Cartoon Network - The Indian Experience
CARTOON CRAZY KIDS (AND PARENTS)
BACKGROUND NOTEA cartoon literally means a
drawing/sketch of a humorous situation, often accompanied by a caption. In
the late 19th century, cartoons portrayed political situations in a
satirical manner. During the late 1890s, cartoons took the shape of
‘comics,'which were essentially cartoons with a storyline.
The first comic series that came in the form of a book was ‘The Funnies'in
1929. During the mid 1900s, comic book characters such as ‘Superman,'‘Mickey Mouse,'‘Little Orphan Annie,'‘Dick Tracy,'‘Bizzaro,'‘Popeye,'‘Aquaman,'and ‘Flash Gordon'gained popularity around the world.
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Animated cartoons evolved during the early 1900s
(Refer Exhibit I for a note on animated cartoons). ‘Sinking of the
Lusitania,'released in 1918, is considered by many to be the world's
first animated feature film. By 1920, many animation studios were
established across the US and France. The most influential animation
studio in the world, Walt Disney1 (Disney), entered the market in 1928.
Disney's first venture was ‘Streamboat Willie,'starring Mickey Mouse.
Other leading animation providers during the mid-1900s were Warner Bros.
and MGM. Some of the popular animation feature films of those times were
‘Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs,'‘Pinocchio,'and ‘The Jungle Book.'Ollie Johnston, Frank Thomas, Eric Larson, Vladimir Tytla, Jay Ward,
Bill Hanna and Joe Barbera are some of the people who made noteworthy
contribution to the evolution, advancement and popularity of
cartoon/animation characters across the world. |
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Cartoons were introduced for the first time on TV in 1950
with Jay Ward's ‘Crusader Rabbit'in the US. However, the development of
cartoons specifically for TV did not begin till the 1960s as animated
feature films ruled the market till then. However, with audiences preferring
TV to cinema houses, many cartoon studios had to close shop.2 This gave
momentum to the production of animated cartoons for TV. Some of the
best-known cartoon series were developed during the next two decades:
‘Scooby Doo,'‘The Flintstones,'‘The Jetsons,'‘The Speed Buggy,'and ‘The
Snorks.'The leading producers were Hanna Barbara, Filmation and DIC.
Meanwhile, TV extended its reach to all corners of the world with the advent
of satellite broadcasting technology during the mid-1970s. It now became
possible for TV networks to show their programs all over the world. The
satellite TV industry soon established itself, reaching out to millions of
subscribers all over the world. By the 1980s, TV had established itself as
an effective and powerful medium of communication that had access to the
drawing rooms of billions of households, and generated huge revenues through
advertisements. The intense competition between TV companies, forced them to
device new strategies to stay ahead. One such strategy was the development
of programs that targeted specific sections of the community. A few
television channels focused on the children's segment, and began developing
programs that would appeal to children.
Since cartoons appeal to children across the world, channels like Cartoon
Network, Nickelodeon, and Fox kids were set up to leverage this niche
market. Cartoon Network was first launched in the US in October 1992, by one
of the world's leading media companies, Turner Broadcasting System 3 (TBS).
The channel offered animation programs from TBS's extensive library of more
than 10,000 Warner Bros, MGM and Hanna-Barbera cartoons. Over the next few
years, the channel was launched in Europe, Latin America and Asia Pacific
regions. Cartoon Network not only showed famous cartoons, but also original
shows developed in-house such as Mike, Lu & Og, Ed, Edd n Eddy, Johnny
Bravo, The Powerpuff Girls, Cartoon Cartoons and Dexter's Laboratory.
These cartoons became extremely popular across the world, making Cartoon
Network one of the leading children's entertainment channels during the
1990s. In March 1998, Cartoon Network launched CartoonNetwork.com, a website
offering cartoons on the net. According to Nielsen Net Ratings,
CartoonNetwork.com stood as one of the world's top ten Websites, in terms of
time spent on-site, during March 1998. Cartoon Network had huge advertising
and promotional agreements with leading companies such as Reebok,
McDonald's, Disney, and Nintendo.
According to Cartoon Network sources, in February 2001, the channels had a
subscriber base of over 75 million in 145 countries. Analysts attributed the
success of Cartoon Network to its appeal to the entire family, its original
programming content and its advanced programming technologies.
Cartoon Network entered India in October 1995, sharing airtime with Turner
Network Television (TNT). While Cartoon Network was shown in the morning
slot (5 a.m.-9 p.m.), TNT showed classic Hollywood movies in the night slot
(9 p.m-5 a.m.). In the late 1990s, Turner Classic Movies (TCM) replaced TNT,
though the content remained the same. As the pioneer in the Indian cartoon
and animation market, Cartoon Network quickly gained popularity and a huge
fan following in major metros.
CARTOON NETWORK IN INDIA
ALL'S NOT WELL IN TOONLAND
QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION
EXHIBIT III : CARTOON NETWORK'S FAMOUS CARTOONS
[1] Disney dominated the global cartoon/animation market even in the early
21st century.
[2] Mid-1980s onwards, many US movie studios had again started making animation films. Many of these films - Aladdin, The Lion King - were very successful. Moreover, movies based on cartoon characters proved to be huge money-spinners. Batman, Spiderman, X-Men, and Scooby Doo movies did phenomenally well across the globe.
[3] TV industry major TBS is a part of the US-based media giant AOL/Time
Warner. In addition to Cartoon Network, TBS runs TV networks such as CNN, TNT,
Boomerang, Atlanta Braves, Atlanta Hawks, Atlanta Thrashers, and Goodwill
Games.
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