MeTV launches MeTV Toons, a classic cartoon FreeTV channel in the vein of Boomerang

[Jman]

Anyone here even remember Boomerang?  It was where Cartoon Network dumped their old cartoons as the network in the late 90s/early 2000s moved towards original content and anime.  However the network shuttered in the 2010s.

The rise of cheap over streaming networks accessed via smart TV’s has led the MeTV networks to try the concept again.

 

[[classic swim]]

The base channel of MeTV already had Flintstones and the other good stuff but you could never catch it at a reasonable time. That “Toon in With Me” shit airs at the crack of dawn and can’t decide whether it wants to appeal to 6 year olds or cartoon nerd archivists.

[3ngag3]

Freakazoid on any animated block is always a positive.

[Mr. Idea Box]

I'm morbidly curious on what this means for MeTV's baseline animated offerings. As much as I would enjoy this network, I have a sinking feeling this would cannibalize the existing blocks.

To say nothing about Boomerang.

[Sketch]

5 minutes ago, Mr. Idea Box said:

I'm morbidly curious on what this means for MeTV's baseline animated offerings. As much as I would enjoy this network, I have a sinking feeling this would cannibalize the existing blocks.

To say nothing about Boomerang.

They might cut back on the cartoons on the main channel but an interview with one of the network reps said Saturday morning cartoon broadcasts have done great numbers for them so I don’t think they’ll drop all the cartoons. More likely they’ll keep a similar amount and also swap them more often due to the huge library they will have access to.

This channel is gonna be amazing and I can’t hardly wait for the launch.

 

[brianycpht]

Anyone recommend a good digital antenna?

[Jman]

On 5/4/2024 at 8:26 AM, brianycpht said:

Anyone recommend a good digital antenna?

https://www.amazon.com/Best-Sellers-TV-Antennas/zgbs/electronics/172665

Those are the bestsellers on Amazon.  I tend to prefer the ones that are a solid unit rather than a square you tape to the wall.  Better reception.  

[Jman]

Found a podcast where the Weigel (MeTv’s owner) vice chairman discusses the new channel.  Coming in both over the air and FAST model!

They’re also doing the June 27 June Bugs marathon Cartoon Network did way back when before the switch over.

[brianycpht]

Just now, Jman said:

Found a podcast where the Weigel (MeTv’s owner) vice chairman discusses the new channel.  Coming in both over the air and FAST model!

They’re also doing the June 27 June Bugs marathon Cartoon Network did way back when before the switch over.

Seems like the stream will be different than the channel. I can’t get OTA so I’m hoping one of the cable outlets gets it 

[_lost_username_]

Digital subchannels are pretty much like cable in the 1980s and 1990s now.

Want a history channel? There's an OTA for that.

Want a law & crime channel? There's one for that too.

Want a cooking channel? There's one for that.

Like sci-fi? There's one for that.

Probably only a matter of time before there's one that appeals to the AS or Toonami demographics.

Only drawback is that you're not going to get all of them unless you're in a major metro. Cable TV without an internet package is quickly becoming irrelevant. Most of the channels, like MTV, seem to be reruns or blocks of single-show reruns all day anyway.

[KageRageX]

On 5/7/2024 at 1:11 PM, ZoomBubba said:

Probably only a matter of time before there's one that appeals to the AS or Toonami demographics.

In order for that to happen, the FCC would have to revamp broadcast censorship rules......Which they're too fucking old-school to do.

But I'd imagine you could get away with a bit with a max of a heavy TV-14-DLSV.

And then there could be one for the geek/Jetix/Syfy/G4 crowd.

[Sketch]

12 hours ago, Otakuninja9000 said:

In order for that to happen, the FCC would have to revamp broadcast censorship rules......Which they're too fucking old-school to do.

But I'd imagine you could get away with a bit with a max of a heavy TV-14-DLSV.

And then there could be one for the geek/Jetix/Syfy/G4 crowd.

