WarnerMedia sold to Discovery Networks, renamed Warner Bros. Discovery

[lowell]

What do you mean it's extremely unlike? That's not what @DogBoneController had said. Do you have any evidence to back up your claim?


That makes me wants to gag!

The moment they posted that and Shark Week as franchises, they've signaled Warner doesn't have a lot of heavy-hitting IPs beyond DC, GOT, and Harry Potter for live-action. There are definitely some others but they've either been misused recently or gathering dust in the Warner vault for a while.

For animation, it's in okay shape.

But if Zaslav expects the valuation of the company to go up in a sale, he better look at acquiring more franchises for Warner to use after getting synergies.

 

[JMTV]

The moment they posted that and Shark Week as franchises, they've signaled Warner doesn't have a lot of heavy-hitting IPs beyond DC, GOT, and Harry Potter for live-action. There are definitely some others but they've either been misused recently or gathering dust in the Warner vault for a while.

For animation, it's in okay shape.

But if Zaslav expects the valuation of the company to go up in a sale, he better look at acquiring more franchises for Warner to use after getting synergies.

Okay, but what's your speculation on Warner animation cuts?

 

[lowell]

Okay, but what's your speculation on Warner animation cuts?

I think they'll probably sell off the Cartoon Network Studios building in Downtown Burbank and move them into the new buildings on the Warner lot, where DC Comics is also moving into.

A lot of the synergies will have to be selling off these standalone buildings and bringing all these units into the main campuses (Warner lot in Burbank, Techwood campus in Atlanta, Hudson Yards in NYC).

 

[DogBoneController]

I think they'll probably sell off the Cartoon Network Studios building in Downtown Burbank and move them into the new buildings on the Warner lot, where DC Comics is also moving into.

A lot of the synergies will have to be selling off these standalone buildings and bringing all these units into the main campuses (Warner lot in Burbank, Techwood campus in Atlanta, Hudson Yards in NYC).

You realize animators will be laid off when that happens, right?

Also, programming is absolutely going to be cut. He literally said that yesterday.

 

[Silverstar]

You realize animators will be laid off when that happens, right?

Also, programming is absolutely going to be cut. He literally said that yesterday.

Sadly, yes. That's to be expected in any corporate merger/takeover/synergy. People are going to lose their jobs and projects are going to be shelved. It's sad, but that's just the nature of the biz.

This is small consolation, I realize, but I feel a little better after seeing that presentation chart and knowing that Looney Tunes, Cartoon Network and DC are still very much priorities for WBD. (I didn't see Hanna-Barbera or Cartoonito on there, but I'm guessing they're both considered part of CN.) While I do hate that there were several really cool sounding projects announced for CN/HBO Max and now about half of them probably won't ever see the light of day, which sucks, frankly, it's at least good to know that WBD won't be abandoning animation altogether. We'll likely get a bunch a new stuff announced over the next subsequent months that Zaslav's people had a hand in greenlighting.

And hey, nobody's really talking about live-action on Cartoon Network now anymore. Remember when that was what everyone was so worried about?

 

[Leviathan]

Here's the proof:

Warner Bros. Discovery Confirms Kids’ Content Cuts

Kids and animated content are set for a broad swath of cuts across Warner Bros. Discovery.

deadline.com

Cartoonito is probably a plum target for cuts. The block's shows only occasionally exceed five figures in the ratings, and they're already written off Little Ellen with episodes left in the can.

 

[lowell]

My heart will be crushed if that were to happened.

Real estate is one of the things that can alleviate their financial struggles at this point.

Even the lease of the Hudson Yards campus belonged to Warner, then AT&T sold it and became just a tenant.

Plus, animators would have access to Warner facilities on the lot. Having to drive back and forth from the studio lot to the Downtown building wastes time when they can just walk from here to there in just a few minutes.

You realize animators will be laid off when that happens, right?

Also, programming is absolutely going to be cut. He literally said that yesterday.

