Quote:
New York -- Cartoon Network is boosting its live action fare and expanding into unscripted alternative programming in an attempt to woo a slightly older (and potentially more profitable) new crowd.
"Just like the boy that wakes up one day and starts to sound different, our voice is changing too," said Stu Snyder president and COO of Turner Broadcasting's Animation, Young Adults and Kids Media division.
Turner and Cartoon Network executives made their pitch at the Frederick P. Rose Hall at Time Warner Center, with a backdrop consisting of buzzwords to describe the new strategy such as "authentic," "real stakes," and "un-sanitized."
At the forefront of the strategy are a slate of new alternative series that seem to take their cues from more grownup cable networks such as Discovery and Sci Fi, though with teens and tweens as the stars.
To that end, Cartoon has snatched Les Stroud, the former host of Survivorman on Discovery, to host Survive This, a reality series that will feature teens learning survival skills and overcoming challenges in the wild.