News

Saban Returns to Saturday Mornings With Vortexx TV Block

Saban Brands announced the upcoming launch of Vortexx, its Saturday morning television block, at Comic-Con International Thursday. Starting August 25, the block will replace 4Kids' Toonzai block and run from 7:00 a.m. to noon on CW-affiliated stations. Saban Brands also confirmed that the block will be available online and on mobile devices as well.

Saban Brand president Elie Dekel stated, "Vortexx will have the shows that our audience knows and loves, with a mix that is very different from anything else — a programming lineup that features electrifying moments of action and humor, and stories that feature characters that are larger than life, but also very relatable."

The line-up includes Saban staple Power Rangers (currently in its 20th season) and Yu-Gi-Oh! Saban acquired the programming block rights after 4Kids' assets were split between Saban's Kidsco Media Ventures LLC and Konami's 4K Acquisition Corp in bankruptcy court last month. Saban also assumed the Dragon Ball Z agreement terms with Toei Animation and Funimation Productions that includes Dragon Ball Z Kai; the Cubix agreements with Daiwon C&A Holdings, Cinepix, and East Japan Marketing & Communications; and the Sonic X agreement with TMS Entertainment.

Dragon Ball Z Kai, Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D's, and Sonic X all previously aired on the Toonzai block.

4Kids' former online streaming site Toonzaki will be run by Konami according to the site's official Facebook page.

Thanks to Graham Finch and ravegirl for the news tips.