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Slowly I Turn
11 months ago
Just announced collaboration between MeTV and WBD for an all new classic cartoon 24/7 channel! Coming June 25th OTA and traditional. I hope this lands in my area asap.

https://variety.com/2024/tv/news/metv-toons-network-launch-weigel-broadcasting-warner-bros-discovery-1235988290/# !

Sounds like Jerry Beck is involved too. A lot of toons that haven't been on broadcast in a long time.

While the article doesn't imply this, I wonder if this is the cause of the Boomerang going away rumors. I hope not but WBD could shut that down in place of this once it is up and going.
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S. C. MacPeter
11 months ago
The Variety article is a 404 error. Evidently, this was announced prematurely, but I have it on hand and I'll share it here

Classic TV network MeTV is turning its cartoon block into a new network. Owner Weigel Broadcasting Co. announced Wednesday that it will launch MeTV Toons as a new national TV network focused on classic animation, “from Hollywood-era shorts to made-for-television favorites.”
MeTV Toons, which launches June 25, is a collab between Weigel and Warner Bros. Discovery, which has licensed content featuring its animated characters including Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, Scooby Doo, Tom & Jerry, George Jetson, Top Cat, Yogi Bear, Popeye, Johnny Quest and Fred Flintstone. (MeTV already airs a daily program, “Toon In With Me,” which features a heavy emphasis on Warner bros. animated fare.)
Weigel touts MeTV Toons as “the only TV network destination dedicated exclusively to classic animation” — as Warner Bros. Discovery’s Cartoon Network companion Boomerang, which also runs old Looney Tunes, “The Jetsons,” “The Flintstones,” “Scooby-Doo” and Popeye shorts, also runs some more recent, post-2000 cartoon episodes.
Beyond Warner Bros. titles, MeTV Toons will also feature animated content from other studios and distributors, with properties including Rocky and Bullwinkle, Woody Woodpecker, Casper, Betty Boop and Speed Racer.
“We are honored to work with the amazing team at Warner Bros. Discovery and others on this network and bring together a truly incredible collection of the world’s best known and most loved classic cartoons, creating a new destination for everyone to discover or rediscover the sheer joy of watching cartoons on TV,” said Weigel vice chairman Neal Sabin. “MeTV Toons will be dedicated 24/7 to showcasing the biggest names and most beloved classic cartoons and animated characters. Everyone has a favorite cartoon; it is a universally loved art form. We are thrilled to bring those smiles and memories back to TV with MeTV Toons.”
As part of the channel launch, animation historian Jerry Beck (whose books include “The 50 Greatest Cartoons,” “The Hanna-Barbera Treasury” and “Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies: A Complete Illustrated Guide to Warner Bros. Cartoons”) will help produce original content related to the MeTV Toons library. Also, character actor Bob Bergen — who has voiced Porky Pig, Marvin the Martian and more, will serve as the signature voice announcer for MeTV Toons.
MeTV Toons will be available for distribution on over-the-air broadcast television, traditional and virtual operators, along with a complimentary offering for ad-supported streaming services. Besides MeTV and MeTV Toons, other Weigel networks include Heroes & Icons, Start TV, Catchy Comedy, Movies!, Story Television, Dabl and MeTV+.
“Neal and the team at Weigel have been long-standing and innovative licensing partners of Warner Bros. content for decades,”, said David Decker, president of content sales for Warner Bros. Discovery, in a statement. “Having some of the Studio’s most iconic animated characters all available in one place is not only great for fans of classic animation, but also just super fun.”

Variety/Weigel wrote:



There are additional studios are cartoons mixed in here which is a positive sign. Looking forward to updates on this!
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Lee B
10 months ago
Jerry is planning for a very special announcement over at Cartoon Research at 1pm eastern today. I suspect that will clarify all of this.
Jonathan Wilson
10 months ago
A lot of good info from Jerry.

