The Fight For Friday Nights | Cartoon Network VS Nicktoons

hurry up we're not even supposed to be on this channel Cartoon Network is oh hey pretty mama Johnny Cartoon Networks got this thing right it's called cartoon cartoon Fridays and we're on it 3 four [Music] here's the deal if you're like me or any other kid who grew up in the late '90s early 2000s then you grew up with these three networks Disney Channel Nickelodeon and Cartoon Network all three networks competing for your attention because let's face it between school and homework there wasn't much time to spend solely on television okay that's a lie I never did my homework and I went straight towards the TV when I got home but for those of you who didn't sniff markers for fun there wasn't much time to watch any of these channels let alone all of them but there was one day one day that was primed for children's attention spans one day that will make Cartoon Network and Nickelodeon compete for your viewership and that day was Friday [Music] night school's out for the week no homework if your teacher's not a douch Nole no responsibility left for the week and now all there is left to do is pick which network you'd be spending your Friday night with so who the audience end up picking well the history of both blocks runs pretty deep it all started on June 11th of 1999 Cartoon Network was still relatively new it had only just recently premiered its first original cartoon with the Moxy Show but really Space Ghost Coast to Coast in 1994 before that the network had relied on playing R runs of older already established cartoons like Tom and Jerry or The Flintstones just until the network get their footing but over at Nickelodeon they were already the go-to network for animation because of their Nick Tunes programming block hits like Ren and Stimpy Doug Hey Arnold and quite possibly the biggest cartoon on television at the time with the Rugrats changed the way animation was seen as a whole Nickelodeon made it cool to make cartoons just for the sake of making cartoons and money again rather than sacrificing fluid animation and creativity for the of toy sales and this made Cartoon Network desperate how could they become the number one animation Network without an animation catalog so on February 20th of 1995 Cartoon Network created what a cartoon [Music] [Applause] what which was pretty much just a compilation series of animated series that were pretty much miniature Pilots for possible series on the network and from there Cartoon Network became an actual threat to Nick tunes cartoon network was finally becoming the go-to network for cartoons Dexter's Laboratory Johnny Bravo Cow and Chicken and the freaking powp Puff Girls they were creating cartoons that were directly competing with Nickelodeon and the Nick Tunes took notice because going forward both networks would very subtly throw shots back and forth at each other to discourage viewers from going to the other network channel Thanksgiving weekend you can watch their cartoons or you can watch Nick Tunes all weekend long new Nick Tune episodes new Nick tune music videos plus the chance to see your very own Nick tune drawing so tune out ordinary tune and tune in to non-stop Nick tune weekend next Friday at 12 Central only on Nick back and forth forth and back the two networks would fight for who would be the leader in children's animation but Nickelodeon didn't only create animation their cartoons were on the Nick Tunes block Cartoon Networks catalog was just beginning to grow and they need a new place to show off and Premiere these new found successful series because while their channel was quote unquote all animation all the time a block to Premiere new episodes could really send them over the edge but in a good way I think I'm not actually really sure what that means but hopefully you get the point the network wanted to promote their original shows which takes us back to January 11th of 1999 where Cartoon Network would Premiere its first cartoon cartoon Friday Friday's block they made it so kids didn't just turn the TV on and hope to find something good on but instead every week kids had something to look forward to on Friday nights they'd rush home after a week long of school to see new episodes of their favorite shows and bumpers that were made specifically for their weekly event and I know I've mentioned in in videos before but they made Cartoon Network and the characters who live within it feel like a community every week would feature a new host which was usually a weird pairing of two characters who would otherwise never Belong Together but for one night they interact and in between new episodes they tell us exactly what's coming up next and they actually interact and speak with each other and this was huge I personally remember knowing to turn straight to Cartoon Network every Friday and most of the kids I knew did as well me and my brother we'll call him Josh usually argue over what to watch and it was almost never Cartoon Network because he didn't like cartoons but when it was Friday night even he agreed that Cartoon Network would be on Cartoon Network Friday got so big that the network and fans dubb these specific cartoons the cartoon cartoons which ain't that original of a name and isn't super ideal but at this point Cartoon Network was exactly where they want it to be for all intents and purposes Cartoon Network had successfully recreated what Nickelodeon did with Nick tunes and they didn't even copy them they just copied their formula and it worked like a charm a few years go by and people were still aware of Nick Tunes as a brand and and its name was more recognizable than the cartoon cartoons for sure but it was clear that the respect for Nick Tunes as a brand was starting to go downhill which I've also made a video on so probably check that out if you want to know more about that but the viewers like myself were starting to care less and less about the Nick Tunes cartoons like Hey Arnold Rugrats Rocko's Modern Life and the new kid at the Block SpongeBob SquarePants were played all the time they'd play at random times every day so if kids wanted to watch them the chances are if they turn Nick on they probably catch one of those on but it just wasn't an event there was no reason to make sure that you were tuning into to Nick