WarnerMedia announces massive layoffs as entire company bets the farm on HBO Max

[Jman]

https://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2020/08/att-layoffs-continue-with-600-job-cuts-at-warner-bros-and-hbo/

Put bluntly, no division is safe, no channel is safe, expect massive consolidation and firing of asses at the networks as everyone scrambles for a place in the HBO Max hierarchy.  Particularly, if Toonami gets to remain an independent entity or becomes a Crunchyroll subsidiary will become clear in a few weeks as the smoke clears from the firings.

[The1gairon]

Oh my god.

[OwlChemist81]

I sincerely doubt TBS, TNT, CNN or CN/AS will be affected by this. (Well, maybe in terms of programming, but not loss of channel.) If any Turner channels are in trouble they're truTV and Boomerang.

[Jman]

10 minutes ago, OwlChemist81 said:

I sincerely doubt TBS, TNT, CNN or CN/AS will be affected by this. (Well, maybe in terms of programming, but not loss of channel.) If any Turner channels are in trouble they're truTV and Boomerang.

TNT executives were among the first announced layoffs.  Particularly notable was Kevin Riley, who greenlit All Elite Wrestling.
 

https://www.sportskeeda.com/wwe/news-tnt-executive-supported-greenlit-aew-released-possible-serious-consequences-wrestling-promotion

[Sketch]

DC Universe seems as good as dead with all the layoffs they just had. They could certainly restructure to being a fan hub that focuses on the digital comics library and fork over all the TV series and films to HBO Max.

Adult Swim continues to do good business but CN as a network has been struggling in the streaming age. Toonami could be in for some changes as more layoffs occur at WarnerMedia but I kind of doubt the staff will see a big shakeup unless they are layoffs specifically at Adult Swim in the on-air department.

[Jman]

For the most part Adult Swim has been fairly easily integrated into the HBO Max streaming service.  It has its own section, several Adult Swim bound shows were placed on HBO Max first and foremost (most notably Close Enough, which even though it looks like ass, is still an original property for them) but I have no idea about the people in charge.  DeMarco’s hatred of streaming is a running gag on this board, but Toonami is the single part of the Adult Swim apparatus with the most disconnect between it and the HBO Max end goal.  Sacking executives who still miss Blockbuster is, while far from a guarantee, not outside of the realm of possibility.

[Jman]

https://www.theinformation.com/articles/at-t-wants-1-5-billion-in-crunchyroll-sale-to-sony
 

Next on the chopping block - Crunchyroll apparently.  AT&T is apparently in the middle of negotiations to Sony with a $1.5 billion asking price.

[The1gairon]

Shiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiit.

[Sketch]

20 minutes ago, Jman said:

https://www.theinformation.com/articles/at-t-wants-1-5-billion-in-crunchyroll-sale-to-sony
 

Next on the chopping block - Crunchyroll apparently.  AT&T is apparently in the middle of negotiations to Sony with a $1.5 billion asking price.

Hard to say whether that would be better or worse for Toonami’s future. But the CR section of HBO Max could easily be relabeled as Toonami if CR is sold to Sony.

[The1gairon]

Every year brings at least one brand new reshuffle of buyouts and new management for all these companies. Why is it so hard to know how all these changes would affect Toonami??

[Sketch]

8 hours ago, elfie said:

Every year brings at least one brand new reshuffle of buyouts and new management for all these companies. Why is it so hard to know how all these changes would affect Toonami??

You might chock that up to the simple matter that Toonami as is doesn't make a whole lot of sense in the streaming era where more and more people are ditching cable. It's great tat Adult Swim and even WarnerMedia see's the block as worth airing but the moment they decide HBO Max, Crunchyroll or something else suffices for scratching their anime itch, Adult Swim could unceremoniously pull the block off the air. I don't live in fear of this happening but I accept the reality that it could happen on a whim. We literally have no idea how long Toonami could last in the current climate, hell we have no idea how long Adult Swim or Cartoon Network the channel can last in the current TV climate. As Spike said, whatever happens, happens.

That said, I think WarnerMedia will at least see how the 3 upcoming originals pan out for Toonami and Adult Swim before they consider cutting their losses.

[OwlChemist81]

I really hope so. I would really hate for these 3 new series to be announced with such fanfare only for it to turn out to be vaporware!

As for AEW, it's already getting screwed by TNT. Next week's episode is pre-empted to 6 PM Saturday evening. Come on guys, why not just put it on [as] or TBS?

