Adult Swim moves to 6pm as kids stop watching Western animation and linear television

[Jman]

Once reported as an out there rumor, it’s apparently official.

[OwlChemist81]

This announcement leaves me scratching my head. He referred to [as] as an "animated block", on CN, which is supposed to be AN ANIMATED NETWORK!! Not only that, but apparently since [as] is a "block" and not its own network, that means Toonami is now a "block within a block!?" 😵‍💫🤔

[[classic swim]]

Really annoyed with how the word got out, but I also just have no idea what Adult Swim’s doing or what they’re turning into anymore.

7pm was at least somewhat tolerable enough, but now they’re wanting to start it right at the end of noon for some people.

This is just messy for everyone. They so quickly and gracefully turned their back on Ouweleen’s whole sing and dance about “bringing CN back to the way it should be.” 

 

[MasqueradeOverture]

Just get rid of CN and rename it [Adult Swim Jr.] at this point.

[CountFrylock]

1 hour ago, [classic swim] said:

Really annoyed with how the word got out, but I also just have no idea what Adult Swim’s doing or what they’re turning into anymore.

7pm was at least somewhat tolerable enough, but now they’re wanting to start it right at the end of noon for some people.

This is just messy for everyone. They so quickly and gracefully turned their back on Ouweleen’s whole sing and dance about “bringing CN back to the way it should be.” 

 

for my time-zone  Adultswim will start at 5:00 PM and at that point is it even adultswim?

[PokeNirvash]

At this point, it's more brand name than audience suggestion.

Still, that's a hell of an upfront announcement.

[Toonamiguy321]

I really don’t understand their plan here. We are still in a situation where there is almost no content announced for Adult Swim. Bobs will surely be gone by September. Is CN in such an abysmal state that like 4 straight hours or KotH or Futurama is really better? We are almost at the point where we have to ask why CN even exists in such a small amount. 
 

And let me make a future prediction, even with this extension, Toonami will still be stuck 12-3.

[CountFrylock]

45 minutes ago, Toonamiguy321 said:

I really don’t understand their plan here. We are still in a situation where there is almost no content announced for Adult Swim. Bobs will surely be gone by September. Is CN in such an abysmal state that like 4 straight hours or KotH or Futurama is really better? We are almost at the point where we have to ask why CN even exists in such a small amount. 
 

And let me make a future prediction, even with this extension, Toonami will still be stuck 12-3.

it's becoming less and less of a night owls block with each of these time slot changes

Edited May 17, 2023 by CountFrylock

[OwlChemist81]

1 hour ago, Toonamiguy321 said:

And let me make a future prediction, even with this extension, Toonami will still be stuck 12-3.

I believe Toonami's ability to expand beyond 12-3 hinges on availability of shows. Will they have a better shot at swiping a show from Crunchyroll or Hulu if they have better timeslots in which to air it? That remains to be seen.

I only have one data point so far on the 7 PM hour running something other than KOTH, and so far, not so good. But a lot can change months from now.

[viperxmns]

Let's just cut to the chase already 

[atomicinumatt]

4 hours ago, Jman said:

Once reported as an out there rumor, it’s apparently official.

Pretty interesting. 

[as] on before the sun goes down feels weird haha hopefully they can get more shows to fill the space. Wonder if this means they can get more Toonami content and bolster that block as well. 

Even with the the newer 7pm starting time, I do not tune in before 10-11pm anyways. Love KotH and Futurama and shows like them but I have other things to do before I usually turn on [as]. But when I do tune in I am still happy with [as]/Toonami at during the later hours. Could be better but I am not going to be one of the plebs that complains given the current circumstances. 

Makes me think that the earlier hours will be filled with '[as jr] type shows once it starts kicking off even earlier? Who knows yet..

Interested to see how this turns our for [as] and Toonami though! 

[Toonamiguy321]

30 minutes ago, OwlChemist81 said:

I believe Toonami's ability to expand beyond 12-3 hinges on availability of shows. Will they have a better shot at swiping a show from Crunchyroll or Hulu if they have better timeslots in which to air it? That remains to be seen.

I only have one data point so far on the 7 PM hour running something other than KOTH, and so far, not so good. But a lot can change months from now.

I’m not saying expand it, I’m just saying relocate it. 11-2 would be an amazing upgrade. 10-1 would also be neat but I think that’s starting to trend too far forward. Any earlier than that would be tough for people to work around. 
 

One would think, with a second extension to Adult Swim, they should have more budget to play with, and it would be nice, though unlikely, if Toonami could get a piece of that. Imagine if you will, a 11-3 Toonami with a consistently rotating Sentai hour. Or a better financial negotiation standpoint with Crunchyroll. There’s a lot they can do with Toonami, they claim to be supporters of Toonami, yet they allow the block to wallow in its filth with little support. 

Im dreaming big here but I’d genuinely be happy just seeing 11-2. Anything beyond that is a bonus. 

[Seight]

What the hell is the plan here? 

[Daos]

“Adult Swim, our animated block is so popular that we've started airing it one hour earlier every night at 7. And in September, it will kick off at 6...”,

Lol Copium.

[Neubauten]

Could AEW be coming to Cartoon Network? Maybe in that prime early evening 5-6pm slot leading in to AS?

[Jman]

10 minutes ago, Neubauten said:

Could AEW be coming to Cartoon Network? Maybe in that prime early evening 5-6pm slot leading in to AS?

