One Magnificent Morning (OMM) is an American
programming block that is programmed by
Hearst Media Production Group
The Hearst Media Production Group (formerly Litton Syndications and Litton Entertainment) is an American media and production company based in New York City, New York as a division of the Hearst Television subsidiary of Hearst Communications, with ...
(formerly Litton Entertainment) and distributed by
CBS Media Ventures
CBS Media Ventures, Inc. (formerly CBS Television Distribution, Inc. and CBS Paramount Domestic Television, Inc.) is an American television distribution company owned by CBS Studios, part of CBS Entertainment Group, a division of Paramount Glob ...
, and debuted on October 4, 2014, as a replacement for the animation block
Vortexx
Vortexx was a short-lived American Saturday morning children's television programming block that aired on The CW from August 25, 2012 to September 27, 2014. Programmed by Saban Brands, it replaced Toonzai, a block that was programmed by 4Kids ...
. It airs on Saturday mornings on the
owned-and-operated station
In the broadcasting industry, an owned-and-operated station (frequently abbreviated as an O&O) usually refers to a television or radio station owned by the network with which it is associated. This distinguishes such a station from an affiliate ...
s and
affiliates
In the broadcasting industry (particularly in North America, and even more in the United States), a network affiliate or affiliated station is a local broadcaster, owned by a company other than the owner of the network, which carries some or ...
of
The CW
''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the ...
, the block features
live-action
Live action (or live-action) is a form of cinematography or videography that uses photography instead of animation. Some works combine live-action with animation to create a live-action animated film. Live-action is used to define film, video ...
documentary and lifestyle series aimed at teenagers between the ages of 13 and 18, the same style of programming that Litton provides for competing blocks seen on
ABC,
CBS, and
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American English-language commercial broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a division of Comcast, its headquarters are l ...
. All of the programs in the three-hour block are designed to meet federally mandated
educational programming guidelines.
History
Between May 31, 2014, and June 5, 2014, The CW announced that it would discontinue its existing
Saturday morning block Vortexx
Vortexx was a short-lived American Saturday morning children's television programming block that aired on The CW from August 25, 2012 to September 27, 2014. Programmed by Saban Brands, it replaced Toonzai, a block that was programmed by 4Kids ...
, which was produced by
Saban Brands, in favour of One Magnificent Morning, a new, five-hour block produced by
Litton Entertainment
The Hearst Media Production Group (formerly Litton Syndications and Litton Entertainment) is an American media and production company based in New York City, New York as a division of the Hearst Television subsidiary of Hearst Communications, with ...
and distributed by
CBS Television Distribution
CBS Media Ventures, Inc. (formerly CBS Television Distribution, Inc. and CBS Paramount Domestic Television, Inc.) is an American television distribution company owned by CBS Studios, part of CBS Entertainment Group, a division of Paramount G ...
, that would feature live-action
educational programming
Education is a purposeful activity directed at achieving certain aims, such as transmitting knowledge or fostering skills and character traits. These aims may include the development of understanding, rationality, kindness, and honesty. ...
aimed teenagers and their parents. The move came as part of a growing shift by broadcast television networks towards
non-fiction
Nonfiction, or non-fiction, is any document or media content that attempts, in good faith, to provide information (and sometimes opinions) grounded only in facts and real life, rather than in imagination. Nonfiction is often associated with b ...
programming to fulfil the FCC-mandated requirement to air
a quota of educational programming weekly. The previous year, Litton began producing
CBS Dream Team, a similar E/I block for sister network
CBS (corporate parent
CBS Corporation
The second incarnation of CBS Corporation (the first being a short-lived rename of the Westinghouse Electric Corporation) was an American multinational media conglomerate with interests primarily in commercial broadcasting, publishing, an ...
is a part-owner of The CW), and the company has also produced
Litton's Weekend Adventure for
ABC's affiliates since September 3, 2011.
