What if Lucas M Soares Media was founded in 1940?/Lucas M Soares Animation Studios in 1985?/Soares Channel

Soares Channel is an American pay television channel owned by Lucas M. Soares Media through its the Networks division, which is a division of ViacomCBS and WarnerMedia. The channel was launched on February 1, 1993, and is aimed mainly at children and young teenagers between ages 6 to 12. Its programming consists of original first-run television series, theatrical and home media-exclusive movies and select other third-party programming.

As of September 2018, Soares Channel available to 86.4 million households in America.

Development
On July 13, 1992, following the upcoming launch of Cartoon Network, Lucas M. Soares Media announced its plans to launch a cable television channel focused on their properties. On December 8, 1992, its name was revealed to be Soares Channel. It was also reported that they would acquire its animated programming from different studios.

1993-1995: Early years
On February 1, 1993, Soares Channel was launched. Its first major success was Steven Universe, which was airing on Fox Kids at the time, which became an instant success and made it a household name for viewers. The channel hit increasing ratings, such as competition from Nickelodeon, The Disney Channel and the Cartoon Network. On the same day of its launch, the channel launched its late-night programming block Soares Sleepover.

In 1994, Soares Channel partnered with Paramount Home Entertainment to release episode compilations of the network's programs, which became top sellers. Soares Channel switched its distribution to Paramount Home Entertainment in 1997, with Paramount re-releasing episode compilations of the network's shows on VHS.

1995-2004: Golden Age
The channel achieved further success in 1995 with Steven Universe, which was eliminated from Fox Kids, and moved to Soares Channel in order to boost the channel's ratings from various children's channels.

The same year, the channel premiered the smash series Snoopy and Friends, which made Soares Channel a hit among children and other viewers. That same year, it launched a programming block in order to compete with Nickelodeon: Soares Junior, which targeted preschoolers.

In 1996, Paramount was sold to Viacom and LMS Media acquired TimeWarner, which made Soares Channel a sister station to CBS' CBS Kidshow. Viacom began advertising Soares Channel programming on their children's programming blocks on Nickelodeon and CBS and home video releases of feature films, and Lucas M. Soares Media acquired various animated programming from Paramount Television Animation and Warner Bros. Television Animation.

Soares Assemble was launched later on, and was devoted to various action series. That same year, Storks: The Series, based on the 1994 film of the same name, premiered on the network. As a result, both blocks gave access to Soares Channel's programming. In late 1997, due to poor ratings, Soares Channel announced they would revamp their nighttime block as Soares DeTour and refocused it on more adult programming. Soares DeTour launched on February 1, 1998.

In early 1996, the series premiered The Fairly OddParents, a series based on the Soarestoons franchise. The series becomes an unexpected success, leading the channel to renew the series for a second season.

On September 12, 1997, Steven Universe: The Movie, the first theatrical film based on a Soares Channel series, was released. It received positive reviews and grossed $116.2 million on a budget of $48 million.

On June 9, 2000, the channel premiered the animated series Regular Show. It became the most popular series in the channel's history, and has remained very popular to this day, consistently ranking as the channel's highest-rated series since 2001. By 2002, a third of the series' audience was made up of adults, and the show was run in evening slots. A film adaptation of Regular Show was announced in early 2003. The ensuing Regular Show media franchise went on to generate over $11 billion in merchandising revenue for Lucas M. Soares Media.

On April 9, 2001, Soares Channel revamped its programming identity, with the new slogan "It's Always on the Soares Channel". Also, the same year, Soares Channel launched the block Soares Channel's One Saturday Morning on CBS, devoted to Soares Channel series and Lucas M. Soares Animation Studios cartoons, to replace the defunct CBS Kidshow.

The following year, the channel debuted the series Leonard and the Pigs and Camp Awesome, the latter of which became immediately popular and quickly became Soares Channel's second-highest rated series. In 2003, Soares Channel launched the successful series Pickle and Peanut, which emulated the success of past Soares Channel shows. The following year, Snoopy and Friends ended while Adventure Time and House of Timmy launched.

2005-present: Modern Age
By 2006, Monk & Jessie, SpongeBob and Patrick: The Series, and Sanjay and Craig premiered. In 2007, Soares Channel successfully purchased the SpongeBob SquarePants Z anime and begin airing it in the United States, while Lord Faaquard's Declassified Anti-Ogre Survival Guide premiered the same year.

By late 2013, Soares Channel premiered Minecraft: The Series. In 2017, the series premiered the successful series Harvey Girls Forever, which became a ratings hit and prompted Soares Channel to renew the series for a second season. The same year, Power Timmy and The New Adventures of Mega M.. premiered on Soares Channel.

In 2018, Soares Channel's long-running Camp Awesome ended. The same year, the short-lived series Plankton's Mansion of Villains premiered. In 2020, Anne and Sprig, Steven Universe (2020 revival), and The Misadventures of Phineas and Ferb premiered on the channel.