Factors that make UK Broadcasters pass on Dragon Ball Super.

Discussion specifically regarding the "Dragon Ball Super" TV series premiering July 2015 in Japan, including individual threads for each episode.

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Factors that make UK Broadcasters pass on Dragon Ball Super.

Post by Cure Dragon 255 » Fri Apr 14, 2017 11:13 pm

Here we will discuss factors that lead to UK Broadcasters pass on Dragon Ball Super despite the prior success of the previous series. I made this thread seeing as how my previous other thread was such a hit with UK fans.

I think it has more to do with there's not a readily available edited version UK broadcasters could use. Sure there seems to be a bias against anime, but Pretty Cure aired uncut in the UK and that not only had pretty violent fights but also violence against women and it aired on Pop Girl. I dont condemn Dragon Ball or Pretty Cure but I'm comparing the two since they seem to have substantial violent content.

Then again The Final Chapters never came to the UK TV scene.

God I miss Old Kix and Pop Girl.

I pray to god that Dragon Ball Super will come someday. I love the UK fans and they deserve this too.

EDIT: I just checked out the Top 10 programmes on Kix and Dinosaur King was on TOP! I hope they air Super, seeing as it is an anime like DK.
Marz wrote: Wed Jul 21, 2021 11:27 pm "Well, the chapter was good, the story was good and so were the fights. But a new transformation, in Dragon Ball? And one that's ugly? This is where we draw the line!!! Jump the Shark moment!!"

This forum is so over-dramatic that it's not even funny.
90sDBZ wrote: Mon Jul 01, 2019 2:44 pm19 years ago I was rushing home from school to watch DBZ on Cartoon Network, and today I've rushed home from work to watch DBS on Pop. I guess it's true the more things change the more they stay the same. :lol:

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Re: Factors that make UK Broadcasters pass on Dragon Ball Super.

Post by 90sDBZ » Sat Apr 15, 2017 12:48 pm

Actually I think there is an edited version of Funimation Super. Chris Sabat mentioned a while back on Twiter that they recorded a version with "Hercule" used instead of Satan, but hoped that they wouldn't need to use it. Of course a UK kids network would naturally want to air at least 5 episodes a week, which would mean getting ahead of the US Toonami Broadcast, and I'm not sure the UK would be allowed to do that as Funimation is primarily US focused.

I think it ultimately just boils down to poor decision making by UK Broadcasters who would rather play it safe and stick with the same generic kids shows. I think the head of Manga UK mentioned on Twitter that Cartoon Network UK turned it down for being "Too violent". Back in the early 2000s Cartoon Network UK were more open minded and Z was a massive success for them that was constantly on one of their channels from 2000 until 2005.

Another obstacle I can see is having other anime/action cartoons to air alongside it. I think DBZ was the only anime that really became popular on Toonami UK, with even DB and GT not staying on the air for very long. I think they actually over relied on Z to an extent. In the eyes of kids TV broadcasters, airing Super would mean taking their channel in a whole new direction which would mean licensing other anime or action shows that could be potentially expensive. They also don't want to upset overly paranoid parents with "inappropriate violence", so they choose to play it safe and stick with the same old stuff.

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Re: Factors that make UK Broadcasters pass on Dragon Ball Super.

Post by NitroEX » Sat Apr 15, 2017 1:36 pm

Cure Dragon 255 wrote: I think it has more to do with there's not a readily available edited version UK broadcasters could use.
Bang Zoom's Dragon Ball Super dub is edited. If CN UK wanted an edited version, they'd go for that since Turner commissioned it and own the rights to it.

If I had to guess, the reason for DB's exclusion is probably down to either an anti-violence or anti-anime agenda among the top execs at Cartoon Network UK. As for CSC media, they run much smaller channels and their Kix line-up seems to maintain itself on older (probably cheaper) programming. They chose not to renew their Dragon ball contract with Toei so they obviously weren't happy with how things went with Kai. It might have seen some initial success for them but it obviously wasn't worth keeping around if they decided to finally axe it.

