Fox Kids was the Fox Broadcasting Company's American children's programming division and brand name from September 8, 1990 until September 7, 2002. It was owned by Fox Television Entertainment airing programming on Monday–Friday afternoons and Saturday mornings.[1][2][3]
Depending on the show, the programming block was aimed at young children, aged 7–11, and preteens ages 12–14. It continued to run repeats until September 7, 2002. At that time, Fox put the time slots up for bidding, with 4Kids Entertainment winning and securing Saturday morning programming.[4] The network lived to be the longest running children's television block/network, alongside Nickelodeon, and managed to have high ratings throughout its run.
Fox Kids grew out as the result of The Walt Disney Company's involvement with 20th Century Fox, the block's creation having intertwined with the history of The Disney Afternoon; DuckTales, the series which served as the launching pad for the Disney-based syndicated weekday afternoon block, premiered in September 18, 1987 on Fox's owned-and-operated stations, as well as various Fox affiliates, which was due in no small part to the fact that then-Disney CEO Michael Eisner and his then-Fox counterpart, Barry Diller, had worked together at the ABC network and at Paramount Pictures.[5]
In 1988, Disney purchased Los Angeles television station KHJ-TV, later renaming it as KCAL-TV. The station's new owners wanted DuckTales to be shown on KCAL, thus taking it away from Fox-owned KTTV. Furious at the breach of contract, Diller pulled DuckTales from all other Fox owned-and-operated stations in the fall of 1989. Diller also encouraged Fox affiliates to do the same,[6] though most did not initially. As Disney went forward in building the Disney Afternoon, Fox then began preparing its own children's programming system.
Fox Kids was launched on September 8, 1990, a joint venture between Fox Broadcasting Company and its affiliates.[1] Originally headed up by division president Margaret Loesch and airing programming originally for 30 minutes per day Monday through Friday, and three hours on Saturday morning. In 1991, programming expanded to 90 minutes on weekdays and four hours on Saturday mornings, and a year later grew to 2½ hours on weekdays.
Fox Kids had its own radio lineup as well. Entitled the Fox Kids Radio Countdown, it was two hours in length and was hosted by Chris Leary of TechTV and ZDTV fame. The show consisted of contests, gags, and funny sound effects. It was later renamed to Fox All Access and continues to air currently, mainly as a promotional vehicle for current artists, films, and programs on the primetime Fox schedule.
By 1993, Fox Kids was up to three hours on Monday-Fridays (usually 2 p.m.-5 p.m. local time, making Fox Kids the first network programming to air in the 4:00 P.M. hour since 1986) and four hours on Saturdays (8 a.m.-noon ET/PT, 7 a.m.-11 a.m. CT/MT). Stations had the choice of airing one weekday hour in the morning and two hours in the afternoon, or all three at the same time in the morning or afternoon. This was because some stations had morning newscasts. In 1995 and early 1996 Fox acquired three former ABC affiliates and Savoy/Fox (Emmis a few years later) acquired three former NBC affiliates and an ABC affiliate. Those stations all had evening newscasts, but wanted to continue to have regular syndicated programming to lead into the news instead of cartoons, so they would run Fox Kids one hour earlier in the afternoon from 1-4 p.m.
From 1992 to 1998, Fox Kids would have a special programming block on Thanksgiving Day, called "The Fox Kids T.V. Takeover," which led into the network's NFL coverage.
Stations that would run it at this time included;
- New World station (until 1997) becoming Fox O&O KTVI (Channel 2) in St. Louis. Originally, religious broadcaster KNLC (Channel 24) took the block after it moved from former Fox affiliate KDNL (Channel 30), and was turned down by KTVI, in July 1995. However, the network terminated the agreement as of September 1996 and KTVI began to carry the block, as KNLC used their local commercial time to instead broadcast religious sermons and messages, along with the personal opinions of station owner Rev. Larry Rice, which the network found inappropriate for their young viewership. The station refused to sell the time to advertisers, and would also occasionally censor Fox Kids advertising and programming they found offensive in their view.
