Best cartoon channels for kids

Cartoon Network wins 66% of its duels and tops the TV Channels ranking ahead of Gulli.

Cartoon Network leads with 1383 ELO points, establishing itself as the channel that defined childhood viewing for the largest share of voters. Gulli holds second place with 1347 points, creating a 38-point gap over Nickelodeon in third at 1309 points. That buffer between ranks 2 and 3 represents the sharpest ELO drop in the ranking, suggesting a clear divide between Gulli's strong nostalgic pull and the more contested territory below. TFou sits in fourth with 1302 points, while Disney Channel rounds out the top 5 at 1269 points. The podium reflects channels that dominated after-school and weekend schedules across different eras and regions. At the opposite end, Piwi languishes at the bottom with just 987 ELO points and a 26% win rate, trailing far behind the frontrunners and indicating a channel that failed to resonate with this community's formative years.

This ranking draws from 1303 duels contributed by 46 players across 12 contenders, updated on 11 October 2026. The vote captures which cartoon channels left the deepest imprint on viewers who grew up in front of their screens. Cast your vote and shift the standings.

Updated on October 11, 2026

How this ranking is computed

Every duel won lifts a contender and every loss drops them, by an amount that depends on the opponent's strength: beating the leader is worth more than beating the last. It is an ELO, the same principle as in chess. Duels are not drawn at random — an adaptive entropy sort puts the least predictable match-ups first, which settles the ranking far faster than a full round robin. A worldwide ranking is only published past 30 completed plays. Known limit: a contender who has faced few opponents keeps an approximate score, and the bottom of the table moves more than the podium.

How our rankings are made →