Yeah unfortunately the FCC will take a lot of uncut anime out of the running for an OTA digital sub-channel. So MeTV Toons anime selection will probably stay limited to TV dubs that ran in syndication.

I expect Betty Boop to be limited to late night slots after 10pm for similar reasons.

It would be interesting if this channel ever plays the Y7 dubs of Dragon Ball and Mobile Suit Gundam but it’s much more likely they’ll show Kimba, Astroboy, Gigantor, Voltron, Star Blazers and Robotech. I’m really hoping one show from the WBD library they toss in is The Mighty Orbots.

[KageRageX]

On 5/12/2024 at 8:28 PM, Sketch said:

Yeah unfortunately the FCC will take a lot of uncut anime out of the running for an OTA digital sub-channel. So MeTV Toons anime selection will probably stay limited to TV dubs that ran in syndication.

I expect Betty Boop to be limited to late night slots after 10pm for similar reasons.

It would be interesting if this channel ever plays the Y7 dubs of Dragon Ball and Mobile Suit Gundam but it’s much more likely they’ll show Kimba, Astroboy, Gigantor, Voltron, Star Blazers and Robotech. I’m really hoping one show from the WBD library they toss in is The Mighty Orbots.

Right.......but again.....TV-14. Anything TV-14 is safe....right???

And it would be nice if MeTV Toons were to have a Toonami-like block.

[Mr. Idea Box]

27 minutes ago, Otakuninja9000 said:

Right.......but again.....TV-14. Anything TV-14 is safe....right???

Maybe not at launch, but if enough people demand it, sure.

27 minutes ago, Otakuninja9000 said:

And it would be nice if MeTV Toons were to have a Toonami-like block.

Between SilverHawks, GoBots, Speed Racer, and Marine Boy, that's a two-hour action block already. Not to mention most of the late-night hours backed up by Thunderbirds and other Gerry Anderson projects.

Speaking of SilverHawks, I'm amazed we don't have ThunderCats or Super Friends on the channel already. But maybe those will be out by September.

[Toonamiguy321]

On 5/12/2024 at 7:28 PM, Sketch said:

Yeah unfortunately the FCC will take a lot of uncut anime out of the running for an OTA digital sub-channel. So MeTV Toons anime selection will probably stay limited to TV dubs that ran in syndication.

I expect Betty Boop to be limited to late night slots after 10pm for similar reasons.

It would be interesting if this channel ever plays the Y7 dubs of Dragon Ball and Mobile Suit Gundam but it’s much more likely they’ll show Kimba, Astroboy, Gigantor, Voltron, Star Blazers and Robotech. I’m really hoping one show from the WBD library they toss in is The Mighty Orbots.

Toei has gone to great lengths to make sure the only easily accessible dub of DBZ is the current Kai one. Has DB ever been redubbed? 
 

Anyway, would an anime channel even be feasible? Maybe I don’t understand how it works, but surely it’s not just all free to air, right? And with every dub studio trying to start up their own projects I doubt they would lend anything out at a bargain. 

[Mr. Idea Box]

10 minutes ago, Toonamiguy321 said:

Toei has gone to great lengths to make sure the only easily accessible dub of DBZ is the current Kai one. Has DB ever been redubbed? 

Unfortunately, the original Dragon Ball has not gotten a redub. However, I would argue that DBZ Kai would be too recent for MeTV Toons anyway, being firmly in the 2010s category.

10 minutes ago, Toonamiguy321 said:

Anyway, would an anime channel even be feasible? Maybe I don’t understand how it works, but surely it’s not just all free to air, right? And with every dub studio trying to start up their own projects I doubt they would lend anything out at a bargain. 

The short answer? No. The long answer? Nnnnnnnoooooooooooo.....