- Fox O & O WGHP (Channel 8) in Greensboro upon becoming a Fox O & O in September 1995. The timeslot here was previously occupied by ABC Soap Operas. Beginning in the Summer of 1996 Fox Kids would move to WBFX (now WCWG) (Channel 20) and run in pattern.
WHBQ (Channel 13) in Memphis became a Fox O & O in September 1995. The weekday schedule was initially shown from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m., followed by Family Matters. In 1998, only two hours of the three hour lineup was shown from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m.. Beginning in the fall of 1999, the weekday block was no longer aired at all; instead, the timeslot was occupied by syndicated talk and court shows. Also, beginning in 1996, the Saturday block was split in half; the first half was shown from 5-7 AM local time, followed by syndicated shows like Jack Hanna's Animal Adventures and The Magic School Bus, then the second half of the block was shown from 9-11 AM local time. This policy continues with 4Kids TV programming.
Savvoy/Fox and later Emmis-owned (at the time) stations;
- WALA (Channel 10) in Mobile, Alabama
- KHON-TV (Channel 2) in Honolulu
- WVUE (Channel 8) in New Orleans -- even before switching to Fox from ABC, WVUE was an underperforming station in the market. As a result, WVUE did not have a morning newscast, and as such, Fox Kids aired from 6 to 9 a.m..
- WLUK (Channel 11) in Green Bay. In the Fall of 2001 Fox Kids was pushed back to Noon to 2 p.m..
The cities with alternate independent, UPN or WB stations, Fox contracted to air the Fox Kids block on these other stations so that their O&O and affiliate stations were free to program all of their hours for older audiences or news. All except one of such stations are those that were owned by New World Communications which were once CBS, ABC, or NBC (in only one case) affiliates. New World (later merged with Newscorp) affiliated its stations with Fox in 1994-1995 when Fox won the contract to air the National Football Conference package. In some cases Fox Kids would be airing on the same station as their competitors, Kids' WB and the former UPN Kids block.
Examples include;
- WSVN (Channel 7) in Miami, Florida, which dropped the block at the end of 1993 and at that time moved to WBZL (Channel 39) and eventually moved to WAMI-TV (Channel 69) in 1997. WSVN was the first Fox affiliate not to take Fox Kids.
- WITI (Channel 6) in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, which would opt to not take the block upon becoming a Fox station in 1994, leaving it on WCGV (Channel 24), which was the previous Fox affiliate and took UPN affiliation shortly thereafter, however WCGV continued to show more preference to Fox Kids than the weaker teen-targeting UPN Kids block.
- WJBK (Channel 2) in Detroit, Michigan also saw no need for Fox Kids, leaving it on WKBD (Channel 50), which was the previous Fox affiliate and would take the UPN affiliation soon after. This arrangement ended in the fall of 1997, of at which time would move to low-rated independent WADL (Channel 38), which is regarded in that market as a station where the main network affiliates dump programming they don't want to broadcast.
- WJW (Channel 8) in Cleveland, Ohio opted not to take Fox Kids. Former Fox affiliate WOIO (Channel 19) took CBS affiliation. As a result, low rated newer independent WBNX-TV (Channel 55) would take Fox Kids. After that, WBNX continued to grow and buy better programming eventually taking WB affiliation as well. WBNX's Fox Kids Club became the largest Kids Club in the eastern United States. It's Fox Kids Club magazine circulation was the second largest in the country. WBNX (now affiliated with The CW) continues to air 4Kids TV on Sunday mornings and Kids WB on Saturdays.
- Fox's East Coast flagship WNYW (Channel 5) in New York, New York in later years deferred the weekday block to sister UPN (and later MyNetwork TV) station WWOR (Channel 9). This was also the case in Los Angeles, California between Fox West Coast flagship KTTV (Channel 11) and their UPN (and later MyNetwork TV) station, KCOP (Channel 13). However, both WNYW and KTTV continued to air Fox Kids programming on Saturday mornings, only moving the weekday block to WWOR and KCOP, respectively.
