WB Animation and Cartoon Network Studios merge; will remain as seperate labels

[PinkieLopBun]

Is this like how Netflix animators insisted it was still a great place for animation, weeks before their own projects got canned?

Their ox just hasn't been gored yet.

That tweet doesn't really say that. It's just saying not to assume things one way or the other right now because they're not clear on what's going on. Personally, I wouldn't be surprised if things do go in that direction, but that's not clear right now.

 

[R Lopez]

Well, Cartoon Network FINALLY said something regarding all this on their Twitter.

I'm just gonna repeat myself: WB-D should've explained things better in that memo that got this snowball rolling.

Also, I think we learned this week that a lot of people don't get that Cartoon Network Studios and Cartoon Network the channel are two different things. Obviously, CNS serves the channel, but in theory, the network could still exist even if CNS doesn't.

I still consider this a developing story. Just like EVERYTHING concerning Warner Bros.-Discovery.

 

[cartoonnetworkpoke]

Well, Cartoon Network FINALLY said something regarding all this on their Twitter.

I'm just gonna repeat myself: WB-D should've explained things better in that memo that got this snowball rolling.

Also, I think we learned this week that a lot of people don't get that Cartoon Network Studios and Cartoon Network the channel are two different things. Obviously, CNS serves the channel, but in theory, the network could still exist even if CNS doesn't.

I still consider this a developing story. Just like EVERYTHING concerning Warner Bros.-Discovery.

Yep exactly like I said yesterday. As long as they have good leadership and they change the approach to how they do animation then CN can still be relevant in this current age.

 

[Ace]

If I wasn't following this closely, I would have thought they were going away especially considering the current state of cable and what is happening at the company.

I could see why people were freaking out.

 

[R Lopez]

If I wasn't following this closely, I would have thought they were going away especially considering the current state of cable and what is happening at the company.

The HBO Max purge is still fresh on a lot of people's minds.

 

[JMTV]

Also, I think we learned this week that a lot of people don't get that Cartoon Network Studios and Cartoon Network the channel are two different things. Obviously, CNS serves the channel, but in theory, the network could still exist even if CNS doesn't.

Exactly. Another thing people seems to forget is that more than a decade ago, Warner Bros Animation and Cartoon Network Studios are producing their content on the same network. So, of course it make sense to merge two studios together. I personally don't mind it. At least it make sense.

 

[Leviathan]

You're not going to get a candid answer out of people currently in WBD's employ.

Of course they're going to try and put a happy face on things; their jobs depend on it. Pay attention to what the fired animators are going to say in the coming days and weeks.

 

[Moe]

I don't mind management changes and cost cutting in general, but the selection itself and lack of communication is what is controversial. I imagine Zaslav running around the woods looking for trees he could chop off. He has to be cold, but he has no contact with reality and no taste.

Some people here might welcome something constructive. So, here is what I would do if I were them to save money where it makes sense and where can I avoid ticking people off. I would get rid of:

Destination America (sold off)
Oprah Winfrey Network (sold off)
Tru TV (shut down)
American Heroes Channel (rebranded as Discovery Military)
Cooking Channel (content merged with Food Channel)
HBO Signature (content shifted to new streaming service)
HBO Zone (content shifted to new streaming service)
Magnolia Network (content nerged with HGTV)
Movie Max (content shifted to new streaming service)
More Max (rebranded as Cinemax 2)
5Star Max (rebranded as Cinemax 3)
Action Max (content shifted to Cinemax 2)
Thriller Max (content shifted to Cinemax 2)
Outer Max (content shifted to Cinemax 3)
Philo (sold off)
Gunpowder and Sky (sold off)
Rooster Teeth (lay off 30 people)
Boing Italy (sold off)
Boing Spain (sold off)
Boing Africa (shut down)
Boing France (shut down)
Toonami Africa (content shifted to new streaming service)
Toonami France (content shifted to new streaming service)
9 Rush (sold off)
Bravo (sold off)
Eden (shut down)
Three (shut down)
Living (sold off)
Rush (content shifted to new streaming service)
JTBC (sold off)
K2 (shut down)
Real Time (shut down)
Frisbee (shut down)
Kanal 5 (shut down)
Kanal 4 (shut down)
Metro (shut down)
I.Sat (shut down)

These are assets I think WBD doesn't need and people wouldn't miss and I'd argue it would save they money they need, maybe more. And it would enable them to focus more on their key brands. Hopefully he gets to those eventually and leaves everything else alone.