https://cartoonresearch.com/index.php/here-comes-metv-toons/ 

They plan to make it more like how Cartoon Network started out. Rare shows that haven't been seen in decades are also coming. A lot of studios are involved.
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SuperMuppet64
10 months ago
SHOWS/CHARACTERS REPRESENTED ON METV TOONS WEBSITE :
- 2 Stupid Dogs (Hanna-Barbera) [WB]
- Abbott and Costello (Hanna-Barbera) [WB]
- Atom Ant (Hanna-Barbera) [WB]
- Baby Looney Tunes (Warner Bros. Animation) [WB]
- Beetlejuice (Nelvana) [WB]
- Betty Boop (Paramount) [Paramount]
- Breezly and Sneezly (Hanna-Barbera) [WB]
- Captain Caveman (Hanna-Barbera) [WB]
- Captain Planet (DiC, Hanna-Barbera) [WB]
- Casper the Friendly Ghost (Paramount) [Universal]
- Droopy (MGM) [WB]
- Droopy, Master Detective (Hanna-Barbera) [WB]
- Duck Dodgers (Warner Bros. Animation) [WB]
- Dynomutt, Dog Wonder (Hanna-Barbera) [WB]
- The Flintstones (Hanna-Barbera) [WB]
- A Flintstones Christmas Carol (Hanna-Barbera) [WB]
- Frankenstein Jr. (Hanna-Barbera) [WB]
- Freakazoid! (Warner Bros. Animation) [WB]
- GoBots (Hanna-Barbera) [WB]
- Heathcliff (Ruby-Spears) [WB]
- Huckleberry Hound (Hanna-Barbera) [WB]
- The Jetsons (Hanna-Barbera) [WB]
- Jonny Quest (Hanna-Barbera) [WB]
- Josie and the Pussycats (Hanna-Barbera) [WB]
- Krypto the Superdog (Warner Bros. Animation) [WB]
- Kwicky Koala (Hanna-Barbera) [WB]
- Looney Tunes (Warner Bros. Cartoons) [WB]
- Magilla Gorilla (Hanna-Barbera) [WB]
- Marine Boy (TV Doga, Seven Arts Television) [WB]
- The Mask: Animated Series (Film Roman, Sunbow) [WB]
- Mister T (Ruby-Spears) [WB]
- Police Academy (Ruby-Spears) [WB]
- Popeye (Paramount) [WB]
- Richie Rich (Hanna-Barbera) [WB]
- Rocky and Bullwinkle (Jay Ward) [Ward]
- Scooby-Doo (Hanna-Barbera) [WB]
- SilverHawks (Rankin/Bass) [WB]
- The Smurfs (Hanna-Barbera) [WB]
- Snagglepuss (Hanna-Barbera) [WB]
- Speed Racer (Tatsunoko, Trans-Lux) [Crunchyroll]
- Super Secret Secret Squirrel (Hanna-Barbera) [WB]
- Tom and Jerry (MGM) [WB]
- Top Cat (Hanna-Barbera) [WB]
- Touche Turtle (Hanna-Barbera) [WB]
- Wacky Races (Hanna-Barbera) [WB]
- Wally Gator (Hanna-Barbera) [WB]
- Woody Woodpecker (Walter Lantz) [Universal]
- Xiaolin Showdown (Warner Bros. Animation) [WB]
- Yogi Bear (Hanna-Barbera) [WB]

LISTED IN TRAILER:
- Inspector Gadget (DiC) [WildBrain]
- Secret Squirrel (Hanna-Barbera) [WB]
- Underdog (Total Television) [Universal]

to say the channel is stacked is an understatement. the website largely favors the wb library (understandably, it's the largest, and they're a partner) but jerry beck mentioned on today's cartoon research that plenty of other distributors are involved as well.
i will say, however: what's with the baby looney tunes plague running about television lately?
+5
S. C. MacPeter
10 months ago
Thanks for the rundown! Additionally, I found a unique article from yesterday  with some interesting notes, including what happened

...Other shows will be sourced from Paramount Pictures, MGM Studios, Terrytoons, Sony’s Columbia Pictures, Comcast’s Universal Studios and Jay Ward Productions, among others

..The development of the channel was made known through a press release that was sent to some entertainment trade publication early Wednesday morning, including Variety, Future’s Next TV and Penske Media’s TV Line. A spokesperson later sent a follow-up e-mail to those outlets in which they admitted the release was accidentally sent without an embargo. An embargo is an agreement between a source and a publication that prevents the disclosure of certain information until a specific date and time.

The Desk does not receive press releases from Weigel Broadcasting or WBD directly, and does not agree to retroactive embargoes once information is disclosed publicly. A copy of the press release was sent to this reporter by an editor at an entertainment publication who asked to remain anonymous because they did not want to jeopardize their editorial relations with either company..

The Desk wrote:



Some thoughts and notes:

-Columbia evidently signed more cartoons to MeTV Toons, probably more Color Rhapsodies as well as the UPA cartoons. Great!

