The Disappearance of Saturday Morning


In a time not so long ago, Saturday mornings were indicative of one and only one pastime for children — watching cartoons. Throughout the '70s and '80s, the broadcast networks ABC, CBS and NBC dominated the Saturday morning airwaves by inundating children with cartoons. Cartoons on these networks used to earn ratings of more than 20 million viewers. Today, network Saturday morning cartoons only exist on ABC Kids, FOX Kids and Kids’ WB!, the latter two networks either did not exist or did not air cartoons two decades ago. Current successful cartoons on FOX Kids or Kids’ WB! can garner a mere two million viewers. That statistic does not even take into consideration that the population of children in the U.S. has increased by approximately ten percent over the last 20 years. Due to this precipice in viewers, network cartoons are left struggling to make money while advertisers remain befuddled without a mainstream channel to promote new toys and products to children. Why have children stopped tuning in on Saturday mornings to network cartoons and what are the ramifications of this change?

Six key factors have led to children watching less Saturday morning cartoons: more recreational sports, the introduction of cable and satellite TV, the Internet and video games, a poorer quality of animation, and a greater emphasis on family time. These factors are rather self-explanatory with the exception of the latter: the divorce rate of Americans now stands at 49 percent, and time on the weekends has become more precious for children as many commute between parents’ houses. For parents who only have limited access to their children due to either divorce or career advancement, plopping them down in front of the television for five hours on a Saturday morning is no longer a viable option. Among most parents, divorced or not, there is a new emphasis on "quality" time. Consequently, taking one’s children to the theater, mall, museum, event, zoo or beach on the weekend is deemed more appropriate to being a "good" parent, than letting kids sit and watch cartoons. To this effect, American society has changed substantially enough over the last two decades to the point where Saturday morning cartoons are less important to our culture.

The Biggest Change of All
Today, cartoons are no longer on the major three networks that dominated the preceding decades. Although ABC technically still airs Saturday morning cartoons, its relationship with Disney distinguishes it from ABC’s past programming during the ‘70s and ‘80s. When NBC and CBS began reducing their children’s programming on Saturdays in 1988-1990, FOX jumped aboard the bandwagon and laid the cornerstone for its FOX Kids Network. NBC chose to delve into live-action teen entertainment, hallmarked by Saved by the Bell. Presently, NBC is in partnership with Discovery Kids; a Saturday edition of Today either precedes or follows Discovery Kids. CBS initially chose to replace its cartoons with news from local affiliates and now airs a national morning show, which is either preceded or followed by children’s content from Nick Jr. Disney acquired ABC, so their relationship has stayed relatively constant over the decades and still continues to air its One Saturday Morning, recently renamed ABC Kids. Linda Simensky, vice president of original programming at Cartoon Network, feels that, “Children’s television was never the strength of broadcasters to begin with. There were some good shows in there, but kids’ TV was the department where executives at the network would start their nephews out in. [Kids’ TV] was never the primary goal of a network.” Children’s entertainment on Saturday mornings is currently such a liability that local affiliates in markets such as Baltimore choose to air local news in lieu of Discovery Kids, Nick Jr., and ABC Kids.







Comments


A Saturday morning cartoon is the colloquial term for the animated television programming which was typically scheduled on Saturday mornings on the major American television networks from the 1960s to the 1990s. In the United States, the generally accepted times considered to be Saturday mornings are 8 a.m. to noon Eastern

cheap medication online form nobledrugstore (not verified) | Wed, 02/03/2010 - 01:00 | Permalink

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oyun indir (not verified) | Sun, 01/24/2010 - 06:18 | Permalink

From a purely observational point of view... I think the divorce rate noted is very sadning. I think the main reason for this family problem is that people are now getting together on basis of looks. The may have zero compatibility except sexualy. It is a sad situation since Saturday mornings used to be an institution.

