Battle of Action Animation Venues: Who will be top in 2011?

Who will be the best Action Animation venue in 2011?

  • Adult Swim

    Votes: 1 5.6%
  • Cartoon Network

    Votes: 11 61.1%
  • Disney XD

    Votes: 2 11.1%
  • Funimation Channel

    Votes: 1 5.6%
  • The Hub

    Votes: 2 11.1%
  • Nick Toons

    Votes: 1 5.6%
  • Crunchyroll

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • Netflix

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • Hulu Plus

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • Youtube

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • Saturday Morning Broadcast Blocks

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • Other

    Votes: 0 0.0%

  • Total voters
    18

Lighthammer

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So there's a ton of exciting things coming up on the animation circuits this year and into 2011.

I'm curious what everyone thinks will end up coming out on top in the next year.

Adult Swim
Adult Swim seems to be drying up some with the biggest attractions still remaining as Family Guy, King of the Hill and now American Dad. Action animation, at current has all but dried up with Bleach, Kekkaishi and Fullmetal Alchemist are the only main stay action series currently in premier. Will they make an effort to strengthen their venue over the next year?

Cartoon Network
Cartoon Network still has their strong affiliation with DC Comics and have some dang good series coming down the pipe. One of their main stays, Star Wars: Clone Wars still seems to be going strong with previous hints that the universe may get extended. The new Thundercats series that was announced in 2006 seems that it will finally make it's debut sometime in 2011. Beyond that, they have built up a great deal of in house programs such as Ben 10, Sym-Bionic Titan and Generator Rex also have been very popular. Will Cartoon Network be able to streamline all their assets into a well oiled, competitive venue in the next year?

Disney XD
Disney's recent acquisition of Marvel has allowed them to build the network around new series coming down the pipe. This makes the potential of Disney very attractive. Avenger's buildup to their premier suggests Disney is doing justice by the properties. We also already know that a new X-Men and Spiderman series coming down the pipe along with several other candidates. Disney has also been making some outstanding moves in lining up world class anime series. Further, it sounds like Disney is suring up their relationship with Viz which could make for even more interesting programming options. Disney seems to be making all the right decisions. Can Disney bring all their assets together to make a truly kick ass 2011 channel?

Funimation Channel

The Funimation Channel has struggled since it's launch in 2005 to find a home in most households. I personally lived in 5 cities over the last 2 years from coast to coast and have yet to see it as part of a regular channel lineup. The library Funimation commands and it's success with many of it's shows is undeniable. Funimation has also taken to the interwebz in an effort to find it's home in the virtual universe and still remains a force to be reckoned with in shear series it brings to the US. WIth the introduction of new services like Verizon's FIOS, Funimation channel may finally see itself in many homes across the country. Will either it's broadcast venues sure up it's library as a staple in anyone's household?

The Hub
Hasbro's new venture as partner of the Discovery channel has made a very interesting, yet somewhat problematic jump into the animation circuit. Hasbro is pulling out all the stops in terms of building series out of their most popular Toy Lines. Series that many of Generation X grew up with. Series that rocked the 80s will be reborn and we'll once again see shows like G.I. Joe and Transformers in what could be fantastic reincarnations dominate the airwaves. The Hub faces a similar problem to Disney that they have potential, but they need to bring all their chess pieces together. Unlike Disney, The Hub also faces opposition from Parents concerned over this new "30 minute toy commercial venue". Will this potential concentrated coolness come to fruition?

Nick Toons
Nick Toons faced some stumbling blocks last year with Disney's acquisition of Marvel. Without flinching, Nick Toons forged new relations with Funimation, Mirage Studios and Saban. In short, the companies that made some of the biggest domestic cash cows in the animation industry are now in Nick's left pocket and man is it showing. Unlike Disney DX and and The Hub, Nick is already able to make very good use of the properties these relationships are bringing to the table, but they still require development time to truly make use of some of properties such as TMNT, Power Rangers and the Dragon Ball Universe. Nick still has their own studios bringing out some great animation. No on can forget that the Avatar was easily competition for series such as Naruto. Are these immediate gains Nick is making going to keep them afloat during their development time?

