When 14-year-old Ashley Rosario went looking for her favorite Cartoon Network shows such as "Chowder" and "The Marvelous Misadventures of Flapjack" and instead found reality programs, she did what any normal teenager does these days. She made a video complaining about it and posted it on YouTube.
"I'm scared for Cartoon Network," said Ashley, of Melbourne, Fla., adding that she was "outraged" by the channel's new direction and that she wasn't "the only one who feels this way."
She's right. Since launching several live-action reality shows in June and moving away from its animation roots, Cartoon Network, which is owned by Time Warner Inc.'s Turner Broadcasting, has been playing a game of hide-and-seek with its audience. Few of its new shows -- which include "Survive This," a knockoff for kids of CBS' "Survivor"; "The Othersiders," about a bunch of paranormal-obsessed ghost-hunting teens; and "Brain Rush," a quiz show with contestants on roller coasters -- are catching on with viewers, and none are among the network's top 10 series. Only one -- "Destroy Build Destroy," whose title is self-explanatory -- is gaining any traction.
Cartoon Network's audience has been declining for years. From January to August, the network averaged 370,000 viewers ages 9 to 14 in prime time -- a drop of 30% from four years earlier, according to Nielsen Media Research. The new shows haven't reversed the slide. In July, the network had the fewest viewers in that target age range since May 2000 and its least-watched month overall since June 1998.
There is internal tension as well, with many veteran animators either quitting or being handed their walking papers. There are even whispers inside the channel's Burbank animation studios that the network might drop "Cartoon" from its name.
"It's a little sad. . . . Cartoon Network had something really unique," said Craig McCracken, creator of "The Powerpuff Girls" and "Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends," two of the network's most popular shows. McCracken recently left the network after working there 17 years because he no longer has any shows in the works there.
Simply being unique isn't cutting it anymore for the brass at Cartoon Network. Launched in 1992 on the back of the Hanna-Barbera library, Cartoon Network has struggled to stand out against rivals Nickelodeon, Disney Channel and Disney's new XD network. With its quirky and somewhat subversive animated shows, including "The Grim Adventures of Billy & Mandy" and the slapstick "Ed, Edd n Eddy," Cartoon Network has also been a tough sell to parents and even kids.
