Cartoon Network (India)

Cartoon Network is a television channel available on Dish TV, STAR India, Tata Sky, Airtel digital TV and other major Indian satellite and cable television providers. Distributed by Turner Broadcasting System (a unit of Time Warner Inc.) specifically for the South Asian region, the channel primarily airs animated shows in four different languages: Hindi, English, Tamil and Telugu. It is based on the original American version of the channel and started airing on 1 May 1995 as the first kids' channel in India.

History

The original Cartoon Network logo, used from 1 May 1995 to 2 October 2005.

Cartoon Network started broadcast in India in 1995 as a dual-channel with Cartoon Network initially operating from 5:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. and Turner Classic Movies (formerly TNT) taking up the remainder of the daily schedule. Later the time slice of Cartoon Network was increased up to 9 p.m. On 1 July 2001, Cartoon Network India became a separate 24-hour channel which broadcasts in India, Nepal, Bhutan.

In 2004, a separate feed of the channel dedicated to Pakistani and Bangladeshi viewers was started. Programmes broadcast on this feed are different from the Indian feed. It has a translation in some areas. The channel was basically a relay version of Cartoon Network India in the start which is not the case now. Cartoon Network India is the only channel which aired the English dubbed version of Heidi in 2001. This show has not premiered on any other Cartoon Network channel worldwide.

1990s

The channel first broadcast on 1 May 1995 as a dual-channel with Cartoon Network operating from 5:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. (later 9:00 p.m.) and Turner Classic Movies (formerly TNT) taking up the remainder of the daily schedule. On 1 July 2001, Cartoon Network India became a separate 24-hour channel, with exclusive local feeds for India, Nepal, and Bhutan.

It originally aired only Hanna-Barbera cartoons such as The Yogi Bear Show, Top Cat, The Flintstones, and Scooby-Doo. The channel quickly started to develop though, airing for the first time MGM cartoons (Tom and Jerry, Droopy, and Spike and Tyke) in 1996, and (after Time Warner's purchase of Turner in 1996) Warner Bros shows (Looney Tunes, and several other Looney Tunes related cartoons) in 1997. In 1998, Cartoon Network started to air its first original shows (Space Ghost Coast to Coast and The Moxy Show), however The Moxy Show was soon cancelled.

On January 4, 1999, The channel started to offer Hindi dubbed versions of their content of programs such as Scooby-Doo, Where Are You!, The Flintstones, The Jetsons, SWAT Kats: The Radical Squadron, The Mask: The Animated Series, The Addams Family, The Real Adventures of Jonny Quest, Captain Planet and certain other select programs.

On 22 August 1999 the channel received a rebrand, introducing new bumpers, new shows and a new 'powerhouse' theme. The new shows for 1999 were its original shows Dexter's Laboratory, Cow & Chicken, I Am Weasel, Ed, Edd n' Eddy and Johnny Bravo. The following year, 2000, saw even more Cartoon Network originals being introduced, including The Powerpuff Girls, Mike, Lu & Og and Courage the Cowardly Dog. Some of these shows (Mike, Lu & Og, Ed, Edd n' Eddy and Courage the Cowardly Dog) were not produced by Cartoon Network.

2000s

In February 2000, the channel has then decided to offer Tamil dubbed versions of their content.

In 2001, the rate of new Cartoon Network originals kept going, with Sheep in the Big City, Time Squad and Samurai Jack being brought in. Due to the large number of Cartoon Network originals that were on Cartoon Network, they decided to name these shows Cartoon Cartoons, which led to the Friday night block Cartoon Cartoon Fridays being introduced to India later in 2001. In 2000, Cartoon Network India aired the English-dubbed version of Heidi, Girl of the Alps. This show has not made its debut on any other channel in English including Cartoon Network worldwide. Also in 2001, Cartoon Network introduced other programming blocks including Toonami, Acme Hour, Prime Time, Boomerang (now a channel as well) and Cartoon Network After Dark. Cartoon Network's Toonami Block aired the American version of the cult Japanese anime Dragon Ball Z for the first time in India in the same year.

2002 saw more Cartoon Cartoons introduced including Grim & Evil, Whatever Happened to... Robot Jones? and Codename: Kids Next Door. Grim & Evil eventually spun off into two separate series: The Grim Adventures of Billy & Mandy and Evil Con Carne. Justice League and ¡Mucha Lucha! also debuted on Cartoon Network in 2002. In 2003, there were no new Cartoon Network original shows added to the schedule, but there were several new programming blocks and non-Cartoon-Cartoons added. The programming blocks include Boomeraction (currently a block on the channel Boomerang), and Tiny TV (currently a block on Pogo & Boomerang). Shows added to the line-up in 2003 include The Mask: The Animated Series, Pokémon, Digimon, and X-Men: Evolution. In 2004, the channel introduced Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends, a completely new programme to debut that year. Programming blocks introduced in 2004 include Fridays and Eyeballs A Go-Go. Also, 2005 was the year that the Boomerang programming block was made into a TV channel which is not available in India.

