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As of Friday, the landing page of CartoonNetwork.com features a popup directing users to sign up for Max, Warner Bros. Discovery's flagship streaming service. "Looking for episodes of your favorite Cartoon Network shows? Check out what's available to stream on Max (subscription required)," the message reads in part. It also notes that cable subscribers can continue to watch via the linear channel and connected apps.
Closing the popup message redirects users to the Cartoon Network channel on Max, again with prompts to sign up for the streamer.
Cartoon Network appears to be the only site for WBD's cable channels affected as of publication time; sites for TNT, TBS, HGTV, Discovery, smaller outlets like American Heroes and Science Channel and Cartoon Network's grown-up sibling, Adult Swim, were all active Friday morning.
"We are focusing on the Cartoon Network shows and social media where we find consumers are the most engaged and there is a meaningful potential for growth," a Cartoon Network rep said in a statement. "While we have closed some digital products, fans can continue to interact with Cartoon Network via the Cartoon Network app as well as select TV providers apps on platforms including mobile and connected devices like Roku, Apple TV, and Amazon and via social platforms YouTube, Instagram, and Facebook. And of course, fans also can continue to tune in to the Cartoon Network channel to enjoy 11 hours of their favorite Cartoon Network series from 6 a.m.-5 p.m. daily."
The shuttering of the Cartoon Network site follows Warner Bros. Discovery taking a $9.1 billion impairment charge in its quarterly earnings related to its networks division, which includes Cartoon Network and the other cable outlets. The company cited a soft ad market as part the reason for the hit.
Paramount made a similar move in June, gutting the sites for Comedy Central (which was home to a trove of Daily Show archival material, among other things), TV Land and a few other of its cable channels. In both cases, cost-cutting is driving the changes.