Yes, programming is going to be cut. But I think the new buildings have enough space to house the animation studios. Why would AT&T trade the WB Ranch for the Burbank Studios space to expand the campus if they didn't want to bring nearby units into walking distance of each other?

 

[DogBoneController]

WBD is taking an $825 million write-down on its content for Q2 (Batgirl's write-down will show up in Q3).

Warner Bros. Discovery Takes $825M Write-Down on Content Following High-Profile DC Axings and TBS-TNT Cancellations

The write-downs likely include shows like 'Chad' and 'The Last O.G.,' as well as projects like DC's 'Wonder Twins,' with 'Batgirl' likely to be written down next quarter.

www.hollywoodreporter.com

 

[jokerbeans2091]

My thoughts on the HBO max discovery + merger
Personally I don’t think it’s a good idea a number of people have already said that they won’t be subscribing to it myself unofficially included. I honestly don’t see why they can’t just offer in it a bundle like Disney+ and Hulu just put all Warner Bros content on HBO Max and discovery content on discovery plus that will make it easier instead wasting money on another streaming service which will probably won’t even last long looking at the WBD so far I’ve heard that CNN originals are coming discovery+ august 19th don’t see why they can’t just put it on HBO MAX, and let’s go mention nobody uses discovery+ at all hbo max has nearly 80 million subscribers while discovery has only 20 million. HBO max is the only thing giving Netflix a run for their money and arguably better than Netflix nowadays and merging them into one will be ridiculous


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[lowell]

My thoughts on the HBO max discovery + merger
Personally I don’t think it’s a good idea a number of people have already said that they won’t be subscribing to it myself unofficially included. I honestly don’t see why they can’t just offer in it a bundle like Disney+ and Hulu just put all Warner Bros content on HBO Max and discovery content on discovery plus that will make it easier instead wasting money on another streaming service which will probably won’t even last long looking at the WBD so far I’ve heard that CNN originals are coming discovery+ august 19th don’t see why they can’t just put it on HBO MAX, and let’s go mention nobody uses discovery+ at all hbo max has nearly 80 million subscribers while discovery has only 20 million. HBO max is the only thing giving Netflix a run for their money and arguably better than Netflix nowadays and merging them into one will be ridiculous


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Disney's looking to get the remaining stake in Hulu in 2024. Just because the Disney bundle is active in the U.S. for now, it doesn't mean Disney+ in the U.S. wouldn't eventually match its international counterparts where content on Hulu is in the Star hub of the service.

Even at this point, since they killed off CNN+, the fates of the Boomerang, Bleacher Report, and Rooster Teeth services are kind of risky given their resources could likely be diverted towards this superservice and their content libraries will be part of hubs in the platform.

You don't want to force consumers to comb through different niche services when you can give them more bang for their buck with one platform.

 

[JMTV]

My thoughts on the HBO max discovery + merger
Personally I don’t think it’s a good idea a number of people have already said that they won’t be subscribing to it myself unofficially included. I honestly don’t see why they can’t just offer in it a bundle like Disney+ and Hulu just put all Warner Bros content on HBO Max and discovery content on discovery plus that will make it easier instead wasting money on another streaming service which will probably won’t even last long looking at the WBD so far I’ve heard that CNN originals are coming discovery+ august 19th don’t see why they can’t just put it on HBO MAX, and let’s go mention nobody uses discovery+ at all hbo max has nearly 80 million subscribers while discovery has only 20 million. HBO max is the only thing giving Netflix a run for their money and arguably better than Netflix nowadays and merging them into one will be ridiculous


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

The HBO Max and Discovery Plus merging was the least of my problems as I do think it's a good business move, in my opinion. As long as the WB stuff are still there, then I don't mind it.

Real estate is one of the things that can alleviate their financial struggles at this point.

Even the lease of the Hudson Yards campus belonged to Warner, then AT&T sold it and became just a tenant.

Plus, animators would have access to Warner facilities on the lot. Having to drive back and forth from the studio lot to the Downtown building wastes time when they can just walk from here to there in just a few minutes.