Oyun indir (not verified) | Wed, 01/13/2010 - 05:24 | Permalink
I really resent that the author said that the term "saturday morning cartoons" would have no meaning to people under the age of 25. I'm 22 and I can't tell you how many times back in high school while on the bus to some school event somebody would ask the question "what was you're favorite old-school saturday morning cartoon?" That would guarantee at least an hour of discussion (VOLTRON, JEM, RAINBOW BRITE!!!). And fox and wb did do a good job of keeping the Sat morning tradition alive at least through my middle school years ('96?) ex: eek the cat, wayne head, x-men, spiderman, plus all time favorite (though extremely short lived) - earthworm jim. So people even younger than me would have some idea of what this is all about. Kids today really are missing out and I also agree with another poster that, but for a few exceptions, the overall quality and content of cartoons these days are sorely lacking in comparison to those from >10 years ago.
Nicci (not verified) | Sat, 12/24/2005 - 00:00 | Permalink
I would agree ,but the Saturday Morning programming on the networks and even all the kids shows that are on today ,are completely boring and they don't have that click to it.The little kids are good learners when comes to learn from the TV ,but that's the problem. TV is an invention that has been around since the late 1940's and the 1950's and the programs that my parents watched when they were kids had some meaning to them and the characters of the shows were memoriable and relatiable to real-life. Sure,the characters were fictional,but think about it. If you were ask the kids who was the greatest cartoon character ever made,they wouldn't know or care.Saturday Mornings on ABC,NBC,CBS,FOX,USA,and PBS have always been an American tradition since 1950 and 1962. TV can teach critical thinking skills to little kids in how to spot and identity items,but they can't teach a kid how to fill out a resume when he or she is older nor does it teach them morals and using common sense and the programs don't relate to real-life people or issues ,unlike PBS,which has all the good local and educational programming shows for everyone to watch and furthermore,it has no original concept . Lizzie McGuire is a good show for 'tweens and girls,but in real life,Hillary Duff(Lizzie) is actually 18 and her life is not what kids see on TV. Shows like the Adventures of Juniper Lee or TimeWarpTrio are not original in concept nor style. I watched "Where in time is Carmen SanDiego?"when I was a kid and that was original,in terms of costumes and the history lesson of the particular person that is featured in the program.The programs that are cable TV and network TV will never be as good and as original as the programs that were shown in the past and obtain higher ratings from everyone.
Will Benson (not verified) | Mon, 12/05/2005 - 00:00 | Permalink
Cartoons face so much harsh criticism but they are an integral part of human life. The combination of color, morale, the underline struggles of good prevailing over evil- These are timeless concepts that simply must be instilled during the most influential phases of human brain development. And as a bonus, cartoons wrap the basics into a package that includes enough humor and character development for even hardened adults to enjoy. Cartoons offer everyone in society a refreshing escape from the dismal reality of human behavior. Their importance can only be compared as the following: Cartoons are to our televisions what comics are to the daily newspaper.
J R Giacchino (not verified) | Fri, 06/18/2004 - 23:00 | Permalink
Everyone is talking about where would kids be without Saturday morning tv, outside playing, getting fresh air. True, I agree with that, but we must remember, when that 5 hour time slot finshed, the first thing we did was rush outside and played the rest of the day until nightfall. Hardly any of us were obese back in the 70's (me speaking for my generation). Unlike today, you got kids laying around eating junkfood with God only knows what in all that crap, playing totally violent video games. At least we had imagination back then We had to. Saturday morning back then was a release for kids, thats all it was. We went to school 5 days a week, learning math, science, reading, etc, and the only outlet we had was Saturday morning tv and playing outside until sundown. Thats why we lived for Saturday morning back then....
Brannon Evans (not verified) | Tue, 06/08/2004 - 23:00 | Permalink
To respond to others ...the Cartoon Network sucks. It plays horrible crap repeately with ony one or two exceptions. I know others have said this old cliche' , but I really feel sorry for kids today. They just have no outlet to be kids not even Saturday mornings to sit and watch some good cartoons. it seems like kids have nothing to look forward to anymore. I can remember being a kid in the 70's and early 80's and really looking forward to watching the numerous shows on Saturday's. Geez I miss them. i'm 35 and if they were still on, I would watch them !!! Oh well...TV is a ratings game ...they can careless about people, stations are only interested in money, and shock value anymore. Sad.
Bill H (not verified) | Thu, 05/06/2004 - 23:00 | Permalink
You missed two important points as to why kids are not big Saturday morning cartoon fans: 1. Nickelodeon 2. Cartoon Network Kids can watch cartoons 24/7 now. You missed a nig observation there dude.
Me Dude (not verified) | Thu, 02/26/2004 - 00:00 | Permalink
I sit and think often about the cartoons that i had had the pleasure of watching as a child. I think that the cartoons that were aired then (1980's) were perfect for young viewers. The cartoons promoted strong imagination and made the child get lost in the fantasy world of the "Wuzzles" or "The Ninja Turtles". The cartoons now are all very realistic/adult as well as the humor, the cartoons of the past also taught lessons, such as the buddy system and looking both ways before crossing the street. Anyhow, those days wernt clouded with so much poloticaly correctness that they could air about what they wanted and it was in good taste and intention. What i realy want to say is that i miss them and wish they were still around so i could watch them today, i am bitter...HA! I also wish that there was a plae to download them or buy a dvd collection....hint hint
alix hernandez (not verified) | Mon, 02/23/2004 - 00:00 | Permalink

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