Another day, another beloved piece of Warner Bros.’ own IP has been unceremoniously dumped — and all in a blatant attempt to pinch pennies. For those keeping track of CEO David Zaslav’s ongoing mismanagement of one of the longest-lasting bastions of the industry, here’s yet another flaming log to add to the tire fire. As if it weren’t already bad enough that the billionaire made himself public enemy #1 during the writer’s strike, pioneered the trend of studios erasing entire movies for tax write-offs, and most recently incurred billions of dollars of debt in a single quarter alone, the most unpopular Hollywood executive around has now given yet another reason to make every animation-loving Millennial on the planet shoot steam right out of their ears.
For over 25 years, one tiny sliver of joy for animation fans in this hellscape we call “life” has been the official Cartoon Network website. Those like myself who grew up on a steady diet of classic shows like “The Powerpuff Girls,” “Dexter’s Lab,” “Johnny Bravo,” and many more could always count on this one-stop shop for anything even remotely related to animation. Games, entire episodes of practically every Cartoon Network show under the sun, and all sorts of other free goodies were always right at our fingertips … until now, that is. In a growing controversy first noticed by irate fans on social media and subsequently confirmed by outlets like Variety, it appears that Warner Bros. Discovery has shut down the site for good and (to further twist the knife) installed a redirect to the main homepage for the Max streaming service.
Because, as always, it’s all about goosing those streaming numbers no matter the cost, folks!
Warner Bros. Discovery is back on its nonsense and the internet isn’t having it
Somehow, it always feels like it’s the medium of animation that gets the full brunt of WBD’s cost-cutting maneuvers and, frankly, everyone’s sick of it by now. David Zaslav wasn’t exactly enjoying a run of good PR lately anyway (check out the viral tweet below by podcaster Henry Gilbert for a sense of the growing public discontent, especially regarding Zaslav’s ever-skyrocketing pay package), but this latest development about Cartoon Network might be the last straw for many, if the flood of social media reactions are anything to go by.
So Zaslav straight up murdered this company and it is going to be sold off for scraps to the highest bidders of the many different divisions. This is just death, but fortunately for Zaslav he was still paid $50 million last year as he destroyed the careers of every WB employee https://t.co/cSkQiPODew
— Henry Gilbert (@hEnereyG) August 7, 2024
If Zaslav and his executives had any natural sense of intuition about the moviemaking business, they might’ve known better than to mess with their own animated crown jewel. Adding insult to injury, anyone who tries to go to the cartoonnetwork.com domain instead gets hit with the following (and somewhat condescending) pop-up message:
“Looking for episodes of your favorite Cartoon Network shows? Check out what’s available to stream on Max (subscription required). Sign up for Max, where you can also create a Kids Profile with ratings restrictions and additional privacy protections to keep it fun and kid-friendly! Cable subscribers, continue to enjoy your favorite CN programming on your TV and connected apps as well!”
Talk about out of touch. Those on social media were quick to express their dismay. Writer/editor Jordan Maison perhaps put it most succinctly in this tweet, saying, “Zaslav’s commitment to being the most hated CEO in entertainment should be studied.” In a tweet posted a few days before this news broke, one user offered a satirical poll about whether Zaslav ought to be fired. Others responded to the Cartoon Network drama with accusations of Zaslav having “destroyed an industry.” Stay tuned for any updates.