especially when you knew that you could just catch reruns at any time and I know what you're thinking couldn't you just catch Cartoon Network reruns at any time as well well the simple answer is yes but the major difference is that once the Friday night was done the bumpers would go away with it Cartoon Network makes sure you wanted to tune in to see who's hosting and experience that character interacting with the other character for that one night and that one night only but once that night ended so did the event and the block along with those specific bumpers will be replaced with new ones for the next week so if your favorite character was hosting then you'd have to watch that night or miss out on it for good the strategy was just plain genius and that pissed Nickelodeon's Executives off so they have to come up with the plan to put the Nick Tunes back on the map they'd have to carefully plan a strategic and completely original idea to get kids to tune back into Nickelodeon so they just completely rip off cartoon cartoon Fridays and on January 5th of 2001 Nickelodeon premiered Friday night Nick Tunes from the Nick tune Animation Studio in Hollywood [Music] and when I say they Dolph Cartoon Network I mean they completely copied their homework down to the Last Detail a new night exclusively for Nick Tunes with bumpers that would all take place of their pre-existing characters and put them all in one animated Community the goal was the same as their competitors give kids a reason to tune in give them a set time and I don't know give them a set day of the week to tune in so they can spend time with their favorite shows and characters make the Nick Tunes matter again after all they were the channel That changed the way animation was done for a completely new generation so put some respect on their name and while the hype was dying down they still had what was what at one time considered to be the most recognizable Nick tune but as I said in a previous video none of that would matter there's a reason that most of you watching Remember cartoon cartoon Fridays and a lot of you don't remember Friday night Nick tunes and believe it or not that isn't because the block itself wasn't good even though it lacked a bit of the personality that cartoon cartoon Fridays did it wasn't that the viewers weren't tuning in to watch it wasn't even the fact that they got overshadowed by Cartoon Network's block the problem was Nickelodeon themselves and the root of it was an over Reliance on a certain yellow sponge anchors away for SpongeBob Square Pants I'm Ready I'm Ready SpongeBob SquarePants finally premieres on Nick this Saturday morning at 109 Central be beir at b square once SpongeBob was released upon the world it quickly became a network favorite replacing Rugrats replacing hey Arnolds everything that came before became an afterthought the type of money SpongeBob made the network became the very reason that Nick Tunes as a brand died long story short why play any show other than SpongeBob and have views fluctuate when you could just exclusively play SpongeBob and keep ratings up high ratings appease advertisers which keep keeps the money flowing for Nickelodeon don't believe me turn on your TV and tell me exactly what's on Nickelodeon right now as we speak go ahead and comment it I guarantee a SpongeBob and if it isn't SpongeBob go and look at your your Network listings and see exactly what's coming up next see what's going to be on in an hour see what's going to be on when you wake up the next morning go two weeks ahead in the timeline and see what's going to be playing at this exact time but two weeks ahead of time I guarantee you it's going to be SpongeBob as the series of the '90s started to end and be phased out for a new generation Nick didn't really bother trying to search for the next big Nick tune once SpongeBob became a hit they used it as a crutch and we start to see all the other Nick Tunes start to phase out Friday night Nick Tunes relied on promoting shows that were ending their runs and the viewers didn't really care for the shows that they had left stuff like rocket power just wasn't must watch content it seemed like for every Nickelodeon hit that the network lost Cartoon Network would gain two of their own and it eventually just came too much to handle Powerpuff Girls Dexter slab Ed and Eddie courage Fosters Home for Imaginary Friends Billy and Mandy cult named kits next door there was just so much competition and SpongeBob couldn't carry the weight of the block on its own so on December 17th of 2004 Nickelodeon as well as Nick Tunes had had enough it was time to give up on the Friday night Nick tunes and the most unfortunate part of it is this was the time that Nickelodeon decided to give up on animation as a whole whole this was the time that they move every cartoon that wasn't SpongeBob to their sister Channel Nick Tunes Network while the main channel will focus on liveaction sitcoms like Drake and Josh and I Carly which I love but their focus just wasn't on animation anymore unless your name was Ninja Turtles of the Lou house but the party didn't stop over at Cartoon Network as they take Fridays to much bigger and better levels instead of having cartoons host we move into having liveaction hosts Tommy and Tara who bring joy to Millions as they continue to entertain kids on those special Friday nights The Joy they brought us from the late 9s to the early 2000s would go on until February 23rd of 2007 and in a way this brought an end of an eror for Nickelodeon and despite being the Channel with the highest viewership out of the big three this battle will go on to become the only battle that Nickelodeon would lose to Cartoon Network week on Friday night niun on a brand new Jimmy Neutron you thought the old Hall Monitor was tough to be whole monitor I want to be H monitor I want to be H monitor it's Jimmy Neutron he is the worst H monitor ever he's got magic power all this plus snow falling on starfish and back to back wand to episodes of The Fairly Odd Parents it's Friday night ni Tunes tomorrow night starting at 87 Central only on the first kids network melodeum goodbye

Channel: Childish Juju

Views: 4,185

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Id: MBQVQyZ9_RI

Length: 13min 31sec (811 seconds)

Published: Sat Jun 29 2024