Fox Kids/Jetix & Saban Library - Missing on Disney+

[Two Two's]

Made a Fox Kids Rights Tracker a while back

 

[John Pannozzi]

Made a Fox Kids Rights Tracker a while back

The ALF animated series and ALF Tales are owned by Alien Productions, which is owned by Paul Fusco and Tom Patchett (and possibly Bernie Brillstein). Shout! Factory currently handles distribution.

 

[Moleoman]

Another correction: The Real Ghostbusters was always globally owned by Columbia Pictures Television. Fox Kids UK had to license from Sony to air on the channel (and the SPTI first logo appeared after the DIC logo):

 

[Igorov]

I really think Disney is starting to realize how much demand there is for nostalgic content. The return of shows like The Weekenders through Disney+ & Hulu Throwbacks proves that older animated series still have a strong audience today.

But honestly, Fox Kids and Jetix deserve the same attention too. For many people outside the US — especially in Europe and Latin America — those channels were a huge part of childhood. There are still so many classic shows from that era missing on Disney+.

If Disney is serious about preserving its TV legacy, bringing back Fox Kids & Jetix content would be an amazing next step.

 

[JulianRO]

Very unlikely to happen in the future.

 

[Two Two's]

The ALF animated series and ALF Tales are owned by Alien Productions, which is owned by Paul Fusco and Tom Patchett (and possibly Bernie Brillstein). Shout! Factory currently handles distribution.

Yeah, it's more than likely a Bobby's World situation where Howie Mandel licensed the show out to Moonscoop.

 

[harry580]

so, if fox kids/jetix shows went streaming, maybe it be on tubi for free viewing since these are so forgotten I bet they be free to watch nowadays

 

[Igorov]

so, if fox kids/jetix shows went streaming, maybe it be on tubi for free viewing since these are so forgotten I bet they be free to watch nowadays

That might be a fair assumption for the U.S. But in Europe and Latin America, Fox Kids and Jetix shows were far more popular than Toon Disney shows.

Many series that aired in the U.S. during the ’90s were still being watched in Europe through Jetix Play even in 2010. If Disney wants the ‘Throwbacks’ trend to make a bigger impact, they should focus on content that would generate more attention.

Besides that, Tubi isn’t available in many countries. Old Fox Kids and Jetix shows are surviving on YouTube through low-quality recordings. That’s not fair.

 

[Moe]

I’m wonder about how long would Disney stick with nostalgic shows since they walked away several times with huge gap between PB&J Otter and The Weekenders.

I do think that Disney is too focused on American shows that they put on Disney+ in other countries and there are some countries have minimum requirement for shows that produced in their country and the EU.

I’m not interested in some Disney shows like The Weekenders bored me, so not sure about why.

 

[PrevueLovesAnimeTV]

I’m wonder about how long would Disney stick with nostalgic shows since they walked away several times with huge gap between PB&J Otter and The Weekenders.

I do think that Disney is too focused on American shows that they put on Disney+ in other countries and there are some countries have minimum requirement for shows that produced in their country and the EU.

I’m not interested in some Disney shows like The Weekenders bored me, so not sure about why.

Disney is too American

 

[Igorov]

I’m wonder about how long would Disney stick with nostalgic shows since they walked away several times with huge gap between PB&J Otter and The Weekenders.

I do think that Disney is too focused on American shows that they put on Disney+ in other countries and there are some countries have minimum requirement for shows that produced in their country and the EU.

I’m not interested in some Disney shows like The Weekenders bored me, so not sure about why.

Since I didn’t live in the United States, I don’t know how popular these shows were there. We can even add shows like Pepper Ann, Doug, and Disney’s Adventures of the Gummi Bears, which are already on Disney+, to that list.

Disney is adding shows to Disney+ that were only moderately or barely known even in the U.S., and virtually unknown in other countries. Then, when those shows don’t get enough views, series with genuine viewing potential end up not being added. Fox Kids and Jetix shows were far more popular than most of Toon Disney’s lower-budget productions.

It seems Disney’s “Throwbacks” initiative is going to remain little more than a slogan. Streaming services normally try to add the shows with the greatest potential audience and viewership.

 

[JulianRO]

Made a Fox Kids Rights Tracker a while back

Why is Saban's name censored?

