states channel . for other uses see cartoon network disambiguation . cartoon network launched october 1 1992 ; 24 years ago 1992 10 01 owned by time warner through turner broadcasting system picture format 1080i hdtv 480i letterboxed for sdtv feed slogan are you cn what we re sayin country united states language english spanish with sap broadcast area national headquarters atlanta georgia general new york city new york operational burbank california west coast sister channel s tnt adult swim boomerang website www.cartoonnetwork.com availability channel space shared with adult swim satellite directv usa 296 east 297 west ; sd only dish network 176 east 177 west ; sd only xfinity 731 c band amc 11 channel 18 4dtv digital amc 18 channel 20 h2h 4dtv cable available on many cable providers check local listings for channel number iptv at & t u verse 1325 east 1326 west 325 east ; sd 326 west ; sd centurylink prism 1326 east 1327 west 325 east ; sd 326 west ; sd 3054 spanish feed ; sd verizon fios 757 257 sd google fiber 351 streaming media available daily from 6 00 am until 9 00 pm et pt watch cartoon network sling tv internet protocol television cartoon network abbreviated as cn is an american basic cable and satellite television channel that is owned by time warner through the turner broadcasting system subsidiary . the channel airs primarily children s show mostly animated programming ranging from action to animated comedy . it was launched on october 1 1992 . it is primarily aimed at children and young teenagers between the ages of 7 to 15 and targets older teens and adults with mature content during its late night daypart adult swim which is treated as a separate entity for promotional purposes and as a separate channel by nielsen for ratings purposes . 1 a spanish language audio track for select programs is accessible via sap ; some cable and satellite companies offer the spanish feed as a separate channel . it is also the related channel of turner owned boomerang . as of february 2015 cartoon network is available to approximately 96.4 million pay television households 82.8 % of households with television in the united states . 2 contents 1 history 1.1 development 1.2 1990s 1.3 2000s 1.4 2010s 2 programming 2.1 original series 2.2 programming blocks 3 marketing 4 controversy and censorship 5 sister channels and related projects 5.1 adult swim 5.2 toonami 5.3 boomerang 5.4 move it movement 5.5 cartoon network on demand 5.6 high definition channels and service 5.7 mobile app 5.8 video games 6 online 7 international channels 8 see also 9 references 9.1 bibliography 10 external links history development on august 4 1986 ted turner s turner broadcasting system acquired metro goldwyn mayer united artists from kirk kerkorian ; due to concerns over the debt load of his companies on october 17 1986 turner was forced to sell mgm back to kerkorian after approximately only 74 days of ownership . however turner kept much of mgm s film and television library made prior to may 1986 as well as some of the united artists library and formed turner entertainment . 3 on october 3 1988 its cable channel turner network television was launched and had gained an audience with its extensive film library . 4 at this time turner s animation library included the mgm cartoon library the pre 1948 color looney tunes and merrie melodies shorts the harman ising merrie melodies shorts except lady play your mandolin and the fleischer studios famous studios popeye cartoons . in 1991 turner entertainment purchased animation studio hanna barbera productions for us 320 million . 5 1990s the original cartoon network logo used from october 1 1992 to june 14 2004 . the logo is still in use as a trademark . on february 18 1992 turner broadcasting system announced its plans to launch the cartoon network as an outlet for turner s considerable library of animation . 6 on october 1 1992 cartoon network played the star spangled banner which was a tradition whenever a new turner owned network launched and a video of a person placing a dynamite in a field and then blowing the dynamite up the channel s launch then occurred on that day and was hosted by the mgm cartoon character droopy in a special event called droopy s guide to the cartoon network during which the first cartoon on the network the great piggy bank robbery was shown . 7 8 9 10 initial programming on the channel consisted exclusively of reruns of classic warner bros. cartoons the pre 1950 looney tunes and merrie melodies the 1933 1957 popeye cartoons mgm cartoons and hanna barbera cartoons . 6 at first cable providers in new york city philadelphia washington d.c. and detroit carried the channel . 9 by the time the network launched cartoon network had an 8 500 hour cartoon library . 11 from its launch until 1995 the network s announcers said the network s name with the word the added before cartoon network thus calling the network the cartoon network . by the time that the network debuted cartoon network also operated a programming block containing its cartoons that aired on tnt entitled cartoon network on tnt . cartoon network was not the first cable channel to have relied on cartoons to attract an audience ; however it was the first 24 hour single genre channel with animation as its main theme . turner broadcasting system had defied conventional wisdom before by launching cnn a channel providing 24 hour news coverage . the concept was previously thought unlikely to attract a sufficient audience to be particularly profitable however the cnn experiment had been successful and turner hoped that cartoon network would also find success . 