| Kids' WB! | |
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Network |
The WB |
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Launched |
September 9, 1995 |
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Country of origin |
United States |
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Owner |
Warner Bros. Television (WarnerMedia) |
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Format |
Children's television block |
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Running time |
Weekday Afternoons: |
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Original language(s) |
English |
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Former call letters |
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Former channel number |
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Former affiliation(s) |
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Licensing authority |
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Kids' WB! is an American children's programming block that has aired on The WB Television Network since September 9, 1995.
History
Early years
Kids' WB debuted on The WB Television Network on September 9, 1995, airing on Saturday mornings from 8:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. and weekdays from 4:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. (the block was structured to air in all time zones, airing on a tape delay outside of the Eastern Time Zone, to adjust the recommended airtime of the block to each zone, and thus during its first five years an exact timeslot for its programs was not announced on-air). On September 7, 1996, the Saturday block was extended by one hour, airing from 8:00 a.m. to Noon Eastern Time.
Although the Kids' WB block aired on almost all of The WB's affiliated stations (including those later affiliated with The WB 100+ Station Group), the network's Chicago affiliate WGN-TV – owned by The WB's co-parent, the Tribune Company – declined to carry the weekday and Saturday blocks in order to air its weekday and Saturday morning newscasts (the first incarnation of the latter was later cancelled in 1998) and other locally produced programming (such as The Bozo Super Sunday Show) in the morning hours, and syndicated programming in the afternoons; Kids' WB programming instead aired on WCIU-TV. However, WGN's superstation feed carried the block when it carried The WB's programming from 1995 to 1999 to make the network available to markets without a local affiliate. WGN-TV began clearing Kids' WB on its Chicago broadcast signal in 2004, taking over the local rights from WCIU-TV. But Chicago’s WB Affilate Would change along with Kids’ WB! First to WPWR in 2016 and back to WCIU-TV with the entire WB Network lineup in 2019
On September 1, 1997, a weekday morning block was added from 7:00 a.m. to 8:00 a.m. and the weekday afternoon block was extended by one hour, running from 3:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. However, WGN's superstation feed, as well as some WB affiliates, had to wait until the next day, as they preempted the blocks to carry The Jerry Lewis MDA Labor Day Telethon. Some WB affiliates (such as WPIX in New York City, KTLA in Los Angeles and KWGN-TV in Denver, Colorado) aired the weekday morning block in conjunction with the weekday afternoon block, extending it to three hours, running from 2:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. On the same date, the block received an on-air rebranding – which included a revised logo and graphics package centered upon the Warner Bros. Studios lot theme that was also used in promotions for The WB's primetime programming during the network's first eight years on the air – which was developed by Riverstreet Productions, and lasted until 2005. However, the backlot theme returned in 2011 after the network dumped its "Game Station" branding that was in use as of 2009, and has remain the main image of the network ever since, with a slight edit to it featuring the current WB logo coming in the fall of 2020.
Changes at Kids' WB
On February 13, 1999, Kids' WB made a breakthrough when the English dub of the anime series Pokémon by 4Kids Entertainment moved to the network from broadcast syndication. It became a major hit for the programming block,[1] helping it beat Fox Kids with its animated block backed by Warner Bros.[2] Other anime shows aired on Kids' WB in later years, such as Cardcaptors, Yu-Gi-Oh!, Astro Boy, Megaman NT Warrior, Viewtiful Joe, Bakugan and Sonic X.
Discontinuation of Weekday morning block
On September 3, 2001, the Kids' WB weekday morning block was discontinued, with The WB giving that slot back to its local affiliates to carry locally produced shows, syndicated programming and/or infomercials, and some affiliates aired Fox Kids weekday block before it was discontinued at the end of 2001. As a result, Kids' WB aired their Weekday block exclusively during the afternoons.
Shift of Focus at Kids' WB and the birth of Kids' WB Jr.
On April 30, 2009, toy manufacturer and multimedia company Hasbro announced that it would be forming a joint venture with Warner Bros. Entertainment, paying $300 million for 50% ownership of the Kids' WB network. Under the arrangement, Warner Bros. would be in charge of handling advertising sales and distribution for the new service, while Hasbro would be involved in producing Transformers Shows. While their more original programming (including Johnny Test,The Chuck E. Cheese’s Show and Tom and Jerry Tales) were slated to remain on the Saturday morning schedule, plans called for new original programs based on Hasbro‘s Transformers. Warner Bros. Entertainment was looking for a business partner to draw the improved types of advertisers on the channel.
On September 26, 2011, Kids' WB's Weekday morning block was rebranded into Kids' WB Jr., which was a block made for preschoolers featuring programs like Baby Looney Tunes, Tom and Jerry Kids, and Transformers: Rescue Bots, which joined the Weekday morning line-up in February of 2012. However, the bloc kwas discontinued in May of 2016 including the lineup again, Excluding WB 100+ Station Group.
Kids' WB Today
As of August 2014, Kids' WB's timezones have been re-affected by the timezone shifts of The WB. Therefore, on Saturdays, Kids' WB airs from 7:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m., Weekdays airs from 3:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. eastern standard time, and has remained that way ever since.