Weekend Adventure
Weekend Adventure (originally known as ABC Weekend Adventure and Litton's Weekend Adventure) is an American syndicated programming block that is produced by Hearst Media Production Group, and airs weekend mornings on the owned-and-operated stations and affiliates of ABC. The block features live-action documentary and lifestyle series aimed at a family audience that meet educational programming requirements defined by the Children's Television Act. Announced on May 24, 2011, Litton's Weekend Adventure premiered on September 3, 2011, replacing the ABC Kids block. The block is syndicated to ABC stations directly rather than being part of the network's official schedule. This was the result of a compromise between the network and its stations after ABC management decided in 2010 that it no longer wanted to provide educational programming. Thus, Weekend Adventure does not contain any ABC branding or promotions, and likewise is not promoted directly by ABC on-air or mentioned on the network's website.
 | |
| Network | syndicated to ABC owned-and-operated stations and affiliates[1] American Forces Network[2] |
|---|---|
| Launched | September 3, 2011 |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Owner | Hearst Media Production Group |
| Formerly known as | ABC Weekend Adventure (pre-launch) Litton's Weekend Adventure (2011–22) |
| Format | Saturday morning educational program block |
| Running time | 3 hours |
| Original language | English |
Weekend Adventure (originally known as ABC Weekend Adventure and Litton's Weekend Adventure) is an American syndicated programming block that is produced by Hearst Media Production Group, and airs weekend mornings on the owned-and-operated stations and affiliates of ABC. The block features live-action documentary and lifestyle series aimed at a family audience that meet educational programming requirements defined by the Children's Television Act.[3][4] Announced on May 24, 2011, Litton's Weekend Adventure premiered on September 3, 2011, replacing the ABC Kids block.[5][6][7][8]
The block is syndicated to ABC stations directly rather than being part of the network's official schedule. This was the result of a compromise between the network and its stations after ABC management decided in 2010 that it no longer wanted to provide educational programming. Thus, Weekend Adventure does not contain any ABC branding or promotions, and likewise is not promoted directly by ABC on-air or mentioned on the network's website.
Background
[edit]The block came as a result of ABC's decision in March 2010 to no longer provide E/I programming as part of its Saturday morning network lineup to its affiliates;[5] the network had not introduced any new E/I programs for its ABC Kids block since 2007, and those that had been airing on the network at the time of the decision consisted of reruns of Disney Channel sitcoms that had first aired on the block between September 2005 and May 2007, all of which were out of production by the time ABC Kids ended its run.[citation needed] In addition, before Haim Saban and Saban Brands repurchased the rights to the Power Rangers franchise from The Walt Disney Company in 2010,[9] several station groups that owned ABC affiliates (such as Hearst Television, which would later acquire a majority stake in Litton Entertainment in 2017[10] and Allbritton Communications) refused to carry any series from that franchise (or any other non-E/I-compliant shows within the block such as Kim Possible) or chose to run them only in low-rated early morning timeslots, and had demanded any lineup be fully educational so the stations would not have to purchase E/I programming from syndication distributors.[citation needed]
Most of the major commercial networks began restructuring their Saturday morning children's program blocks (with Fox dropping theirs outright) to comply to tightened educational content and advertising regulations in the Children's Television Act; cultural shifts and changes in viewing habits through the migration of younger viewers to cable channels, recordable and streaming media were also affecting viewership of children's lineups carried by broadcast television networks.
As a compromise, the network's affiliate board agreed to instead look for a syndication package that would air exclusively on ABC owned-and-operated and affiliate stations. Litton Entertainment was eventually selected by the ABC affiliate board to program the block, beating out two other competitors[5] as a part of the winning presentation in which Litton suggested counterprogramming the then-usual Saturday morning fare by featuring unscripted and "pro-social programming" aimed at children and teenagers ages 7–17.