Yes, programming is going to be cut. But I think the new buildings have enough space to house the animation studios. Why would AT&T trade the WB Ranch for the Burbank Studios space to expand the campus if they didn't want to bring nearby units into walking distance of each other?

Hmm, I guess I can see your point.

 

[DogBoneController]

Amazon Prime's The Boys decided to have some fun on the WBD clusterbomb.

 

[LinusFan303]

My thoughts on the HBO max discovery + merger
Personally I don’t think it’s a good idea a number of people have already said that they won’t be subscribing to it myself unofficially included. I honestly don’t see why they can’t just offer in it a bundle like Disney+ and Hulu just put all Warner Bros content on HBO Max and discovery content on discovery plus that will make it easier instead wasting money on another streaming service which will probably won’t even last long looking at the WBD so far I’ve heard that CNN originals are coming discovery+ august 19th don’t see why they can’t just put it on HBO MAX, and let’s go mention nobody uses discovery+ at all hbo max has nearly 80 million subscribers while discovery has only 20 million. HBO max is the only thing giving Netflix a run for their money and arguably better than Netflix nowadays and merging them into one will be ridiculous


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I don't know why they made it so hard, just dump all the Discovery plus stuff on HBO Max, put the categories in, add the channel hubs and call it a day. They make things harder than it should be...

Random note: I currently have Discovery Plus because they are doing 99 cents for 4 months , I use it mostly to fall asleep to How It's made .. or watch some Science or Travel Channel stuff.

 

[Goldstar!]

It seems to me that Warner Bros. Discovery offering both their streaming services together in a bundle similar to the Disney bundle would have been a much simpler move, but what do I know?

FTR, I'm only interested in the programming on the Warner Media side. Some of Discovery's shows are OK, but there's none of them that I would actively seek out. Stuff like Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives and Wheeler Dealers I mainly have on as background noise while I'm working, and I wouldn't watch anything on TLC if Discovery paid me.

 

[Elijah Abrams]

Confusion Reigns Over Future Of Animation At Warner Bros. Discovery

We try to make sense of the noise surrounding rumored cuts and cancellations at Warner Bros. Discovery after the company's Q2 earnings call.

www.cartoonbrew.com

That’s not to say there won’t be cuts, or even major cuts, to animated productions across Warner Bros. brands. However, there seems to be a great deal of misinformation and conjecture floating around. Contrary to several reports and some viral social media posts, nobody who spoke during the call said anything concrete about kids and animation content seeing a broad range of cuts across streaming and linear platforms.

 

[lowell]

It seems to me that Warner Bros. Discovery offering both their streaming services together in a bundle similar to the Disney bundle would have been a much simpler move, but what do I know?

FTR, I'm only interested in the programming on the Warner Media side. Some of Discovery's shows are OK, but there's none of them that I would actively seek out. Stuff like Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives and Wheeler Dealers I mainly have on as background noise while I'm working, and I wouldn't watch anything on TLC if Discovery paid me.

The Disney bundle's fate is currently known to stay as it is now until the 2024 Hulu stake sale.

It makes sense for them to pool the streaming resources and costs together into one place than having to operate more than one service. (WarnerDiscovery still manages multiple streaming services at the moment HBO Max, Discovery+, Boomerang Bleacher Report, and Rooster Teeth, they did receive CNN+ at the start of the spin-off but they killed it off after almost launching for a month.)

 

[DogBoneController]

Confusion Reigns Over Future Of Animation At Warner Bros. Discovery

We try to make sense of the noise surrounding rumored cuts and cancellations at Warner Bros. Discovery after the company's Q2 earnings call.

www.cartoonbrew.com

Not exactly a reassuring sign when the WBD board and animation leadership aren't on the same page.

 

[Silverstar]

^If nothing else, I take some solace in knowing that Zaslav apparently won't be taking a chainsaw to every WBD animated project (I don't care much about the live-action stuff since most of those shows I don't watch). Except for a few major properties, children's programming doesn't really seem to be high on the guy's radar. Hopefully he'll just put someone competent in charge of Kids and Family Entertainment and let them deal with it.

