Cable News/Rant: G4 Canada drops [adult swim] from schedule

Last updated on January 2, 2013

I’m introducing you guys to a new contributor today, Cameron Archer.

Cameron and I have been corresponding for some time now, and I’ve come to enjoy his commentary on TV in general, and sometimes animation in particular.  You can usually find him over on his own site, urbmn.  Cam’s got opinions, and he’s not afraid to share them.  So we’re going to let him share some of them here.  I’m hoping it will lead to some discussion, and as usual, let’s try to keep things civilized.

I guess I should probably mention, the opinions expressed in Cam’s pieces, are his, and do not necessarily reflect those of Canadian Animation Resources, or me.  That being said, I do enjoy reading them.

Have fun,

Mike

This isn’t the way I want to introduce myself to Canadian Animation Resources readers, but this story still pisses me off.  Aside from Robot Chicken, which Teletoon has a death grip on, [adult swim] original series are governed by G4 Canada, as part of the Adult Digital Distraction block.  Around October 16, the cartoons were replaced by reruns of The Office and, in the weekday 1:00-1:30 AM timeslot, X-Play.  According to a Rogers Media Television PR representative – and I hate to link to my own stuff, but no one else has pursued this story – the cartoons in the ADd block will return March 2012.

This programming information is always subject to change, but G4 Canada ran no ads letting viewers know of this changeover.  The Adult Digital Distraction block has been in rerun mode for months now, and ADd’s last high-profile pickup was Cartoon Network’s MAD in December 2010. Yeah, G4 Canada tried to pass MAD off as an adult series.  I don’t make these things up.

I remember when Teletoon pulled this exact same stunt with [adult swim], cramming new episodes of [as] content into what was then the Saturday night Detour block in 2008, after months of reruns.  Perhaps the shows aside from Robot Chicken were earning low ratings, and/or were too expensive to buy relative to performance.  I don’t know.  I don’t have access to BBM Canada numbers.

G4 Canada has to adhere to its 2006 G4TechTV license amendment with the CRTC, which limits comedy and drama to 15% of the schedule. The Office currently accounts for 12.5% of G4 Canada’s overall weekday schedule, which is insane.  G4’s stock in America is so low, UFC decided not to buy a controlling stake in the channel when it had the chance to. It makes me wonder what G4’s future as a whole is, in Canada and elsewhere.

[as] puts out its fair share of badly-animated fare, like 12 oz. Mouse and Aqua Unit Patrol Squad 1, yet it’s also given a home to The Venture Bros. and Superjail.  [as]’s American success once gave me hope that shows in the [as] vein could be made in Canada for domestic audiences.  In 2011, I realize G4 Canada is an old plaything for Rogers Media Television, and [as]’s future is far from certain.  It’s never fun watching a channel in stasis.