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CBS Weekend

CBS Weekend (stylized as CBS WKND and previously known as CBS Dream Team) is an American children's programming block programmed by Hearst Media Production Group (formerly Litton Entertainment) which airs Saturday mornings on CBS under a time-lease agreement.

The block features six half-hours of live-action documentary and lifestyle series aimed at teenagers aged 10–18, all of which are designed to comply with educational programming requirements defined by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) under the Children's Television Act.

History

On July 24, 2013, CBS announced that it had entered into a programming agreement with Litton Entertainment to launch a new weekend morning block featuring live-action lifestyle, wildlife, and documentary series aimed tweens/teens aged 10–18. It was the second block programming agreement Litton had made after launching Weekend Adventure for ABC stations in fall two years later. Unlike the ABC deal which in technicality gave the time back to the affiliates to syndicate Litton's programming, the CBS deal for Litton was a traditional time brokerage agreement where CBS retained control over the time given to Litton.

CBS' decision to restructure the block away from the traditional fare of animated and live-action scripted series – which it had been airing at the time of the deal as part of Cookie Jar TV (which had aired on the network in various forms since 2006), a block produced by the Canada-based Cookie Jar Group (now WildBrain), was done in part to comply to secure educational content and advertising regulations in the Children's Television Act.

The CBS Dream Team launched on September 28, 2013. Its initial lineup consisted mainly of newer series, though Recipe Rehab switched from Weekend Adventure to Dream Team for its third season. The American Forces Network carries programming from the block for military children overseas. All of the block's programming features Descriptive Video Service for the visually impaired on the second audio program channel. The block was originally subtitled with the additional wording of "...It's Epic" until the tagline was quietly removed at the start of its 2020-21 season.

On October 7, 2023, the block was rebranded as CBS Weekend, stylized as "CBS WKND" ("WKND" being a disemvoweled abbreviation of "weekend"), bringing the block in line with the current CBS corporate identity.

Possible closure

Following the announcement of the second merger between CBS Corporation and Viacom, former CBS Corporation CEO Joseph Ianniello was receptive to the possibility of the return of Nickelodeon children's programming to CBS. However, CBS is currently under contract with Hearst Media Production Group to carry the CBS WKND E/I programming block until the end of the 2023–24 television season, meaning any new children's programming block coming to air on CBS until late 2024 at the earliest. Any return of Nickelodeon programming to CBS would bump up against stations' compliance with the FCC's E/I requirements, as they would still have to air the mandated 3 hours of content considered educational or informational; although such content would not have to be supplied directly by the network, it has been CBS policy to provide the necessary programming so that the block would still need to air the E/I content.

Programming

Although programs featured on CBS WKND are designed to meet federally mandated educational programming guidelines, some CBS stations may carry syndicated educational programs to provide supplementary E/I content. Some programs aired within the block may be deferred to Sunday morning slots, or (in the case of affiliates in the western United States), Saturday afternoons due to breaking news, severe weather coverage, or regional and CBS Sports commitments for coverage of both college football and college basketball, alongside select PGA golf events. Some stations may air the entirety of the block on tape delay to accommodate local weekend morning newscasts, CBS Saturday Morning or other local programming.