Pokémon in the United States

The logo of Kids' WB! since it became an online network.

Headquarters

USA

Launched

1995

Broadcasted On

The WB, The CW

Kids' WB! is a former programming block that was broadcast on The WB Television Network and later, as a result of a merge between WB and UPN, on The CW Television Network. The initial run of the block was from 1995-2008, and it aired (at various stages) both before and after school, and also on Saturday mornings. Kids' WB, in its original form, shut down on May 17, 2008. Prior to its closure it was relaunched as an online video on demand service.

Pokémon and Kids' WB

Kids' WB aired episodes from the original 4Kids Entertainment dub of the Pokémon anime from 1999 until 2006. The first episode aired was The Problem with Paras, on February 13. The network aired the remainder of the first season, and every other non-banned episode through season eight. Warner Bros. also used the Kids' WB! name in their promotions of the first three Pokémon movies.

On January 22, 2005, Kids' WB! was the first to air the English version of the seventh movie, Destiny Deoxys. It was also first to air the 10th anniversary Pokémon special, The Mastermind of Mirage Pokémon, on April 29, 2006, even before it aired in Japan. This special was the first to be dubbed by The Pokémon Company International (then known as Pokémon USA), as well as being the only time Kids' WB! aired the new dub by Pokémon USA. Along with the special, a promotional sweepstakes was run by Kids' WB! to win tenth anniversary related merchandise.

In 2006, before any more Pokémon USA episodes could be aired, the network announced that all non-Warner Brothers shows would be dropped from the lineup. This meant that Pokémon, among other shows, would no longer be aired on Kids' WB!. The series would eventually move to Cartoon Network, which is owned by TimeWarner via its' Tuner Broadcasting division on September 8th.

After 2006

On October 2, 2007, it was announced that the Kids' WB block would end in September the following year. Management stated that this was because of the effects of children's advertising limits and competition from cable TV channels. In an ironic twist, the block was sold to 4Kids, who had also bought the old Fox Kids block, renaming it the "Fox Box" and then "4Kids TV". Fox Broadcasting Company ended their relationship with 4Kids in December 2008, and as of 2010, used the old slot to allow affiliates to use for news or E/I programming, save for two hours called "Fox Marketplace", in essence an block of Infomercials.

The last time Kids' WB! aired was, contrary to earlier reports, May 17, 2008. After this date the block was relabeled as The CW4Kids. Kids' WB! was revamped into an online video on demand service, which was launched on April 28, 2008. Pokémon is not included on the list of available titles; however, episodes are available on demand via the USA Pokémon.com web portal.

Logos

Kids' WB! has had numerous logos throughout the years. It has typically varied between Michigan J. Frog and the WB Water Tower.

The Kids' WB! logo used from 1997-2001.
Kids' WB logo from 2001-2008.
Kids' WB BETA's Logo until July 2009

External links

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