Gingo is an American pay television channel owned by NBCUniversal through its the Cable Entertainment Group division. The channel was launched on September 10, 1988, and is aimed mainly at children and young teenagers between ages 7 and 16. Its programming consists of original first-run television series, theatrical and home media-exclusive movies, and select other third-party programming.
As of September 2018, Gingo is available to 86.4 million households in America.
History[]
Development[]
On February 13, 1988, following its purchase of Michael Wildshill Productions, newspaper publisher and broadcaster Multimedia announced its plans to launch a cable television channel focused on animation. On July 8, 1988, its name was revealed to be Gingo, a reference to a poem which is gingko, and the block The Toon Hour, devoted to short films, was also announced. It was also reported that they would acquire its animated programming from different studios.
1988–1995[]
On September 10, 1988, Gingo was launched and was themed to each block, devoted to each planet. Its first major success was The Toon Hour, which was a launchpad for various Gingo original series. The channel hit increasing ratings, such as competition from Nickelodeon, The Disney Channel and later Cartoon Network.
The channel made its first hit series Gabriel Garza in 1991, which became an instant success and made it a household name for viewers. Additionally, it introduced a mascot named Clover (voiced by Frank Welker), an anthropomorphic green dog. In 1992, the channel followed Gabriel with Mickey the Wicked, another spin-off of sorts from a short on The Toon Hour. Earlier, Gingo partnered with CBS/Fox Video to release episode compilations of the network's programs, which became top sellers. Gingo switched its distribution to Universal Pictures Home Entertainment in 1996, with Universal re-releasing episode compilations of the network's shows on VHS. The channel achieved further success in 1994 with Ray Eilo and BJ and Wally, both of which spun off from The Toon Hour in order to boost the channel's ratings.
The channel was a surprise hit, and in 1994, all the planets were eliminated from the channel to become a standard-focused channel in order to boost up ratings from various children's channels. However, Clover remained the channel's mascot until 2004.
1995–2004[]
In 1995, the channel premiered the smash series The Whackems, which made Gingo a hit among children and other viewers. That same year, it launched two programming blocks in order to compete with Nickelodeon: Gingo Junior, which targeted preschoolers, and Gingo at Nite, a nighttime block devoted to repeats of classic TV shows.
In 1996, Multimedia was sold to MCA, which made Gingo a sister block to USA Action Extreme Team and Sci-Fi's Animation Station. MCA began advertising Gingo programming on their children's programming blocks on USA Network and Sci-Fi Channel and home video releases of feature films, and Gingo acquired various animated programming from Universal Television Animation. Gingo Unleashed was launched later on, and was devoted to various action series. That same year, Hatty premiered on the network. As a result, both blocks gave access to Gingo's programming.
In 1998, Gingo launched the block Gingo on USA on USA Network, devoted to Gingo series and animated cartoons, to replace the defunct USA Action Extreme Team. On July 2, 1999, Hatty in the Big City: The Movie, the first theatrical film based on a Gingo series, was released. It received positive reviews and grossed $116.2 million on a budget of $48 million.
In 2000, Zina Supermoon, which started the career of Sarah Silverman, was launched. In 2001, Gingo on USA was renamed USA Kids. In 2002, older Gingo cartoons like Gabriel Garza and Hatty ended, and due to poor ratings, Gingo announced they would revamp their nighttime block as Gingo Underworld and refocused it on more adult programming to compete with Cartoon Network's Adult Swim. After Disney's One Too ended, Gingo launched an afternoon block UPN's Weekday Mayhem to air on UPN stations.
In 2004, NBC and Universal merged together, creating NBCUniversal, which combined NBC's cable channels like Bravo, CNBC, and MSNBC with Universal's cable channels like USA Network, Sci-Fi, and Gingo together. On December 30, 2004, USA Kids ended its run, so Gingo picked up new episodes of Onion Mastori. In the same year, The Pandemoniums launched.
2005–present[]
In 2005, Gingo revamped its programming identity, with the new slogan "Enjoy the Gingo". Also, the channel debuted the series Ace of All Trades, Chrysocolla & Sam and Worldwide Animals from Joesph von Calbury and former Zina Supermoon writer and The Supernova Spies creator Dave Madson. In 2005, Gingo revamped The Toon Hour into New Gingo Shorts, which lasted eleven years before reverting in 2016. In 2006, Gingo successfully purchased the 2005 Doraemon anime and begin airing it in the United States. Also, the nighttime block Gingo Underworld adopted the new name NightHouse.
In 2008, Gingo launched FusionMania (from Gabriel and Zina creator Geo G., part of the recent overall deal with NBC Universal) and acquired Computeropolis: Adventures of Peri and Nicky. That same year, Gingo's long-running The Whackems ended. The success led to Gingo ordering more shows, and it acquired the series Henry, Bea & Sparky the Dog in 2009. Also, Zina Supermoon finished its run on the network.
In 2011, Comcast acquired NBCUniversal from Vivendi. This made Sprout a sister network to Gingo. In 2014, Gingo launched the successful series Elliot's Guide to Becoming a True Mouse, which emulated the successs of past Gingo shows.
In 2016, Gingo ended New Gingo Shorts, reverting it to The Toon Hour as a revival of the original 1988 block. Also, NBCUniversal acquired competing studio DreamWorks Animation and launched DreamWorks on Gingo in 2017. In 2017, Universal Kids was launched to replace Sprout, which aired Gingo programs. In 2018, Gingo's flagship series Gabriel Garza was revived, followed by Hatty two years later.
Programs of note[]
British sitcoms[]
In its early years, Gingo originally filled its schedule with obscure acquired programs. British sitcoms were used to fill prime time slots, and remained on the channel's late-night schedule for well over a decade, including the North American premiere of Red Dwarf and the TV series The Sooty Show.
Programs such as Are You Being Served?, Keeping Up Appearances, and Yes Minister were broadcast in late-night time slots, and aired free of time and content edits. However, in 2000 when Gingo began marketing its late-night hours towards older youth viewers, it decided to remove the remaining shows from the schedule.
Radio Active[]
In 1999, Gingo broadcast the U.S. debut of the Canadian TV series Radio Active, however did not air the last episode (77) for an unknown reason.
Anime[]
Gingo hosted the U.S. debut of the 1979 Doraemon in August 1995. In 1999, Gingo partnered with Saban Entertainment to air anime that had aired on Fox Kids on cable TV such as Digimon.
In 2006, Gingo obtained the American rights to the 2005 Doraemon anime and begin airing in the United States there. Its popularity with teen viewers brought about the creation in 2005 of an anime block, which aired on Friday nights and included Sonic X and repeats of Monster Rancher.