USA Cartoon Express

The USA Cartoon Express was a programming block of animated productions which aired on cable television's USA Network from September 1982 to September 15, 1996. As part of USA Network's fall schedule, the Express originally aired during the early evening hours, replacing a prior block called Calliope. The Express was the first structured animation block on cable television, predating Nickelodeon's animation blocks by half a decade and Cartoon Network by more than a decade.

USA Action Extreme Team
In 1996, USA Network premiered USA Action Extreme Team with the launch of shows based on the Street Fighter II and Mortal Kombat video game franchises and Savage Dragon comic book franchise. Those three shows, along with Wing Commander Academy were involved in a crossover that centered around an original character called "The Warrior King."

After the original series and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles left the air, the block was turned into a morning-only all-action block, with programs like Mighty Max, Street Sharks, and Gargoyles as the primary shows.

Sailor Moon on USA Action Extreme Team
Sometime after UPN later cancelled the show. A fansite organization named "Save Our Sailors" (S.O.S.) campaigned and petitioned to save the show after UPN dropped the show because its target audience were "younger audiences", but website activity revealed it attracted older audiences.

DiC, along with co-distributor The Program Exchange, later responded to the petition and announced that Sailor Moon R would debut on the USA Network June 9, 1997. As a part of the Action Extreme Team, Sailor Moon aired four days a week at 8:30am Pacific Time and 7:30 Central time. The series remained on air for five and half months.

In December 1997, Sailor Moon R and several other children's programming were dropped from the USA Network after a change of ownership. Afterward, Sailor Moon was picked up for broadcast syndication by Cartoon Network for its afternoon block, Toonami.