[PokeNirvash]

It's apparently some degree of feasible in Japan, proof positive of that being satellite network AT-X, but it has the advantage of being from anime's home country. That sort of thing's far harder to bring about, let alone sustain, in the U.S., proof positive of that being ADV's Anime Network and FUNimation's eponymous Channel (which I to this day blame for the extreme limitations on what [as] could air from those two licensors back in the '00s).

[Mr. Idea Box]

3 hours ago, PokeNirvash said:

It's apparently some degree of feasible in Japan, proof positive of that being satellite network AT-X, but it has the advantage of being from anime's home country. That sort of thing's far harder to bring about, let alone sustain, in the U.S., proof positive of that being ADV's Anime Network and FUNimation's eponymous Channel (which I to this day blame for the extreme limitations on what [as] could air from those two licensors back in the '00s).

Fresh face here. Exactly how much could [as] have aired if those two channels never existed? I just want to know how mournful I should be in this case.

[KageRageX]

14 minutes ago, Mr. Idea Box said:

Fresh face here. Exactly how much could [as] have aired if those two channels never existed? I just want to know how mournful I should be in this case.

Not much more because AS is a bunch of pussies....

[Jman]

FAST channel providers like Tubi and PlutoTV are packed with anime channels, but the overhead on a FAST channel is practically zero, so as long as the licensor agrees, throw some leftovers on the FAST channel and watch some Naruto.  Hell, Crunchyroll just started a FAST channel.

Over the air is another matter entirely.

[MasqueradeOverture]

11 hours ago, Mr. Idea Box said:

Unfortunately, the original Dragon Ball has not gotten a redub.

Assuming it even needs one (it was already miles better than the old dub for Z).

[_lost_username_]

On 5/12/2024 at 7:08 AM, Otakuninja9000 said:

In order for that to happen, the FCC would have to revamp broadcast censorship rules......Which they're too fucking old-school to do.

But I'd imagine you could get away with a bit with a max of a heavy TV-14-DLSV.

And then there could be one for the geek/Jetix/Syfy/G4 crowd.

You say that yet there's Family Guy that's way more everything anime outside of hentai can be. I can't think of a single anime that AS or Toonami broadcasted that wouldn't be OK for broadcast TV.

[Toonamiguy321]

14 minutes ago, ZoomBubba said:

You say that yet there's Family Guy that's way more everything anime outside of hentai can be. I can't think of a single anime that AS or Toonami broadcasted that wouldn't be OK for broadcast TV.

Channels that fall under FCC guidelines have a lot of extra rules they have to follow.  Just a random example, the reason every season of Yugioh has an anime original design for the cards, rather than how they look IRL is due to FCC regulations on advertising products to children. 
 

The Family Man wouldn’t fly on one of those channels 

https://youtube.com/watch?v=8_XZwXtpPiE

 

[MasqueradeOverture]

11 hours ago, Toonamiguy321 said:

Channels that fall under FCC guidelines have a lot of extra rules they have to follow.  Just a random example, the reason every season of Yugioh has an anime original design for the cards, rather than how they look IRL is due to FCC regulations on advertising products to children. 
 

The Family Man wouldn’t fly on one of those channels 

https://youtube.com/watch?v=8_XZwXtpPiE

 

Family Guy airs on Fox.

[Sketch]

On 5/15/2024 at 7:06 AM, Mr. Idea Box said:

Fresh face here. Exactly how much could [as] have aired if those two channels never existed? I just want to know how mournful I should be in this case.

Just from the FUNimation Channel they might have aired FairyTail, Kenichi, Baccano, Darker than Black, Hunter x Hunter 1999 (yeah they got some Viz dub premieres for some reason) and probably Soul Eater much sooner than they did. They also had Monster on there but it wasn't exclusive to the channel because it was also on SyFy. Speaking of SyFy, they nabbed Gurren Lagann and Gundam 00 which both seemed like shoe-ins for Adult Swim or even Toonami in 2008 and given they got Monster it's possible SyFy could have gotten any of the above that were exclusive to the FUNimation Channel but Darker than Black would have fit the best.