-I assume Paramount/Terrytoons are minimal/in the works as Jerry would've absolutely mentioned them in his article, unless these are surprises for later. Similarly, I also assume they are (looking to) getting the DePatie Freleng cartoons back, with probably more than what aired on MeTV (Ant and the Aardvark would be keen!)

-Freakazoid being the only Speilberg show being advertised is interesting. I don't need Tiny Toons or Animaniacs, maybe just Pinky and the Brain, but Freakazoid being a cult classic on the air again is nice

-Seems like a lot of "junk" is gonna be airing. I wonder how much time and when it will get. In a way, they almost have too many cartoons, but I'm not gonna complain. Additional libraries may also rule out some of this in the future too

My hopes are still VERY high and I look forward to the launch!
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Bradskey
10 months ago
Well Jerry kinda confirmed the vibe I was feeling/hoping for this...

"Number one – this is not another “Boomerang”. As best I can describe it – think 1992 Cartoon Network – TIMES 100. On steroids. Available for free. Everywhere. "

This time it isn't a stinkin' paywalled cable channel that some know-it-all program director has to come along every few years and take it completely off point. As has happened to (and ruined) almost every single well-known cable channel that was ever any good since forever, with maybe TCM as just barely a rare exception still.

I would love to feel like I'm watching classic cartoons on CN/TNT/TBS back in the early-mid 90s again, and seems Weigel may be about to recreate more of that magic.
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PopKorn Kat
10 months ago
I'm really hoping this channel will become available on more cable providers, as my current one (YouTube TV) doesn't get any local MeTV stations at the moment. (This is why I haven't been able to watch any of MeTV's animated offerings, sadly.)

Outside of that, I'm very excited for this news! The mentions of the Terrytoons library has me very optimistic.
Screenshots 
+2
SuperMuppet64
10 months ago
abbott and costello is the first heavy hitter for me. only one episode was available on dvd. im hoping for more 60s-70s representation. the 80s and 90s are dogs that have had their day.
+3
nickramer
10 months ago
I wouldn't say that on all 80's and especially 90's cartoons. There's actually one I wouldn't mind seeing on the channel, but I doubt it will happen.

Anyway, I'm quite impress with news and can't wait to see Jerry's part in it.
Bobby Bickert
10 months ago

i will say, however: what's with the baby looney tunes plague running about television lately?

Originally Posted by: SuperMuppet64 



According to a comment on YouTube, the presence of Baby Looney Tunes (and also The Smurfs) on MeTV Toons is to satisfy "Educational/Informational" requirements. That would also explain Baby Looney Tunes being on Boomerang, as well as Cartoon Network's "Cartoonito" block (Batwheels, Bugs Bunny Builders, Mecha Builders (with Robot Cookie Monster and Robot Elmo) and other shows geared toward preschoolers) on weekday mornings.

My thoughts:

Since Universal is already supplying content, including TV shows that formerly belonged to Classic Media, how about some of the Filmation library? At least the best-known shows like Archie, Sabrina the Teenage Witch, the Groovie Goolies, Fat Albert, and (though not of interest to me) maybe He-Man and She-Ra. And WB owns all of Filmation's adaptations of DC Comics characters.

Another former Classic Media property that now belongs to Universal is the Joe Oriolo Felix the Cat cartoons. It would be nice to see them on TV again, especially with the "What will happen to Felix?" "cliffhangers" intact. (And I wonder if Casper and the other "Harveytoons" will be the time-compressed The Harveytoons Show versions, with no credits and no end titles?)

I see some 1970's Hanna-Barbera shows on the MeTV Toons schedule. But what about Speed Buggy? Even only one season of episodes was produced, those episodes aired on all three networks on Saturday mornings over the course of the 1970's, and were part of the first batch of cartoons that aired on the USA Network Cartoon Express in 1983 or 1984. Plus Speedy was in an episode of The New Scooby Doo Movies, and was part of the Scooby Doobies team on Laff-A-Lympics. More recently, Speedy put in a couple of appearances in the early years of Cartoon Network:





And in the twenty-first century, Speedy put in appearances in recent incarnations of the Scooby Doo franchise:





(You can tell that Frank Welker is doing Speedy's voice because he sounds more like Schlepcar.)

Also, what about Laff-A-Lympics? Until recently it had been airing on Boomerang. And this is an Olympics year.

EDIT: I wonder if Paramount is giving MeTV Toons access to their entire library of Betty Boop cartoons, or if MeTV Toons is just going to show cartoons that are PD (plus "Popeye the Sailor"), like MeTV has done?
nickramer
10 months ago
I think it might a stretch to call "The Smurfs" to be educational considering it was based on a foreign comic and, in fact, some of the original comics were adapted into episodes (which were anything but educational). It was basically going through the standard rules of Saturday morning content at the time of putting educational stuff in some episodes and almost all shows at the time were doing it including some of the early DIC shows that will also be on the channel.

