Boomerang debuted in 1992 as a programming block on Cartoon Network, dedicated to classic animation from the WB library, and was eventually spun-off into its own separate network in 2000. In the late 2000s, Boomerang began airing more modern and contemporary programming, including reruns of shows that had previously aired on Cartoon Network.
A 2015 relaunch (which aimed to promote Boomerang as a "second flagship" brand alongside Cartoon Network) saw Boomerang begin to produce its own original programming, with a focus on reboots of franchises such as Looney Tunes and Scooby-Doo. In 2017, Boomerang launched a subscription video on-demandover-the-topstreaming service.
As of September 2018[update], Boomerang is available to approximately 38 million pay television households in the United States.[1]
Boomerang was created as a new home for these and similar cartoons. It originated as a programming block on Cartoon Network that debuted on December 8, 1992. It originally aired for four hours every weekend, but the block's start time had changed frequently. The Saturday block moved to Saturday afternoons, then back to the early morning, and the Sunday block moved to Sunday evenings. Eventually, Boomerang was shortened by an hour, reducing it from four hours to three each weekend.
With Cartoon Network downplaying its archival programming in favor of newer original series, Turner Broadcasting System launched the Boomerang cable channel on April 1, 2000.[2] The Cartoon Network block continued to run under the new Boomerang channel branding until October 3, 2004.
On February 4, 2014, as part of Turner Broadcasting's 2014 upfronts, it was announced that Boomerang would become advertising-supported, and that there were plans to expand the brand globally.[3][4] In October 2014, Cartoon Network unveiled a global rebranding for Boomerang, which first launched in Latin America in late September, and arrived in the United States on January 19, 2015. Alongside the previously-announced plan to introduce advertising, the network planned to introduce original programming for the first time, and place a particular focus on the archive's most well-known franchises with an explicitly family-friendly approach. Turner executives described the changes as being an effort to grow Boomerang into a "second flagship" on par with the main Cartoon Network channel.[5][6][7]
In 2017, an online Boomerang video-on-demand service was launched.[8] In 2018, 3rd Annual Shorty Social Good Awards nominated Boomerang and Captain Planet Foundation for Best in Entertainment.[9][10] May 2020 saw the launch of HBO Max, a general entertainment video-on-demand service from Boomerang's corporate parent that includes much of Boomerang's programming.
Historically, Boomerang avoided overt channel drift and, despite adding newer content to its library, continued to air programming from the breadth of its archives. By spring 2014, however, most of its archival programming had been relegated to graveyard slots, while the daytime schedule became dominated by programming from the 1990s and later. This policy underwent a partial reversal in April 2017, with a greater focus on shows from the 2010s, before older Cartoon Network series returned to Boomerang's schedule from January 2018 to May 2019, and again in half-hour time slots in September 2020. Tom and Jerry, Looney Tunes, The Smurfs, and various entries in the Scooby-Doo franchise have more or less had permanent places on the schedule since the rebrand, while previous network mainstays The Flintstones and The Jetsons returned in a late-night time slot in July 2018 before leaving again in November of that year.
Not all of the Warner Bros. animation library is exclusive to Boomerang. A portion of that library which includes series produced in collaboration with Steven Spielberg's Amblin Entertainment (including Tiny Toon Adventures and most of Animaniacs), as well as most works involving Batman and Superman (such as the DC Animated Universe), is put out for license to other networks; those properties most recently aired on the Hub Network from late 2012 until its closure in October 2014. In addition, Warner Bros.' collection of Christmas specials — including the latter half of the Rankin/Bass Productions library — is licensed to AMC for their Best Christmas Ever block as of 2018; those specials previously aired on Freeform and its predecessors for nearly 20 years, as part of their 25 Days of Christmas lineup. In 2019, channel fixture The Flintstones was licensed out to MeTV;[11] in 2021, that network introduced morning blocks featuring a mix of Warner Bros. and Paramount Global content (including Looney Tunes/Merrie Melodies, Popeye, Betty Boop, and MGM theatrical shorts),[12] many of which still air on Boomerang. MeTV also acquired The Jetsons in that year.[13]
Boomerang itself occasionally licenses programming from other distributors, such as with The Rocky and Bullwinkle Show (which aired from 2002-07 and later returned to the channel from 2011-13) and with Garfield and Friends (which aired for a brief time period in 2006 before returning to the network between September 2019 and August 2021).
Although Boomerang's original programming philosophy was to showcase classic cartoons, newer shows have been added in recent years, some even before the rebrand:
Wedgies, a series of animated interstitials that previously aired on Cartoon Network, were reintroduced in 2013.
In December 2014, Boomerang added Teen Titans Go! and The Amazing World of Gumball to its lineup, alongside their airings on Cartoon Network; those shows left in April 2017.
On May 2, 2022, Boomerang brought back reruns of Teen Titans Go! and The Amazing World of Gumball, and also added two additional modern Cartoon Network shows to their schedule: Craig of the Creek and Total Dramarama;[14] all four shows left on October 28.
On June 28, 2015, Turner Broadcasting and Warner Bros. jointly announced that Boomerang would receive original programs such as Wabbit (later re-titled New Looney Tunes for its second season), Be Cool, Scooby-Doo!, and an animated adaptation of Bunnicula.[15]
Boomerang has been used to burn off programs acquired for Cartoon Network which have rated too low to remain on that network's schedule, much like Nickelodeon's spin-off Nicktoons and TeenNick. Boomerang also simulcasts some episodes of original Cartoon Network programming, mainly season or series premieres and finales.