History
[edit]ABC and Litton Entertainment announced the block on May 24, 2011, for a fall 2011 launch,[5] under the working title "ABC Weekend Adventure." ABC initially signed deals with its owned-and-operated station group ABC Owned Television Stations, as well as affiliates owned by Cox Broadcasting, The McGraw-Hill Companies, Newport Television, and Post-Newsweek Stations to carry the block; these were followed by May 2011 with distribution agreements involving ABC stations owned by Belo, Bonten Media Group, Chambers Communications Corporation, Fisher Communications, Gannett Company, Hubbard Broadcasting, The E. W. Scripps Company, LIN TV Corporation, News-Press & Gazette Company, Young Broadcasting, and Weigel Broadcasting.[11]
The renamed Litton's Weekend Adventure launched on September 3, 2011, with six series: Jack Hanna's Wild Countdown, Ocean Mysteries with Jeff Corwin, Born to Explore with Richard Wiese, Culture Click, Everyday Health, and Food for Thought with Claire Thomas (originally titled The Delicious Adventures of Claire Thomas prior to its debut).[5] Two other series were also initially announced to be in development: the environment-focused Agents of Change (from producer Mark Koops)[5] and Earth: Angry Planet;[11] however, neither show was picked up to series. When the block debuted, Litton's Weekend Adventure became the first Saturday morning block to present all of its programs in high definition. On May 2, 2012, ABC and Litton reached an agreement to broadcast Weekend Adventure worldwide on the American Forces Network, beginning that June.[2]
On September 24, 2012, Litton announced that a television version of Everyday Health's YouTube series Recipe Rehab (one of several web series directly funded by the video sharing website as a part of a premium content initiative) would premiere on the block beginning on October 6, 2012[12] replacing the Everyday Health series.[13][14]
On September 28, 2013, Litton launched a competing Saturday morning block for CBS, the CBS Dream Team (which replaced the Cookie Jar TV block).[15] The following week on October 5, 2013, the Weekend Adventure block's "Health and Wellness Hour" (consisting of health and culinary programs that filled the third hour of the block) was retired as part of a refocusing towards exclusively wildlife-focused programs,[citation needed] with the move, Recipe Rehab migrated to CBS's Dream Team block.[16]
Subsequently, on October 4, 2014, Expedition Wild moved from Weekend Adventure to another Saturday morning block produced by Litton that launched on that date, One Magnificent Morning on The CW.[17]
In 2016, two stations disaffiliated from ABC due to varied issues; WKPT-TV in the Tri-Cities region of Tennessee and Virginia, and WSVI in the U.S. Virgin Islands, but as the Litton syndication contract for Weekend Adventure is separate from their expired ABC affiliation agreements, were able to continue to air Weekend Adventure for the time being. The new Tri-Cities ABC affiliate, WJHL-DT2, used programming from the Fox-associated Xploration Station block (which was turned down by WEMT) and other syndicated programming for their E/I contributions instead. In April 2017, Weekend Adventure moved to WJHL-DT2 after WKPT voided all of their syndication contracts to become a full-time carrier of Cozi TV.[18][19][20] The same circumstances currently exist for WPLG in Miami, which continues to carry the block after ABC's departure to WSVN-DT2/WDFL-LD in August 2025.
Programming
[edit]Programs featured on Litton's Weekend Adventure are designed to meet federally mandated educational programming guidelines, allowing ABC stations to comply with the three-hour weekly minimum for E/I content defined by the Federal Communications Commission.[4][5][6][7][8] However, some ABC stations may carry syndicated educational programs to provide additional E/I content supplementary to the block. Programs aired within the block may be deferred to Sunday daytime slots, or (in the case of affiliates in the Western United States) Saturday afternoons due to breaking news or severe weather coverage or, more commonly, regional or select national sports broadcasts (especially in the case of college football tournaments) scheduled in earlier Saturday timeslots as makegoods to comply with the E/I regulations. Some stations may air the entirety of the Weekend Adventure block on tape delay to accommodate local news or other programs of local interest (such as public affairs shows, real estate or lifestyle programs).