Crunchyroll
Crunchyroll's anime library has literally become the largest available in the US. Crunchyroll's only downfall is that currently it's only accessible through the computers and an exclusive crowd who is lucky enough to have media extenders. Crunchyroll is most certainly making series never seen before available in the US. Is Crunchyroll being the biggest provider of anime going to earn it enough points to get to the top of this action animation contest?

Netflix
Netflix's marketing power has made it a very attractive venue and many gamers by virtue of having a Wii, Xbox360 or PS3 already have access to Netflix on their TV and on their Computers. Although their current selection isn't huge, it's growing steadily. Netflix successfully took down Hollywood Video and is systematically forcing Blockbuster to yield to it's overwhelming popularity. Will Netflix do the same to the TV industry?

Hulu Plus
Hulu is a powerhouse built on the backs of several TV companies and has become a monster that is now threatening to become the Master in the near future. Like Netflix, Hulu also can be found on many of the current gen consoles but it also has companies such as Sony looking to tap it's unique entertainment direction. Hulu's library is overwhelming today and will only get stronger as time goes on. Hulu hasn't yet been able to quiet crack into the "premier market", but has already been in a unique position to broadcast subed versions of Anime the week after it premiers in Japan. Will Hulu remain in the niche market

Youtube
Youtube, powered by Google, is the pioneer of the streaming market. Like the other streaming companies, it hasn't yet been able to crack out of the "Niche" market, but the technology push Google is making in the way of the internet threatens to peculate at any moment. Like Netflix and Hulu, Youtube is also available on the Wii, Xbox360 and PS3. Google is headlining technology to bring Youtube to your TV and they aren't having problems finding other companies who want to help them in this endeavor. Like Hulu, Youtube bolsters a HUGE Library, but beyond their broadcast library, there's something else unique Youtube brings to the venue, it also brings the ability to play videos made by users. Youtube still has the problem, however, that they are not bringing anything new to the action animation scene, nor are the premiering any animation currently. Like the other internet sources however, they are bringing action animation that hasn't been broadcast in the US yet. Are all these factors going to make Youtube the premier dealer in 2011?

What about Saturday Morning blocks?
I'm not including Saturday Morning blocks because I am trying to focus on channels that can broadcast throughout the week, not channels that are given a small amount of time per week. Beyond that, I tend to fear that with the educational requirements of non-cable stations, Saturday morning blocks are going to be overwhelmed. That being said, I'll still provide a spot to vote for Saturday Morning blocks in general =).

Did I miss a venue?
If I missed a venue, please feel free to add your voice.
 
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Shredhead

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As much as I hate this network now I see Cartoon Network being the kings during 2011 with Thundercats coming as well as other DC shows coming up with the strong friday lineup they aready have. I wouldn't count Nick and Disney out there getting the tools and the knowledge of how to use these shows. I got a feeling Nick or Disney could dethrone CN by 2012.
 

Lighthammer

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One of the factors I for see really making the difference between the various companies comes down to marketing.

I easily fall into the camp that felt CN was finished when Toonami was canceled and I still largely feel that way. That was a level of marketing I never would have expected to go away from CN ... till it happened. I like seeing that they are suring up their action animation again, but loosing Naruto and DBZ both make me go WTF.

Of the most major venues so far, I think Disney DX has demonstrated their ability to market best so far (all be it, still not as awesome as Toonami yet). However, this whole marketing campaign that Disney did for Avenger's makes me sit back and think that they truly have some good stuff going on.