 

[DogBoneController]

^If nothing else, I take some solace in knowing that Zaslav apparently won't be taking a chainsaw to every WBD animated project (I don't care much about the live-action stuff since most of those shows I don't watch). Except for a few major properties, children's programming doesn't really seem to be high on the guy's radar. Hopefully he'll just put someone competent in charge of Kids and Family Entertainment and let them deal with it.

Speaking of layoffs, Puck News (paywall) confirms they are happening.

Zaslav’s Next Move: Here Come the Layoffs

The rolling reductions will begin with smaller groups between Monday and Labor Day, followed by a ramp-up in bloodletting in September and October.

puck.news

 

[Sun Dash Note]

......

I told you the end of Cartoon Network was beginning....

This IS going to turn into something bad and all the work Tom Ascheim worked his ass off on is going straight to the trash bin just like all of Netflix's recent animation casualties.

The end of Western Animation is coming, I tell you...

IT IS, AND SPONGEBOB AND ALL THAT OTHER KIDDY AND IMMATURE CRAPPY "ADULT" CRAP DOESN'T COUNT ANYMORE AT THIS POINT EITHER.

Dude chill out, we are just at the begining, wait one year then you can say it's dying (unless the channel got shut down before that or some dumb things happened)

I'm definitely not pleased by what's been going on at WBD lately (I wanted to see that Wonder Twins movie, dangit!), but there's an article that clears things up a little. The article itself is behind a paywall, so here's the cliff notes version:

1. Discovery is making a new app. This we knew; HBO Max and Discovery Plus will be merged into a single app.
2. HBO Max will not exist anymore but will be phased in with HBO, in the new app. HBO Max isn’t “ending”, while there will be no more app for HBO Max, the content itself will still be on the new app, just less original content than HBO Max has right now because they have an extensive amount of content.
3. Many HBO Max shows will be axed because of the merger, mostly stuff made or greenlit by the previous regime. It doesn't mean that all scripted content will be ending. The article emphasizes that there will be both "scripted and unscripted content". This happens in media buyouts, mergers and takeovers all the time; this is what happened when Disney bought ABC (all the non-Disney SatAM shows were gutted in favor of One Saturday Morning), Lucas Film (they killed Clone Wars and rendered the Star Wars novels non-canon in order to make Rebels and all of their Star Wars stuff) and Marvel (they killed Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes in order to make Avengers Assemble and all of their shows which are canon to the MCU juggernaut): they axed the stuff they had nothing to do with in favor of new stuff that they'll have a hand in creating.
4. Layoffs are happening because of redundant roles. These layoffs are specifically caused by the fact that there are people in identical roles in HBO Max as in Discovery Plus so it’s just a capitalistic way of tying up loose ends. Again, this doesn’t mean HBO Max or Warner's content is ending.

So to sum up, while what's going on right now does indeed suck, it’s too early to scream that the sky is falling.

Yes, you are right. Great points!

Mod Note: Double post merged. Second advisement to stop double posting. Please use the mutli-quote button (+ Quote) instead and reply all in 1 post.

Holy poor implications, Batman!
View attachment 299347

UPDATE: MAJOR cuts coming to kids, family and animation programming. Warner Animation and Cartoon Network likely to face layoffs.

That last line (update) is the most important.

^If nothing else, I take some solace in knowing that Zaslav apparently won't be taking a chainsaw to every WBD animated project (I don't care much about the live-action stuff since most of those shows I don't watch). Except for a few major properties, children's programming doesn't really seem to be high on the guy's radar. Hopefully he'll just put someone competent in charge of Kids and Family Entertainment and let them deal with it.

Lauren Faust? She could also lead Cartoon Network Studios at the same time. (She did criticise the "girls graduate of animation" statement).

Mod Note: Double post merged. Second advisement to stop double posting. Please use the mutli-quote button (+ Quote) instead and reply all in 1 post.