For several hours yesterday I had my TV on and tuned — "tooned" is more like it — to the new MeTV Toons channel. At times, it felt like it should be called the "All Bob Bergen Promos with Occasional Cartoons Channel" but that would be okay as they were wise enough to engage one of the best cartoon voice guys to be their House Voice. (Bob, by the way, will be on our Saturday Cartoon Voices Panel at Comic-Con and he's also on a MeTV Toons Panel which I think is on Friday.)
I'm quite pleased with this channel. Yeah, they run some cartoons that I don't care for…and I never thought I'd see an episode of Go Go Gophers introduced as a "Classic Cartoon." But there are enough goodies there to delight anyone. I'm curious as to how their lineup will change as they get a better idea of what their audience is tuning in to see…or tuning out. I hear they have dozens and dozens of shows that are not part of their current schedule but can be rotated in when the time comes.
I'm also curious about the advertising. I saw almost no commercials that were geared towards kids and a lot that I'd expect to see on a network that targets older folks, including one for an anti-aging creme and one for a law firm that specializes in estate disputes. Is that the audience they're hoping to attract? How will it change as they get more data on who's watching? I do like that they aren't jamming a lot of ads in and that the cartoons I watched all seemed to be uncut — except for one racial gag that in a Tom & Jerry that was trimmed.
I'm watching right this minute. Atom Ant is on and they just had a commercial for Grand Canyon University, followed by one for Tide detergent, followed by one for the GMC Sierra truck, followed by one for the Studio Scent Diffuser from Hotel Collection. That last is a device that will allow your home to smell like a five-star hotel. Are these advertisers likely to get a lot of nibbles from folks who are watching Atom Ant cartoons? I'm not being sarcastic. This is an honest question from someone who's 72 years old and who at the moment is watching Atom Ant.
Oh no, wait: That's over and now I'm watching "Case of the Missing Hare," a Bugs Bunny cartoon directed by Chuck Jones ten years before I was born. Maybe this is more of an "all ages" channel than some might have thought.