It’s the end of an American tradition dating back to the 1960s. Saturday October 4, 2014 was the first Saturday without a single Saturday Morning Cartoon. What was once a staple for kids that held almost as much anticipation as Christmas Morning, Saturday Morning Cartoons have been in a steady decline since the 1990’s and you can thank the Federal Government for it.
In 1990, Congress enacted the Children’s Television Act to increase the amount of educational and informational programming for children available on television. This prompted the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to require broadcast networks provide at least three hours of educational programming a week between 7 a.m and 10 p.m. Also, cartoons became less profitable due to the FCC limiting the amount of time broadcasters and cable operators could devote to advertisements during children’s programs.
NBC ditched Saturday morning cartoons in 1992, CBS followed suit not long after, and ABC lost its animated weekend mornings in 2004. The CW, was the last holdout in a game that the Big 3 left long ago.
Today kids can get their animation fix from hundreds of cable and satellite channels that don’t have to abide by the FCC’s guidelines. They are also able to stream all the content they want from online sources. But, there’s something a little hollow about the notion that we now live in an America bereft of Saturday Morning Broadcast Cartoons. Like all things that have to end, it’s the end of an era.