In the US, HBO and Cinemax are going to stay for long time but Cinemax may be merged with HBO if number of subscriber dwindles, also name change is possible but it will be HBO in the past, present and the future - it is well recognized brand in the US.

Philo? Where? oversea? Philo isn't going anywhere in the US.

Discovery channels, even digital channels (known as rerun channels) are staying since Zaslav is reluctant to close those channels and that's not NBCUniversal for y'all.

TruTV? This is staying because of sports and a room for reformulation if Zaslav and network manager have idea.

As for closure of channel, it is hard to predict - Universal Kids may be but NBCUniversal doesn't want to admit the defeat, as for Viacom, TeenNick, NickMusic, MTV Classic, etc may be if Viacom is ready to give up and streamline the channels. Nicktoons isn't going anywhere and it is going to be around until cable TV disappears since Nick needs this channel to drift new animated shows don't receive a same rating as SpongeBob, and as for drift the live action shows, send to Paramount+.

 

[mqg96]

Exactly. Another thing people seems to forget is that more than a decade ago, Warner Bros Animation and Cartoon Network Studios are producing their content on the same network. So, of course it make sense to merge two studios together. I personally don't mind it. At least it make sense.

It makes complete sense. For decades it has always been the norm for Cartoon Network to air Warner Bros animated shows, whether it was new episodes of shows owned by Warner Bros, or even if it was acquired from other networks (like Kids WB back in the day).

 

[Red Arrow]

You know that the folks in charge are messing things up when people start looking back fondly on the Snyder era. XD Chowder and The Marvelous Misadventures of Flapjack came from that era, but so did Out of Jimmy's Head and CN Real.

When a new president starts, it takes a while before their new shows premiere.
Betty Cohen's first CN original was Dexter's Laboratory
Jim Samples' first CN originals were Star Wars: Clone Wars, Megas XLR and Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends
Stuart Snyder's first CN original cartoon was Adventure Time (not Chowder or Flapjack, which were green-lighted by Jim Samples)
Christina Miller's first CN originals were the Powerpuff Girls reboot, the Ben 10 reboot and OK K.O. Let's Be Heroes
Tom Ascheim and Michael Ouweleen's first CN original will be Unicorn: Warrior Eternal

Kanal 5 (shut down)
Kanal 4 (shut down)

Discovery is not going to lose its strong position in Denmark. That makes no sense. There are plenty of redundant Discovery networks that are more likely to close down.

 

[mqg96]

When a new president starts, it takes a while before their new shows premiere.
Betty Cohen's first CN original was Dexter's Laboratory
Jim Samples' first CN originals were Star Wars: Clone Wars, Megas XLR and Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends
Stuart Snyder's first CN original cartoon was Adventure Time (not Chowder or Flapjack, which were green-lighted by Jim Samples)
Christina Miller's first CN originals were the Powerpuff Girls reboot, the Ben 10 reboot and OK K.O. Let's Be Heroes
Tom Ascheim and Michael Ouweleen's first CN original will be Unicorn: Warrior Eternal

Discovery is not going to lose their strong position in Denmark. That makes no sense. There are plenty of redundant Discovery networks that are more likely to close down.

Now when I think about it. You're absolutely right! Because Grim Adventures of Billy & Mandy started out part of Grim & Evil (shared with Evil Con Carne), and Grim & Evil's pilot was part of CN's Big Pick event in 2000, while Codename: Kids Next Door's pilot was also part of CN's Big Pick Event in 2001. So those were already in the works before Jim Samples got in.