Vortexx aired for the final time on September 27, 2014. It was thought to be the last conclusive
Saturday morning block across the major U.S. commercial broadcast networks that primarily featured non-educational children's programming. Such content has gradually fallen out of favour because of the E/I rules, as well as shifts in viewing habits towards
cable network
Networking cables are networking hardware used to connect one network device to other network devices or to connect two or more computers to share devices such as printers or scanners. Different types of network cables, such as coaxial cable, o ...
s and online
video on demand
Video on demand (VOD) is a media distribution system that allows users to access videos without a traditional video playback device and the constraints of a typical static broadcasting schedule. In the 20th century, broadcasting in the form of ...
services for cartoons and other youth-oriented content. One Magnificent Morning debuted the following week on October 4, 2014, following the cancellation of Vortexx in its 7:00 a.m. to Noon timeslot.
As a consequence of the block launching three weeks after the traditional start of the syndication television season, Litton provided a temporary barter package of ''Everyday Health'' and ''Culture Click'' (which both formerly aired on Litton's Weekend Adventure) to CW stations, allowing those who depended on the OMM block to fulfill E/I guidelines to have programming before it started. Some initially announced shows that were not produced for the block were: ''America's Flavors'', ''Social Media Mania'', ''Swag'', and ''Taste of Home''.
On January 7, 2016, The CW and Litton announced a five-year renewal for the block, extending it through the 2020–21 broadcast season. On October 7, 2017, the block was reduced to the federally mandated minimum running time of three hours and began airing from 8:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. local time. The CW gave its two hours of reclaimed time to its affiliate stations.
On July 1, 2021, The CW and Litton announced that they have extended their partnership for the block.
Programming
Although One Magnificent Morning provides the three-hour minimum requirement of
E/I programming each week, which exceeds defined under the
Federal Communications Commission
The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is an independent agency of the United States federal government that regulates communications by radio, television, wire, satellite, and cable across the United States. The FCC maintains jurisdicti ...
(FCC)'s
Children's Television Act
The broadcast of educational children's programming by terrestrial television stations in the United States is mandated by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), under regulations colloquially referred to as the Children's Television Act (C ...
, some of The CW's owned-and-operated stations and affiliates continue to provide E/I-compliant programs acquired from the
syndication
Syndication may refer to:
* Broadcast syndication, where individual stations buy programs outside the network system
* Print syndication, where individual newspapers or magazines license news articles, columns, or comic strips
* Web syndication, ...
market, mainly due to existing program distribution contracts.
The CW Plus
The CW Plus is a secondary national programming service feed of The CW that is fully controlled and 75% owned by Nexstar Media Group, with Paramount Global and Warner Bros. Discovery each owning a 12.5% stake in the network. It is intended prima ...
, in particular, continues to supply two hours of E/I-compliant syndicated programs within its national schedule following the block on Saturday afternoons, which further alleviates the service's subscription-subchannel affiliates from the responsibility of purchasing the local rights to such programs (the service's carriage of seven hours of E/I-compliant programming, and the fact that most of its affiliates operate as
subchannels, allow The CW Plus's broadcast outlets to carry an additional subchannel without E/I interruptions under the Children's Television Act's programming regulations, as the local CW Plus outlet would have enough E/I content to cover both).
Some stations also added additional E/I programming to their schedules during the run of ''Save to Win'', a game show co-produced by Litton and the American retail chain
Family Dollar which was criticized as hidden
paid programming advertising the chain. Several stations refused to list ''Save to Win'' within their quarterly E/I reports, unsure of its true educational value and wanting to avoid FCC scrutiny over the matter due to past fines involving
product placement
Product placement, also known as embedded marketing, is a marketing technique where references to specific brands or products are incorporated into another work, such as a film or television program, with specific promotional intent. Much of th ...
within a product's own television program which violated the
Children's Television Act of 1990.
Current programming
Former programming
References
External links
{{The CW
The CW
Litton Entertainment
CBS Media Ventures
Brokered programming
Television programming blocks in the United States
2014 American television series debuts
Television shows featuring audio description