 

On 5/14/2024 at 5:46 PM, Mr. Idea Box said:

Maybe not at launch, but if enough people demand it, sure.

Between SilverHawks, GoBots, Speed Racer, and Marine Boy, that's a two-hour action block already. Not to mention most of the late-night hours backed up by Thunderbirds and other Gerry Anderson projects.

Speaking of SilverHawks, I'm amazed we don't have ThunderCats or Super Friends on the channel already. But maybe those will be out by September.

ThunderCats is currently on Hulu and I suspect that's why it's neither on WB Cartoon Rewind (a FAST channel) or among the known shows for this channel but maybe it will show up eventually. There's not a lick of DC on this channel besides maybe the Superman theatrical shorts but I'm sure the people running the network are interested in adding Batman: TAS if not also Superman, Batman Beyond and Justice League.

Pirates of Dark Water is on WB Cartoon Rewind so I think that will show up along with SWAT Kats but SWAT Kats hasn't been shown on Rewind yet (nor have Centurions and Mighty Orbots which WBD also own). Rewind also runs the Hanna Barbera Pac-Man cartoon and that's not among the known shows.

Space Ghost and Birdman are probably off the table, along with Sealab 2020 if anyone even cares. Herculoids and Thundarr the Barbarian will potentially cycle in.

Honestly I rather like that this channel is choosing to air some more obscure and largely forgotten shows but it is kind of strange that Jonny Quest, The Real Ghostbusters and Speed Racer are the only really well known action cartoons but a lot of the others are now owned by Disney. I certainly hope they strike up a deal with Paramount to air TMNT and reasonably they could play the 1987 show and the 2003 one. Grabbing Exo-Squad from Universal would be rad!

And the network guy seemed pretty excited to show a bunch of cartoons that spun off from movies. I think that will late night block more so for the millenials. Beetlejuice, The Mask, Police Academy and The Real Ghostbusters are known but beyond that we could see Hanna Barbera's Bill & Ted and Dumb and Dumber as well as the Ace Ventura Pet Detective cartoon (did you know Ace was voiced by Michael Dangerfield in that, yeah the 2nd voice of Sesshomaru and Gintoki of Gintama played Jim Carrey, I find that amusing). They could get the old Rambo cartoon or perhaps Men in Black, Godzilla, Kong, Jumanji, The Mummy, Back to the Future, Roughnecks: Starship Troopers there were so many movie spin-off cartoons. My top pick would be Men in Black.

Give me a block with Exo-Squad, Men in Black, Ghostbuster Extreme and Roughnecks.

And given they're showing the Mr. T series, they'll probably run several other celebrity cartoons. The Ed Grimmley Show  (based on Martin Short's SNL character) would fit right in.

On 5/15/2024 at 10:27 AM, ZoomBubba said:

You say that yet there's Family Guy that's way more everything anime outside of hentai can be. I can't think of a single anime that AS or Toonami broadcasted that wouldn't be OK for broadcast TV.

Anything that was TV-MA is out, especially Made in Abyss, Food Wars, KILL la KILL, Hellsing Ultimate, Black Lagoon (uncensored anyway) but most of what they air could pass for TV-14-VLSD or less on broadcast television. Crunchyroll's FAST channel doesn't really push TV-MA much if ever and I suspect that's by design. HiDive's FAST channel isn't showing Domestic Girlfriend or Love Flops but they have cycled in Food Wars. For other anime FAST channels I think the most hardcore thing's they've shown are episodes of Hunter x Hunter 2011 and JoJo.

Sony could absolutely fill a broadcast channel with anime if they wanted to but a streaming FAST channel just makes more sense for their business.

On 5/14/2024 at 10:03 PM, Toonamiguy321 said:

Toei has gone to great lengths to make sure the only easily accessible dub of DBZ is the current Kai one. Has DB ever been redubbed? 
 

