Margaret Loesch To Lead Discovery Kids/Hasbro Venture

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Kristina622

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Margaret Loesch may not be a household name, but she was very instrumental in the DNA blueprint of many animation fans, including myself. She was involved in shows like The Smurfs, G.I. Joe, Transformers, Muppet Babies, Scooby-Doo, Superfriends, Batman: The Animated Series, Animaniacs, Eek! The Cat, and many other cartoons. As the co-founder and head of Fox Kids, she led the network in its golden age, bringing a diverse lineup of programming to the airwaves daily, including taking a chance on a live-action property known as Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers. She also founded The Hatchery, a production company that has produced shows like Zula Patrol balancing education and entertainment in a quirky, yet fun way.

No one has done what Mrs. Loesch has done in the annals of children's entertainment, and starting August 17, she will head the new joint venture between Discovery Communications and Hasbro as President and CEO running all aspects of the joint venture, including the rebranded Discovery Kids Channel, and I wish her luck.
 
I, too, am of an age where Margaret Loesch is remembered being a coexecutive in charge of production at Hanna/Barbera. And I still recall reading in the 1990s a magazine article about Haim Saban attempting to throw her under the bus, all the while formulating lies such as this: "Margaret Loesch is my sister..."

In this Discovery Communications/Hasbro venture, I, too, wish her luck.
 
So...

Is this going to be a straight up kids channel? A psuedo-educational thing? Is it going to have actually decent shows or just more of the same lame E/I stuff?
 
You?re acting as if shows that are E/I can?t be entertaining. That?s simply not true. I happen to like several animated programs that are currently on Discovery Kids and they are rated E/I, but I digress. I wish Mrs. Loesch the best of luck.
 
I must second The Huntsman in finding out what exactly is "lame" about E/I.

I also enjoy some E/I programming, not only on Discovery Kids, but PBS as well.
 
Many TV programs now labeled "educational/informational" were created long before they were required to have the letters "E/I" on screen at all times. "The Flying House" is one program I have enjoyed long before it was given the "E/I" label and due to the requirement I cannot record episodes I could not see in the past due to the network (FamilyNet) skipping some of them.
 
It couldn't have happened to a better person. She's definitely the right person for the job and I wish her all the best of luck.
 
Sounds good but is it strange that I, an adult, am anticipating a kids network? I've started to take a look at the stuff I find entertaining and I'm wondering if it's ok that I like this stuff.
 
Is this channel going to be available to extended cable subscribers or is it going to be like Boomerang, Nicktoons and XD and only be an option for the mega-subscibers? I am sure it will be the latter, but I figured I would ask anyhow in hopes that if it's good that a lot of people who don't have the bigtime packages can enjoy it, but I will be able to watch it regardless because I have the good package.

When does this go live....?
 
Both questions are answered in the link that Jeff provided but in an effort to be helpful I'll just quote them for you. As you can see the network will be on the same channel number and package as Discovery Kids. :v:
 
You know, the internet is a wonderful thing, and the original press release from Discovery Communications and Hasbro spilled out their plans for the revamped network. Here are the highlights from the press release because some people don't really like to read things without pictures:

Translation: The network will air Hasbro-owned titles form over the years, including their recently-reacquired animation library, which includes the likes of G.I. Joe, My Little Pony, and Transformers.

Translation: Discovery Kids programming will also continue airing on the network alongside the Hasbro shows. Plus, they're going to air properties from third party producers that may become available by the time the network launches. So, yeah, it'll be half-and-half.

And I take offense of the assertion that E/I programming can't be entertaining. It's just that a lot of producers and distributors are lazy with the concept and don't do anything creative with it. I mean, how many times can you make a show with a little Hispanic child talk at the viewers? Obviously three (Dora the Explorer, Go Diego Go, and Super Why). Those shows tend to overshadow the ones that are creative. Martha Speaks and WordGirl are two different yet similar shows (both have unique ways of introducing vocabulary to youngsters), and both succeed in making educational programs that are entertaining, not to mention being two of the best-written, funniest cartoons on the air today. But you won't hear about that because viewers tend to be turned off by anything from PBS or with the E/I label. Zula Patrol, a series co-produced by Mrs. Loesch's production company, The Hatchery, is also a well-produced and well-written series mixing humor and science without insulting the viewer's intelligence.

Translation: They're developing shows, including a new Romper Room, as well as in the early stages of developing new shows based on existing Hasbro properties, INCLUDING Transformers and G.I Joe.

Translation: The network will be an equal mix of educational/informative content and traditional entertainment programming. It won't be just E/I programming, but they're not going to be a network-wide commercial either.

If more people paid attention to the world around them, they could learn a lot of things.
 
Well, excuse me for having a bad memory. It's been months since I read the report on AWN. I only remembered it mentioning Romper Room.

You take offense at the assertion that E/I programming can't be entertaining? Well, so do I, but I also take offense at your assumption that people make statements and ask "dumb" questions without doing the research. Okay, so there might be some people like that, but OTOH, maybe some of us have asked such questions and made such statements (like me, I'll admit), but don't remember all the details; in other words, it doesn't always mean we didn't do the research (I did when I read the AWN article about it). I can't speak for anyone else, but I was kind of in a hurry, and I didn't have time to look it up, that doesn't mean I'm lazy or don't know any better.

So with all due respect, don't insult our intelligence by treating us like we don't know any better or are otherwise "stupid" (stating that "some people don't really like to read things without pictures" implies this among other things). I'm sorry if you're offended by this post, but how do you think I feel? Okay, so there will be shows involving Transformers, G.I. Joe, and My Little Pony as well as Romper Room (I also knew that some parts of the old Discovery Kids would still be there; I remember that much). I just didn't think to look it up again. That doesn't mean I don't know any better.

Look, don't take this personally, but I just didn't like the insinuation you made with your post. I really did feel both insulted and offended. I hope you understand.

FWIW though, I myself am looking forward to this new channel, and I hope that Margaret Loesch will do a good job.
 
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