Fox ending Saturday morning cartoon programming
 

Fox has announced that after 4Kids ends its programming of cartoons at the end of December that it will cease programming cartoon shows on Saturday morning altogether. In January 2009, Fox will furnish two hours of infomercials (or "paid programming") and the affiliates will pick up the other two hours with programming of their own.

The original contract was to lapse in September 2009, but they agreed upon the earlier time of this past November 9. The early termination was agreed upon as 4Kids took Fox to court claiming that the network could not get a 90% clearance of its shows. Some 4Kids shows may move to the CW, where 4Kids has programming.

Fox began children's programming in 1990 with Peter Pan & The Pirates weekdays, and Bobby's World, Zazoo U., Tom & Jerry Kids, Attack Of The Killer Tomatoes, Piggsburg Pigs, and Fun House Saturday mornings.

Not them, too!!

The only thing worse than cartoons being replaced with ruddy "PC" programming is being replaced with two hour advertisments for stuff you don't need.

Not like 4Kids was the best, but, still.

Oh well it's for the best, Fox's Saturday Mornings haven't been the same since it's Fox Kids! lineup in the mid nineties with such shows as The Tick, X-Men, Batman, Spiderman, EEK The Cat and Where on Earth is Carmen Sandiego?

Now that was a lineup worth waking up to, IMHO. :bloogrin:

i dont see how this is all that bad. anymore, the only thing worth getting up for on saturday mornings that i can think of is the new spiderman show, and thats on CW.

I never watched it, but wow, infomercials?? There's nothing as depressing and disheartening as replacing cartoons with infomercials. Ah well, I guess Fox needs to bring in a little more money (along with everyone else), and something's got to make the sacrifice to do so, otherwise the whole network might be in trouble.

Yeah Fox has to find some way to recoup all the millions of dollars they're paying to Seth MacFarlane so he can remake the same animated program over and over again. 8D

(I'm just kidding, I actually like Family Guy and American Dad.)

Anyways back on topic, I am actually kind of surprised Fox waited so long to make this decision seeing as how thanks to cable networks dedicated to nothing but cartoons and family shows 24/7 and not to mention DVD box sets, the Network based Saturday morning cartoon block has become a another piece of far away sugar coated nostalgia.

Oh well at least we have our memories (and DVD sets) to fall back on.
Everyday can be Saturday! :up:

Cartoons are declining, and this only reinforces that thought. I can't watch CN anymore now that Foster's isn't around that much; I watch Ben 10 Alien Force online and that's about it.

I gave up hope on Nickelodeon when Fairly Odd Parents went bad, but then they brought it back. Poof makes me want to hurl. His debut was a decent episode, but the rest is all crap.

Disney's only good cartoon was Kim Possible, and that's over.

My brother plays NickToons 24/7, and I'm starting to appreciate Danny Phantom a little more.

I'm just sad for us all.

I also remember when Fox and WB used to syndicate cartoons on weekday afternoons. Now they want to take away Saturday mornings too. That sucks!

The only cartoons I watch are Foster's, Chowder, and FOP. The rest is junk.

Another black eye for the media as a major network gets out of the toon biz.

R. I. P. Fox Kids/FoxBox/4K!DSTV 1990-2008.

I totally agree. It was because of shows like that I got myselg up at 7-8 in the morning to catch those cartoon shows. I remember vividly when I was younger how i would jump out of bed really early and set timer tapes to record so many different TV shows on Saturday morning and Fox by far was the king.

I mean come on Batman, X-men, Mighty Morphin Power Rangers, The Tick, Spider man, you couldn't go wrong! I haven't watched Saturday cartoons in a long time because lately, cartoons have gone down hill from what they once were. Sure, there's a couple hits here and there but as a vast majority, its gone down way hill if you ask me.

They're used to be shows like Sonic the hedgehog (SATam), Secrets of the Cryptkeeper's Haunted house, Mad Jack the Pirate, Bone Chillers. I mean shows like Fosters, Chowder, Total Drama Island and Phineas and Ferb are the only ones I like these days but its just not the same. Still, its a shame for Fox to do it even if it has been a long time coming since the decline.