Both Cartoon Network and Adult Swim saw viewership drop about 25% in 2021. According to an end-of-the-year rating list written by Variety, both Adult Swim and Cartoon Network had ratings fall. Could it be the impact of streaming services taking away from the network? It could also be because Adult Swim schedule lost one of its integral shows to FXX this past year.
If you are familiar with the channel, Cartoon Network airs its more kid-friendly content throughout the day until 8 pm. It is at that time when the tone changes – still cartoons- except now it’s adult time. The Adult Swim schedule airs on the same channel as Cartoon Network from 8 pm to 6 am every night. There is an exception every Saturday night for the channel from 12 am to 4 am with a special programming block called Toonami, specifically for anime.
Cartoon Network
On the list, Cartoon Network was ranked at #72. The cartoon classic channel is still popular in recent years with hits like Adventure Time and Steven Universe. Unfortunately, the Cartoon Network viewership dropped 26% in 2021 to 201,000. Cartoon Network gave us some great classics in the late 90s and early 2000s, but it seems the Golden Age has passed. Maybe one day it will come again, but until then, we can be thankful for the many shows it gave us. Just to name a few, ‘The Powerpuff Girls, ‘Teen Titans,’ ‘Dexter’s Laboratory’ and ‘Ed, Edd n Eddy’ all had impacts on Early Millenials and Late Gen-Zer’s alike.
Adult Swim
On the other hand, Adult Swim was ranked at #41 on the list as viewership dropped 25% to 386,000. Even with Season 5 of Rick and Morty(which only airs on [as]), viewership still dropped. After an Adult Swim trend hit TikTok over the summer, it’s safe to say the network got some great marketing from it. Other than that, the Adult Swim schedule took a dive after losing one of its most integral shows this past year.
Family Guy left Adult Swim in a very somber goodbye on Saturday, September 18th, 2021. After 18 years on the nightly Adult Swim schedule, Family Guy had to bid farewell to the network that ultimately helped it live. Since its syndication in 2003, Family Guy and Adult Swim have helped each other grow alike.