The second Cartoon Network logo used in different forms, colours, and styles, from 3 October 2005 to 30 September 2011

In 2005, the bumpers were replaced with 3D animations of the 'CN (Cartoon Network) City' that all the Cartoon Network toons lived in. Show-specific bumpers were replaced with 3D animations of a well-known scene from the particular show (e.g., a Dexter's Laboratory bumper would feature Dexter's house, a Powerpuff Girls bumper would feature most likely the PPG household, and so forth). The retro checkerboard logo was replaced with the new 'CN' city-style logo of today.

In 2006, several new Cartoon Network originals premiered, including Robotboy, The Life and Times of Juniper Lee, Camp Lazlo, Hi Hi Puffy AmiYumi, My Gym Partner's a Monkey and Squirrel Boy. The "Cartoon Cartoons" moniker previously used for Cartoon Network originals was also dropped in 2006.

It also started the anime series Beyblade on 3 June 2005,^[1] which enjoyed a No.1 or No.2 position in the kids genre, along with Pokémon.

The channel continued to air new episodes and seasons from Beyblade and Pokémon, and their movies, which continued to rank No.1 and No.2 in the kids' genre.^[2]

On 10 October 2007, Cartoon Network started the new series Ben 10,^[3] which became an instant hit in India. As of 2014, it was one of the largest licensed characters in India.

On 31 August 2008, the format of Cartoon Network's commercials changed. They also changed the name of Cartoon Network Theatre (the movie block of the channel) to Cartoon Network Popcorn with the major visual theme being recurring 'dynamic lines'. Later in 2009, Cartoon Network began to air Dragon Ball, the prequel to Dragon Ball Z, for the first time in India.

On 11 December 2009, Cartoon Network began to air the next series in the Ben 10 franchise, Ben 10: Alien Force.^[4] It also aired new Ben 10 movies.^[5][6]

Cartoon Network started the third series in the hit Ben 10 franchise, Ben 10: Ultimate Alien on 10 October 2010.^[7] The new Beyblade series, Beyblade: Metal Fusion began to air in 2010-2011, on Fridays and Saturdays, from 4-5 pm.

2011–present

The third Cartoon Network logo used from 1 October 2011 until today

On 1 October 2011, at 9am (Indian Standard Time) during The Amazing World of Gumball premiere, Cartoon Network introduced its new branding and logo. Designed by Brand New School, it makes heavy use of the black and white checkerboard motif, as well as CMYK color variations and patterns. The slogan "It's a Fun Thing!" was also introduced.

As the slogan suggests, comedy programs began to occupy most of the timeslots. While initially Tom and Jerry made up most of the timeslots, later when Oggy and the Cockroaches was started in India in July 2012,^[8] CN began to air it hours together each day, which even continued till 2014. In January 2015, Cartoon Network India lost the rights to Oggy and the Cockroaches Seasons 1 to 3, but continued to air Season 4.

Though CN mostly aired comedy shows, action shows like Beyblade: Metal Fusion (and its following seasons), aired initially in the evening timeslot, and later at night (9 pm). It also aired Dragonball Z at a late night timeslot (10pm).

CN started the fourth series in the hit Ben 10 franchise, Ben 10:Omniverse on 26 November 2012.^[9]

Starting from the new era,"It's a Fun Thing", CN began to air shows without providing any information through airings on the channel, like on-air promos and bumpers. ThunderCats, Beyblade Metal Masters, and Beyblade Metal Fury, Scooby-Doo! Mystery Incorporated were started with no information about air date and timings on the channel, and information present only on TV schedules.

Animated shows like Green Lantern: The Animated Series, DreamWorks Dragons, Scooby-Doo! Mystery Incorporated, The Looney Tunes Show, and ThunderCats aired, but for some reason all of these shows aired only the first seasons, and the second seasons haven't been aired yet.

CN shifted the hit series Pokémon to its sister channel, in 2011, having aired till the eleventh season, but later brought it back on CN in 2014, starting from the fourteenth season episode "Pokémon: Black and White".^[10][11]

In 2015 Summer and Monsoon, new shows like Uncle Grandpa, Beyblade: Shogun Steel, Clarence, Uncle Grandpa and new episodes of Ben 10 Omniverse started to air. In May 2015, Cartoon Network India celebrated its 20th birthday with specials of various shows including specials from the classic The Flintstones. Starting June 2015, it started to air new promos for each new episode of weekly-once shows like Steven Universe, Ben 10 Omniverse, and Uncle Grandpa.

