Boomerang (TV channel)

Boomerang is an American pay television network and streaming service owned by Warner Bros. Entertainment, a subsidiary of AT&T's WarnerMedia. It specializes in classic and contemporary animated programming owned by Warner Bros., 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.

History
Much of the programming that made up the core of Boomerang's lineup was originally part of TBS's Disaster Area, a block of children's programming that aired on that network from 1997 to 1999. Boomerang had originated from a programming block airing on Cartoon Network that debuted on December 8, 1992. It was aimed towards the generation of baby boomers and was similar to the Vault Disney nostalgia block that would debut five years later on the Disney Channel. It originally aired for four hours every weekend, but the block's start time had changed frequently. The Saturday block moved to Saturday afternoons, then back to the early morning, and the Sunday block moved to Sunday evenings. Eventually, Boomerang was shortened by an hour, reducing it from four hours to three each weekend. Turner Broadcasting System eventually converted Boomerang into a standalone cable channel that debuted on April 1, 2000. The Cartoon Network block continued to run under the new Boomerang channel branding until October 3, 2004.

On February 4, 2014, as part of the company's 2014 upfronts, Turner Broadcasting announced that Boomerang would become advertising-supported, and seek additional international distribution.

On January 19, 2015, the U.S. version of Boomerang was relaunched as part of a global rebranding effort and began to offer original programming for the first time; the relaunched channel has continued to emphasize its archival programming but with a greatly increased emphasis on the archive's most popular brands and an explicitly family-friendly approach, in the hopes that Boomerang can become a "second flagship" on par with the main Cartoon Network channel.

Availability on subscription television
Boomerang is carried on few pay television providers; tiering of the channel varies by service, with some operators offering it as a basic-tier or higher-tier network. Most providers do not carry the linear channel, instead only offering the network's video on demand service bundled with Cartoon Network. The network is offered exclusively in standard definition letterboxed, with no current plans for a high definition simulcast (formerly, current-day programming meant for HD presentation were aired in their original picture format, letterboxed). On March 4, 2019, the channel changed its default ratio to 16:9, with 4:3 content being aired stretched and the screen bug moving away from the 4:3 area, similar to what Cartoon Network did in May 2013.

Programming
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, only to be removed again on May 27, 2019. Tom and Jerry, Looney Tunes, The Smurfs, 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 16, 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. 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. 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. On April 3, 2017, the network began airing new episodes of Grizzy and the Lemmings, 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, Mighty Magiswords beginning to air on May 29, 2018, and Adventure Time and Steven Universe beginning to air on June 2, 2018.

Similar to what Nickelodeon does with NickToons and TeenNick, Boomerang's sister channel Cartoon Network occasionally uses Boomerang as a burn-off channel, airing new episodes of acquired programming not fitting Cartoon Network's current programming direction (such as Grojband and The Garfield Show), and also airing episodes of some of Cartoon Network's original and acquired shows, unadvertised, before they aired on Cartoon Network (such as Johnny Test and Ben 10: Omniverse). However, Cartoon Network usually burns off episodes of their original programming on their own network in order to provide closure to viewers.

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.

Programming blocks
Because of Boomerang's fluid schedule, programming blocks used to air for a few months, then be removed from the schedule, only to be added again a few months later, until they were almost all phased out in late 2014, due to the network's rebrand.

Current

 * Boomerang Theater – Boomerang's movie showcase block.

