WGN stopped airing Kids WB cartoons on its national superstation feed in 1999 , with the change taking effect on September 6, 1999. The source also notes that WGN’s broader WB primetime programming left later that fall, on October 7, 1999.

Quick context

  • In Chicago, WGN was closely tied to kids’ TV for decades through Bozo the Clown and other local children’s programming.
  • The “cartoons on WGN” answer depends a bit on what you mean:
    • National WGN superstation feed: Kids WB ended in 1999.
* **Chicago local station history:** WGN’s children’s programming era faded over time, but the big cartoon-block cutoff people usually mean is the **1999 Kids WB exit**.

Why it changed

WGN’s national feed was shifting away from acting like a de facto WB affiliate for cable and satellite viewers outside Chicago, so Kids WB was moved off the superstation lineup. That’s why many viewers remember 1999 as the moment WGN “stopped airing cartoons.”

TL;DR

September 6, 1999 is the date most people mean when they ask when WGN stopped airing cartoons.