Nick gives me some pause right now. I have to admit that they have cartoons on generally when I am in the mood to watch them or within an hour of when I do. However, I get the feeling that this is more because Nick is relying on the Marathon gimmick more then actually relying on strategic scheduling. They've had the right shows for about 2 years now but it always comes down to if I want to catch all the episodes, I keep feeling like if I want to watch the series from beginning, I have to watch it off network.

Disney DX simply feels as though it has the best potential to be thee network to watch by next fall. I am happy that compared to the mid 2000s, there are actually other venues now though.

I think personally by 2012 or maybe 2013 Hulu, Youtube, Netflix etc are going to be major contenders but there's one thing really stopping them at this point in my mind. They need a way to deal with premiers and this way needs to make them competitive. These streaming services are in a unique position where they DO NOT need to build a complete schedule, but having 1 set time to tune in for certain things will go a long way to building these networks over the next 2 years. Unless they can come up with a way to do this, things like Sports and News are going to struggle and I believe having premiers is just a good way to get hype going for anything.
 

Gold Guy

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I guess I'd vote for CN. They have Ben 10, Star Wars, Sym-Bionic, Batman, Pokemon, Beyblade, Super Hero Squad, and soon they will have Green Lantern, Young Justice and others.

The only ones close are The Hub, Disney XD, and Nicktoons.
 

Beat

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While my vote will change if any of these networks airs Panty and Stocking with Garterbelt, I'm going to vote for DisneyXD. More original material with popular licenses, and more market penetration via those licenses.
 

Marvin Tikvah

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My vote would go for Cartoon Network...if the Friday night line-up wasn't being completely overshadowed by the counter-programming on Disney channel and Nickelodeon.

As far as choice goes, they're probably the one to go for in terms of action shows but they really need to get it together and switch around premieres and what goes where. The Brave and The Bold hardly gets any air time outside its Friday timeslot, and Super Hero Squad is getting buried at 6am. Generator Rex is also losing out on air time despite being around for most of the year and Clone Wars never gets any reruns as far as I've seen.
 

c@rt00nguy26

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By 2011, CN will have Symbiotic Titan,Generator Rex, Ben 10, Clone Wars, Green Lantern, Young Justice, and Thundercats. I can't think of any other Network that has an action animation line-up like that. For me, Nick only has DBZ and Disney is getting the upcoming MARVEL cartoons. That isn't much in my eyes.

I'm really digging MIB and Batman Beyond on the HUB and I can't wait for GI Joe Renegades and Transformers Prime. But the network needs more original action cartoons (and maybe some anime), not just old fan favorites.
 

Lighthammer

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Ben10, Sym-biotic and Generator Rex are certainly attractive elements from the CN Inhouse production team.

CN having Beyblade doesn't really get my hopes up. It's not like Beyblade ever pulled good ratings on its other US venues. Pokemon really makes me say 'meh' too. I could be in left field with this one, but I am of the impression that Pokemon isn't pulling the ratings it did.

Frankly, the thing that almost made me put Toonzai on the list was YGO, but even though that series IMHO is superior in every way to the YGO GX. It's just that the YGO 5Ds just isn't bringing in ratings enough to make someone watch Toonzai over, say, Nick's saturday morning lineup.
 

Sketch

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I'm going to say if it comes down to ratings then Cartoon Network easily. DXD, Nicktoons, The Hub, etc. aren't even in the same racket as CN when they play their cards right. Among The Hub, Nicktoons and DXD I expect great things but the lack of exposure will keep them below CN's spectrum in 2011 while CN will still have Clone Wars, Batman, Rex, Pokemon and Ben on TV and on store shelves with the addition of ThunderCats, Young Justice and Green Lantern. As for just plain great entertainment value I look no further than Sym-Bionic Titan and Brave and the Bold while I await Young Justice, Green Lantern and ThunderCats.

