24-hour Cartoon Network and TNT channels to its programming lineup.
From 15 November 1998, Cartoon Network was part of ITV Digital's channel package, airing 24 hours a day until the service collapsed on 1 May 2002.