Boomerang, a
spin-off cable TV channel of AOL Time Warner's
Cartoon Network, went on the air on
April 1, 2000. The network was started to
facilitate the massive amount of
Hanna-Barbera vault
material collected from over the past 43 years. This includes everything from
classics such as
Yogi Bear and
The Flintstones, to cult favorites like
Top Cat and
Speed Buggy, to stuff salvaged from
USA Networks old
Cartoon Express like
The Herculoids and
Mighty Mightor, to the completely forgotten cartoons (some with good reason) like
Goober & the Ghost Chasers and
Three Robotic Stooges.
Since Cartoon Network doesn't have enough time within the broadcasting week to air both their current programming and the H-B vault material, they decided to start up the new network and create a Saturday morning show on CN itself, which would air from 6AM-8AM Eastern Standard Time and focus on material from a specific year every week. Almost all of the focus material on Boomerang (both the network and the show) comes from the H-B output from the 1950s, 1960s, and the 1970s.
The network has been doing fairly well so far with its' currently limited distribution, both with kids and adults. As of this writing, the network is found most often on satellite and digital cable packages, and the marketing department is pushing for further expansion.
Website: http://www.cartoonnetwork.com/boomerang/