Adult Swim is an adult-oriented cable television network that shares channel space with Cartoon Network in the United States and broadcasting in countries such as Australia and Japan.Adult Swim/CN Split Cements Strategy. ICv2. March 3, 2005. The network features animated shows, including original programming, syndicated shows, and Japanese anime, generally with minimal or no editing for content. The shows are geared toward a 17+ audience, in contrast to the child and pre-teen daytime programming on Cartoon Network. The shows and commercial breaks are usually interrupted by "bumps", or moments where short jokes or Internet fan feedback (in which negative feedback is sometimes responded to in a sarcastic manner) are broadcast in simple white letters over a black screen.

History

Adult Swim began as a "spin-off" programming block of Cartoon Network, premiering on September 2, 2001 with the airing of Home Movies. It originally aired Sunday night with reruns on Thursdays. The name is derived from public swimming pools often having designated times when children are restricted from using the facilities in favor of adults. These times are often referred to as "adult swim". The first anime broadcast on Adult Swim was Cowboy Bebop. On March 28, 2005, Atlanta-based Turner Broadcasting split Adult Swim from Cartoon Network so Nielsen Media Research could treat it as a separate channel for ratings purposes. Other early shows included Aqua Teen Hunger Force, Brak Show and a revival of The WB's Mission Hill. As of December 28, 2008, Adult Swim now airs nightly from 10:00PM-6:00AM EST.

The network is programmed by Williams Street Studios, a division of Turner Broadcast Network, which has created Toonami and Miguzi. It plays American animated series and shorts geared towards adults. They also play a wide variety of Japanese anime series, OVAs, and movies. Promotions for Adult Swim are targeted towards the college age and those in their twenties and thirties, constituting the majority of their viewers. According to a September 1, 2004 article in Promo magazine, representatives travel to 30 universities across the U.S. to promote the Adult Swim lineup, including handing out posters for students' dorm rooms.

Stylistic history

Originally, all of the bumpers shown in between shows featured footage of senior citizens swimming in public pools, eating, exercising, and doing other pool-related activities, with audio of a lifeguard shouting "all kids out of the pool" through a megaphone. The logo was the words "ADULT SWIM" in all capital letters, shown after a freeze frame of the footage. The shows were announced by a computer generated voice on Saturdays.