I don't see any other channels that would realistically air Super or Kai other than those two. I've heard Sci-fi channel have occasionally been airing anime lately so perhaps there's a slim chance there, and I suppose Fox UK have been showing the new Samurai Jack at the moment so they might be interested in more action animation, if there's a demand for it. In all honesty though, a kid oriented show such as Dragon Ball Super probably isn't something that either channel has in mind for new content anyway, it doesn't seem to fit their style.

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Re: Factors that make UK Broadcasters pass on Dragon Ball Super.

Post by Cure Dragon 255 » Sun Apr 16, 2017 6:06 am

I love the way you guys think! Definetely a different and brand new perspective.

I think it may also be that Turner has the rights...but since they dont have any anime friendly channel they are just sitting on it.
Marz wrote: Wed Jul 21, 2021 11:27 pm "Well, the chapter was good, the story was good and so were the fights. But a new transformation, in Dragon Ball? And one that's ugly? This is where we draw the line!!! Jump the Shark moment!!"

This forum is so over-dramatic that it's not even funny.
90sDBZ wrote: Mon Jul 01, 2019 2:44 pm19 years ago I was rushing home from school to watch DBZ on Cartoon Network, and today I've rushed home from work to watch DBS on Pop. I guess it's true the more things change the more they stay the same. :lol:

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Re: Factors that make UK Broadcasters pass on Dragon Ball Super.

Post by Baggie_Saiyan » Sun Apr 16, 2017 8:33 am

CN aired the new Justice League show on Saturdays at 7.30am.... :lolno: that is why DBS won't air and unfortunately unlike the U.S we don't have Adult Swim and Toonsmi to fall back on.

Only hope left is CITV as they aired some Toei shows like Digimon in the past.

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Re: Factors that make UK Broadcasters pass on Dragon Ball Super.

Post by NitroEX » Sun Apr 16, 2017 1:03 pm

Baggie_Saiyan wrote: Only hope left is CITV as they aired some Toei shows like Digimon in the past.
I wouldn't get your hopes up. CITV are even more toothless than Carton Network. Everything on there is super family friendly including what little anime they have aired in the past. I don't see Dragon Ball ever fitting in with their current lineup.

Unless one of the larger kids channels is willing to take a risk on it, or in CN's case, bring back the Toonami block, I think UK TV is a lost cause at this point.

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Re: Factors that make UK Broadcasters pass on Dragon Ball Super.

Post by Baggie_Saiyan » Sun Apr 16, 2017 1:36 pm

NitroEX wrote:
Baggie_Saiyan wrote: Only hope left is CITV as they aired some Toei shows like Digimon in the past.
I wouldn't get your hopes up. CITV are even more toothless than Carton Network. Everything on there is super family friendly including what little anime they have aired in the past. I don't see Dragon Ball ever fitting in with their current lineup.

Unless one of the larger kids channels is willing to take a risk on it, or in CN's case, bring back the Toonami block, I think UK TV is a lost cause at this point.
Ah that is pretty unfortunate. CITV were the last hope I was clinging on.

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Re: Factors that make UK Broadcasters pass on Dragon Ball Super.

Post by DBSinUK=£££££ » Tue Apr 18, 2017 10:49 am

Baggie_Saiyan wrote:that is why DBS won't air and unfortunately unlike the U.S we don't have Adult Swim and Toonsmi to fall back on.
We do have Adult Swim in the UK, it airs Midnight on Fox and is currently airing the new Samurai Jack season.

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Re: Factors that make UK Broadcasters pass on Dragon Ball Super.

Post by sintzu » Tue Apr 18, 2017 1:27 pm

They might think it won't do that well.

Maybe it's too violent to them and they don't have the time to edit it.

They could also be waiting for it to air for awhile in other countries to see how it does.

Maybe they don't want to air it once a week so they're going to wait for it to finish so they can air it 5 days a week.
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Re: Factors that make UK Broadcasters pass on Dragon Ball Super.

