MeTV Toons: A Mid-Year Progress Report

Yesterday, I talked about the end of Toonami Rewind on Adult Swim. I feel that I need to share another thought about that.

At the time it was announced, some of my friends really thought at the time that it was created as a response to what MeTV Toons were doing. I discounted that back in May, and I'm REALLY discounting that now. If anything, MeTV Toons hasn't been much of a factor in anything CN/AS does as a whole.

Not entirely. Granted, Cartoon Network has really gone a little deeper in the Hanna-Barbera library recently and added older Scooby-Doo shows to CN proper, Discovery Family had shows like The Smurfs and Jabberjaw(?) on its lineup, and Boomerang's general lineup is pretty diverse and solid. 

Online, it's a different story. Cartoon Rewind, a Fire TV/Prime Video-exclusive FAST channel by WB TV, actually felt more like a pre-reaction to MeTV Toons than Toonami Rewind did since they do share some shows and an older demographic that Cartoon Network, Adult Swim, and even MAX aren't targeting.

Look, I don't want to talk about MAX here. That's a conversation for another time. I want to focus more on MeTV Toons.

Again, I sincerely doubt that happens at the Cartoon Network channels has anything to do with what's happening at MeTV Toons because of one fact the folks in the various vineyards have kind of lost sight of.

MeTV Toons is NOT owned by Warner Bros Discovery.

Yes, Warner Bros Entertainment is a network consultant and programming partner and provider on MeTV Toons, but that's where the connection ends. MeTV Toons is owned and operated by Weigel Broadcasting. Always have been, always will be.

For a while, MeTV Toons briefly stole some of Boomerang's thunder to the point of making whiners in the usual vineyards thought its creation was going to lead to the channels to be shut down by the end of 2024. 

Much to their surprise, Boomerang is still in operation as a cable channel in 2025 and has a pretty solid variety of shows on the channel. 

If anything, MeTV Toons barely moved the needle.

MeTV Toons is still a work-in-progress. While it's on in major markets as an OTA network, its reach in most metro areas, especially on channels not owned by its actual parent company Weigel, is mixed to non-existent to many viewers. Cable companies are still hesitant to add local affiliates to their basic cable lineups. 

And speaking of lineups, MeTV Toons' lineup has barely budged since its June launch. Aside from special events that aired throughout the holiday season, including a Thanksgiving stunt with Looney Tunes, a Black (and White) Friday marathon of black-and-white shorts, and Christmas specials throughout January, the network's lineup has barely changed. They added Super Friends in the fall, but very few new additions to the main lineup. 

Then again, that could be a testament to how popular the current lineup has been, and as sibling channel MeTV has shown, they're doing fine with what's been working for them and don't need to change. MeTV's lineup has barely changed since 2021, and as a result, it has become one of the highest-rated networks in the country for numerous years, and MeTV Toons is doing well with viewers.

When you have a veritable Murderers' Row of animated all-stars on your network's lineup, you wouldn't want to give it up so easily. That said, the network does have plenty of shows on tap in the future, as folks behind the scenes of the network have stated publicly in various interviews. If I had a guess as to when a potential wider lineup change will occur, I'll go for spring 2025. 

Still, that won't stop the folks in the vineyards whining and complaining about everything and never fully be satisfied with anything MeTV Toons does. The general consensus from the folks who actually have access to the channel is that they love it and watch it as often as they could, which is pretty much the reaction Weigel wanted to see. It's currently in nearly 74% of the markets in the United States. They just need to find affiliates with a greater reach in most of the country to truly connect with viewers and find station groups with wider coverage to do so. 

Oh, I have to address the elephant in the room: the missing FAST MeTV Toons outlet. The initial announcement of the channel's creation hinted at a FAST version of MeTV Toons in the works. It won't be identical to the main channel, but it would offer most of what's seen there and have quality fill-ins in the place of the shows unavailable for one reason or another. As I've mentioned around these parts, FAST platforms are becoming the future of the media landscape, maybe even more so than premium streaming outlets. A classic animation FAST channel is something the market needs, and one with the pedigree of what MeTV Toons has created would be amazing. That said, it's still in the planning stages and figuring out the logistics of it all. 

As great and successful as Weigel has been for nearly 20 years when it comes to diginets, they still haven't figured out FAST media the way others have done. I'm sure when Weigel finally launches a MeTV Toons FAST channel, others based on Weigel-owned brands like Catchy Comedy, Start TV, MOVIES!, H&I, and, of course, MeTV will follow. I'm sure they don't want to go half-hearted on such a venture.

In the end, I feel MeTV Toons still has the capacity to become a game-changer. Audiences need to have a little patience when it comes to the channel and hope it could remain in a position to be able to grow stronger in the future. Nobody said it would be easy, and boy, are we learning that. 

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