Major U.S. networks Fox and NBC may soon be announcing who will take over their Saturday morning time slots. An article in the November 29, 2001 issue of THE LOS ANGELES TIMES reports the networks are in "serious negotiations" with outside programmers including Nickelodeon, Warner Bros., Discovery Channel, DIC Entertainment, 4 Kids, Nelvana and others, to sell their Saturday morning time slots. Last year CBS leased its Saturday morning time period to sister channel Nickelodeon (both networks are owned by Viacom) and has seen its ratings nearly double. According to the story, Fox may also consider programming for adults on Saturday mornings, becoming the first major network to fully abandon children's programming in favor of movies or network reruns. In more recent development, VARIETY reported on December 5, 2001 that NBC may be close to inking a deal with Discovery Communications.