Current programming
[edit]| Program | Premiere date | Replaced | Notes | References |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hearts of Heroes | January 5, 2019 | hosted by Ginger Zee | [21][22] | |
| Wildlife Nation with Jeff Corwin | October 2, 2021 | Sea Rescue Ocean Treks |
Partnered with Defenders of Wildlife | [23] |
| Jack Hanna's Passport | April 6, 2024 | Vets Saving Pets | ||
| Donkey King | January 3, 2026 | |||
| Home for Good | April 4, 2026 | Oh Baby! | hosted by Art Edmonds |
Former programming
[edit]| Program | Premiere date | End date | Replaced | Replaced by | Notes | Reference |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jack Hanna's Wild Countdown | September 3, 2011 | September 26, 2020 | ABC Kids programming | Outback Adventures | Longest running program on the block, flagship series Replaced by Outback Adventures in 2020, which came back after 3 years |
|
| Born to Explore with Richard Wiese | September 24, 2016 | Ocean Treks | [23] | |||
| Culture Click | February 11, 2012 | Pop culture/satirical series, hosted by Nzinga Blake | [5] | |||
| Everyday Health | September 29, 2012 | Recipe Rehab | Lifestyle series, hosted by Laila Ali, Jenna Morasca and Ethan Zohn | |||
| Food for Thought with Claire Thomas | September 28, 2013 | The Wildlife Docs | Cooking series, produced by Basil Street media Reruns later aired on Laff |
[5] | ||
| Ocean Mysteries with Jeff Corwin | September 24, 2016 | Ocean Treks | Reruns air on The CW's One Magnificent Morning and Syndication | [5][23] | ||
| Sea Rescue | April 7, 2012 | September 25, 2021 | Wildlife Nation | |||
| Recipe Rehab | October 6, 2012 | September 28, 2013 | Everyday Health | Expedition Wild | Aired on the CBS Dream Team from 2013 to 2015 and again since 2023 | [16] |
| Expedition Wild | October 5, 2013 | September 27, 2014 | Recipe Rehab | Outback Adventures | Wildlife series, hosted by Casey Anderson Originally aired on Nat Geo Wild from 2010 to 2011, and then revived for the Weekend Adventure block, and then moved to One Magnificent Morning from 2014 to 2015[17][24] |
[17][24] |
| The Wildlife Docs | June 2, 2018 | Food For Thought | The Great Dr. Scott | Moved to One Magnificent Morning | ||
| Outback Adventures with Tim Faulkner | October 4, 2014 | September 30, 2017 | Jack Hanna's Wild Countdown | |||
| Rock the Park | October 3, 2015 | March 27, 2021 | Free Enterprise | Originally part of One Magnificent Morning. | ||
| Ocean Treks with Jeff Corwin | October 1, 2016 | September 25, 2021 | Born to ExploreOcean Mysteries | Wildlife Nation | ||
| Vacation Creation | October 7, 2017 | September 28, 2019 | Outback Adventures | Oh Baby! | Previously aired on The CW's One Magnificent Morning from 2016 to 2017 | [25] |
| The Great Dr. Scott | October 6, 2018 | September 28, 2019 | Reruns air on syndication | |||
| Oh Baby! | October 5, 2019 | March 28, 2026 | The Great Dr. Scott Vacation Creation |
Home for Good | hosted by Janai Norman | |
| Free Enterprise | April 3, 2021 | September 30, 2023 | Rock The Park | |||
| Vets Saving Pets | October 1, 2022 | March 30, 2024 | Jack Hanna's Passport | Originally aired on NBC after a 2-year hiatus |
Awards and nominations
[edit]In 2014, Ocean Mysteries with Jeff Corwin won two Creative Arts Daytime Emmy Awards for "Outstanding Travel Program".[1]
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ a b "'Sesame Street', 'Ellen DeGeneres' Lead Daytime Emmy Creative Arts Winners (FULL LIST)". Variety. Penske Media Corporation. June 21, 2014. Retrieved November 3, 2014.
- ^ a b Paige Albiniak (May 2, 2012). "American Forces Network Adds Litton's Weekend Adventure". Broadcasting & Cable. NewBay Media. Retrieved August 15, 2014.
- ^ "Litton's Weekend Adventure". Litton Entertainment. Archived from the original on May 27, 2011. Retrieved July 10, 2011.