Post by Deathbringer » Tue Apr 18, 2017 3:02 pm

Didn't any of the people running these channels see how well Resurrection F did in the UK box office? (I mean I know it didn't exactly pull Hollywood numbers but I'm pretty sure it did well for itself), didn't Sky air Resurrection F not that long ago? Don't they have a channel they could put this on? Make a new channel for anime maybe? Sky Anime? Would that ever work I wonder...?

I've always been hoping that BBC3 would air anime at one point...but then they took that channel off TV so no hope now apart from maybe ITV2 and E4 but those channels are a bit more about sitcoms or reality TV. Again, it baffles me that BBC3 never aired any anime but were fine with Family Guy and American Dad, shows like Hellsing (with its British setting) would have done well on BBC3, or maybe just some not-so-gory Mecha shows or action fighting shows (like DBZ in fact!).

I think overall the biggest issue here is that anime is generally seen as a teen thing and the UK doesn't have any teen focused channels, it's always either just adults (especially now CBBC isn't on BBC1 after school at all) or just children, and the few that are around are unlikely to bother with anime, and BBC3 being taken off air proves they don't care much about teen audiences anyway (I know they moved it online technically but their online BBC3 stuff is all just original programs, nothing licensed from other countries)

Also there's the whole thing that broadcast TV is becoming less and less popular due to the rise of things like Netflix, Netflix has a few anime shows on there but not really enough. I still think a heavily edited version of DBS would do well on CBBC but it's probably not gonna happen. And it's a shame really because this audience of old fans isn't sustainable, they need to be getting more kids into this, DBS is so kid friendly it would be perfect for getting a new audience of fans.

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Re: Factors that make UK Broadcasters pass on Dragon Ball Super.

Post by DBSinUK=£££££ » Tue Apr 18, 2017 5:12 pm

Sky Movies did air Battle of Gods and Resurrection F quite a lot a few months back, not sure if they did well though I assume they did.

Personally, I think Disney XD might be a good place for DBS, as their Marvel programmes have been able to get away with a lot of things, like saying "Death", "Die" and "Kill" and shows like Gravity Falls have briefly shown blood on some occasions.

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Re: Factors that make UK Broadcasters pass on Dragon Ball Super.

Post by DBSinUK=£££££ » Tue Apr 18, 2017 5:26 pm

Also, the DBS Manga will release in the UK & Ireland on May 3rd, so atleast we're getting that.

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Re: Factors that make UK Broadcasters pass on Dragon Ball Super.

Post by 90sDBZ » Wed Apr 19, 2017 8:42 am

Deathbringer wrote:Didn't any of the people running these channels see how well Resurrection F did in the UK box office? (I mean I know it didn't exactly pull Hollywood numbers but I'm pretty sure it did well for itself), didn't Sky air Resurrection F not that long ago?
It did really well and made it into the UK Box Office top 10, forcing the home release to be delayed by several months so it could continue making money in the Cinemas. It even got an encore screening months later that a lot of people went to see a 2nd time. UK TV Broadcasters clearly have no sense.
DBSinUK=£££££ wrote:Sky Movies did air Battle of Gods and Resurrection F quite a lot a few months back, not sure if they did well though I assume they did.
Sky Movies repeated both Battle of Gods and Resurrection F regularly for months on end, so it's a safe assumption that they did well.

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Re: Factors that make UK Broadcasters pass on Dragon Ball Super.

Post by Baggie_Saiyan » Wed Apr 19, 2017 12:35 pm

90sDBZ wrote:
DBSinUK=£££££ wrote:Sky Movies did air Battle of Gods and Resurrection F quite a lot a few months back, not sure if they did well though I assume they did.
Sky Movies repeated both Battle of Gods and Resurrection F regularly for months on end, so it's a safe assumption that they did well.
DBZ_Lee got in touch with SkyOne and he said whom he spoke to was quite interested in Super, and so the person discussed it with the acquisitions team and the unfortunate news that they weren't interested. Now FUNi are starting to release the BDs we'll probably get them some time but that is the closest we will get too DBS here it seems! /:

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Re: Factors that make UK Broadcasters pass on Dragon Ball Super.