- WTVT (Channel 13) in Tampa, Florida also opted not to take Fox Kids. Former Fox affiliate WFTS (Channel 28) also could not keep it because they were taking ABC affiliation which moved from WTSP (Channel 10) which replaced that with CBS affiliation that WTVT originally had. Fox Kids therefore moved to an independent station WTTA (Channel 38) owned by Sinclair which also picked up other syndicated shows that WFTS could no longer air. WTTA eventually took WB programming in 1998. This arrangement for WTTA to air Fox Kids continued until the end of 2001 when Fox Kids ended weekdays but continued reruns on Saturdays. Those as well as Fox Box/4Kids TV (which would replace Fox Kids in the Fall of 2002) would air on WMOR (Channel 32) which was a WB station from 1995 to 1998.
- KSAZ-TV (Channel 10) in Phoenix, Arizona also did not take Fox Kids upon beginning Fox Affiliation in December 1994. It remained on KNXV (Channel 15) the former Fox affiliate soon to become an ABC affiliate. This station would run for a month as an independent station. This affiliation switch was complicated. CBS would move from KSAZ to KPHO (Channel 5) previously an independent September 1994. KSAZ then became an indepdendent until that December. ABC would remain on KTVK (Channel 3) until January 1995. At that time Fox Kids moved to KTVK in place of the ABC Soap Operas. That Fall though Fox Kids would move to KTVK's managed station KASW (Channel 61) which also took WB affiliation as well. This arrangement still continues with 4Kids TV even though Fox owned KUTP (Channel 45) is a former UPN station now affiliated with My Network TV.
- WDAF-TV (Channel 4) in Kansas City, Missouri also did not take Fox Kids in 1994. In that market it would move to KSMO-TV (Channel 62) as former Fox affiliate KSHB (Channel 41) took NBC from WDAF. KSMO became the UPN affiliate in 1995. In 1998 when KSMO took WB affiliation, Fox Kids along with UPN programming moved to KCWB (now KCWE) (Channel 29). In the fall of 1999 though it moved to KMCI (Channel 38).
- WAGA (Channel 5) in Atlanta, Georgia also did not take Fox Kids. It remained on then Fox Owned WATL (Channel 36) which would give up primary Fox affiliation while keeping children's programming. That station would take WB affiliation and be sold to Qwest and Tribune. When WHOT (Channel 34) in nearby Athens dropped its shopping format for general entertainment in 1999, Fox Kids moved there and remained until it was canceled nationally in 2002.
- KDFW (Channel 4) Dallas, Texas/Ft. Worth, Texas also did not take Fox Kids in 1995. Fox continued to own KDAF (Channel 33) so they kept it there as well as taking WB affiliation. Soon after that, the station was sold to Tribune. In 1997 upon Fox's acquisition of KDFW in a group deal, Fox Kids would move to newly co-managed independent station KDFI (Channel 27) which is now a My Network TV station.
- WBRC (Channel 6) Birmingham, Alabama in the Fall of 1996 was originally going to take Fox Kids and run it in place of ABC soaps because they would be a Fox O & O (not a New World station) and this was the original policy for such stations. But former Fox affiliate WTTO (Channel 21) approached Fox about being allowed to keep it even though they were becoming an independent. Fox decided that WTTO could keep Fox Kids and they changed the policy of the new O & O's allowing those stations to also assign Fox Kids elsewhere. At the same time WGHP in Greensboro also dropped Fox Kids moving it to the WB station there.
- KTBC (Channel 7) Austin, Texas only took the Saturday lineup of Fox Kids in 1995, while now-defunct sister station K13VC would pick up the weekday and Saturday lineup. KTBC and K13VC both simulcasted the Saturday lineup until KTBC dropped it in 1997.
