What network originally broadcast "The Jetsons"? ABC originally broadcast the series.
The Jetsons debuted on September 23, 1962, as a Hanna-Barbera animated sitcom set in a humorous future of flying cars, robotic appliances, and orbital homes. Its original prime-time run aired on Sunday evenings on ABC, making the network part of the show's early identity.
The program was designed as a space-age counterpart to The Flintstones, which had already established Hanna-Barbera as a major television animation studio. Although The Jetsons was produced in color, its early ABC audience was limited because relatively few stations and households were equipped for color broadcasting.
A common mix-up comes from the show's long afterlife. ABC aired the original 1962–63 episodes, but reruns later appeared in syndication and on other networks. Hanna-Barbera also produced new episodes for first-run syndication in the 1980s, so viewers who remember seeing The Jetsons on another channel may be recalling a later broadcast rather than the original network premiere.