Litton's Weekend Adventure

Litton's Weekend Adventure
Formerly known as ABC Weekend Adventure (pre-launch)
Premiered September 3, 2011 (2011-09-03)
Network syndicated to ABC owned-and-operated stations and affiliates[1]
American Forces Network[2]
Country of origin United States
Owner Litton Entertainment
Format Saturday morning educational program block
Running time 3 hours
Original Language(s) English
Official website littonweekendadventure.com

Litton's Weekend Adventure (originally known as ABC Weekend Adventure) is an American syndicated programming block that is produced by Litton Entertainment, and airs weekend mornings on the owned-and-operated stations and affiliates of ABC. The block features live-action documentary and lifestyle series aimed at a family audience that meet educational programming requirements defined by the Children's Television Act.[3][4] Announced on May 24, 2011, Litton's Weekend Adventure premiered on September 3, 2011, replacing the ABC Kids block.[5][6][7][8]

As the block is syndicated to ABC stations rather than being part of the network's schedule, Litton's Weekend Adventure does not contain any ABC branding or promotions, and likewise is not promoted directly by ABC on-air or mentioned on the network's website.

Background

The block came as a result of ABC's decision in early 2011 to no longer provide E/I programming as part of its Saturday morning network lineup to its affiliates;[5] the network had not introduced any new E/I programs for its ABC Kids block since 2008, and those that had been airing on the network at the time of the decision consisted of reruns of Disney Channel sitcoms that had first aired on the block between September 2005 and May 2007, all of which were out of production by the time ABC Kids ended its run. In addition, before Haim Saban repurchased the rights to the Power Rangers franchise from The Walt Disney Company in 2010,[9] several station groups that owned ABC affiliates (such as Hearst Television and Allbritton Communications) refused to carry any series from that franchise (or any other non-E/I-compliant shows within the block such as Kim Possible) or chose to run them only in low-rated early morning timeslots, and had demanded any lineup be fully educational so the stations would not have to purchase E/I programming from syndication distributors.

Most of the major commercial networks began restructuring their Saturday morning children's program blocks (with Fox dropping theirs outright) to comply to tightened educational content and advertising regulations in the Children's Television Act; cultural shifts and changes in viewing habits through the migration of younger viewers to cable channels, recordable and streaming media were also affecting viewership of children's lineups carried by broadcast television networks.

Original logo, used from September 3, 2011 to September 28, 2013.

As a compromise, the network's affiliate board agreed to instead look for a syndication package that would air exclusively on ABC owned-and-operated and affiliate stations. Litton Entertainment was eventually selected by the ABC affiliate board to program the block, beating out two other competitors[5] as a part of the winning presentation in which Litton suggested counterprogramming the then-usual Saturday morning fare by featuring unscripted and "pro-social programming" aimed at children and teenagers ages 7–17.

History

ABC and Litton Entertainment announced the block on May 17, 2011 for a fall 2011 launch,[5] under the working title "ABC Weekend Adventure". ABC initially signed deals with its owned-and-operated station group ABC Owned Television Stations, as well as affiliates owned by Cox Broadcasting, The McGraw-Hill Companies, Newport Television and Post-Newsweek Stations to carry the block; these were followed by May 2011 with distribution agreements involving ABC stations owned by Belo, Bonten Media Group, Chambers Communications Corporation, Fisher Communications, Gannett Broadcasting, Hubbard Broadcasting, Journal Broadcast Group, LIN TV Corporation, News-Press & Gazette Company, Young Broadcasting and Weigel Broadcasting.[10]

The renamed Litton's Weekend Adventure launched on September 3, 2011 with six series: Jack Hanna's Wild Countdown, Ocean Mysteries with Jeff Corwin, Born to Explore with Richard Wiese, Culture Click, Everyday Health and Food for Thought with Claire Thomas (originally titled The Delicious Adventures of Claire Thomas prior to its debut).[5] Two other series were also initially announced to be in development: the environment-focused Agents of Change (from producer Mark Koops)[5] and Earth: Angry Planet;[10] however, neither show was picked up to series. When the block debuted, Litton's Weekend Adventure became the first Saturday morning block to present all of its programs in high definition. On May 2, 2012, ABC and Litton reached an agreement to broadcast Weekend Adventure worldwide on the American Forces Network, beginning that June.[2]

On September 24, 2012, Litton announced that a television version of Everyday Health's YouTube series Recipe Rehab (one of several web series directly funded by the video sharing website as a part of a premium content initiative) would premiere on the block beginning on October 6,[11] replacing the Everyday Health series.[12][13]

On September 28, 2013, Litton launched a competing Saturday morning block for CBS, the CBS Dream Team (which replaced the Cookie Jar TV block).[14] The following week on October 4, the Weekend Adventure block's "Health and Wellness Hour" (consisting of health and culinary programs that filled the third hour of the block) was discontinued as part of a refocusing towards exclusively wildlife-focused programs; with the move, Recipe Rehab migrated to CBS's Dream Team block[15] (its former lead-out, Food for Thought, was canceled outright).

Subsequently on October 5, 2014, Expedition Wild moved from Weekend Adventure to another Saturday morning block produced by Litton that launched on that date, One Magnificent Morning on The CW.[16]

Programming

Programs featured on Litton's Weekend Adventure are designed to meet federally mandated educational programming guidelines, allowing ABC stations to comply with the three-hour weekly minimum for E/I content defined by the Federal Communications Commission.[4][5][6][7][8] However, some ABC stations may carry syndicated educational programs to provide additional E/I content supplementary to the block. Programs aired within the block may be deferred to Sunday daytime slots, or (in the case of affiliates in the Western United States) Saturday afternoons due to breaking news or severe weather coverage or, more commonly, regional or select national sports telecasts (especially in the case of college football games) scheduled in earlier Saturday timeslots as makegoods to comply with the E/I regulations. Some stations may air the entirety of the Weekend Adventure block on tape delay to accommodate local news or other programs of local interest (such as public affairs shows, real estate or lifestyle programs).