Former blocks

 * Boomeraction – One of the first blocks to air on Boomerang, its programming focused on action-adventure shows including Thundarr the Barbarian, Teen Titans, Samurai Jack, SWAT Kats: The Radical Squadron, The Pirates of Dark Water, Jonny Quest, The Secret Saturdays, Ben 10 (2005) and Ben 10: Omniverse. It was also one of the only Boomerang blocks to air across international feeds, including the United Kingdom, Latin America, and Australia versions of the network. The block was removed on June 1, 2014, as all programming from the block left the schedule.
 * Boomerandom – This block aired each weekend from 8 to 10 p.m. Eastern Time from 2008 to 2010, and featured two hours of episodes of a single program. The selected programs were picked by the "Boomerandom drawing machine".
 * The Boomerang Christmas Party – This block, which aired every December, features a collection of Hanna-Barbera Christmas specials (such as The Powerpuff Girls: Twas the Fight Before Christmas, Yogi's First Christmas, Christmas Comes to Pac-Land, Casper's First Christmas, The Jetsons' First Christmas and The Flintstones' Christmas).
 * Boomerang Zoo – This one-hour block featured pre-1970 Hanna-Barbera/Warner Bros. television shorts, culled mainly from the H–B funny animal series (such as Yogi Bear, Huckleberry Hound,  Atom Ant, Magilla Gorilla,  Snagglepuss, Wally Gator, and Pixie & Dixie and Mr. Jinks). It was the only block to air on both the American and European versions of the channel after the 2004 rebranding of Boomerang Europe.
 * Boomerock – This block, which aired in commemoration of the 50th anniversary of the premiere of The Flintstones in 2010, consisted of a marathon of the classic animated series.
 * Boomeroyalty (originally named Character of the Month from 2003 to 2012) – This weekend mini-marathon of shows focuses on a particular character that changes every month, similar to the former Super Chunk block on sister network Cartoon Network. "Boomeroyalty" concluded on July 22, 2012.
 * Captain Planet – In observance of Earth Day, Boomerang aired a marathon of the animated series (which was produced by Turner Program Services) every year from 2005 to 2014. Continuing the tradition in a digital format, the network's streaming service offered the series in its entirety for a limited time in spring 2018.
 * Martin Luther King, Jr. Day – In observance of MLK Day, Boomerang aired various episodes from The Garfield Show.
 * Mother's Day – A recent marathon observance by Boomerang, on the holiday, the channel airs cartoons featuring mothers, such as Jane Jetson-focused episodes of The Jetsons, and Wilma Flintstone-focused episodes of The Flintstones.
 * Pet of the Week – This block showcases 2 hours of a single animated program, where the title character is an animal, such as Courage the Cowardly Dog, The Garfield Show, and What's New, Scooby-Doo?. Currently, the block has been reduced to 1 hour of a single program.
 * Scooberang – This continuous block featured every episode of each Scooby-Doo series (which were aired in chronological order), beginning with Scooby-Doo, Where Are You!. It also aired some feature-length Scooby-Doo films, including Scooby-Doo Meets the Boo Brothers and Scooby-Doo on Zombie Island. "Scooberang" no longer airs on Boomerang. However, various series iterations of the Scooby-Doo franchise air on the channel several times daily.
 * Those Meddling Kids! – This 90-minute block featured series produced by Hanna-Barbera and/or Ruby-Spears, all of which follow the formula of a group of mystery-solving teenagers or young adults (such as Scooby-Doo, Josie and the Pussycats, Fangface, Clue Club and Speed Buggy).
 * Halloween block – This block aired during the month of October, and included Halloween-themed programs such as Scooby-Doo, Casper, The Addams Family (in its live-action as well as animated incarnations), Beetlejuice, The Funky Phantom, Goober and the Ghost Chasers and The Munsters. This is notably the only time that Boomerang regularly aired any live-action programming, particularly as The Addams Family and The Munsters have aired on the channel each October since 2011. The Halloween programming replaced the annual Scooberang block in 2011 and aired again in 2012 and 2013; it was not brought back in 2014 when the channel began to change focus.
 * Weeknights at 8:30 – Boomerang's prime time premieres block aired new episodes of, Be Cool, Scooby-Doo!, The Garfield Show, Shaun the Sheep, DreamWorks Dragons, and Sonic Boom. When the block ended in 2016, each of the shows featured there, except for DreamWorks Dragons, continued to air.

Boomerang On Demand
Boomerang On Demand is the channel's video-on-demand service, offering select episodes of the channel's archived programming, along with select archived Cartoon Network original programs. Launched in 2005, it is available on select digital cable, satellite and IPTV providers. In April 2013, Boomerang On Demand began to separate program content by "theme" (for example, in observance of Mother's Day, the service featured episodes of The Flintstones and Dexter's Laboratory featuring the characters of Dexter's mom and Wilma Flintstone), but this concept was scrapped in January 2015 due to the network's rebrand.

Mobile app/subscription service
On March 7, 2017, Boomerang announced that it would launch an app that will feature programming from the 5000+ titles from its sister companies Hanna-Barbera and Warner Bros, as well as exclusive original programming. The app launched on April 11, 2017, and is available either for $4.99 per month or $39.99 annually. New episodes and content are planned to be added weekly. Currently, the Boomerang App is only available for subscription in the United States. On November 13, 2018, the Boomerang service launched as a channel on the VRV streaming service.

International
Boomerang, originally established as a cable channel in the United States, has expanded worldwide. Each of these networks will be aligned globally in 2015 under one unified branding to reflect a family co-viewing network.

Australia
An Australian version of Boomerang was launched in March 2004 as part of the launch of Foxtel's digital service, with a lineup very similar to that of the U.K. version. It began as a four-hour block of programs in 2001, when the Australian version of Cartoon Network began broadcasting on a 24-hour schedule. It previously used the logo and break format of the flagship American service. However, in November 2007, the channel revamped both its logo and promotions as well as its website, boomerangtvshow.com. However, it uses the same bumpers for as the U.S. channel. On 1 December 2012, the channel introduced a new on-air look with the same logo and appearance as the European channels. On 3 November 2014, the channel changed its logo to the current logo.