- WOLF-TV (Channel 5/38/56) Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania/Scranton, Pennsylvania Fox originally started out on channel 38, but when the WB took over channel 38, Fox was moved to channel 56, but Fox has remained the entire time on cable channel 5.
Much of the early programming on Fox Kids came from Warner Bros. Animation. When The WB Television Network started in 1995, they moved one of Fox Kids' most popular programs, Animaniacs, with them to serve as the linchpin of The WB's new children's block, Kids' WB! (Tiny Toon Adventures, another early Fox Kids program that Warner Bros. produced, had already ended its run).
In 1996, Fox Kids merged with Haim Saban's Saban Entertainment, Inc. to form Fox Kids Worldwide Inc.[1][7][8] Some of this programming also aired on Fox Family Channel (now ABC Family).
In 1998 Fox bought out their affiliates' interest in Fox Kids as part of a deal to help pay for the network's pricey NFL football package.[1] The Fox Kids programming weekday block was trimmed to 2 hours, and added The Magic School Bus, which originally aired on PBS.[9] In 2000, affiliates were all given options to push the block up to 2-4 p.m. instead of 3-5 p.m.. In the 6 or so markets with 5 p.m. newscasts that carried Fox Kids (such as St. Louis and New Orleans for example) they already were running the block an hour early back in 1996. Some affiliates (like WLUK) would even tape delay the block to air between 10 a.m. and 1 p.m., one of the lowest-rated time periods on US television. A few only aired The Magic School Bus in this inconvenient slot, in order to fulfill 'educational/informational programming' requirements mandated by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), which require a station air 3 hours of E/I shows per week and to reduce the hit taken by airing lower-cost children's advertising instead of higher-rated syndicated programming with more advertising revenue.
By 2001, Fox stations felt they were on much more even footing with "The Big Three" networks and wanted to take back the Fox Kids programming blocks to air their own programming. Saturday mornings, long only the province of children's programming, had become a liability as the other networks started to extend their weekday morning show franchises to the weekends, and the local Fox stations wanted to start Saturday morning newscasts, owing to the cultural change of Saturday becoming the theoretical "sixth weekday".[citation needed]
Fox Kids, long the #1 kids network since at least 1992, had been overtaken by Kids' WB two years prior with the stronger animated block backed by Warner Bros. and containing Pokémon as well Yu-Gi-Oh!. ABC & UPN aired mostly comical cartoons, with the exception of Lizzie McGuire and Even Stevens, which were sitcoms aimed at teenagers, while CBS aired preschool programming from Nick Jr., and NBC was airing E/I programming from Discovery Kids, splintering the audience. The added factor of Nickelodeon's aggressive schedule that out-rated all the broadcast networks among children on Saturday mornings left Fox Kids behind, and the programmers could find no way to catch up and stand out in this crowded field.
After Fox Family Worldwide was sold to Disney in October 2001, Fox Kids was placed under the oversight of Fox Television Entertainment and moved to Fox headquarters on the 20th Century Fox lot,[1] at which time Fox discontinued the daytime children's programming, giving the time back to their affiliates.[10] Fox put their programming up for bidding, and 4Kids Entertainment, English-dub producers of Pokémon, won. Fox Kids maintained a Saturday morning-only schedule until September 14, 2002, when it gave the time to 4Kids Entertainment.[4] The block was renamed FoxBox and then in January 2005, three years later renamed again to 4Kids TV. 4Kids TV lasted until December 27, 2008, when Fox and 4Kids parted ways, and as of late 2008, Fox completely ceased airing children's programming.
While Fox Kids was ending on United States broadcast television, Disney instituted a two-hour morning lineup on its newly acquired ABC Family, programmed similarly to Fox Kids. Internationally, Fox Kids continued to air under the same name, despite its new Disney ownership. Meanwhile, ABC immediately rebranded its Saturday morning block, then known as 1 Saturday Morning, as ABC Kids.
It was not until 2004 that Disney unveiled Fox Kids' new brand name for action and adventure programming, Jetix. The new name was applied first in the United States on the ABC Family morning block and a new prime-time lineup on Toon Disney. Internationally, the name was phased in, first as a programming block, then the new network name.