AEW is apparently making a few new shows as part of their deal with Warner.  AEW All Access is supposed to be an HBO Max exclusive, while AEW Collision is set to air Saturdays from 8pm - 10pm...which would put Adult Swim in a weird place if they wanted to put AEW programming before Toonami.  

[Sketch]

You'd think it would make so much more sense for Cartoon Network to embrace the all ages philosophy and be comfortable airing shows like King of the Hill and Futurama outside of the AS branding but instead of doing that they're pushing Adult Swim to start earlier and earlier and tossing any action show not targeting preschoolers to Adult Swim. I can tell you I'd much prefer for Adult Swim to be a small block of TV-14-DSLV/TV-MA (primarily) original content and for Cartoon Network to encompass the PG and even light TV-14 stuff after 6pm. But Adult Swim has the brand recognition and it would take too much effort to remarket The Cartoon Network as something for viewers older than 11 years old.

It's just insane for Adult Swim to start at 6pm but at this rate I think they'll take 5pm sometime in 2024.

It certainly would be great for them to use at least some of that 6-8pm time for action animation Monday-Thursday (they already are doing that on Friday). Part of the reason why Toonami worked as well as it did on CN was because it was early enough to avoid competition from network prime time and in a rather good position to be viewed by both kids coming home from school and adults coming home from work. There's no reason to believe that time slot will instantly be successful for action animation now but it couldn't hurt to try.

If they don't try some action animation on weeknights they're really gonna be stretching King of the Hill and American Dad this Fall when they lose Bob's Burgers. They're oddly reluctant to run Futurama in a decent time slot except on Sundays. But unless Futurama actually does considerably worse than King of the Hill then they'll probably just 2 hours each of King of the Hill, Futurama and American Dad.

As for Saturday... they really don't need 5 much less 6 hours of comedy before Toonami so they dang well better move it up to 11pm.

Edited May 18, 2023 by Sketch

[Toonamiguy321]

2 hours ago, Sketch said:

As for Saturday... they really don't need 5 much less 6 hours of comedy before Toonami so they dang well better move it up to 11pm.

It’s not a 100% no, but he does not seem enthusiastic about the odds of anything changing in regards to Toonami. While that annoys and frustrates me, I’m glad to see Demarco be up front about this early so we don’t wonder and speculate about it for a months. And if something changes between now and then? Our expectations are already low so it will surely be exciting. 
 

2 hours ago, Sketch said:

You'd think it would make so much more sense for Cartoon Network to embrace the all ages philosophy and be comfortable airing shows like King of the Hill and Futurama outside of the AS branding but instead of doing that they're pushing Adult Swim to start earlier and earlier and tossing any action show not targeting preschoolers to Adult Swim. I can tell you I'd much prefer for Adult Swim to be a small block of TV-14-DSLV/TV-MA (primarily) original content and for Cartoon Network to encompass the PG and even light TV-14 stuff after 6pm. But Adult Swim has the brand recognition and it would take too much effort to remarket The Cartoon Network as something for viewers older than 11 years old.

In hindsight, when looking to spawn a new brand, instead of going for a toddler brand in Cartoonito (which at this point is barely even alive), maybe they should have tried firing up a CN version of Teen Nick or Disney XD. A proper home for that PG, and light TV 14 content. Take the two hours from CN, and shave one hour off AS, and make that into a block. If it goes well, shave more time off CN. That would be the home for things like UWE, and if it needs some filler, stuff like Adventure Time and Regular Show would fit, especially in the event it moves earlier. 
 

I see their point, CN viewership is in the toilet, but going about this the way they are is really muddying up the “adult” part of adult swim when there really should be a middle ground brand. 

[Jman]

Well, it seems clear that this whole thing will not affect Toonami in any meaningful way.  Just as well, DeMarco has always described Toonami as a passion project rather than a major going concern for the Warner bigwigs, especially since the Crunchyroll sale.  Well, at least they got Dr. Stone.

On a similar note, this feels less like Warner abandoning the kid audience and more them just not seeing much of a role for linear television.  TBS and TNT have both been stripped into rerun platforms with live sports airings, and it looks like if it's not completely mothballed, Cartoon Network may follow suit.  If the back end of the block, or Toonami as a whole, starts airing All Elite Wrestling, it might be time to wonder just how long Cartoon Network as a channel has.  I imagine Cartoon Network and Adult Swim as brands for Max will endure even if the channels do not though.

[Doom Metal Alchemist]

I swear to fucking god, if they just add yet another hour of King of the Hill....

Another hour of American Dad would be just as bad. As would another half hour of each.

Please dear god use it to air Futurama at a decent hour....

[Neubauten]

4 hours ago, Jman said:

If the back end of the block, or Toonami as a whole, starts airing All Elite Wrestling, it might be time to wonder just how long Cartoon Network as a channel has

Lol apparently there might be a little more to "AEW Absolution" than just me trying to meme it into existence

 

I didn't bother to see if the Khan interview being quoted was real but it sounds like his coke head rambling interview style. 

[Seight]

7 hours ago, Neubauten said:

Lol apparently there might be a little more to "AEW Absolution" than just me trying to meme it into existence

 

I didn't bother to see if the Khan interview being quoted was real but it sounds like his coke head rambling interview style. 

I don't think there are enough mentions of tournaments for this to be real.