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Go Out And Play: Fox Dumps Its Saturday Morning Cartoons For Infomercials

Mastaclocksetta said:

Is this nationwide, or just local? My Fox O&O in Tampa Bay, WTVT, generally shows news, a couple of hours of E/I and infomercials, shunting 4Kids off to a local indy, WMOR (which airs it on Sunday, in favor of all-morning infomercials).

Afterthought: Fox will show a 2-hour infomercial block on Saturday morning and give two hours back to its stations, since its contract with 4Kids has not been renewed:

http://www.variety.com/VR1117996360.html

In some markets, including the Tampa Bay area, this will practically mean more infomercials on the indy stations, while in places like Birmingham, Austin and Atlanta, it means nothing (4Kids never aired in those markets).
 
azumanga said:
Is this nationwide, or just local? My Fox O&O in Tampa Bay, WTVT, generally shows news, a couple of hours of E/I and infomercials, shunting 4Kids off to a local indy, WMOR (which airs it on Sunday, in favor of all-morning infomercials).

Afterthought: Fox will show a 2-hour infomercial block on Saturday morning and give two hours back to its stations, since its contract with 4Kids has not been renewed:

http://www.variety.com/VR1117996360.html

In some markets, including the Tampa Bay area, this will practically mean more infomercials on the indy stations, while in places like Birmingham, Austin and Atlanta, it means nothing (4Kids never aired in those markets).

National, though it really doesn't address what the 5% of stations not clearing it are running, but one would think that accounts for the stations with news. Moreover, the infomercial block is 10-noon, after much of the local morning news has ended, which might address some of those concerns.
 
Syndication idea....

Hey, doesn't the 4Kids company compete with DIC on Saturday morning? Yes, it does, which brings us to this great idea: Why not ask 4Kids run shows in syndication on weekdays and weekends like the DIC Kids Network does? Seriously! They would be able to provide much more E/I requirements than it ever could on Fox, plus 4Kids could air classic episodes of shows like Pokemon and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles!
 
This just goes to show what will happen if the other networks decide to drop their Saturday morning kid's shows. Local stations may still do what little is required for E/I, but very likely extremely early in the morning, and fill the rest of Saturday morning with news and/or sports at best, and trash talk, courtroom shows, and infomercials at the worst. I'm afraid that most stations would go with more of the same garbage that makes up most of daytime TV the rest of the week. :-\
 
Re: Syndication idea....

Iowan said:
Hey, doesn't the 4Kids company compete with DIC on Saturday morning? Yes, it does, which brings us to this great idea: Why not ask 4Kids run shows in syndication on weekdays and weekends like the DIC Kids Network does? Seriously! They would be able to provide much more E/I requirements than it ever could on Fox, plus 4Kids could air classic episodes of shows like Pokemon and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles!

In theory, it would be a good idea, but unfortunately these stations (Fox, My and CW) are making too much revenue running the court and talk shows, and reruns of second and third-tier sitcoms. I think these stations have lost a generation of young viewers that weekday afternoons could never get back, especially when you have the cable networks and PBS (depending on the market) airing kids shows.
 
If I get this right:

- Fox affiliates that air 4Kids will drop it
- Fox affiliates that air their own programming between 10 AM-12 PM Sunday will clear their schedules
- Fox network feed will broadcast Infomercials (sans 5% of Fox affilates who are smart enough to steer clear)

Will the local stations get a cut of the $$$$$$? I believe Fox does not compensate (reverse comp in some cases), although that may have changed in the past few years.

Also...that Variety article answers the big question why many Fox O&O's don't air the block...doesn't meet childrens programming requirements (KidVid).
 
I wonder if this has anything to do with the fact the CW's Saturday morning block is also branded 4Kids?
 
Re: Syndication idea....

Iowan said:
Hey, doesn't the 4Kids company compete with DIC on Saturday morning? Yes, it does, which brings us to this great idea: Why not ask 4Kids run shows in syndication on weekdays and weekends like the DIC Kids Network does? Seriously! They would be able to provide much more E/I requirements than it ever could on Fox, plus 4Kids could air classic episodes of shows like Pokemon and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles!
DIC in now Cookie Jar!
 
"These are hopefully not infomercials," said Fox Networks Group chairman Tony Vinciquerra. "These will be longform programs that highlights their product. In that regard, it will have a little better quality."

If it smells like a rat...it is a rat. If it smells like an infomercial...it is one. A longform show that highlights a product is an infomercial.
 
Was there ever a time the FCC required individual stations to produce a certain amount of childrens' programming? I know the CRTC in Canada at one time demanded stations produce childrens' programs, and some produced a fair amount of it while others were very resistent. There is no reason one should have to subscribe to cable or satellite to get this kind of programming.
 
M.J. said:
Was there ever a time the FCC required individual stations to produce a certain amount of childrens' programming?

I have never heard or read such a requirement made before or after the Congress of the United States passed the Children's Television of Act of 1990, but stations have been required since 1996 to air at least three hours of educational programming a week.
 
I've said this before and I believe it applies to this thread. The FCC should allow TV stations to lease time on another local channel to carry their E/I programming. This could be a commercial broadcast channel or a PBS channel. In the end, you'd have one channel in larger markets that carried many many hours of kids programming instead of all the stations carrying the blocks very early in the morning at the same time. This might even lead to a broadcast network for children. Think of how much money lower income families could save on cable if they had an OTA children's network... and the network would be financed not only by commercials, but by collecting lease fees from other TV channels in the market.

Tell me why this wouldn't work.
 
Dear God. Is there ever going to be an end to this PAID PROGRAMMING/INFOMERCIAL crap going on with TV stations????? Can't something be done? Cable customers should nto be paying the ridiculous subscriber rates when all these channels are selling off more and more of their time to these spots. Bring in the FCC and regulate these jerks! ALso, I think the cable companies should not be allowed to cram the shopping channels down subscribers throats in their basic packages considering the cable companies get a percentage of all sales in each market from those channels AND the paid programming spots. This has to end.
 
Pardon the extra "of" in Children's Television Act of 1990 during my previous post, as I was typing fast and busy late in the evening. The same error happened while I was typing this post before it was corrected.
 
poledo said:
I've said this before and I believe it applies to this thread. The FCC should allow TV stations to lease time on another local channel to carry their E/I programming. This could be a commercial broadcast channel or a PBS channel. In the end, you'd have one channel in larger markets that carried many many hours of kids programming instead of all the stations carrying the blocks very early in the morning at the same time. This might even lead to a broadcast network for children. Think of how much money lower income families could save on cable if they had an OTA children's network... and the network would be financed not only by commercials, but by collecting lease fees from other TV channels in the market.

Tell me why this wouldn't work.
There is a OTA commercial children's network called qubo.
 
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