The Hub is starting very strong for action animation and is no doubt only going to expand upon that and so will Nicktoons. DXD may not make action much more than an afterthought in the meantime despite the power of the Marvel brand. Come 2012 any of these networks could be showing CN the business but in 2011 CN's got a lot going for it and more than enough to remain king of the roost for action animation for the time being. But I stress that has everything to do with coverage, ratings and toy sales. CN has several juggernauts in the toy isle currently and will have more in 2011. So will the other kid-vid action venues but the steam they're building now will not likely put them in a better position until 2012 or at least late 2011.

Hulu will continue to dominate streams for familiarity if nothing else but I generally expect more of the same from all those anime streaming services.

Hopefully FUNimation Channel gets into more homes it has arguably the best line-up of action animation on US television though not everything they play is a winner.

Adult Swim will keep on their usual beat as far as action goes with a promising addition of Black Dynamite among the action / comedy blends they have on tap.

You didn't mention G4, which at the very least has Marvel anime in 2011 and maybe that will get them interested in airing more action animation in the future.
 

Rick Jones

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Just based off of current ongoing shows and what's in store for 2011, I'd say that it's Cartoon Network, no question. Personally, all of the action series are of an above average quality and I can only assume that with the Friday night lineup, that there will be strength in numbers. Disney XD is still trying to find it's way and it would be cool if things flourished now with Avengers, it's first original animated action series, and Naruto Shippuden's continued airing. I have no idea what's going on with NickToons right now. The HUB is still incredibly green, and the originals haven't premiered yet but it's fun catching Deltora Quest and Batman Beyond.
 

Lighthammer

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I'm really surprised that how the material is being used isn't coming into this debate much.

I think everyone should be asking themselves "When I want to watch action animation, where do I turn?".

Having access to series and using them well are two different things entirely.

Traditionally, Cartoon Network was pretty dang good at this back during the toonami days, but in today's game, it seems like all three networks have become centric on mini-marathons that defy logic.

That being said, Nick Toons right now is most certainly making the best use of their library at key watching times.

DXD has done a pretty good job with their action animation usage in the past but right now seems to be in Holiday mode of sorts.

CN has some great access to good titles but just hasn't made great use of them. When I want to watch action right now, I can almost always find it on Nick and Toon Disney. CN just isn't delivering their content.
 

Marvin Tikvah

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Well, my only options seem to be CN Friday nights and CW4kids. I don't have Nicktoons, The Hub or Funimation Channel, so I'm already missing out on a small chunk of series. Disney XD at the moment has become a complete Disney Channel clone, choosing to fill air time with Zeke and Luthor, I'm with the Band and Phineas and Ferb. Adult Swim's line-up is also quite underwhelming since its Saturday night premieres feel incredibly forgettable to me.

I've been trying out some shows on Hulu and Youtube as well, but I don't really consider them on-par with actual channels.
 

Sketch

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I'm really surprised that how the material is being used isn't coming into this debate much.

I think everyone should be asking themselves "When I want to watch action animation, where do I turn?".

Having access to series and using them well are two different things entirely.

Traditionally, Cartoon Network was pretty dang good at this back during the toonami days, but in today's game, it seems like all three networks have become centric on mini-marathons that defy logic.

That being said, Nick Toons right now is most certainly making the best use of their library at key watching times.

DXD has done a pretty good job with their action animation usage in the past but right now seems to be in Holiday mode of sorts.

CN has some great access to good titles but just hasn't made great use of them. When I want to watch action right now, I can almost always find it on Nick and Toon Disney. CN just isn't delivering their content.

Well quality still plays a factor. They only air one episode a week but there's several airings for Sym-Bionic Titan, Generator Rex, etc. on CN and they do have that early morning action line-up which occasionally plays somewhere worth while but the real winners for CN action are in prime time. They could certainly do a better job airing action cartoons on weekdays but their content is increasingly solid and will only get better with Young Justice, Green Lantern and Thundercats at which point they'll hopefully be rerunning Generator Rex and Sym-Bionic Titan more than a few times a week.

