Complete Coverage: Upfronts 2012
New York -- At an upfront presentation celebrating its 20th anniversary,
Cartoon Network on Wednesday announced a 2012-13 programming slate of seven new
series while touting its rank as the number one network for boys 6-11.
The new series include a sketch comedy show from Nick Cannon featuring a comedy
troupe of teen stars; Annoying Orange,
based on the YouTube sensation about an orange and his food pals on a range of
adventures, will premiere in summer 2012; and DreamWorks' Dragons: The Series, based on the film How to Train Your Dragon, which debuts this fall.
Also on tap are a new animated series from the Ben 10 franchise called Ben
10: Omniverse; Beware theBatman, a new CG-animated take on the
classic Dark Knight franchise and the competition spinoff Total Drama: Revenge of the Island.
Cartoon Network has also inked a new partnership with Lego for a second series
in 2013 following the success of Lego's recently launched CG-animated Ninjago.
The Turner-owned net also announced renewals for existing series Adventure Time, Regular Show, The Amazing
World of Gumball, MAD and The Looney Tunes Show, as well as a
second season pick-up for the live-action comedy Level Up and a fifth season of Star
Wars: The Clone Wars.
Supplementing the series will be a third Hall of Game Awards special in early
2013 and the production of 10 original 7-minute shorts this year.
In digital, CartoonNetwork.com will roll out the online racing game Formula
Cartoon where players can race their friends or favorite CN characters.
President and COO Stu Snyder also said the network would be announcing plans
for an expanded presence on mobile phones and tablets later this year.
Turner brass in attendance at the presentation at the Roseland Ballroom
Wednesday afternoon included Phil Kent, chairman and CEO, Turner Broadcasting
System; David Levy, president, sales, distribution
and sports, Turner Broadcasting System; Greg D'Alba, executive VP and COO, ad
sales, CNN; and Donna Speciale, president, ad sales, Turner Entertainment and Animation,
with executive VP and general sales manager John O'Hara and chief content
officer Rob Sorcher among those addressing the crowd of advertisers.
In the spirit of marking its 20th anniversary, the net closed out its
presentation with a tribute to animation and the classic cartoons that launched
the network. The voice casts of Adventure
Time and Regular Show staged a
live read-through of several scenes for the audience and a full orchestra
played theme music from classic Cartoon Network shows like The Flintstones, Scooby Doo
and Johnny Bravo to end the event.
