Initially, the channel would broadcast cartoons 24 hours a day. 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. Turner Broadcasting System had defied conventional wisdom before by launching CNN, a channel providing 24-hour news coverage. 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."Ĭartoon 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. By the time the network launched, Cartoon Network had an 8,500-hour cartoon library. At first, cable providers in New York City, Philadelphia, Washington, D.C., Dallas, and Detroit carried the channel. cartoons (the pre-1948 Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies), the 1933–1957 Popeye cartoons, MGM cartoons, and Hanna-Barbera cartoons. Initial programming on the channel consisted exclusively of reruns of Warner Bros. On October 1, 1992, The Cartoon Network launched to the finale of Tchaikovsky's 1812 Overture with a backdrop of cartoon explosions, followed by a special event called Droopy's Guide to the Cartoon Network hosted by the Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer's Tom & Jerry cartoon character Droopy, during which the first cartoon on the network, Rhapsody Rabbit, was shown. This logo was used on its merchandising products until 2017 and as a production logo from April 15, 1994, to November 9, 2016. The original Cartoon Network logo, used from October 1, 1992, to June 13, 2004. On February 18, 1992, Turner Broadcasting announced its plans to launch Cartoon Network as an outlet for Turner's considerable library of animation. Ted Turner selected Betty Cohen, then-Senior Vice President of TNT, to devise a network that would house these programs. (then-owner of Universal Studios) and Hallmark Cards when it made a deal to purchase the library of animation studio Hanna-Barbera for $320 million. In 1991, Turner beat out bidders including MCA Inc. 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. On October 8, 1988, its cable channel Turner Network Television was launched and had gained an audience with its extensive film library. 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 Co. On August 9, 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 18, 1986, Turner was forced to sell MGM back to Kerkorian after approximately only 75 days of ownership.