CN+

In 2014, Cartoon Network partnered with Tata Sky to launch an Active Service called CN+. The service is available everyday for about 1–2 hours. It airs select episodes from hit programmes such as Ben 10(and related series), Beyblade: Metal Fusion(and related series), Cartoon Network Original Shows like The Amazing World of Gumball, League of Super Evil, Tom and Jerry(and related series), Ed, Edd n Eddy, and movies from Ben 10, Pokémon among others.^[12]

Toonami Channel Launch

On February 26, 2015, Turner India launched a new channel based on its former block, Toonami. It features shows such as Batman, Superman, Justice League, Transformers, and Dragon Ball Z.^[13]

Programming

In its lifespan, the channel has aired a number of popular animated shows mainly from the WB vault and the Cartoon Network Studios. Classic Hanna-Barbera shows like The Flintstones, Top Cat, The Centurions, SWAT Kats: The Radical Squadron, The Yogi Bear Show, Josie and the Pussy Cats, Scooby-Doo, Where Are You!, Jonny Quest, The Jetsons, The Huckleberry Hound Show, The Addams Family, What a Cartoon Show, Wacky Races, Atom Ant and Space Ghost Coast to Coast are no longer available on Cartoon Network since the launch of the separate TV channel Boomerang. Interestingly, Boomerang is not available in India on most platforms, making these shows along with many other classics hard to get.

References

External links

• Cartoon Network India official website (region-locked)
• Cartoon Network India Official mobile version website (region-locked)
• Cartoon Network India official Facebook page
• Cartoon Network India official Youtube channel

Cartoon Network Regions Asia and Oceania (TBS AP) Australia and New Zealand China (on demand) India Japan Pakistan & Bangladesh Philippines Southeast Asia South Korea Taiwan Europe, Middle East, and Africa (TBS EMEA) Arab world Central & Eastern Europe Cyprus and Africa France Germany Israel (television block) Italy Netherlands Nordic/Scandinavia Poland Portugal CIS and Southeastern Europe Spain (via Boing) Turkey United Kingdom and Ireland The Americas Brazil Canada Latin America Programming Adult Swim programming Boomerang programming Toonami programming Toonami Jetstream Video games Cartoon Network video games Released in the 2000s Ben 10: Alien Force Ben 10: Protector of Earth Ben 10 Alien Force: Vilgax Attacks Cartoon Network: Block Party Cartoon Network Racing Cartoon Network Speedway Cartoon Network Universe: FusionFall Codename: Kids Next Door – Operation: V.I.D.E.O.G.A.M.E. Dexter's Laboratory: Chess Challenge Dexter's Laboratory: Deesaster Strikes! Dexter's Laboratory: Mandark's Lab? Dexter's Laboratory: Robot Rampage Ed, Edd n Eddy: Jawbreakers! Ed, Edd n Eddy: The Mis-Edventures Ed, Edd n Eddy: Scam of the Century The Grim Adventures of Billy & Mandy Hi Hi Puffy AmiYumi: The Genie and the Amp Hi Hi Puffy AmiYumi: Kaznapped! The Powerpuff Girls series Samurai Jack: The Amulet of Time Samurai Jack: The Shadow of Aku The Secret Saturdays: Beasts of the 5th Sun Released in the 2010s Adventure Time: Explore the Dungeon Because I Don't Know! Adventure Time: Finn & Jake Investigations Adventure Time: Hey Ice King! Why'd You Steal Our Garbage?!! Adventure Time: The Secret of the Nameless Kingdom Ben 10: Galactic Racing Ben 10: Omniverse Ben 10: Omniverse 2 Ben 10 Alien Force: The Rise of Hex Ben 10 Ultimate Alien: Cosmic Destruction Cartoon Network: Backlot Party Cartoon Network: Punch Time Explosion Generator Rex: Agent of Providence Regular Show: Mordecai and Rigby in 8-Bit Land See also Acme Hour AKA Cartoon Network Cartoon Medley Cartoon Network +1 Cartoon Network Development Studio Europe Cartoon Network Too Cartoon Network, LP v. CSC Holdings, Inc. Cartoon Network Studios Cartoon Orbit Cartoon Planet Cartoonito Children's programming on TBS/TNT CNX DC Nation Hall of Game Awards Hanna-Barbera High Noon Toons Pogo Tooncast Williams Street Category Portal Book WikiProject