Post by NitroEX » Wed Apr 19, 2017 3:10 pm

Deathbringer wrote:Didn't any of the people running these channels see how well Resurrection F did in the UK box office? (I mean I know it didn't exactly pull Hollywood numbers but I'm pretty sure it did well for itself), didn't Sky air Resurrection F not that long ago? Don't they have a channel they could put this on? Make a new channel for anime maybe? Sky Anime? Would that ever work I wonder...?
Why would Sky bother? I believe the last time the UK had its own dedicated anime channel, called AnimeCentral (which was owned by CSC media, the same company that runs Kix), it failed miserably. From Sky's perspective, there's probably little to no money in running an anime channel, especially nowadays with the ability to binge watch episodes online with streaming services like Crunchyroll and Daisuki.
Deathbringer wrote:I've always been hoping that BBC3 would air anime at one point...but then they took that channel off TV so no hope now apart from maybe ITV2 and E4 but those channels are a bit more about sitcoms or reality TV. Again, it baffles me that BBC3 never aired any anime but were fine with Family Guy and American Dad, shows like Hellsing (with its British setting) would have done well on BBC3, or maybe just some not-so-gory Mecha shows or action fighting shows (like DBZ in fact!).

I think overall the biggest issue here is that anime is generally seen as a teen thing and the UK doesn't have any teen focused channels, it's always either just adults (especially now CBBC isn't on BBC1 after school at all) or just children, and the few that are around are unlikely to bother with anime, and BBC3 being taken off air proves they don't care much about teen audiences anyway (I know they moved it online technically but their online BBC3 stuff is all just original programs, nothing licensed from other countries)
Anime on the BBC just seems like a very odd idea to me, I've personally never looked at any of their channels and thought to myself "they should really broadcast anime here". I have heard that on rare occasions they have shown the odd Studio Ghibli film but that's to be expected given how mainstream and well-respected those films are (not to mention family friendly...), something tells me they wouldn't dare air something as violent as Akira, despite being equally as respected.

As far as the kid's side goes, the only "anime" (i.e. show animated in Japan) that I can even remember playing on BBC was a localized dub of the Moomins. I don't believe the creator of that was Japanese however, so maybe it was a special case. Either way, it was very tame compared to anything in Dragon Ball. I would imagine the heads of BBC would heavily disapprove of a violent show like Dragon Ball being shown to kids.

While on the subject of the BBC and anime, it appears there's been some controversy surrounding one of their latest documentaries which seems to have painted anime and Japanese culture in a negative light. I can't imagine that would help things in regards to anime airing on their platform.

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Re: Factors that make UK Broadcasters pass on Dragon Ball Super.

Post by Deathbringer » Thu Apr 20, 2017 8:40 am

NitroEX wrote: Anime on the BBC just seems like a very odd idea to me, I've personally never looked at any of their channels and thought to myself "they should really broadcast anime here". I have heard that on rare occasions they have shown the odd Studio Ghibli film but that's to be expected given how mainstream and well-respected those films are (not to mention family friendly...), something tells me they wouldn't dare air something as violent as Akira, despite being equally as respected.

As far as the kid's side goes, the only "anime" (i.e. show animated in Japan) that I can even remember playing on BBC was a localized dub of the Moomins. I don't believe the creator of that was Japanese however, so maybe it was a special case. Either way, it was very tame compared to anything in Dragon Ball. I would imagine the heads of BBC would heavily disapprove of a violent show like Dragon Ball being shown to kids.

While on the subject of the BBC and anime, it appears there's been some controversy surrounding one of their latest documentaries which seems to have painted anime and Japanese culture in a negative light. I can't imagine that would help things in regards to anime airing on their platform.
Oh yeah I remember hearing something about that Stacey Dooley documentary, such a shame when I see people picking out the worst examples of fanservice or sometimes just fucked up moments in certain shows to generalise that all anime is like that. But either way I was specifically talking about BBC3 since it was the teen alternative, I was saying that BBC3 would have been a good place to put anime because that's where they put things like Family Guy and American Dad which are adult animation, however BBC3 is now online-only (that Stacey Dooley documentary was only online too) and only shows original programming nowadays so the moment has passed basically. It is also true that streaming services are more popular right now and that's where the teen audience is at so there's even less of a place for anime on British TV, every year less and less people bother with paying their TV license or Satellite services.