Nicktoons plays the crap out of Avatar and DBZ Kai. That's great but what about their Marvel shows? Where's TMNT? They seem to like to limit what they air at any given time as if they're holding things back for later. If they got more action shows and aired more than just Avatar and Kai then I'd be backing Nicktoons more at the moment. They don't even air Zevo-3 that often so it barely gets encores.

Disney XD will have some great additions in 2011 and I'm enjoying Avengers so far but they greatly limit their airings of action cartoons even more so or relatively as much as CN does. Other than first run airings can you even manage to follow many shows on Disney XD? It doesn't seem that way.

The Hub has a great start for action cartoons and they'll grow it but I really don't expect to like that many of them because I never was much of a Joes or Transformers fan and baring some more great acquisitions they don't have much I'm interested in. They do however do the best job airing their action cartoons with mornings, afternoons and late night blockings. So props to them for that.

If I want a quick action fix I'm going to go to streaming services. It's easiest and has the biggest selection but market penetration is still greater with television.

None the less when it comes to ratings, exposure and arguably quality I'm going to give the nod to CN for 2011. At least most of 2011. The others have a lot of building to do to match up to CN's action slate for the early part of 2011.
 

Monte

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After switching to FIOS i really want to say funimation... I don't know what they got planned for 2011, but there line up right now is full of action shows and unlike other channels Funimation channel doesn't seem to hold back on content unlike most OTHER channels.

Though what prevents from being the "top" would be a lack of popularity... not as popular or as well known as Disney XD and CN
 
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Lighthammer

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Well, my only options seem to be CN Friday nights and CW4kids. I don't have Nicktoons, The Hub or Funimation Channel, so I'm already missing out on a small chunk of series. Disney XD at the moment has become a complete Disney Channel clone, choosing to fill air time with Zeke and Luthor, I'm with the Band and Phineas and Ferb. Adult Swim's line-up is also quite underwhelming since its Saturday night premieres feel incredibly forgettable to me.

I've been trying out some shows on Hulu and Youtube as well, but I don't really consider them on-par with actual channels.

You know, I really get the feeling that a lot of people are still associating Nick Toons with shows like Rugrats, Sponge Bob and, well, the iconic Nick series over the last 10 years.

Nick Toons is just a different animal today.

Well quality still plays a factor. They only air one episode a week but there's several airings for Sym-Bionic Titan, Generator Rex, etc. on CN and they do have that early morning action line-up which occasionally plays somewhere worth while but the real winners for CN action are in prime time. They could certainly do a better job airing action cartoons on weekdays but their content is increasingly solid and will only get better with Young Justice, Green Lantern and Thundercats at which point they'll hopefully be rerunning Generator Rex and Sym-Bionic Titan more than a few times a week.

I would love to see every network attempt to tap Friday Nights, Saturday Mornings, Saturday nights and Sunday Mornings more to have a really explosive lineup.

Nick was trying to do this back with the Wolverine and the X-Men hay days but it seemed like they just couldn't keep consistency.

Disney XD seems too concerned about competing and has strategic tried to do this on Wednesday (which for me, isn't working).

Nicktoons plays the crap out of Avatar and DBZ Kai. That's great but what about their Marvel shows? Where's TMNT? They seem to like to limit what they air at any given time as if they're holding things back for later. If they got more action shows and aired more than just Avatar and Kai then I'd be backing Nicktoons more at the moment. They don't even air Zevo-3 that often so it barely gets encores.
And before that they played the crap out Wolverine and the X-Men, Fantastic 4 and Ironman,

Nick has one thing going for right and thats the fact that everytime I feel like kicking back and watching some Action Animation, they have it on.

You and I are going to totally agree they are failing at using their library.

Nick really needs to stop going for the mini-marathon mentality and stick to a schedule. The redeeming fact is they are reading audiences and getting them interested.