Africa/HQ
Boomerang HQ (pan-European feed) was launched on 5 June 2005, originally broadcasting in Eastern Europe, the Benelux, Portugal, the Middle East and Africa (in English), Poland (in Polish), Greece and Cyprus (in Greek) and Hungary (only selected shows in Hungarian); it featured mainly former Cartoon Network and Hanna-Barbera programs. The feed also had subtitles in Dutch for Benelux viewers.

In 2008, Boomerang HQ added an Arabic audio track for select shows in the Middle East and North Africa.

In October 2010, the channel started to broadcast select shows in Romanian. On 12 October 2011, the Central and Eastern Europe feed (Poland, Hungary and Romania) was separated from the HQ feed; as a result, the CEE feed now maintains its own schedule, as well as featuring promos and bumpers in Hungarian, Romanian, Polish and English, as well as the preschool-targeted block Cartoonito, which was added to both feeds around the same time.

However, the Netherlands (and the Flanders region in Belgium), Portugal, Arab world, Africa, Greece and Cyprus (including some operators in the Czech Republic) continued to carry Boomerang HQ.

The channel was available in Portugal until 31 December 2013, when it was removed due to the launch of the Portuguese feed of Cartoon Network.

On 1 November 2014, all TV operators in the Benelux and the Czech Republic began airing the CEE feed of the channel instead, leaving Greece and Cyprus as the only European countries where the channel was broadcast; from that day onward, Boomerang in the Benelux has been broadcasting in Dutch.

The channel rebranded on 14 January 2015.

On 1 July 2016, the HQ/Africa feed was replaced with Boomerang MENA in the Middle East and North, with the MENA version available on beIN and various Gulf IPTV providers with an Arabic audio track for most programs with spoken dialogue. The MENA version has also replaced the Africa version on TV operators in Greece and Cyprus, and continues to broadcast in Greek. The MENA version has a separate schedule and programming lineup.

Central and Eastern Europe
Prior to the launch of Boomerang CEE, the HQ version was broadcast since 2005 in Hungarian and Polish.

In October 2010, the channel started to broadcast select shows in Romanian. On 12 October 2011, the Central and Eastern Europe feed (Poland, Hungary and Romania) was separated from the HQ feed; as a result, the former maintains its own schedule, as well as featuring promos and bumpers in Hungarian, Romanian, Polish and English, as well as the preschool-targeted block Cartoonito, which was added to both feeds around the same time.

In February 2012, the channel began accepting commercial advertising outside of Poland, whose feed also accepts traditional advertising. From March 2012, Boomerang got a new look. In July 2013, the channel started to air select shows in Russian, in preparation for a possible launch of a separate feed for Russia.

In October 2013, a Russian subfeed was also added to the channel, thus making it now broadcast in five languages; Hungarian, Romanian, Polish, English and Russian. In January 2014, the Cartoonito brand name was gone from the both CEE and EMEA channels, thus making those shows identifiable as Boomerang shows and the Boomerang next bumpers were rebranded. Starting from July 2014, Russia banned commercials, making the Russian subfeed ad-free on all platforms.

On 1 November 2014, all TV operators in the Benelux and the Czech Republic began airing the CEE feed of the channel instead, leaving Greece and Cyprus as the only European countries where the channel was broadcast; a Dutch track was then added to Boomerang CEE, making it now broadcast in six languages.

The channel adopted the 2015 look on 2 February 2015.

On 1 October 2018, Boomerang CEE replaced Boomerang Germany and took over its channel slot. It launched a subfeed intended to air German advertisements.

France
The network rebranded on 3 January 2015.

Germany
Boomerang launched in Germany in June 2006; it was available on Kabel Deutschland, Kabel BW, and Unity Media. The network adopted the new branding on 16 February 2015. On 1 October 2018, Boomerang Germany shut down and was replaced by Boomerang CEE.

Italy
The channel adopted a new look on 2 February 2015.

Latin America and Brazil
Boomerang was launched in 2 July 2001, with a schedule comprising classic animated series. This lasted from 2001 until 2006, when it changed its target for a general audience started to air and mixed cartoons with live-action series and movies on its library. In 2008 all the remaining cartoons were removed from the schedule, changing the main focus of the channel to teen-oriented programming, which consisted of live-action shows, movies and music video clips. Nevertheless, on 1 April 2014, Boomerang suddenly changed again its teen-oriented programming to a cartoon-oriented one with newer animated series as well as older cartoons from Cartoon Network, with live-action series airing after midnight. On 28 September 2014, it got rebranded, becoming the first Boomerang network in the world to adopt the new look.

