On July 24, 2013, CBS announced that it had entered into a programming agreement with Litton Entertainment to launch a new Saturday morning block featuring live-action lifestyle, wildlife and documentary series aimed at teenagers between the ages of 13 and 16. Litton already programmed a Saturday morning block for ABC, Litton's Weekend Adventure, which debuted in September 3, 2011 in an agreement in which the block was syndicated to that network's owned-and-operated stations and affiliates. 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, a block produced by Canada-based Cookie Jar was done in part to comply to tightened educational content and advertising regulations in the Children's Television Act. The CBS Dream Team, debuted on September 28, 2013 being the successor to Cookie Jar TV, this marked the second time that CBS carried an exclusively live-action block for younger audiences on Saturday mornings, having previously produced an E/I-compliant block called Think CBS Kids from September 13, 1997 to September 12, 1998. The Dream Team block's initial lineup consisted mainly of newer series; however, the cooking series Recipe Rehab also migrated to the Dream Team from Litton's Weekend Adventure for its third season. Shortly before the block debuted, Litton reached a distribution agreement with the American Forces Network to televise the block to provide educational content to military children overseas. All of the block's programming features Descriptive Video Service for the visually impaired on the second audio program channel. On March 20, 2018, CBS and Litton announced that the block was renewed for five more seasons, through 2023.
Programming
Although programs featured on CBS Dream Team 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 Saturday afternoons due to breaking news, severe weather coverage, or regional or select national sports broadcasts scheduled in earlier Saturday timeslots as makegoods to comply with the E/I regulations. Some stations may air the entirety of the Dream Team block on tape delay to accommodate local weekend morning newscasts, CBS This Morning Saturday or other programs of local interest.