Because of Boomerang's fluid schedule, programming blocks used to air for a few months, then be removed from the schedule, only to be added again a few months later, until they were almost all phased out in late 2014, due to the network's rebrand.
Current
Boomerang Theater – Boomerang's movie showcase block.
Boomerandom – This block aired each weekend from 8 to 10 p.m. Eastern Time from 2008 to 2010, and featured two hours of episodes of a single program. The selected programs were picked by the "Boomerandom drawing machine".
The Boomerang Christmas Party – This block, which aired every December, features a collection of Hanna-Barbera Christmas specials (such as The Powerpuff Girls: Twas the Fight Before Christmas, Yogi's First Christmas, Christmas Comes to Pac-Land, Casper's First Christmas, The Jetsons' First Christmas and The Flintstones' Christmas).
Boomerock – This block, which aired in commemoration of the 50th anniversary of the premiere of The Flintstones in 2010, consisted of a marathon of the classic animated series.
Boomeroyalty (originally named Character of the Month from 2003 to 2012) – This weekend mini-marathon of shows focuses on a particular character that changes every month, similar to the former Super Chunk block on sister network Cartoon Network. "Boomeroyalty" concluded on July 22, 2012.
Captain Planet – In observance of Earth Day, Boomerang aired a marathon of the animated series (which was produced by Turner Program Services) every year from 2005 to 2014. Continuing the tradition in a digital format, the network's streaming service offered the series in its entirety for a limited time in spring 2018.
Mother's Day – A recent marathon observance by Boomerang, on the holiday, the channel airs cartoons featuring mothers, such as Jane Jetson-focused episodes of The Jetsons, and Wilma Flintstone-focused episodes of The Flintstones.
Pet of the Week – This block showcases 2 hours of a single animated program, where the title character is an animal, such as Courage the Cowardly Dog, The Garfield Show, and What's New, Scooby-Doo?. Currently, the block has been reduced to 1 hour of a single program.
Scooberang – This continuous block featured every episode of each Scooby-Doo series (which were aired in chronological order), beginning with Scooby-Doo, Where Are You!. It also aired some feature-length Scooby-Doo films, including Scooby-Doo Meets the Boo Brothers and Scooby-Doo on Zombie Island. "Scooberang" no longer airs on Boomerang. However, various series iterations of the Scooby-Doo franchise air on the channel several times daily.
Those Meddling Kids! – This 90-minute block featured series produced by Hanna-Barbera and/or Ruby-Spears, all of which follow the formula of a group of mystery-solving teenagers or young adults (such as Scooby-Doo, Josie and the Pussycats, Fangface, Clue Club and Speed Buggy).
Halloween block – This block aired during the month of October, and included Halloween-themed programs such as Scooby-Doo, Casper, The Addams Family (in its live-action as well as animated incarnations), Beetlejuice, The Funky Phantom, Goober and the Ghost Chasers and The Munsters. This is notably the only time that Boomerang regularly aired any live-action programming, particularly as The Addams Family and The Munsters have aired on the channel each October since 2011. The Halloween programming replaced the annual Scooberang block in 2011 and aired again in 2012 and 2013; it was not brought back in 2014 when the channel began to change focus.
Scoobtober – For the whole of October 2020, this block aired every day from 1:00 to 10:00 p.m. Eastern Time and featured various installments of the Scooby-Doo franchise (including the network premiere of Scooby-Doo and Guess Who?).[21]Scooby-Doo films were also shown under the New Scooby Movies banner, every Sunday night at 8:00 p.m. ET.[22]
A Very Merry Jerry – For the whole of December 2020, this block aired every day from 4:00 to 9:00 p.m. Eastern Time and featured various installments of the Tom and Jerry franchise, as well as a different holiday special from Boomerang's library airing at 7:00 p.m. nightly. The movie slot previously featured direct-to-video Tom and Jerry films only, though they were later broadcast as part of an all-day marathon on Christmas Day.
Related services
Service
Description
BoomerangHD
Boomerang is carried on a few pay television providers; tiering of the channel varies by service, with some operators offering it as either a basic-tier or higher-tier network. Most providers do not carry the linear channel, instead offering the network's video-on-demand service bundled with Cartoon Network. On March 4, 2019, the channel changed its default ratio to 16:9, with 4:3 content being aired stretched and the screen bug moving away from the 4:3 area, similar to what Cartoon Network did in May 2013. As of January 2020, Boomerang began to be carried in high-definition on several online television services, along with some cable providers through their apps.
Boomerang On Demand
The channel's video-on-demand service, offers select episodes of the channel's archived programming, along with select archived Cartoon Network original programs. Launched in 2005, it is available on select digital cable, satellite, and IPTV providers. In April 2013, Boomerang On Demand began to separate program content by "theme" (for example, in observance of Mother's Day, the service featured episodes of The Flintstones and Dexter's Laboratory focusing on Dexter's mom and Wilma Flintstone), but this method was scrapped in January 2015 due to the network's rebrand.
Boomerang Mobile App/SOVD
On March 7, 2017, Boomerang announced that it would launch an app that will feature programming from the 5000+ titles from its sister companies Hanna-Barbera and Warner Bros, as well as exclusive original programming.[25] The app launched on April 11, 2017, and is available either for $4.99 per month or $39.99 annually. New episodes and content are planned to be added weekly.[26] Currently, the Boomerang App is only available for subscription in the United States.[27] On November 13, 2018, the Boomerang service launched as a channel on the VRV streaming service.[28] It was later removed off VRV on December 1, 2020.
Boomerang, originally established as a cable channel in the United States, has expanded worldwide. Each of these networks was aligned globally in 2015 under one unified branding to reflect a family co-viewing network.[29]
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