 

[zakawer2]

Why is Saban's name censored?

Quoting the file made by @Two Two's:
"I DO NOT SUPPORT THE ACTIONS OF HAIM SABAN AND SHUKI LEVY"

That's gotta be why. The user maintaining the file is deliberately doing this out of contempt for the two aforementioned individuals and their actions, views and opinions. I cannot elaborate any further for obvious reasons.

It's a thing that a lot of people online these days tend to do toward topics like murder and rape, and also toward individuals and entities that they detest.

 

[JulianRO]

They didn't do anything bad. It probably has to do with their ethniticity and the current situation in the Middle East, but still, I'm not going to go deeper than that too.

 

[GRPHX]

Quoting the file made by @Two Two's:
"I DO NOT SUPPORT THE ACTIONS OF HAIM SABAN AND SHUKI LEVY"

That's gotta be why. The user maintaining the file is deliberately doing this out of contempt for the two aforementioned individuals and their actions, views and opinions. I cannot elaborate any further for obvious reasons.

It's a thing that a lot of people online these days tend to do toward topics like murder and rape, and also toward individuals and entities that they detest.

I suppose this is unfortunately a matter of Haim Saban's and Levy's national identities, isn't it? Not that they sold the company. I apologize profusely for that.

 

[John Pannozzi]

They didn't do anything bad. It probably has to do with their ethniticity and the current situation in the Middle East, but still, I'm not going to go deeper than that too.

There's shady stuff they've done outside of Middle Eastern politics, but that isn't appropriate to discuss here either. So, let's digress.

@Igorov I have to respectfully disagree with your assertion that Gummi Bears wasn't/isn't popular outside the USA. I can't speak for your neck of the woods, but two episodes of Gummi Bears got shown theatrically as featurettes in the UK (same for one episode of The Wuzzles, believe it or not), and a handful of Gummi Bears comics were published in European Disney anthology magazines (only recently has Fantagraphics published a few of them in English in their Disney Afternoon Adventures line of hardcovers).

 

[CNCN2014]

I've grown interest in this topic because I am, in a sense, fascinated and obsessed with Jetix.

I've never kept that a secret. I wear a Jetix hat all the time out and about, but it does still suck to see much of the BVS library stuck in corpo limbo. It's a moment where I wish Tubi, who are known to acquire obscure cartoons quite easily that most streamers end up neglecting, were able to strike a deal.

But I then remember who owns Tubi, and I feel like Fox isn't willing to open a can of worms to that degree cause, while Tubi has a really good offering of kids content, not just of the recent Warner Bros content, and ironically some of the Fox Kids shows that were distributed outside of BVS/Saban, I don't think Fox and Disney are really wanting to go through all the monotonous copyright paper work to see who owns what and what they can legally air or stream. In a sense, neither one of them is willing to pick up the toys. Fox Corp, the new one, wasn't built to go through legal properties as anarchic as their former partner Saban was, and in a sense, I feel like they want to forget their past due to the fact that the old Fox Corporation was a bloated and impossible mess for them.

But don't get it too twisted: I think Disney do still have the broadcast tapes of all of the BVS content. A.T.O.M, Diabolik, hell, even Pittsburg Pigs for that matter. Disney aren't a corporation who like to forget things or their own history. If Steamboat Willie can be archived, then so the hell can Eek. Hell, I probably think there are some folk within the legal departments of these companies who probably do, like ourselves, want those shows to be out there but because of the mess that is copyright and legalities, they just can't.

If Tubi saw the demand for these shows, then they totally would get them on board. But there's so many people you have to contact, the actors, the directors, everyone involved. And it's possible one of them may say no or demand more money.

I do wonder if you've considered contacting the external parties about it besides the main copyright holders. I personally think it should be within your best interests to start looking at the directors, the writers, the French/Canadian studio reps who helped make these shows, not to ask them where they have them (because they most likely don't), but to ask whether or not they'd be okay with them being re-released or streamed. They have the final say after all. Paper trails always tend to throw you in a loop, but for animation, they're always as easy as an email or contact. And hell, maybe Disney and/or Fox may be less worried about the legal ramifications.

TL, DR: Be the change you wanna be. Start contacting directors, writers, etc. behind these cartoons. It's far easier to start a paper trail than demanding a multi billion corporation like Disney to release them.