CN UK was actually pretty close to getting an Adult Swim block back in 2002, iirc. (
@RegularCapital could back me up on this.) Prior to CNX launching, they had Home Movies and Baby Blues in the evening lineup. Going further back, there was also AKA Cult Toons and Space Ghost Coast to Coast.
CNX pretty much killed "raunchy" shows on CN UK, just like how Boomerang killed classic cartoons on the channel.
Yep, they sure did air Home Movies and Baby Blues, the channel was well rounded back then on who it was trying to appeal to, although when Space Ghost: Coast to Coast first aired in the mid 90s it aired on TNT instead:
Cartoon Network has bought all UK rights to a new animated series, Home Movies. Aimed at both children and adults, the 26 x 30-minute series follows eight year-old film-maker Brendon Small
www.broadcastnow.co.uk
In the UK, Cartoon Network has picked up a new toon from Warner Bros International, based on the popular syndicated cartoon strip Baby Blues.
www.c21media.net
I believe you, but eventually CNX was chosen
Adult Swim on CN would've had to go through the meticulous censorship ITC/OFCOM imposes upon them: not worth it
I believe CNX had the potential to be a great channel, but British tastes are not very into anime and action cartoons/adult mixture
In another market, this would likely have turned into something "better", with time
Late 2003 saw a lot of change of how British Broadcasting regulations is structured and organised, the ITC (Independent Television Commission), BSC (Broadcasting Standards Commission), and other communication offices merged into what is now known as Ofcom, and with that, the Broadcasting Code was established, which included the "likelihood of a child watching" rule. 2003 also coincides with CNX's launch. Before 2003, Cartoon Network has to tone down Dragon Ball Z to meet the ITC regulations because of violence, it's likely that CNX was launched to handle these issues. Ofcom was years in the making though, which was introduced during the then New Labour government.
Before Ofcom, there was a lot of confusion, as the ITC and BSC have a lot of overlap, except that the BSC covered all channels including the BBC, and the ITC offered the broadcasting licences to commercial channels and was also the main authority for maintaining standards on these channels, but this didn't include the BBC.
So basically, if you wanted to complain about a commercial channel, you should direct your complaint to the ITC.
If you want to complain to the BBC, you have to contact the BSC, you can also write to Points of View if it's just a matter of a opinion (the quality of the programming and not just whether it's slightly inappropriate) and it's not a serious breach of the rules.