Several ABC affiliates (such as WAWV-TV in Terre Haute, Indiana; KAIT in Jonesboro, Arkansas; and WTVM in Columbus, Georgia) have chosen not to carry the block and instead air E/I-compliant children's programming acquired through the syndication market. In addition, the block has aired on one non-ABC stations: from March to October 2013, Fox affiliate WFFF-TV in Burlington, Vermont carried Litton's Weekend Adventure on its second digital subchannel, which maintained an independently programmed format during that period (before becoming a standard definition simulcast of WFFF's main channel), in addition to airing on its ABC-affiliated sister station WVNY.

In 2016, two stations disaffiliated from ABC due to cost concerns; WKPT-TV in the Tri-Cities region of Tennessee and Virginia, and WSVI in the U.S. Virgin Islands, but as the Litton syndication contract for Weekend Adventure is separate from their expired ABC affiliation agreements, will continue to air Weekend Adventure for the time being. The new Tri-Cities ABC affiliate, WJHL-DT2, will use programming from the Fox-associated Xploration Station block (which was turned down by WEMT) and other syndicated programming for their E/I contributions instead.

Current programming

Former programming

Awards and nominations

In 2014, Ocean Mysteries with Jeff Corwin won two Creative Arts Daytime Emmy Awards for "Outstanding Travel Program".[1]

References

  1. 1 2 "‘Sesame Street,’ ‘Ellen DeGeneres’ Lead Daytime Emmy Creative Arts Winners (FULL LIST)". Variety (Penske Media Corporation). June 21, 2014. Retrieved November 3, 2014.
  2. 1 2 Paige Albiniak (May 2, 2012). "American Forces Network Adds Litton's Weekend Adventure". Broadcasting & Cable. NewBay Media. Retrieved August 15, 2014.
  3. ↑ "Litton's Weekend Adventure". Litton Entertainment. Retrieved July 10, 2011.
  4. 1 2 "Everyday Health, Inc. and Litton Entertainment Announce New Television Series, "Everyday Health," to Premiere on ABC Affiliates". KFVS-TV (Raycom Media). July 8, 2011. Retrieved July 10, 2011.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 "ABC Orders Saturday Kids Block From Litton". TVNewsCheck (NewsCheck Media). May 24, 2011. Retrieved May 24, 2011.
  6. 1 2 Paige Albiniak (May 24, 2011). "ABC to Premiere ABC Weekend Adventure on Sept. 3". Broadcasting & Cable (NewBay Media). Retrieved May 24, 2011.
  7. 1 2 "Litton Announces "ABC Weekend Adventure"". Business Wire. May 24, 2011. Retrieved May 24, 2011.
  8. 1 2 "Cynopsis: Kids! 05/26/11". Cynopsis. May 26, 2011. Retrieved May 27, 2011.
  9. ↑ Paul Bond (August 10, 2010). "Disney's Q3 boosted by TV operations profit; Power Rangers sale added $43 million to coffers". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved August 11, 2010.
  10. 1 2 "Litton Entertainment's ABC Station E / I Package Adds New Station Groups" (PDF). Litton Entertainment. May 17, 2010. Retrieved September 16, 2014.
  11. ↑ Mike Shields (September 24, 2012). "YouTube Hit Jumps to TV—Albeit Saturday A.M.". AdWeek. Retrieved September 29, 2012.
  12. ↑ Amir Efrati. "From YouTube to TV". The Wall Street Journal (News Corporation). Retrieved June 9, 2014.
  13. ↑ "Everyday Health's New TV Series, "Recipe Rehab," Is First Show From A YouTube Original Channel To Air On Network TV". New York City: Everyday Health, Inc. Reuters. September 28, 2012. Retrieved June 9, 2014 – via PR Newswire.
  14. ↑ Meg James (July 24, 2013). "CBS partners with Litton Entertainment for Saturday teen block". Los Angeles Times. Tribune Publishing. Retrieved July 25, 2013.
  15. 1 2 "Former Greenbrier chef now stars in 'Recipe Rehab'". Associated Press. September 7, 2013. Retrieved June 9, 2014.
  16. 1 2 Kevin Downey (June 5, 2014). "CW Joins with Litton for Sat. Morning E/I Block". TVNewsCheck. NewsCheck Media. Retrieved June 5, 2014.
  17. ↑ Dewayne Bevil (July 6, 2012). "SeaWorld to help launch 'Sea Rescue' TV show". Orlando Sentinel (Tribune Publishing). Retrieved November 3, 2014.
  18. 1 2 "Litton’s Weekend Adventure Launches into Third Season on October 5th with Two Brand New Series, The Wildlife Docs™ and Expedition Wild" (Press release). Burbank, California: Litton Entertainment. August 13, 2013.
  19. ↑ "Litton's Weekend Adventure Adds New Series Starting October 3rd, 2015". Broadcasting & Cable. NewBay Media. June 18, 2015. Retrieved June 19, 2015.
  20. ↑ "The CW Sets 5-Hour Saturday Morning Block". Deadline.com. Penske Media Corporation. June 6, 2014. Retrieved June 6, 2014.

External links

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