In the 1980s, independent stations signed on in many mid-sized and small markets. This market was meant for made-for-television cartoons which had grown as a result. Many of these stations started running cartoon blocks on weekdays as early as 6 in the morning and as early as 2 in the afternoon. There were some stations that had aired cartoons as late as 6 p.m. on weekdays. Most large and mid-sized markets had at least two local stations running such programming in the 6 to 9 a.m. and the 2:30 to 5 p.m. timeslots. Some markets had as many as three. Traditionally, the local stations had been airing reruns of either old theatrical cartoons or TV cartoons produced for the nationwide channels. However, this was soon to change as producers realized the potential of selling their cartoons directly to the independent stations. The first cartoon series to be produced for first-run syndication were "He-Man and the Masters of the Universe" and "Inspector Gadget", both premiering with 65 half-hour episodes in the fall of 1983.