History
Trademark registrations for MeTV Toons were first filed in March 2023, with originally considered names for the network being "Toon TV" or "Toony TV" (a name likely inspired by the mascot of the MeTV original program Toon In with Me, Toony the Tuna), as well as names of interstitials for the network such as 'Cartoon College' filed in December 2023.[6][7]
On May 1, 2024, Variety and TVLine reported Weigel was partnering with Warner Bros. Discovery on MeTV Toons, which was billed as a 24/7, free-to-air television network dedicated to broadcasting classic animated programming. TheDesk.net reported that Weigel was also working with Paramount Pictures, Amazon MGM Studios (The Pink Panther), Universal Pictures and a number of other content studios.[8]
The following day, Weigel officially announced the launch of the channel, which would take place on June 25. The channel launched with a marathon of the pilot episodes of all of its non-compilation shows, with the inaugural program at 6am Eastern/5am Central time being Captain Planet and the Planeteers.[9] The channel follows a similar format to the formative years of WBD's Cartoon Network and Boomerang.
Officials at Weigel announced ahead of the launch that they had planned to distribute MeTV Toons in three formats: as a broadcast channel available in many cities via over-the-air television and cable, as a streaming channel offered through subscription-based services, and as a 'complementary offering' for ad-supported streaming platforms.[4]
Broadcast affiliates include those owned by Weigel itself, as well as those operated by Cox Media Group, Bahakel Communications, Hubbard Broadcasting, Allen Media Group, and Gray Television. Frndly TV and Philo, two over-the-top MVPD services that carry all of Weigel's other networks, added the network on launch day. On June 26, 2025, the network was added to FuboTV.[10]
On June 18, 2025, it was announced that MeTV Toons would become available on DirecTV on both their satellite and streaming service.[11] The channel was added on June 30,[12] and was also added to Dish Network on October 23[13] and Xfinity on December 9.[14]
