End of Cartoon Network

[Rusakov]

Cartoon Network Studios, As You Know It, Is Gone - Cartoon Brew

In fact, there was an even more consequential announcement yesterday that fundamentally alters the structure of Cartoon Network Studios going forward and will have a far-reaching impact on the projects that it produces. The company calls it part of its “strategic realignment.”

In a company-wide memo, chairman Channing Dungey told staff that the company plans to fully consolidate its tv animation divisions, merging Warner Bros. Animation (WBA) and Cartoon Network Studios (CNS). Going forward, Sam Register will continue as head of WBA and CNS, as well as Hanna-Barbera Studios Europe, the latter of which will continue to operate independently from the other two.

According to the memo, all three labels will continue to exist, but perhaps more in name than in action. Both development and production at WBA and CNS will now be merged, extending on the cross-studio teams that were already in place for programming, casting, legal, and business affairs, and artist relations. This means that Cartoon Network Studios no longer has any independent say on either creative or operational matters, something that has never happened before in its existence.

This also seems an ominous sign for the future of new, original Cartoon Network animation. WBA has traditionally been a much more catalog/IP-driven studio, while CNS has been the studio that puts out original series and specials that occasionally become touchstones for generations of viewers.

We cut the cord at our house a couple of weeks ago. Judging by the schedules I saw, I wouldn't be missing out on much.

[marklungo]

The title "End of Cartoon Network" is misleading IMHO, as it implies the network itself is going away, rather than a corporate realignment that changes how things are done at the studio.

[Rusakov]

The title "End of Cartoon Network" is misleading IMHO, as it implies the network itself is going away, rather than a corporate realignment that changes how things are done at the studio.

I know it's the studio that's being shuttered, not the channel. But I have this feeling that this is the start of a death spiral for the channel itself.

[marklungo]

The title "End of Cartoon Network" is misleading IMHO, as it implies the network itself is going away, rather than a corporate realignment that changes how things are done at the studio.

I know it's the studio that's being shuttered, not the channel. But I have this feeling that this is the start of a death spiral for the channel itself.

It's too soon to panic. The new management at WB sucks, but at least CN has proven itself to be a consistent money maker.

[Rusakov]

The point on this article was too short to justify a new thread, so I'll just post it here:

WBD holds a portfolio of beloved animated properties like “Looney Tunes,” “Scooby-Doo,” and Cartoon Network IP like “Powerpuff Girls” and “Samurai Jack,” but significant layoffs hit the department’s animated division in October. Combining the production resources of Cartoon Network Studios with Warner Bros. Animation led many to speculate that Cartoon Network would move away from original shows to develop spinoffs of existing media. (WBD sources deny this.)

A friend of mine joked that at the rate things are going, Warner Brothers will be bought out by Disney. My response: at this rate, being bought by Disney would probably improve things.

[Leon Mane]

Disney has been a bit, not Disney, for the past few years. They forgot how to make entertaining content, and they don't seem to care about the fans and the general audience anymore. I think Disney needs to take a break from everything for a while, and look at what they're doing. They need to look at what has worked and what hasn't for the past five or six years, and why it went the way it did in both cases.

So I wouldn't trust them to run a bath, forget about trusting them with any beloved fictional properties, no matter where they come from, until they can figure out how to actually be Disney again.

[Rusakov]