- ^ a b "Everyday Health, Inc. and Litton Entertainment Announce New Television Series, "Everyday Health," to Premiere on ABC Affiliates". KFVS-TV. Raycom Media. July 8, 2011. Archived from the original on September 28, 2011. Retrieved July 10, 2011.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j "ABC Orders Saturday Kids Block From Litton". TVNewsCheck.com. NewsCheck Media. May 24, 2011. Archived from the original on December 4, 2013. Retrieved May 24, 2011.
- ^ a b Paige Albiniak (May 24, 2011). "ABC to Premiere ABC Weekend Adventure on Sept. 3". Broadcasting & Cable. NewBay Media. Retrieved May 24, 2011.
- ^ a b "Litton Announces "ABC Weekend Adventure"". Business Wire. May 24, 2011. Retrieved May 24, 2011.
- ^ a b "Cynopsis: Kids! 05/26/11". Cynopsis. May 26, 2011. Retrieved May 27, 2011.
{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: deprecated archival service (link) - ^ Paul Bond (August 10, 2010). "Disney's Q3 boosted by TV operations profit; Power Rangers sale added $43 million to coffers". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved August 11, 2010.
- ^ "Hearst Agrees to Acquire Majority Ownership of TV Program Producer and Distributor Litton Entertainment". Hearst Corporation.
- ^ a b "Litton Entertainment's ABC Station E / I Package Adds New Station Groups" (PDF). Litton Entertainment. May 17, 2010. Archived from the original (PDF) on January 13, 2012. Retrieved September 16, 2014.
- ^ Mike Shields (September 24, 2012). "YouTube Hit Jumps to TV—Albeit Saturday A.M." AdWeek. Retrieved September 29, 2012.
- ^ Amir Efrati. "From YouTube to TV". The Wall Street Journal. News Corporation. Retrieved June 9, 2014.
- ^ "Everyday Health's New TV Series, "Recipe Rehab," Is First Show From A YouTube Original Channel To Air On Network TV". Reuters. New York City: Everyday Health, Inc. September 28, 2012. Archived from the original on July 14, 2014. Retrieved June 9, 2014 – via PR Newswire.
- ^ Meg James (July 24, 2013). "CBS partners with Litton Entertainment for Saturday teen block". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved July 25, 2013.
- ^ a b "Former Greenbrier chef now stars in 'Recipe Rehab'". Associated Press. September 7, 2013. Archived from the original on July 14, 2014. Retrieved June 9, 2014.
- ^ a b c Kevin Downey (June 5, 2014). "CW Joins with Litton for Sat. Morning E/I Block". TVNewsCheck. NewsCheck Media. Retrieved June 5, 2014.
- ^ "WSVI 3rd Quarter 2016 Children's Television Programming Report" (PDF). WSVI via Federal Communications Commission. 11 October 2016. Retrieved 27 October 2016.
- ^ "WJHL 3rd Quarter 2016 Children's Television Programming Report" (PDF). WJHL via Federal Communications Commission. 11 October 2016. Retrieved 27 October 2016.
- ^ "WKPT 3rd Quarter 2016 Children's Television Programming Report" (PDF). WKPT via Federal Communications Commission. 11 October 2016. Retrieved 27 October 2016.
- ^ Zee, Ginger (8 April 2019). "Making sure everyone saw – @HeartsofHeroes_ is the new show title for my Saturday show honoring heroes (mostly first responders) on @ABC". Ginger_Zee. Twitter. Retrieved April 14, 2019.
- ^ Gonzalez, John (January 4, 2019). "Ginger Zee debuts new weekend show, 'Rescue Heroes'". mlive Life. Mlive Media Group. Retrieved April 14, 2019.
- ^ a b c "07/27/16: TURN: Washington's Spies renewed for fourth and final season; Spike orders karaoke game show; Virginia Madsen joins ABC's Designated Survivor". Cynopsis. July 27, 2016. Retrieved September 13, 2016.
- ^ a b "Litton's Weekend Adventure Launches into Third Season on October 5th with Two Brand New Series, The Wildlife Docs™ and Expedition Wild" (Press release). Burbank, California: Litton Entertainment. August 13, 2013.
- ^ "Feczko and Davidson to Co-Host ABC's Vacation Creation". Cruise Industry News. September 24, 2017. Retrieved January 21, 2018.