As someone from a place where local stations are a totally foreign concept, what's the big deal exactly about it getting carried locally when they have streaming options available? Is it just the added expense of another subscription that's the deal breaker or is streaming limited to specific areas too?
Just curious because the way some people are talking it's as though they have absolutely no way of getting it.
Hello.
As someone who grew up in the last great era of broadcast television as well as being a curmungeonly individual on these old forums, let's chat a bit. I have a lot to say about the topic, so we're going to be here for a while.
The big deal about MeTV Toons launching as a broadcast network is that nothing of this scale has ever been done on such a scale. This is a classic animation channel aimed toward older audiences as opposed to being solely targeted exclusively for kids freely available as an over-the-air broadcast network.With access to numerous animation libraries as well as being curated and assisted by talented individuals who respect the medium, MeTV Toons seems to be preparing itself to be a classic animation fan's dream come true in a media climate that seemingly feels hesitant in airing older programming.
Yes, MeTV Toons could have just been another streaming-only channely, but why should it? There are tons of over-the-air networks dedicated to classic television like Antenna TV, GET TV, Rewind TV, Retro TV, COZI, DABL, GRIT, ION Mystery, CHARGE!, Outlaw, The 365, Comet, Start TV, Catchy Comedy, H&I, and, of course, MeTV. Similarly, there are tons of streamers also dedicated to classic television. So, if someone wants to create an over-the-air channel solely focused on older animated shorts and shows, why not create it?
Also, here's a fact that folks pushing subscription streamers don't want to tell you. A lot of people still watch over-the-air linear television. More people watch linear television than people who ONLY watch streaming media. I have to put that out there because folks who ONLY watch streaming media is still a relatively small number, especially compared to people who watch ONLY linear television and the rest of us who still watch both equally. And do you know what folks who watch linear television watch?
Sports, competition shows, and cop shows.
And when they're not watching sports, competition shows, and cop shows, they're also watching reruns of older programming on digital subchannels. MeTV, Antenna TV, ION, and others have strong ratings over-the-air, often topping some cable shows in key demographics. MeTV's Saturday morning cartoon block does remarkably well every week, often beating such fare as The Office, Seinfeld, and Law & Order SVU on cable channels.
People love cartoons, and MeTV is the only broadcast network providing classic cartoons over-the-air on a daily basis and one of the very few offering animation of any type on broadcast television (PBS Kids is the other one on a national level). Weigel, MeTV's owner, creating a broadcast network for animation, just as they've created a broadcast network for action and adventure shows (Heroes & Icons), classic movies (MOVIES!), light action (Start TV), and comedies (Catchy Comedy), just felt like a natural evolution for the company that has been quite successful compared to their peers.
Having access to a channel like MeTV Toons over the air on a broadcast level is a rarity without the added cost of subscribing to a service you don't really want or need. The Boomerang SVOD service has some of the shows coming to MeTV Toons but will never have all of those classics on it, and I'm not talking about the stuff from other studios like Universal, Columbia, WildBrain, and ITV. You'll never see something like Beetlejuice, Police Academy, Silverhawks, GoBots, or much of the Hanna-Barbera library that isn't Scooby-Doo, The Flintstones, The Jetsons, Jonny Quest, or Yogi Bear on the Boomerang app. So many shows are kept in vaults because algorthims skew younger and feel audiences won't want to watch them online. It's the same dumb mentality that kept them off of linear television for over 20 years on a national level. The folks behind MeTV Toons have respect for classic television and animation as a medium, which explains why they're celebrating its history and showcasing the best of the best, many of which haven't aired on national broadcast television in over half a century.
With a broadcast option from the start, MeTV Toons would be MORE accessible to the demographics the network is aimed toward, particularly those folks 25-54. This older half actually prefer linear television than streaming options. While streaming options are also nice (and the network said they would be available), having a reliable broadcast option for a channel of this magnitude is vital and suggests they're fully serious about MeTV Toons.
That's why MeTV Toons launching as a free linear over-the-air broadcast network for local markets is a big deal.