Disney XD will have some great additions in 2011 and I'm enjoying Avengers so far but they greatly limit their airings of action cartoons even more so or relatively as much as CN does. Other than first run airings can you even manage to follow many shows on Disney XD? It doesn't seem that way.
Disney XD, right now, has hit an Easter famine of sorts IMHO. Over the last year they played the crap out of a lot of action series but now it feels like they scaled back to almost nothing except their comedy line. The truly annoying thing is Disney HAS A LIBRARY, a very good library. They are just in the same problem Nick is, mini-marathon mode.

The Hub has a great start for action cartoons and they'll grow it but I really don't expect to like that many of them because I never was much of a Joes or Transformers fan and baring some more great acquisitions they don't have much I'm interested in. They do however do the best job airing their action cartoons with mornings, afternoons and late night blockings. So props to them for that.
The Hub is really the network I have the most concern about right now. For people like you and I who grew up in the 80s and 90s, The Hub is tossing series at us we can REALLY appreciate. I'm really concerned with the kids who grew up in the 2000's really writing off The Hub with it's current line up till the new series start kicking in.

I may be really off beat, but I have a feeling the 80s G.I. Joe and Transformers is going to just loose today's kids interest.

It's not like Hasbro doesn't have more available to them. Beast Wars and Beast Machines would be a great place to pickup a solid audience. I'm sure Hasbro could make use of their relationship with Rainmaker (formally Mainframe) and maybe even Cookie Jar to make a more interesting lineup until they are able to pump their new series.

Even at that though, I have the looming concern The Hub is going to fall into the same trap Nick has. Play their BRAND NEW series so much that they burn out.

If I want a quick action fix I'm going to go to streaming services. It's easiest and has the biggest selection but market penetration is still greater with television.
I had a little hesitation adding the streaming services to this poll because I don't think they are going to peculate this year, however, they are getting close to becoming the dominate force in broadcasting.

Frankly, I think the biggest problem with Streaming right now is that they need to actually just have a "stream" service" Something that takes shows from a given genre and just plays them as if it was TV.

Without an actual live stream, it becomes harder to elicit new viewers into new shows and ultimately that's one thing that helps build viewership of new series. Think about all the series you probably NEVER would have tried if it wasn't on before or after a series you already liked and even had commercials for it during.

I can't count the number of series, but some of the major ones for me certainly include DBZ, Ronin Warriors, Sailor Moon, etc, etc. I probably never would have sought those series out unless they happened to be on around the time another series I liked was.

The other aspect about this is I think people are just lazy. A lot of people watch animation not to actively watch, but rather to relax. Most people from my experience just want to turn on a channel, plop down in front of the TV and watch. They are interested in seeking out a series they really want to watch and are more content watching a series they wouldn't mind watching if they have to put minimum effort into doing so.

The streaming services need to tap this mentality.

After switching to FIOS i really want to say funimation... I don't know what they got planned for 2011, but there line up right now is full of action shows and unlike other channels Funimation channel doesn't seem to hold back on content unlike most OTHER channels.

Though what prevents from being the "top" would be a lack of popularity... not as popular or as well known as Disney XD and CN

They do have the possibility of being the underdog, however, it comes down to getting the dang channel in homes.

Like I said earlier (and this depresses me), over the last 3 years I've lived in Newark, DE; Irvine, CA; Boise, ID; Denver, CO; and back in Philly, PA. Across all those areas, not one of the major carriers carried Funimation channel in any market.

That's --- depressing.

I'm in a market now where I can get FIOS and I'm heavily considering it.
 
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Lord Pumpkin

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is it me or is Nicktoons making DBZ a Spongebob? With Nick getting TMNT, Power Rangers, and Winx Club, it's about time they went back to their roots.

I never liked the HUB, except for MIB, Batman Beyond, and the classic TV shows. The rest are just too kiddie for me.

Disney XD needs to add it's classic Disney cartoon shows back to the channel. Disney Channel had it's late night cartoon block, now it's it live action garbage.

I would love to see Nick get the DCAU, that would be awesome.
 

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