Cartoon Network Studios Swallowed by Warner Bros. in Merger
by Emily Nagle
As of earlier today, Cartoon Network Studios is essentially no more after the animation department was combined with Warner Bros. Animation in yet another cost-cutting realignment.
Ever since WarnerMedia’s completion of the Discovery merger back in April, CEO David Zaslav has been aggressively cutting costs by cancelling upcoming content and projects and laying off hundreds of employees – as a result of the consolidation, 26% of Warner Bros. Television Group’s workforce was axed.
WarnerMedia chairman Channing Dungey announced yesterday in a company-wide letter, “We are implementing a new streamlined structure in which the development and main production teams will now work across both Warner Bros. Animation and Cartoon Network Studios.”
In other words, Cartoon Network Studios will have to share resources with Warner Bros. Animation. This is bad news for Cartoon Network, which in recent years has produced original animation including Craig of the Creek, Infinity Train, Steven Universe, and Over the Garden Wall. Meanwhile, Warner Bros. Animation is more focused on creating content for WB’s many preexisting properties, such as Looney Tunes, DC, and Hanna-Barbera characters.
As a result of the studio realignment, Cartoon Network’s future content could very well consist of more reboots and spin-offs of popular Warner Bros. properties, being more focused on nostalgia than original stories and characters.