What If There Was A Cartoon Network-Like PBS Network?

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I was wondering how would you feel if there was a PBS style channel that showed only cartoons? A channel that doesn't have commercials or the typical ratings. Instead, it would have viewer requested shows and bi-monthly telethon donations. It would also allow in-between for pledges of donations and merchandising promos.

For the lineup, I'm thinking...
-The early morning shows would be kid friendly, followed by an afternoon cartoon movie.
-Then slightly mature shows, a mix of classic shows and foreign shows. Now I do like Japanese and Canadian shows, but I would like to see other foreign cartoons as well.
-Lastly, Toonami late night shows. But nothing too vulgar - afterall it is PBS, not cable.

Any thoughts?
 
In addition, if they can ever get the cable provider deals worked out, there will also be a PBS Kids Go! channel, with shows like WordGirl, Arthur, Cyberchase, FETCH!, etc., plus any acquisitions that they feel might fit in.
 
I don't see PBS launching a 2nd channel, especially not one exclusively for animation. I doubt they'd want to do it and they'd have no reason to do it, especially if said channel wasn't going to be cable. A Toonami late night block? Acquisitions cost money, you know.
 
I have heard of kids sprout, but I've never saw it. I don't know what format it has - whether its a kids network, cartoon network or both.



Yea, it does cost money. Let me re-phrase the general idea.

It doesn't have to actually be PBS, just a PBS format. The format I'm referring to is something non-commercial and based on telethons and donations. Also, it wouldn't be a cable channel like kids sprout or CN. It would be a regular broadcast channel like PBS.

It dawned on me how long the PBS network has existed - several decades now. PBS is always saying 'this has been brought by contributions from viewers like you'. So I'm wondering what would happen if there was a cartoon network with a PBS format?
 
I'm not saying that your idea is bad, but I just don't see anything like that happening. I don't see public donations from viewers like you paying to keep an ad free cartoon channel afloat. Such a channel would be hard to keep running without money. And what could PBS have to offer to viewers that cable channels like Cartoon Network, Nicktoons Network and Disney XD couldn't?
 
That's a good question. I really don't know what other shows are out there. But if they could offer some diversity like international shows, classic shows and modern shows, I think there could be some potential to have a PBS-like cartoon network.

As for the money part, I don't know. I've always been amazed to see the longevity of PBS. But I also think they have some sponsorships as well as public donations and merchandising.
 
I'd say just make it a channel where shows that nobody has the rights to anymore can be aired.

Also, wouldn't this thread be better off the the General Animation board?
 
Such as...? You'd be hard pressed to find a lineup of shows not owned by anyone. Almost every show is owned by someone, even imports. The few cartoons which are public domain tend to be really obscure or just clunkers that most people wouldn't be interested in seeing.

A non-cable cartoon network supported by viewers like you that folks who don't have cable or satellite can enjoy is a nice dream, but at this stage I'd say that a dream is all that it is. In order to get the kind of shows that the OP wants for such a channel would require money, a lot more money than bi-monthly fund drives could hope to produce. Add to that the already saturated animation-channel market: as Blackstar noted above, this channel would have to work pretty hard to compete with the likes of CN, Nick and Disney, to say nothing of the fact that most of the cartoons folks are itching to see are already under the thumb of big corporations.

The only way I could see such a channel existing would be if its' lineup consisted of public domain cartoons and a bunch of imports that they could acquire for peanuts since no one here has heard of them.
 
Because the PBS Kids Go! block that is in place now was intended to be the launching pad for a new network of the same format. That was announced from the get-go.
 
Alright, money is the key issue. And I have no idea how much an acquisition costs - classic shows or modern ones.

So how about this. I dread to say it, but what if it had a few infomercials (very, very late night). Would the money from infomercials, telethons and merchandising be enough to support a PBS style cartoon channel?


BTW: Rho
You're right. It's not really a cartoon network question. It's a question about a network with cartoons. I see the confusion.
 
I don't think so. Unless you want this station to just run a handful of public domain cartoons, I hasten to say that this hypothetical channel would have to be ad-supported in order to show the kind of animated fare that you have in mind or it would never get off the ground. Without money and a strong support base (i.e., something like the Childrens' Television Workshop or companies which offer syndication packages like the former DiC or BKN) the channel would just be a step above public access. It would be hard enough for this channel to compete with cable and satellite, especially since most cartoons today are the property of big corporations and as such are under strict ownership restrictions; this is why you seldom see animated shows and blocks on local and syndicated TV anymore.

Long story short: if you want to run commercial shows, you need to be a commercial network.
 
The reason why Boomerang is in the state that it's in right now is because Time Warner won't give Turner the greenbacks necessary to acquire programming from sources outside of Turner's library, so I imagine that this hypothetical PBS cartoon channel would be the same way.

PBS already has a cable channel for kids (the aforementioned PBS Kids Sprout), so I don't see how PBS would benefit from an ad-free, non cable cartoon channel in any way. Launching a new channel is harder and more expensive than most people think. My guess is that PBS would probably feel that launching such a channel wouldn't be worth the money, sponsors, legal red tape and ownership fees that would need to be addressed in order for such a channel to become a reality, and at bottom, I don't see PBS wanting to pursue such a venture. PBS already has one non-cable network that needs viewer support to stay on the air, so why would they want two?
 
Which is why Sprout is a co-venture with Comcast.

And is also why PBS Kids Go! (whenever PBS gets the provider deals worked out) will also, more than likely, be a co-venture with another company.
 
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