Middle East and North Africa
Boomerang HQ was launched on 5 June 2005; in the Middle East and North Africa, it originally broadcast in English only, and was offered on Orbit and Showtime, and later OSN, the merger of the aforementioned companies which was created in 2009, until a licensing agreement between Turner Broadcasting System Europe and beIN Media Group in December 2015 removed the channel from OSN; the HQ feed, along with CN HQ, CNN International (which itself continues to be available as a free-to-air satellite channel), and the newly created TCM MENA feed was then added to beIN on 1 January 2016, and removed from OSN on 16 January 2016.

In 2008, Boomerang HQ added an Arabic audio track for select shows in the Middle East and North Africa.

On 1 July 2016, Boomerang MENA was launched in the Middle East and North Africa region. Broadcasting in HD, the bilingual feed has promos, bumpers and shows in English and Arabic. Boomerang MENA is also offered in Greece and Cyprus as well, broadcasting its shows in Greek.

Netherlands and Flanders
Originally, in the Netherlands and Flanders, the HQ version of Boomerang was broadcast in English with Dutch subtitles, and was launched in 2005. In November 2014 however, the HQ version was replaced with the CEE version, broadcasting bilingually in English and Dutch. A Dutch feed and a new logo launched on 2 February 2015. Since 2017 the CEE feed is airing in the Netherlands and Belgium.

Others
Since 2005, Boomerang is also available via digital cable and satellite in the Netherlands and Belgium. In the Middle East and North Africa, Boomerang H. In Sub-Saharan Africa, Boomerang is available on MultiChoice's DStv. The channel rebranded on 14 January 2015.

Portugal
Boomerang is a Portuguese pay television channel launched on 21 April 2015 and owned by Turner Broadcasting System Europe. The channel was only available for Angola and Mozambique until 26 April 2018, when it was finally launched in Portugal.

Scandinavia
In late 2005, Turner Broadcasting announced its intention to launch several new channels in the Nordic region (to join its then-current channels Turner Classic Movies, Cartoon Network and CNN International). One of the planned new channels was Boomerang, for which Turner applied for a broadcast license to operate on Swedish digital terrestrial television in the fall of 2005.

Southeast Asia
The Southeast Asian version of Boomerang was launched on 1 September 2005. It began as a 90-minute block of programmes in 2001, when Cartoon Network Asia began broadcasting on a 24-hour schedule. It previously used the American logo and style of commercial breaks. It previously used the logo and break format of the flagship American service. However, in November 2007, the channel revamped both its logo and promotions. In December 2012, the channel was replaced by Toonami. Boomerang, however, returned to Asia on 1 January 2015, replacing Cartoonito.

This channel is available in Hong Kong, the selected ASEAN member neighbour countries and Sri Lanka. The 24-hour channel in India was only available on Dish TV exclusively along with Turner Classic Movies until 2 March 2009. It is currently only available on IN Digital Cable from the Hinduja Group in Mumbai and the National Capital Region. In Pakistan, it ran as a two-hour block but was replaced with Pogo due to poor ratings. In Indonesia, it is available on Indovision, Aora TV, and TelkomVision.

South Korea
After the United States–Korea Free Trade Agreement went effective in 2012, it allowed Turner Broadcasting to directly manage Cartoon Network Korea starting from March 2015. On November 14, local version of Boomerang was also launched in Korea. The programming mainly consists of modern Warner Bros./Hanna-Barbera series, but Korean children's animations are also prominently featured.

Spain
Boomerang launched a Spanish version of the channel in 2004. It was available on the Digital+ digital platform and on the Auna cable platform. It was introduced as a part of Cartoon Network's schedule on weekend afternoons.

The channel's programming strongly resembled that of the UK version. It relied heavily in older Warner Bros., MGM, and Hanna-Barbera cartoons, but it also included fairly recent programmes featuring older characters, like Baby Looney Tunes and Duck Dodgers. It also featured other classic cartoons, like the Japanese Heidi and the Spanish La vuelta al mundo de Willy Fog (Around the World with Willy Fog).

On 1 September 2011, it was replaced by Cartoonito, which itself ceased operations on 30 June 2013, along with the Spanish version of Cartoon Network.

Thailand
The Thailand version of Boomerang was launched on 14 August 2013.

Turkey
The Turkey version of Boomerang was launching on 23 April 2016, at D-Smart and Tivibu

United Kingdom & Ireland
Boomerang launched in the Republic of Ireland and the United Kingdom on 27 May 2000. It broadcasts 24 hours a day on Sky, Virgin Media, TalkTalk TV and Chorus Digital. This version of the channel also features other animated series such as Mr. Bean and Gadget Boy. In late July 2007, Boomerang UK started carrying live-action programs, including those exclusive to the channel such as My Spy Family. The network rebranded on 16 February 2015.