Cartoon Network `s late-night 'Adult Swim' franchise will take off on new
nights next year, boosted by the cable-syndication debut of Futurama.
Beginning Jan. 12, Adult Swim will become a five-night block, airing Sundays
through Thursdays from 11 p.m. to 1 a.m.
Futurama kicks off the weeknight component at 11 p.m. Jan 13. Cartoon has
acquired the rights to all 72 library episodes of the show from The
Simpsons creator Matt Groening.
Fresh Futurama episodes are slated to air on Fox this fall before
transporting to Cartoon in a later window.
Others shows in the late-night swim on weeknights include Home Movies
(11:30 p.m.) and Japanese anime imports Cowboy Bebop (midnight) and
InuYashu (12:30 a.m.).
The Sunday-night comedy lineup will remain intact with Mission Hill,
The Oblongs and The Ripping Friends, as well as a rotation of
shows at 12:30 a.m.: Aqua Teen Hunger Force, Harvey Birdman, Attorney
at Law, The Brak Show and Sealab 2021.
The expansion to a five-night slate will curtail Cartoon's movement to
Saturday nights with the franchise, which began last February, according to a
spokesman.
Debuting Sunday, Sept. 2, 2001, Adult Swim produced a 25 percent increase in
ratings among its target audience of adults 18 through 34 during its first year
in the time slot, averaging a 0.5 with that group, according to Nielsen Media
Research data furnished by Cartoon.
Delivery of this group surged by one-third over the same period to an average
of 244,000.
The ratings improvements have continued during its second season, with
ratings among this group growing for the past five weeks.
During its most recent outing Oct. 20, Adult Swim scored a 33 percent rise
among adults 18 through 34, while delivery jumped 84 percent to 224,000. Among
men 18 through 34, ratings doubled to a 0.6, as delivery climbed 148 percent to
139,000. With adults 18 through 24, ratings gained 67 percent to a 0.5, and
delivery leaped 117 percent to 104,000 of those watchers.
'Since we began Adult Swim, the goal was to build it into an
across-the-schedule franchise,' executive vice president and general manager Jim
Samples said in a prepared statement.
'Now, with the power of Futurama, original comedies, acquisitions and
Japan's best anime, we have the depth in our Adult Swim programming portfolio to
make it happen now,' he added.
