Classic Cartoons To Have New Home On Boomerang

Turner Broadcasting will launch a new cartoon channel called Boomerang on 27 May. Appearing on Sky Digital, the channel will show classic cartoons including Hanna Barbera, Warner Bros and MGM titles.

The channel is set to go out 7 days a week between 6am and midnight and will be distributed to all Sky Digital subscribers. Discussions with operators for digital cable and DTT carriage are said to be underway. The announcement of this new channel comes in the wake of news that entertainment channel TNT , also owned by TBS, is to cease broadcasting on 30 June to be replaced by film channel Turner Classic Movies (see Classic Film Channel Launches As TNT Repositions).

It is promised that 90% of programming on Boomerang will be unduplicated on parent channel Cartoon Network. The reason for creating this channel is said to stem from the $450m commitment made by Cartoon Network in 1995 to new animation. “As our original programming continues to grow, we need to do justice to our classic cartoon stars and series.” said Lynne Frank, managing director Entertainment Networks for TBS Europe. “By launching Boomerang, we can meet the demand for these much loved cartoons without repeating the same shows on Cartoon Network.”

Boomerang hopes to appeal as a channel parents will want to watch with their children, attracting a young audience for whom the characters will be new and also offering nostalgia for older viewers. On-air packaging is based around a stop motion film of cartoon memorabilia such as lunchboxes, musical instruments and figures with a contemporary soundtrack. This is said to present “classic characters as the cultural icons that they are.”

Turner Broadcasting 020 7307 6000