12 initially the channel would broadcast cartoons 24 hours a day . most of the short cartoons were aired in half hour or hour long packages usually separated by character or studio down wit droopy d aired old droopy dog shorts the tom and jerry show presented the classic cat and mouse team and bugs and daffy tonight provided classic looney tunes shorts . late night black and white showed early black and white cartoons mostly from the fleischer studios and walter lantz cartoons from the 1930s as well as black and white merrie melodies and mgm cartoons and toonheads would show three shorts with a similar theme and provide trivia about the cartoons . citation needed there was also an afternoon cartoon block called high noon toons which was hosted by cowboy hand puppets an example of the simplicity and imagination the network had in its early years . the majority of the classic animation that was shown on cartoon network no longer air on a regular basis with the exception of tom and jerry and looney tunes . a challenge for cartoon network was to overcome its low penetration of existing cable systems . when launched on october 1 1992 the channel was only carried by 233 cable systems . however it benefited from package deals . new subscribers to sister channels tnt and tbs could also get access to cartoon network through such deals . the high ratings of cartoon network over the following couple of years led to more cable systems including it . by the end of 1994 cartoon network had become the fifth most popular cable channel in the united states . 12 for the first few years of cartoon network s existence programming meant for the channel would also be simulcast on tbs and or tnt both of which were still full service cable networks that carried a variety of different programming genera in order to increase the shows and cartoon network s exposure ; examples include the real adventures of jonny quest cartoon planet swat kats the radical squadron and 2 stupid dogs . the network s first exclusive original show was the moxy show an animation anthology series first airing in 1993 . 13 the first series produced by cartoon network was space ghost coast to coast in 1994 but the show mostly consisted of recycled animation cells from the archives of hanna barbera being an ironic deconstruction of a talk show . it featured live action guests mostly consisting of celebrities which were past their prime or counterculture figures . a running gag was that the production cost was dubbed minimal . the series found its audience among young adults who appreciated its hip perspective . 14 kevin sandler considered space ghost coast to coast instrumental in establishing cartoon network s appeal to older audiences . space ghost a 1960s superhero by hanna barbera was recast as the star of a talk show parody . this was arguably the first time the network revived a classic animated icon in an entirely new context for comedic purposes . grown ups who had ceased enjoying the original takes on the characters could find amusement in the new ironic and self referential context for them . promotional shorts such as the scooby doo project a parody of the the blair witch project gave similar treatments to the scooby gang . 15 however there were less successful efforts at such revivals . a day in the life of ranger smith and boo boo runs wild 1999 were short cartoons featuring new takes on yogi bear s supporting cast by john kricfalusi . their style of humor sexual content and break in tone from the source material was rather out of place among the rest of the cartoon network shows and the network rarely found a place for them in its programming . 16 in 1994 hanna barbera s new division cartoon network studios was founded and started production on what a cartoon also known as world premiere toons and cartoon cartoons . this show debuted in 1995 offering original animated shorts commissioned from hanna barbera and various independent animators . the network promoted the series as an attempt to return to the classic days of studio animation offering full animator control high budgets and no limited animation . the project was spearheaded by cartoon network executives plus john kricfalusi and fred seibert . kricfalusi was the creator of the ren & stimpy show and served as an advisor to the network while seibert was formerly one of the driving forces behind nickelodeon s nicktoons and would go on to produce the similar animation anthology series oh yeah cartoons and random cartoons . 14 17 cartoon network was able to assess the potential of certain shorts to serve as pilots for spin off series and signed contracts with their creators to create ongoing series . 14 dexter s laboratory was the most popular short series according to a vote held in 1995 and eventually became the first spin off of what a cartoon in 1996 . three more series based on shorts debuted from 1997 to 1999 johnny bravo cow and chicken i am weasel the latter two as segments of the same show ; i am weasel was later spun off into a separate show the powerpuff girls courage the cowardly dog and mike lu & og . 14 17 18 the unrelated series ed edd n eddy was also launched in 1999 creating a line up of critically acclaimed shows . 12 many of these series premiered bearing the cartoon cartoons brand airing throughout the network s schedule and prominently on cartoon cartoon fridays which became the marquee night for premieres of new episodes and series beginning on june 11 1999 . these original series were intended to appeal to a wider audience than the average saturday morning cartoon . linda simensky vice president of original animation reminded adults and teenage girls that cartoons could appeal to them as well . kevin sandler s article of them claimed that these cartoons were both less bawdy than their counterparts at comedy central