Anyway, would an anime channel even be feasible? Maybe I don’t understand how it works, but surely it’s not just all free to air, right? And with every dub studio trying to start up their own projects I doubt they would lend anything out at a bargain. 

You can stream the old DBZ dub and the dub of Dragon Ball so I don't think it's absolutely out of the question the old FUNimation dubs could be licensed to MeTV Toons but in both cases they'd have to show the Y7 cuts or do a new cut which just removes the nudity. The latter is too much work for anyone to want to deal with so Y7 it is.

[PokeNirvash]

On 5/16/2024 at 4:44 PM, Sketch said:

TV-14-VLSD

How dare you order the descriptors like that. Never speak to me or my necromancer again.

[Jman]

 

 

[Jman]

[Mr. Idea Box]

30 minutes ago, Jman said:

Not a bad lineup, but that's nothing compared to late nights and early mornings. That's where the REAL fun begins!

[Sketch]

Here’s the complete schedule and it’s got even more surprises.

The Completely Mental Misadventures of Ed Grimley

Wait Till Your Father Gets Home

ALF cartoons

Histeria!!

They even included the Hanna Barbera Bible cartoons on Sunday mornings. Maybe they’ll eventually get Superbook / Magic House.

I’m pleasantly surprised some 80s and 90s shows air in the mornings and mid-day and aren’t regulated entirely to late nights. They play Police Academy a lot, even though it only has one mid-day slot.

Duck Dodgers has 39 episodes so I wish it had more than one airing a week but I guess it’s fine for Freakazoid and 2 Stupid Dogs with 26 episodes each to be limited to uh… Toonami hours.

Overall it’s a very promising start.

[Jman]

New commercial.

[3ngag3]

Putting The Mask in over Freakazoid is a choice.

Not that The Mask is a bad show or anything, it's just...Freakazoid is the more popular show.

[Mr. Idea Box]

6 hours ago, 3ngag3 said:

Putting The Mask in over Freakazoid is a choice.

Not that The Mask is a bad show or anything, it's just...Freakazoid is the more popular show.

I mean, they're both in the channel. Freakazoid is just on close to Midnight.

Not only that, but with Captain Planet weekdays at 6 AM, they have four and a half hours of E/I programming on here, exceeding the regulated minimum.

I guess the Saturday late-night lineup could provide counter-programming for those who aren't into Toonami but still want some chaos. Other than that, I don't know how they got those timeslots.

[brianycpht]

12 minutes ago, Mr. Idea Box said:

I mean, they're both in the channel. Freakazoid is just on close to Midnight.

Not only that, but with Captain Planet weekdays at 6 AM, they have four and a half hours of E/I programming on here, exceeding the regulated minimum.

I guess the Saturday late-night lineup could provide counter-programming for those who aren't into Toonami but still want some chaos. Other than that, I don't know how they got those timeslots.

They have a huge library and said things will be rotating in and out and moving around. I think everything will get a chance for some airtime 

[Sketch]

They are very likely going for the AS crowd with the late night choices. Honestly surprised that Beetlejuice is in the morning instead of late nights.

I do wish Freakazoid and 2 Stupid Dogs weren’t limited to midnight on Saturday but that’s exactly the time millennials who like those shows would more easily catch them (I’d still prefer 10 or 11 though). Mid-day and primetime on weekdays is courting boomers first and foremost. It’s an interesting choice to have some millennial fare in the mornings.

They are showing some remarkable restraint by only airing Jonny Quest and Top Cat on the weekends. Boomerang and CN didn’t shy away from airing both daily despite their low episode counts. (39 and 30 respectively).

There’s really only one show I think they’re giving too many time slots and that’s Police Academy. Once a day is appropriate for 65 episodes but twice a day is a bit much when Beetlejuice and TRGB have quite a few more episodes. Sure it’s only late night and early morning besides Saturday afternoon, but STILL. They must like that show a lot. I’d swap one airing for Silverhawks immediately. How did they miss the opportunity to pair up Silverhawks with Thunderbirds on overnights?