Disney now holds the rights to nearly all of the Fox Family/Saban archives under Disney-ABC Domestic Television, including Digimon, The Tick, Eek! Stravaganza, and the Marvel animated titles. Most of these shows aired on Jetix, although Eek! Stravaganza, Attack of the Killer Tomatoes, and select other shows were streamed online (complete with Fox Family branding during end credits) on ABC Family's website.
There are several exceptions:
- In May 2010, Haim Saban, through his Saban Brands company, repurchased the Power Rangers franchise rights.
- In 2007, Taffy Entertainment acquired the distribution rights to Bobby's World, and as a result, these rights now belong to the MoonScoop Group.
- The Goosebumps TV series, which aired on Fox Kids from 1995 to 1998, is owned by Scholastic, with home video rights licensed to Fox.
- The Warner Bros. produced series (such as Animaniacs and Batman: The Animated Series) are under their ownership. Warner also owns the only three Hanna-Barbera series ever to air on Fox: Dark Water, Tom & Jerry Kids and its spin-off, Droopy, Master Detective (along with most of the other H-B shows).
- The Spooktacular New Adventures of Casper and The New Woody Woodpecker Show are owned by NBCUniversal.
- Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventures is owned by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer.
- The Magic School Bus is owned by Scholastic.
- Swamp Thing and Sherlock Holmes in the 22nd Century are owned by Cookie Jar Entertainment.
- Disney lost the rights to Digimon (Toei Animation and Bandai own the franchise and FUNimation has streaming rights to Season 2 and 3)
- ^ a b c d e Schneider, Michael; Grego, Melissa (September 9, 2001). "Fox Kids net adopted by Fox TV Ent.". Variety. http://www.variety.com/article/VR1117852436.html. Retrieved 2009-08-13.
- ^ Tomlinson, Heather (July 28, 2001). "Murdoch parts with the Power Rangers and the preacher man". The Independent (London). http://www.independent.co.uk/news/business/analysis-and-features/murdoch-parts-with-the-power-rangers-and-the-preacher-man-679373.html. Retrieved 2010-08-20.
- ^ Cerone, Daniel (February 20, 1993). "Animated Series Has Helped Fox Challenge the Other Networks on Saturday Mornings". Los Angeles Times. http://articles.latimes.com/1993-02-20/entertainment/ca-117_1_fox-affiliate. Retrieved 2010-10-15.
- ^ a b Bernstein, Paula (January 18, 2002). "4Kids buys 4 hours from Fox Kids". Variety. http://www.variety.com/article/VR1117858752.html. Retrieved 2009-08-13.
- ^ DisneyWar, James B. Stewart; 2005
- ^ Cieply, Michael (February 22, 1990). "Disney, Fox Clash Over Children's TV Programming". The Los Angeles Times (USA). http://articles.latimes.com/1990-02-22/business/fi-1569_1_fox-affiliate/. Retrieved 11 May 2011.
- ^ "Fox Family Worldwide Inc". Saban. http://www.saban.com/html/invest/fox.html. Retrieved 2009-02-19.
- ^ Hillier, Barry (November 1, 1996). "Fox Kids Worldwide is born". Kidscreen. http://www.kidscreen.com/articles/magazine/19961101/17341.html?word=Haim&word=Saban. Retrieved November 21, 2010.
- ^ Littleton, Cynthia (Dec. 3, 1997). "'Bus' rolling to Fox Kids". Variety. http://www.variety.com/article/VR1116678729.html?categoryid=14&cs=1&query=. Retrieved 2009-08-13.
- ^ Schneider, Michael (November 7, 2001). "Fox outgrows kids programs". Variety. http://www.variety.com/article/VR1117855508.html?categoryid=14&cs=1&query=. Retrieved 2009-08-13.
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1 This block is now online.
2 These are now names for channels devoted to the same genre as the block was.
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