CBS Eyes Children's Programming Revamp

By Gary Levin

NEW YORK (Variety) - An animated newshound and Sports Illustrated are in line to take the place of Ace Ventura and the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles on CBS's Saturday children's schedule next fall.

The networ next week is expected to announce plans to abandon its current programming strategy for the slot, where it's running a distant fourth among kids 2-11 behind Fox, Nickelodeon, ABC and the WB.

In place of the current five hours allotted to kiddie fare, CBS next fall will offer three, geared toward the older 6-to-11 set with a mix of news and entertainment shows that fulfill the FCC's minimum requirement for "prosocial" or educational fare.

Among program candidates aiming for a timeslot are a pint-sized newsmagazine from CBS News -- starring an animated spokesdog as the narrator for live-action stories pegged to current events -- and Sports Illustrated for Kids.

The magazine spinoff could provide a compatible lead-in to Saturday sports programming, but there's also a chance CBS could shop it to the syndication market.

Beakman's World, a science-themed program that's one of the network's bright spots, may continue.

The handful of projects are the likely replacements for a weak schedule now dependent on movie and toy tie-ins from The Mask and Ace Ventura to Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.

But industry executives warn that limiting children's programming to FCC-friendly output may brand the entire lineup as "educational," essentially a dirty word for the target audience.

Reuters/Variety