Top 10 TV Networks and Programming Blocks Considered Nostalgic by Gen Z
Taking inspiration by one of Raspberry's lists, I've decided to make one revolving around TV networks and Programming Blocks. Since Gen Z to many is from 1997 to 2012, that makes the 2000s and most of the 2010s the spot. Let's go!
PBS Kids is the brand for most of the children's programming aired by the Public Broadcasting Service in the United States. It has educational shows like Sesame Street or Mr. Rogers Neighborhood in 1969. Taking the gold spot, we have PBS Kids. You might know the network for shows like Arthur and Daniel Tiger's Neighborhood, but even if you exclude those, PBS Kids still has quite a few nostalgic shows.
These range from more recent shows like Peg + Cat and Odd Squad to older shows (early Gen Z mostly remember these) such as The Magic School Bus and The Electric Company.
Not only that, but many seem to hold a special spot for the 2005-13 era. Even after the rebrand, many of our nostalgic shows still remain on the network.
Taking second place, we have NBC Kids. This programming block is often well-known for being the last ever animated weekend programming block on broadcast television.
But looking back, NBC Kids was mostly Sprout programming you could get for free. Several shows I remember from the block are Jay-Jay the Jet Plane, Ruff-Ruff, Tweet, and Dave, and Noodle and Doodle, among others.
It's too bad the block ended in 2016 when it was replaced by "The More You Know," a block owned by the notorious Litton Entertainment. With Litton controlling four of the five local channels, I'm kind of scared they will take over Fox and Xploration Station next.
Toonami is a television channel that launched in Asia on 1 December 2012. It is operated and distributed in Asia by Turner Broadcasting System Asia Pacific, Inc., a Time Warner company. Even if I haven't seen this block as a child, many of you have. Toonami was the go-to place for anime. For those wondering, Toonami originally aired on Cartoon Network to target a teenage audience, acting as a bridge between CN and Adult Swim.
The block was mostly known for airing anime shows like "Sailor Moon" and "Dragon Ball." It also aired on The WB during the early 2000s and is currently on Adult Swim. From what I've gathered, Toonami mostly aired late in the afternoon on Cartoon Network and ended in 2008 due to low ratings. So it's pretty much the spiritual successor to Fox Kids.
Nickelodeon is an American basic cable and satellite television network launched on December 1, 1977, and is owned by Viacom through Viacom Media Networks and based in New York City. Next up, we have Nickelodeon. The golden ages of the network were often considered to be the 1990s and 2000s, and for good reason. Many of the network's absolute best aired in these decades. Us Gen-Zs would be introduced to both classics like Rugrats, Rocko's Modern Life, and Doug, as well as modern ones from the 2000s, such as SpongeBob, Invader Zim, and The Fairly OddParents. Even after the network's decline since 2010, they still maintained a pretty solid lineup.
One of the most iconic TV networks for sure (along with Cartoon Network). Definitely my childhood for the most part.
Next up, we have yet another Saturday morning block. Vortexx launched in 2012 on The CW. The block itself was owned by Saban, a company considered untrustworthy nowadays due to their short-lived blocks and overall responsibility for killing traditional Saturday morning cartoons. Saban previously owned UPN Kids (a predecessor of The CW) and Fox Kids (which was sold to Disney and became Jetix).
Vortexx, like Toonami, mostly aired various anime. They had Dragon Ball, but also shows like Digimon and even Power Rangers (which previously aired on ABC before several stations preempted it due to it not being educational). The block was short-lived, only airing for two years before being replaced by One Magnificent Morning, a block owned by Litton.
It's unfortunate that the block only lasted so long. It probably could have saved us from the plague we call the "Arrowverse."
Next up, we have the ONLY live-action block that's not owned by Litton. Launched in 2014, Xploration Station mostly aired on Fox stations after the network took a six-year hiatus from children's programming. Most shows that I remember seeing were often stuff like Animal Science, DIY Science, and Earth 2050. In all honesty, even if you don't like the block, it's either this or another Litton block.
This is personally my grand childhood. As a person who grew up without cable, Qubo and PBS Kids were the only kids' networks I had access to. Qubo had everything a kid wanted: wholesome shows like Babar, educational shows such as ToddWorld, and fun and laid-back shows such as Cosmic Quantum Ray. Even if the network did go downhill, Qubo still maintained a big part of my childhood and even adolescence.
Cartoon Network is an American basic cable and satellite television channel that is owned by the Turner Broadcasting System division of Time Warner. "Who's ready for some fun cartoons?" The Gen-Zs are! Cartoon Network was the rival to Nickelodeon. Unlike Nick and Disney Channel, Cartoon Network, for the most part, was only cartoons. There are several shows, both old and new, that are remembered widely by Gen Z, such as The Powerpuff Girls, Chowder, Adventure Time, The Amazing World of Gumball, and more. This isn't including Adult Swim, which adds more shows to the mix!
Next up, we have Noggin. Noggin was sort of like Major Network Five, as it wasn't really competing with the Big Three but was just there (similar to Discovery Kids and later Sprout). But that didn't stop Noggin from being the memorable network it was. Most of the library comprised Sesame Street shows and Nick Jr. programming.
Nowadays, the network goes by the name of Nick Jr. and only shows five shows every day, one of which is the infamous Baby Shark's Big Show.
I loved Noggin as a child. My favorite shows were Blue's Clues, The Backyardigans, and LazyTown.
And finally, we have Playhouse Disney. As Nick Jr.'s competitor, Playhouse Disney mostly showed preschool programming and motivated Disney to produce CGI animation with shows like Handy Manny and Mickey Mouse Clubhouse.
However, unlike Nick Jr., Playhouse Disney was only a programming block with a few shows airing on its sister network Toon Disney. Even if you hated Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, you've got to admit, Playhouse Disney was a memorable network, even if they adopted the generic "Junior" name in 2011.
Jetix, formerly Fox Kids in Europe, Latin America and North America, was a worldwide children's television programming brand owned by Jetix Europe, Jetix Latin America and ABC Cable Networks Group.
Disney XD is an American digital cable and satellite television channel that is owned by the Disney Channels Worldwide unit of the Disney–ABC Television Group, itself a unit of the Disney Media Networks division of The Walt Disney Company.
Fox Kids is a former American children's programming block and branding for a slate of international children's television channels.
This was the afternoon programming block on Fox Family, home to such shows as Bad Dog (literally based on a screensaver), Monster Farm (not the anime, an unrelated show in which farm animals were represented as classic monsters), Three Friends and Jerry, and Walter Melon.
Kids' WB was an American children's programming block that originally aired on The WB Television Network from September 9, 1995 to September 16, 2006. On September 23, 2006, the block moved to The CW, which was created by CBS Corporation and Time Warner as a replacement for both The WB and UPN.
KidsCo was an international children's entertainment brand founded by Canadian broadcaster Corus Entertainment's Nelvana, American-based producer DIC Entertainment, and European broadcaster Sparrowhawk Media Group in April 2007. By the end of 2007, Sparrowhawk was purchased by media conglomerate NBC... read moreWhat is now called Freeform was originally The Family Channel, which was subsequently bought by Fox, becoming Fox Family and later Disney (long before Disney bought Fox itself), becoming ABC Family. It's still owned by Disney. They just changed the name.
