Boomerang is a 24-hour British

pay television Pay television, also known as subscription television, premium television or, when referring to an individual service, a premium channel, refers to subscription-based television services, usually provided by multichannel television providers, b ...

channel which primarily features classic and modern

animated series An animated series is a set of animated works with a common series title, usually related to one another. These episodes should typically share the same main characters, some different secondary characters and a basic theme. Series can have eith ...

from Hanna-Barbera and

Warner Bros. Animation Warner Bros. Animation Inc. is an American animation studio which is part of the Warner Bros. Television Studios division of Warner Bros., a flagship of Warner Bros. Discovery. As the successor to Warner Bros. Cartoons, which was active from 19 ...

. The channel launched on 27 May 2000 as a spin-off of Cartoon Network and localization of the original American network. It is run by

Warner Bros. Discovery Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc. (WBD) is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate headquartered at 230 Park Avenue South in New York City. It was formed after the spin-off of WarnerMedia by AT&T, and its merger with Di ...

under its International division.

History

Origins

Boomerang UK began as a block in 1993, and was aired on Cartoon Network.

Launch

Boomerang launched on 27 May 2000, airing between 06:00–00:00, on Sky Digital and certain cable systems. At the time, Cartoon Network had a unique schedule and so the channel was created by Turner Broadcasting to broadcast classic cartoons from the Hanna-Barbera, MGM and Warner Bros. archive programme library, as well as freeing its sister network of many classics in the schedule. In May 2001, Boomerang became the second highest-rated children's channel, beaten only by parent service Cartoon Network. In July of that year, the channel was added to on cable operator

Telewest Telewest (previously Telewest Broadband and Telewest Communications) was a cable internet, broadband internet, telephone supplier and cable television provider in the United Kingdom. It was listed on the London Stock Exchange, and was also onc ...

, thus increasing its viewership. James Greville, head of Cartoon Network UK at the time, stated, "The channel launched barely a year ago and yet it's already beaten established kids' channels in terms of ratings and share". By November, the channel was available on

NTL NTL may refer to: Companies * NTL Incorporated and NTL Internet, later Virgin Media, communications media company ** NTL Ireland, later Virgin Media Ireland * Arqiva, UK company formerly ''NTL Broadcast'' and ''National Transcommunications L ...

. Boomerang increased its library of old cartoons by acquiring rights to other animated shows such as '' Danger Mouse'', ''

The Pink Panther ''The Pink Panther'' is an American media franchise primarily focusing on a series of comedy-mystery films featuring an inept French police detective, Inspector Jacques Clouseau. The franchise began with the release of the classic film '' The Pi ...

'' and ''

Garfield and Friends ''Garfield and Friends'' is an American animated television series based on the comic strip ''Garfield'' by Jim Davis. The show aired on CBS as part of its Saturday morning children's lineup from September 17, 1988 to December 10, 1994. The sho ...

''. By the end of 2003, the channel decided to stay away from its former purpose and shifted to broadcast television movies and series. A one-hour timeshift channel, Boomerang +1, launched on 6 March 2006. Boomerang rebranded with the new international graphics package developed by UK based graphic design agency Art&Graft on 16 February 2015. The channel switched to 16:9 widescreen on 1 June 2015. A high-definition feed was launched on 24 June 2015. On 3 September 2018, the channel was rebranded once again. On 18 November 2020, Boomerang UK and Ireland were split into two regions following the move of the Bomerang Éire broadcasting licence to the Czech Republic. Boomerang Éire is managed by HBO Europe specifically targeting EU countries the Republic of Ireland, Malta and Gibraltar.

Programming

Live-action programming

Between 23 July 2007 to 1 August 2009, the channel started airing live action programming, starting with ''

Fraggle Rock ''Fraggle Rock'' (also known as ''Jim Henson's Fraggle Rock'' or ''Fraggle Rock with Jim Henson's Muppets'') is a children's musical fantasy comedy puppet television series about interconnected societies of Muppet creatures, created by Jim Hen ...

'' (which also began airing on

Cartoonito Cartoonito is a brand name used by Warner Bros. Discovery for a collection of television networks and Block programming, programming blocks that target preschool-age children. The name combines the "cartoon" with the Spanish language, Spanish suf ...

the same day). Other live action series included ''

Life with Derek ''Life with Derek'' is a Canadian television teen situation comedy that aired on Family Channel (Canadian TV network), Family Channel (English) and VRAK.TV (French) in Canada and on Disney Channel in the United States. The series premiered on Fam ...

'', popular sitcom ''

The Latest Buzz ''The Latest Buzz'' is a teen sitcom from Decode Entertainment that aired on Family Channel in Canada from September 1, 2007 to April 19, 2010. It was the network's first original multi-camera sitcom. In this series, a struggling youth magazine ...

'' and the spy show ''

My Spy Family ''My Spy Family'' is a British live action family comedy series created by Paul Alexander. The series is a co-production between Kindle Entertainment and Turner Broadcasting System Europe with Decode Enterprises handling distribution. The ser ...

''.

Logos

Boomerang tv (2000-2004).png, May 27, 2000-September 13, 2004 Boomerang tv logo (2004-2015).svg, September 13, 2004–February 16, 2015 Boomerang tv logo.png, February 16, 2015–present File:Boomerang +1 UK Logo.svg, February 16, 2015–present (+1 logo) OnAir Logo Boomerang HD 2015.png, June 26, 2015–present (HD logo)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Boomerang (UK and Ireland) Children's television channels in the United Kingdom Boomerang (TV network) 2000 establishments in the United Kingdom Television channels and stations established in 2000 Turner Broadcasting System UK & Ireland