Boomerang (TV channel)

Boomerang is an American pay television network as well as an streaming service that is owned by Turner Broadcasting System, a subsidiary of AT&T's WarnerMedia. It specializes in classic and contemporary animated programming owned by WarnerMedia, including Looney Tunes, Tom and Jerry, and Scooby-Doo.

Launched in 1992 globally and in 2000 for the United States, Boomerang originated as a programming block and spinoff of Cartoon Network. It eventually grew into its own separate channel and identity, and similarly shares the same brand and likeness as Cartoon Network. The network's schedule is more experimental than most children's networks, mixing in older and newer content, and also runs on a sustained model with little advertising outside of Turner services and short-form continuity mainly featuring cartoon shorts and featurettes.

As of February 2015, approximately 43.6 million households (37.5% of those with television) access the channel.

Programming
Main article: List of programs broadcast by Boomerang

Historically, Boomerang avoided overt channel drift and, despite adding newer content to its library, continued to air programming from the breadth of its archives. As of spring 2014, however, most of its archival programming was relegated to graveyard slots while the daytime schedule has increasingly been dominated by programming from the 1990s and later. This policy went through a partial reversal on April 3, 2017, with a bigger focus on shows from the 2010s, before older Cartoon Network shows, such as Dexter's Laboratory and Foster's Home For Imaginary Friends, which were dropped by Boomerang since April 3, 2017, returned to Boomerang's schedule on January 2, 2018. Tom and Jerry, Looney Tunes, and various series in the Scooby-Doo franchise, have more or less had permanent places on the schedule since the rebrand. The Flintstones and The Jetsons, two permanent shows on the schedule prior to the rebrand, returned in a late-night time slot in on July 30, 2018, before leaving the schedule again on November 30, 2018.

Not all of the Warner Media animation library is currently available to Boomerang. A portion of the library that includes the WB/Amblin Entertainment-produced animated series from the 1990s that were produced in collaboration with Steven Spielberg (including Tiny Toon Adventures and most of Animaniacs), and most properties involving Batman and Superman (including the DC Animated Universe), is put out for license to other networks; those properties most recently aired on the Hub Network from late 2012 until that network's demise in October 2014. Warner Media's library of Christmas specials, including the latter half of the Rankin/Bass Productions library, is licensed to AMC as of 2018 for their "Best Christmas Ever" block and was previously licensed to the Family Channel and Freeform's 25 Days of Christmas for over 20 years. Boomerang also occasionally licenses programming from other distributors, such as The Rocky and Bullwinkle Show, which rejoined the lineup for a short run in August and September 2013.

Although Boomerang's programming philosophy was originally intended to showcase classic cartoons, it started to add some newer shows in recent years. On January 1, 2012, the channel began airing new episodes of Puppy in My Pocket: Adventures in Pocketville, which ended in February 2013. On November 17 and 24, 2012, Boomerang aired new episodes of Ben 10: Omniverse, before their telecast on sister channel Cartoon Network. Boomerang reintroduced the "Wedgies" series of animated shorts (which air in-between shows) in 2013. Boomerang also began airing Teen Titans Go! and The Amazing World of Gumball on December 1, 2014, alongside their airings on Cartoon Network, and continued airing them until April 2, 2017. Numb Chucks was picked up by Boomerang for first-run broadcast in the United States on January 10, 2015, after initially having been announced for Cartoon Network, before being removed from the channel's schedule on July 12, 2015.[8] On June 28, 2015, it was announced that Boomerang would receive original programs such as New Looney Tunes, Be Cool, Scooby-Doo!, and an animated adaptation of Bunnicula.[9]  On April 3, 2017, the network began airing new episodes of Grizzy and the Lemmings,[10]  after it was originally pitched to Cartoon Network. Boomerang began airing re-runs of additional modern Cartoon Network series in mid-2018, with Regular Show beginning to air on May 28, 2018,[11]  Mighty Magiswords beginning to air on May 29, 2018,[12]  and Adventure Time and Steven Universe beginning to air on June 2, 2018.[13]  Of these, only Adventure Time and Regular Show continue to air on the channel as of December 1, 2018.

Some of the programs that no longer air on the Boomerang linear channel are available on the subscription over-the-top service bearing the Boomerang name.