Weigel launching cartoon diginet

Weigel Broadcasting is launching a diginet centered around classic animation under its MeTV brand.

Called MeTV Toons, the offering is slated for a June 25, 2024, launch.

Weigel is partnership with Warner Bros. Discovery, MGM, Paramount Pictures, Hanna-Barbera, Flesicher Studios, Walter Lanz Production, Jay Ward Productions, Universal Studios, Columbia Pictures and more to license classic cartoon series, including “Looney Tunes,” “Tom & Jerry” and “Scooby-Doo,” “The Jetsons” and other titles.

“We are honored to work with the amazing team at Warner Bros. Discovery and others on this network to bring together a truly incredible collection of the world’s best-known and most-loved classic cartoons, creating a new destination for everyone to discover or rediscover the sheer joy of watching cartoons on TV,” said Weigel vice chairman Neal Sabin in a statement.

The channel will be made available in markets where Weigel already owns a station. The company will also sign up stations in other markets. 

It will also be available on select MVPD vMVPD providers. The network will be free to watch on available platforms with advertising driving revenue.

MeTV has roots going back to 2003 when the brand was used as a banner for a programming block of classic TV, and eventually evolved into a subchannel offering.

Today the network licenses content from CBS Media Ventures and 20th Television, with different dayparts devoted to different categories of programming: Cartoons in the morning, crime and legal drams late mornings, westerns in the afternoon and science fiction programs overnight. Primetime on weekdays is filled with sitcoms. 

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It also offers a weekend schedule of “The Three Stooges” shorts in the early evening and original series “Svengoolie” and “Sventoonie” in primetime. A “Save By the Bell”-branded E/I block and “Flintstones” also occupy the weekend schedule. 

The MeTV Toons logo combines the familiar boxed MeTV logo with the word “Toons” set in a clean sans serif below. The letters have been re-arranged at different angles and heights, with the two “Os” overlapping and having the most distinct placement. The “S” also overlaps the “N” slightly.

It’s not clear if MeTV will continue to offering its cartoon-focused programs or if they will move exclusively to the upcoming Toons channel.

Weigel also owns Heroes & Icons, Start TV, Catchy Comedy, Movies!, Story Television, Dabl and MeTV Plus.