+2
ArcLordOne
10 months ago
It's exciting stuff!

I don't have cable but the day it premieres is when I'll be over at a relative's house, and I'll be one of the first to check it out.

https://thegoldenageofanimation.blogspot.com/2024/05/new-cartoon-only-channel-metv-toons.html 
Pete Hale, Cartoonist
https://thegoldenageofanimation.blogspot.com/ 
S. C. MacPeter
10 months ago
Since this hasn't been discussed here, Neal Sabin of Weigel Broadcasting (the main man behind the MeTV channels) did a short talk on YT about the channel,  confirming the addition of the UPA cartoons, as well as one or two shows not mentioned elsewhere. He also mentions a "newly produced" special on Bugs Bunny to be aired on July 27th as apart of an all day Bugs Bunny marathon. Its assurance to me that newly produced interstitials and historical shows will be a priority on the channel
+5
Bobby Bickert
10 months ago
I wonder if the source of the clips in the video was MeTV Toons, the video's host, or both? Both Mr. Magoo clips were from the early 1960's TV cartoons, not the theatrical cartoons. (Which would make sense, since some of the content that's going to be on MeTV Toons is from the former Classic Media library, like Casper, Underdog and the Jay Ward shows.) And one of the Popeye clips was from Hanna-Barbera's The All New Popeye Hour. (Though the rest were from the theatrical cartoons.)

And it sounds like MeTV Toons will have access to all of the Betty Boop cartoons from Paramount, so it won't just be public domain cartoons (plus "Popeye the Sailor") like MeTV has done.
S. C. MacPeter
10 months ago
Jerry Beck talks MeTV Toons

+2
Jonathan Wilson
10 months ago
?feature=shared

Animation Magazine also released the schedule for launch day.

https://www.animationmagazine.net/2024/05/metv-toons-unveils-debut-programming-schedule/ 

And also the full schedule:

https://x.com/CNschedules/status/1795872223783211472?t=QWGGrsT1AFDinLBCO1mQfw&s=19 
+2
S. C. MacPeter
9 months ago
Tooning in on the big day. So far so good! Frndly TV already has it, AND in the correct Aspect Ratio, unusual for the Weigel channels. Looking forward to the theatricals in the afternoon
+1
Lee B
9 months ago
I thought we weren't getting it over the air here outside Atlanta, but it turned out that the MeTV Toons website was giving the wrong digital info. I kept checking 47.7 per their site throughout the day, but got nothing. I decided to just manually go through all the channels my little antenna could see, and it popped up on 23.8. (I sent a note thru their website to update their list.)

Looks to be 480i 16x9 here. I'm not sure if that's their standard or just the local that's giving it to us here. I've only seen a few minutes of whatever Scooby Doo they're airing right now, but it looks bright and colorful. HD would have been cool, but our local MeTV station isn't HD either. You take what you can get. (I'd love Directv to add it, for DVR purposes, but hey, it's day one.)

Congrats to everyone involved in the launch!
+1
Bradskey
9 months ago
DFW is a major owned MeTV market, so I've known we were getting it and even which sub-channel for a while. Turned on this morning while working and caught some Smurfs and Underdog. Thinking about how many of these cartoons started on broadcast TV but have not been seen there in 3 decades or longer.

Of course the tail end of Underdog I saw was not the classic epic ending I remember ("Looks like this is the end!"), just some generic thing done on a keyboard with a collage of clips and new credits back in the 90s. I'm guessing the intro was the same? Some things should be sacred. Ah well. TTV elements are a mess I'm sure.

There are other edits here and there of course (Casper et al is all The Harveytoons Show format), but to be expected. And I did see a Herman and Katnip by itself in one of those Cartoon All-Stars blocks, which was very cool.

Aside from the branding, this is a lot like early Cartoon Network. This really is an amazing day - the entire endeavor's existence just surprised me beyond my wildest dreams. Launched on time, perfectly and without a hiccup. Some diginets launch with wrong A/R or guide info or logo or sound for several weeks even. Many thanks to Weigel and Jerry Beck and all involved and hope this channel is very successful.

I would say the programming is still a bit.. unbalanced? Heavy on long blocks of theatrical shorts, which I love, but there is a lot more to come still I think. It's early days yet.
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