Also the other unfortunate truth is that a lot of people stream/torrent anime illegally, which is a real shame because you've got this huge audience that are interested in the product but not actually paying for it.

Also I could possibly, maybe see Channel 4 airing some anime (iirc they aired Fist of the North Star on there once many years ago?) and I'm pretty sure they sometimes have anime movies on Film4. But yeah, the audience that BBC3 had many many years ago (like maybe 10 years ago) would have loved to have seen some anime I bet, but that audience is completely gone now. I think that right now Netflix is the best place to put anime, they totally need more. Also there are home releases of anime shows which I'm guessing do quite well among the audience that's still interested in collecting physical media.

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Re: Factors that make UK Broadcasters pass on Dragon Ball Super.

Post by Cure Dragon 255 » Thu Apr 20, 2017 9:22 pm

I just had an idea from my pal Mecha 3000! Why not Disney XD? So far no one here has even suggested it! They air Yokai Watch AND Pokemon! Those are anime! And they air Star Wars Rebels! That's a pretty edgy and violent show! I think it might be a good home for Dragon Ball Super in the UK.
Marz wrote: Wed Jul 21, 2021 11:27 pm "Well, the chapter was good, the story was good and so were the fights. But a new transformation, in Dragon Ball? And one that's ugly? This is where we draw the line!!! Jump the Shark moment!!"

This forum is so over-dramatic that it's not even funny.
90sDBZ wrote: Mon Jul 01, 2019 2:44 pm19 years ago I was rushing home from school to watch DBZ on Cartoon Network, and today I've rushed home from work to watch DBS on Pop. I guess it's true the more things change the more they stay the same. :lol:

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Re: Factors that make UK Broadcasters pass on Dragon Ball Super.

Post by DBSinUK=£££££ » Fri Apr 21, 2017 5:22 am

Cure Dragon 255 wrote:Why not Disney XD? So far no one here has even suggested it! They air Yokai Watch AND Pokemon!

In the UK, Cartoon Network airs Yokai Watch and CITV airs Pokemon.

(also i suggested disney xd but oke)

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Re: Factors that make UK Broadcasters pass on Dragon Ball Super.

Post by Cure Dragon 255 » Fri Apr 21, 2017 5:28 am

Ooops! I had forgotten that you did. Sorry!
Marz wrote: Wed Jul 21, 2021 11:27 pm "Well, the chapter was good, the story was good and so were the fights. But a new transformation, in Dragon Ball? And one that's ugly? This is where we draw the line!!! Jump the Shark moment!!"

This forum is so over-dramatic that it's not even funny.
90sDBZ wrote: Mon Jul 01, 2019 2:44 pm19 years ago I was rushing home from school to watch DBZ on Cartoon Network, and today I've rushed home from work to watch DBS on Pop. I guess it's true the more things change the more they stay the same. :lol:

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Re: Factors that make UK Broadcasters pass on Dragon Ball Super.

Post by NitroEX » Fri Apr 21, 2017 8:43 am

DBSinUK=£££££ wrote:
Cure Dragon 255 wrote:Why not Disney XD? So far no one here has even suggested it! They air Yokai Watch AND Pokemon!
In the UK, Cartoon Network airs Yokai Watch and CITV airs Pokemon.
In regards to Pokemon. Free channels such as CITY generally don't seem to have a monopoly over shows that they didn't create. Both Pokemon and Digimon previously aired on both CITY and digital/cable channels (Sky One & Fox Kids) at the same time. I've seen this happen with numerous other shows as well. Not sure what the specifics are behind those deals but just thought I'd point that out.

If Disney XD wanted to air it in the UK I imagine they could although it would probably depend on Turner and if their Dragon Ball broadcast rights extend to the UK. They seem to currently hold those rights in many territories.

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