Edited May 31 by Sketch

[brianycpht]

1 hour ago, Sketch said:

They are very likely going for the AS crowd with the late night choices. Honestly surprised that Beetlejuice is in the morning instead of late nights.

I do wish Freakazoid and 2 Stupid Dogs weren’t limited to midnight on Saturday but that’s exactly the time millennials who like those shows would more easily catch them (I’d still prefer 10 or 11 though). Mid-day and primetime on weekdays is courting boomers first and foremost. It’s an interesting choice to have some millennial fare in the mornings.

They are showing some remarkable restraint by only airing Jonny Quest and Top Cat on the weekends. Boomerang and CN didn’t shy away from airing both daily despite their low episode counts. (39 and 30 respectively).

There’s really only one show I think they’re giving too many time slots and that’s Police Academy. Once a day is appropriate for 65 episodes but twice a day is a bit much when Beetlejuice and TRGB have quite a few more episodes. Sure it’s only late night and early morning besides Saturday afternoon, but STILL. They must like that show a lot. I’d swap one airing for Silverhawks immediately. How did they miss the opportunity to pair up Silverhawks with Thunderbirds on overnights?

I think there will be changes to the schedule at appropriate times to not allow people to tire of certain shows. The people running the network seem to really get what made early CN great 

Thete will be shows that are constants, but those will be the top tier, lots of episodes type. They seem to get it for the most part with limiting low episode count shows to weekends. One of my biggest issues with classic Toonami was them picking up short shows and running them on weekdays. They’d finish in a month and then repeat endlessly. 

I do think they should break up the puppet fest on overnights a little and get some other things in there. 
 

Since they have a huge library, they could regularly rotate several shows in certain time slots, 

[Sketch]

Well you know I can't leave well enough alone so I took a swing at revising the launch schedule. The only show I added which I know they have is Silverhawks. Beyond that I mostly gave some shows better time slots, cut back on Police Academy and Captain Planet (they only need 3 hours of E/I so they don't need to run that every weekday morning). I also threw together a big Saturday morning cartoon block featuring shows that were mainstays of Saturday morning blocks in the 80s and 90s, followed by a sort of racer block just cuz. If a show only gets one or two weekends slots I'll be darned if it is needlessly early in the morning or late at night. Ed Grimley, Freakazoid, Duck Dodgers, 2 Stupid Dogs and even Mister T deserve better than that.

Though having more closely observed their schedule I get why they repeat several shows from weekdays on the weekend, it's so they're shown at different hours than they are on weekdays. Even though they could run more short shows on the weekend I respect the decision to give some weekday late morning shows airings in afternoon and evening, so I didn't just get rid of all of that. I even expanded on some of it while still giving priority to some shows that are only on the weekend hours.

I'm fine with the Supermarination block that runs from 3am-6am on weeknights. I don't necessarily want to throw other shows on that late. Though Thunderbirds is an hour and it only has 32 episodes so maybe it shouldn't be on 5 days a week.

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1C8tgDC_Q6Aib2rzP4jQDatQpWpBoCcUGnTPrA0uFh0w/edit?usp=drive_link

[Jman]

Today is the day.  MeTV Toons has launched and is available over airwaves for roughly 66% of the US.

 

All in good old fashioned 4:3 aspect ratios.

Edited June 25 by Jman

[Top Gun]

Looks like it's an over-the-air option here but not on our cable lineup unfortunately.

[discolé monade]

doesn't look like it's an option here. (using samsung smart)

[Jman]

 

Interesting use of funds.

[Mr. Idea Box]

1 hour ago, Jman said:

 

Interesting use of funds.

Honestly, I'm more surprised the kept the Turner Program Services logo instead of the more widespread Turner logo. That surprised me.