One Magnificent Morning is an Americanprogramming block that is programmed by Litton Entertainment and debuted on October 4, 2014 as the successor to the animation block Vortexx. It airs on Saturday mornings on the owned-and-operated stations and affiliates of The CW, the block features live-action documentary and lifestyle series aimed at preteens and teenagers between the ages of 10 and 16, the same style of programming that Litton provides for competing blocks seen on ABC, CBS, and NBC. All of the programs in the three-hour block are designed to meet federally mandated educational programming guidelines.
History
On May 31, 2014 and June 5, 2014, The CW announced that it would discontinue its existing Saturday morning block Vortexx, which was produced by Saban Brands, in favor of One Magnificent Morning, a new, five-hour block produced by Litton Entertainment and distributed by CBS Television Distribution, that would feature live-action educational programming aimed towards teenagers and their parents. The move came as part of a growing shift by broadcast television networks towards non-fiction programming to fulfill the FCC-mandated requirement to air a quota of educational programming weekly. The previous year, Litton began producing CBS Dream Team, a similar E/I block for sister network CBS, and the company has also produced Litton's Weekend Adventure for ABC's affiliates since September 3, 2011. Vortexx aired for the final time on September 27, 2014. It was the conclusive Saturday morning block across the major U.S. commercial broadcast networks that primarily featured non-educational children's programming. Such content has gradually fallen out of favor because of the E/I rules, as well as shifts in viewing habits towards cable networks and online video on demand services for cartoons and other youth-oriented content. One Magnificent Morning debuted the following week on October 4, 2014, following the discontinuation of Vortexx in its 7:00 a.m. to Noon timeslot. As a consequence of the block launching three weeks after the traditional start of the syndication television season, Litton provided a temporary barter package of Everyday Health and Culture Click to CW stations, allowing those who depended on the OMM block to fulfill E/I guidelines to have programming before it started. Some initially announced shows that were not produced for the block were: America's Flavors, Social Media Mania, Swag, and Taste of Home. On January 7, 2016, The CW and Litton announced a five-year renewal for the block, extending it through the 2020-21 broadcast season. On October 7, 2017, the block's running time was reduced to three hours and began airing from 8:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. The CW then gave the two hours of reclaimed time to the affiliates.
Programming
Although One Magnificent Morning provides the three-hour minimum requirement of E/I programming each week, which exceeds defined under the Federal Communications Commission 's Children's Television Act, some of The CW's owned-and-operated stations and affiliates continue to provide E/I-compliant programs acquired from the syndication market, mainly due to existing program distribution contracts. The CW Plus, in particular, continues to supply two hours of E/I-compliant syndicated programs within its national schedule following the block on Saturday afternoons, which further alleviates the service's subscription-subchannel affiliates from the responsibility of purchasing the local rights to such programs.