Out Of Jimmy's Head may have premiered in 2007 but it started out as the Re-Animated movie in 2006 when Jim Samples was still president, so once again, was already in the works before Stuart Snyder got in. So those are valid points you brought up.

Which makes Betty Cohen and Stuart Snyder the CN presidents who brought in the most iconic and impactful original series in the network's history, although Jim Samples still had a few (like Foster's Home or Ben 10) but not as many as the other two.

 

[SuperSuck64]

Well, Cartoon Network FINALLY said something regarding all this on their Twitter.

I'm just gonna repeat myself: WB-D should've explained things better in that memo that got this snowball rolling.

Also, I think we learned this week that a lot of people don't get that Cartoon Network Studios and Cartoon Network the channel are two different things. Obviously, CNS serves the channel, but in theory, the network could still exist even if CNS doesn't.

I still consider this a developing story. Just like EVERYTHING concerning Warner Bros.-Discovery.

Can't wait to see how terribly this will age.

 

[Magmaster12]

Don't most animation studios significantly reduce their output and don't officially close down until years after their final project?

They're basically going to be doing minimum output like Universal Animation Studios, which somehow still exists.

 

[MrBabySpencer]

Don't most animation studios significantly reduce their output and don't officially close down until years after their final project?

They're basically going to be doing minimum output like Universal Animation Studios, which somehow still exists.

Hanna-Barbera was closed in 2001 and wasn't until 2017/2018 where the name started being used again. Though also, the brand did come back recently as a European division as Hanna-Barbera Studios Europe.

 

[harry580]

@MrBabySpencer that's a good example of that, hell, I wish disney would do that with the blue sky studios name for projects based on ice age, rio, robots, epic & more, especially since the people are mad that blue sky studios wasn't involved with ice age adventures of buck wild

anyways, Cartoon Network studios merging with Warner bros animation docent mean the brand is gone, they will still exist (especially with the Cartoon Network studios name) so please, move on, look what happen with new line cinema after they merged with Warner bros pictures in 2008

 

[lowell]

@MrBabySpencer that's a good example of that, hell, I wish disney would do that with the blue sky studios name for projects based on ice age, rio, robots, epic & more, especially since the people are mad that blue sky studios wasn't involved with ice age adventures of buck wild

anyways, Cartoon Network studios merging with Warner bros animation docent mean the brand is gone, they will still exist (especially with the Cartoon Network studios name) so please, move on, look what happen with new line cinema after they merged with Warner bros pictures in 2008

Technically, the last thing Blue Sky made was Scrat Tales and then this video:


That tax credits scandal might've also made Blue Sky a bad name to hold on if it were to continue. If the pandemic hadn't arrived, I'd expect Disney to have kept it but likely rename it and moved it to California to grow it there.

Whatever financial scheme the Murdochs and other Fox executives cooked up behind the tax credits must've not been good for it to be leaked so they were glad to have dumped it and everything else over to Disney.

If someone else were to pick it up, they might've had to do the same and either rename and streamlined it or actually shut it down but keep the library to sell off again for money.

What I do think they're doing next is bringing the remnants of the studio like the animation technology components into 20th Television Animation in case they will do more films in the future. Some of the animators have had the opportunity to transfer to WDAS, Pixar, 20th Television Animation, Disney Television Animation, and even maybe Marvel Studios Animation, Lucasfilm Animation.

Given Blue Sky was a small studio of 450 animators, I wouldn't be surprised if some animators wanted to upgrade to a larger division of animation within the company.

The franchises are going to go somewhere. Even the rides in the Genting theme park in Malaysia are not even using the Blue Sky logo (Blue Sky Carousel is a ride in that park but doesn't even match the logo at all):

As for Cartoon Network Studios, I wouldn't be surprised if it gets resurrected when Zaslav flips WarnerDiscovery for a sale.

