Magic Kids (TV channel)

Magic Kids

Magic Kids's last logo, used as of 2006
Launched January 12, 1995
Closed May 26, 2006
Network Pramer
Owned by Liberty Media
Slogan "Algo grande para los chicos"
Country  Argentina
Broadcast area National
Headquarters Ángel Carranza Nº 1700 (Palermo, Buenos Aires, Argentina)
Sister channel(s) Locomotion (2004-2005), The Big Channel

Magic Kids was a well known Argentine cable channel which aired cartoons, television series and anime series programs aimed at children and teenagers. The channel was founded on January 12, 1995 and defunct on May 24, 2006, because of financial issues and low ratings.

Widely regarded as one of the harbingers of a renewed interest for Japanese animation during the late 90s, at its height the network launched a variety of merchandise including, the Magic yo-yo, a brand of soft drinks, the Magic Cube and the monthly Magic Kids Magazine.

History

Its story begins in 1995, with an opening ceremony at the Sheraton Hotel that served as the presentation of what would become its 11 years on screen. The executive head was producer Jorge Contreras, a man whose extensive experience laid in television documentary and journalism, not in children's entertainment.

However, this inexperience could be overcome, because in those days, thanks to programs such as Power Rangers, X-Men and Spider-Man, the network became one of the highest-rated of all of Argentina's cable TV system. The idea was to rely on so-called "canned content" (term used in the television industry to refer to pre-produced content purchased as opposed to originally produced content, because it used to come in tins similar to motion pictures).

Moreover, the fact that it was targeted to a local market enabled it to quickly adapt to the tastes of its viewers, something that pan-regional signals could not keep up with.

Eventually Magic Kids began to produce original content, starting with the interactive game show A Jugar con Hugo, which premiered the year after the debut of the channel and stayed on practically until its closing,. Afterwards cameNivel X,a weekly show base around video-game culture, hosted by Lionel Campoy and Natalia Dim and El Club del Ánime, hosted at first by Leandro Oberto and later on by Mariela Carril.

In September 2001, the outbreak of a terrible economic crisis in Argentina greatly hurt the network. However, in the same month, it started to broadcast to all of Latin America, becoming a pan-regional channel. This brought about a problem, because Magic Kids held only local broadcasting rights to many of its most successful material. It was decided then to replace many of them with older programs that were more affordable, which alienated many long time viewers. In addition, it all but stopped broadcasting Japanese anime series and lost with that any trace of advantage over other channels. Magic Kids began to lose steam slowly. In early 2006, it ceased to produce its own series, and in May, the signal finally went off the air due to low ratings.

Presence in other countries

Before Magic Kids became a pan-regional signal, the channel was only available in Argentina. Then, in some countries of Latin America (such as Peru, Chile, Colombia and Ecuador (in 1995 ), among others) opened the signal carried by satellite. In Chile, between 1995 and 1996, was in various regional cable operators like TV Cable Intercom, who led the Magic Kids sign to the small towns of Santiago and Rancagua until 1996, when the merger comes Metrópolis Intercom. In 1995, Magic Kids were in the towns of Region I to Region III by the cable operator Multivision until 1997, when you switch to VTR Cablexpress . In La Serena, was in the second half of 1995 for a month for Cablevision, replacing the sign of The Big Channel until 1996, when she returned the signal. In an interview with Jorge Contreras of a popular magazine of Argentina, he said he could issue a Latin American programs that produced the channel, but no foreign series, because they had acquired the rights only to Argentina . In addition, cable operators said that America had launched the Kids Magic signal without authorization, for which he himself had to contact all operators to withdraw the signal to avoid problems. This situation eventually led to hundreds of reviews and complaints from viewers in Latin America to the cable operators for having taken the sign of Magic Kids in their respective countries.

Notables Chronology and Programing of Magic Kids

1995

1996

It premiered the French animated series Cococinel, "Mr. Go", "The Trap Door" and WMAC Masters.

1997

1998

1999

2000

2001

2002

2003

Premiered Doraemon and Hunter × Hunter, within the unique signal to Cablevision and Multicanal in the area of Federal Capital and Greater Buenos Aires . Due to the exponential loss of ratings, Cablevision transmits only the channel from 0:00 AM to 12:00 PM, sharing with BocaTV but retransmits all day from 2005 until its closure.

2004

No significant changes occur during the year 2004, however, they manage to broadcast Tsubasa "The Original" (Promoted as Captain Tsubasa) for Capital and Greater Buenos Aires

2005

2006

Shows broadcast

Anime

Cartoons

See also

References

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