Boomerang (TV Channel) - History

History

Much of the programming that makes up the core of Boomerang's current lineup was originally part of TBS's Disaster Area, a block of children's programming that aired throughout 1997 to 1999.

Boomerang was originally a programming block on Cartoon Network started in December 1992. It was aimed towards the generation of baby boomers, and was similar to a similar block on the Disney Channel, Vault Disney. It originally aired for four hours every weekend, but the block's start time jumped frequently. The Saturday block moved to Saturday afternoons, then back to the early morning, and the Sunday block moved to Sunday evenings. Eventually, Boomerang was shortened by an hour, making the total airing time 3 hours each weekend instead of the original four hours. Boomerang rebranded to the current logo and launched the cable spin-off channel on April 1, 2000. The programing block was reformatted to air cartoons in production during a certain year (The Flinstones and Top Cat for 1961, The Perils of Penelope Pitstop and Scooby Doo for 1969, et. al.).

Once the Boomerang channel was launched in 2000, promos for the channel aired at the end of every broadcast show during the block in attempt to gain popularity for Boomerang. Also, in October 2004, all of the older programming on Cartoon Network, including Looney Tunes and shows from Hanna-Barbera migrated to Boomerang, while TBS's Disaster Area was canceled in 1999. On October 2 and October 3, 2004 nearly four months after the re-launch of Cartoon Network, everyday with older reruns of classic anthologies like The Popeye Show, Tom and Jerry, The Bob Clampett Show, ToonHeads, former Boomerang fare like Super Globetrotters. October 2 and 3rd were the last times Looney Tunes officially aired on Cartoon Network, until on March 14, 2011, Cartoon Network brought back Looney Tunes as a run up to The Looney Tunes Show. Scooby Doo, The Jetsons, The Flintstones, Snorks, and The Smurfs are now featured on the channel, and as of January 27, 2012, its return looks set. The channel initially carried a weekly looping programming format.

Much like Disney Channel, Boomerang does not carry external product commercials, being financed solely by subscription fees and tie-ins. In order to fill out a half-hour block (Boomerang programming follows a strict half-hour scheduling system), the spaces where commercials originally aired feature advertisements for shows on Cartoon Network and/or Boomerang (in the latter's case, most of the bumpers are several years old), occasional advertising for DVD products from Warner Home Video, various animated shorts, and public service announcements in support of Cartoon Network's "Stop Bullying: Speak Up" initiative. However, minimal external product advertising has started to appear on the network, primarily on Dish Network.

During its looping format, which lasted through December 26, 2004, program days began at 8 a.m. Eastern time (5 a.m. Pacific time). The looping format had 8 hours of programming repeated three times a day. Monday through Thursdays had been just normal programming days, with a variety of half-hour and hour-long cartoon programs shown. On Fridays, "monthly feature" cartoons were shown for the entire day; one cartoon was featured for each Friday of a given month for 24 hours straight. As of January 1, 2005, this banner became known as "monthly character of the month", and is now shown on weekends from 2 to 4 p.m. eastern and as of March 2007 it's known as Boomeroyalty. On Saturdays, a calendar year was featured with the cartoons of that year. Boomerang's promotional slogan, Boomerang: It's All Coming Back To You, used on Boomerang itself, was one of nostalgia that accurately reflected its programming of the time. However, this slogan is still used on promos airing on sister channel Cartoon Network and Boomerang itself. The announcer for most promos for the channel is John O'Hurley. In September 2008, Cartoon Network began to run more commercials for Boomerang, including two that were seen on January 1, 2009. Recently, between intermission, Boomerang would air a bumper, then two ads; one would be a Dish or DirecTV ad, depending on the provider, and the other ad would be a commercial. Then, it would air a classic short and a Wedgie.

Boomerang generally does not show live action shows, with the exception of The Banana Splits, which has had a semi-regular place on the channel's schedule, and Hole in the Wall, which was aired intermittently in 2010 -mid 2011. In October 2011, this changed, as the channel picked up the cable rights to the 1960s live-action series The Munsters and The Addams Family and began airing the shows in prime time; they were removed after Halloween and since then, no live-action programs have aired on the channel. (The Munsters returned to the Boomerang lineup in October 2012.)

Although Boomerang is meant for old cartoons, it started to grow to a lot of new shows as of 2012. In November 17, 2012 and November 24, Boomerang aired new episodes of Ben 10: Omniverse, before they aired on its sister channel, Cartoon Network.

Because most of the channel's content is archived television programs produced before high-definition television was invented, Boomerang is not, nor is it ever expected to be, available in high-definition.

Boomerang's old slogan would be seen again on the channel beginning in 2009. It usually broadcasts two Cartoon Network commercials and one of its own before returning to the program.