Cartoon Network is the company's kids brand and a suitor who buys the company but also has enough money to maintain it well into the future would care enough to provide more growth to the brand.

 

[harry580]

The franchises are going to go somewhere.

going where?, can you private message me for the answer so we not going off topic

and I said that Cartoon Network studios merging with Warner bros animation docent mean the brand is gone, they will still exist (especially with the Cartoon Network studios name), just look at new line cinema after merging with Warner bros pictures in 2008

 

[lowell]

going where?, can you private message me for the answer so we not going off topic

and I said that Cartoon Network studios merging with Warner bros animation docent mean the brand is gone, they will still exist (especially with the Cartoon Network studios name), just look at new line cinema after merging with Warner bros pictures in 2008

Yup, it's kind of like the same status Hanna-Barbera was in for a while until Cartoon Network Studios Europe was rebranded as that.

And I mean, Cartoon Network as their kids brand managed to be lucrative enough to get a themed hotel in Pennsylvania and a themed area in a hotel in Taiwan.

They're pretty much ready for a theme park presence in the existing WB theme parks outside of the U.S. or even their own land in a new Warner park built from scratch in the future.

But who knows, I think Cartoon Network Studios could still be resurrected once Zaslav flips the company towards someone else down the road if they have enough money to provide the growth WarnerDiscovery needs in the future.

 

[Francisque]

Well, Cartoon Network FINALLY said something regarding all this on their Twitter.

I'm just gonna repeat myself: WB-D should've explained things better in that memo that got this snowball rolling.

Also, I think we learned this week that a lot of people don't get that Cartoon Network Studios and Cartoon Network the channel are two different things. Obviously, CNS serves the channel, but in theory, the network could still exist even if CNS doesn't.

I still consider this a developing story. Just like EVERYTHING concerning Warner Bros.-Discovery.

So many people which seem to have nothing else to do than complaining about the channel's upcoming death, recently...

 

[Francisque]

I don't mind management changes and cost cutting in general, but the selection itself and lack of communication is what is controversial. I imagine Zaslav running around the woods looking for trees he could chop off. He has to be cold, but he has no contact with reality and no taste.

Some people here might welcome something constructive. So, here is what I would do if I were them to save money where it makes sense and where can I avoid ticking people off. I would get rid of:

Destination America (sold off)
Oprah Winfrey Network (sold off)
Tru TV (shut down)
American Heroes Channel (rebranded as Discovery Military)
Cooking Channel (content merged with Food Channel)
HBO Signature (content shifted to new streaming service)
HBO Zone (content shifted to new streaming service)
Magnolia Network (content nerged with HGTV)
Movie Max (content shifted to new streaming service)
More Max (rebranded as Cinemax 2)
5Star Max (rebranded as Cinemax 3)
Action Max (content shifted to Cinemax 2)
Thriller Max (content shifted to Cinemax 2)
Outer Max (content shifted to Cinemax 3)
Philo (sold off)
Gunpowder and Sky (sold off)
Rooster Teeth (lay off 30 people)
Boing Italy (sold off)
Boing Spain (sold off)
Boing Africa (shut down)
Boing France (shut down)
Toonami Africa (content shifted to new streaming service)
Toonami France (content shifted to new streaming service)
9 Rush (sold off)
Bravo (sold off)
Eden (shut down)
Three (shut down)
Living (sold off)
Rush (content shifted to new streaming service)
JTBC (sold off)
K2 (shut down)
Real Time (shut down)
Frisbee (shut down)
Kanal 5 (shut down)
Kanal 4 (shut down)
Metro (shut down)
I.Sat (shut down)

These are assets I think WBD doesn't need and people wouldn't miss and I'd argue it would save they money they need, maybe more. And it would enable them to focus more on their key brands. Hopefully he gets to those eventually and leaves everything else alone.

Your list doesn't make much sense to be honest, especially with Italy.

You think they'd really close down popular brands like Real Time?

And Kanal 4 and things like this?