Edited August 13, 2020 by OwlChemist81

[Jman]

9 hours ago, Sketch said:

You might chock that up to the simple matter that Toonami as is doesn't make a whole lot of sense in the streaming era where more and more people are ditching cable. It's great tat Adult Swim and even WarnerMedia see's the block as worth airing but the moment they decide HBO Max, Crunchyroll or something else suffices for scratching their anime itch, Adult Swim could unceremoniously pull the block off the air. I don't live in fear of this happening but I accept the reality that it could happen on a whim. We literally have no idea how long Toonami could last in the current climate, hell we have no idea how long Adult Swim or Cartoon Network the channel can last in the current TV climate. As Spike said, whatever happens, happens.

That said, I think WarnerMedia will at least see how the 3 upcoming originals pan out for Toonami and Adult Swim before they consider cutting their losses.

https://variety.com/2020/digital/news/warnermedia-selling-crunchyroll-anime-sony-1234733441/

Warner wants CR gone ASAP to pair down their debt.  As for those Toonami originals, if they are primarily Crunchyroll productions, and the service is sold to let’s say, Amazon, odds are good that the shows never see Toonami, which would put DeMarco up shit creek without a paddle.

[The1gairon]

10 hours ago, Sketch said:

You might chock that up to the simple matter that Toonami as is doesn't make a whole lot of sense in the streaming era where more and more people are ditching cable. It's great tat Adult Swim and even WarnerMedia see's the block as worth airing but the moment they decide HBO Max, Crunchyroll or something else suffices for scratching their anime itch, Adult Swim could unceremoniously pull the block off the air. I don't live in fear of this happening but I accept the reality that it could happen on a whim. We literally have no idea how long Toonami could last in the current climate, hell we have no idea how long Adult Swim or Cartoon Network the channel can last in the current TV climate. As Spike said, whatever happens, happens.

That said, I think WarnerMedia will at least see how the 3 upcoming originals pan out for Toonami and Adult Swim before they consider cutting their losses.

We know by now that DeMarco has less power over the block than we thought back in 2012. And if Toonami's presence is a peculiar instance on cable, how come no one can done anything to bring it to the next generation of entertainment platforms yet? I assume they believe that Toonami is still valuable on cable due to how there's nothing else like it on cable at the moment, and more exposure to these very different art forms can get a bigger audience for Crunchyroll and the like.

And if what Jman says turns out to be true, the very show DeMarco helped create and fund for 2021 would never air on Toonami all together, which very VERY ironic.

Edited August 13, 2020 by elfie

[Sketch]

Toonami could be like Toonami Jetstream again if anyone with money believed that was even worth perusing.

[ben0119]

This is the one I saw.

https://gizmodo.com/crunchyroll-might-get-sold-to-sony-wait-what-1844704873

I didn't realize AT&T had so much debt.  I have no idea how that even happened.  But I can't say I feel too sorry for them.  They are a garbage company.  Our phone service was actually good until they bought Cingular and ruined it, and we became AT&T customers.  Oh joy!  How the hell can a company even exist while being 151 billion in debt?

Given most, if not all, of these Toonami originals are co-productions with Crunchyroll, what the hell is going to happen to the shows if Crunchyroll gets sold to Sony?

And if Sony buys Crunchyroll, won't they have too much of a stranglehold over anime, since they already own Funimation?  Also seems like it could be redundant to own both and I could see them being merged or consolidated under a single owner.

This all could also affect how Toonami acquires shows, or continues to even exist.  Crunchyroll was presumably the back up.  In theory it was supposed to be easier to get shows from them since they are under the same parent company.  If Toonami faltered it could be co-branded with Crunchyroll, or worse comes to worse, taken over as a Crunchyroll block, possibly with or without the Toonami branding, but at least a linear live broadcasting block of anime could continue in the United States.

I really can't see a purpose for Toonami on a streaming platform.  Where do you put hosts or reviews etc when people are just clicking on things to watch whenever they want?

And yeah all the layoffs don't sound good either.

Basically, it's possible and even likely that Demarco is going to be fucked eight ways past Tuesday soon.

[The1gairon]

I mean ... aren't the crew assigned to Toonami already in the single-digits? Even one lay-off for them would be devastating.

[mochi]

they're also scrapping their plans to sell WB games

 

saying they had a change of heart and realized it was too valuable to sell

[Jman]

https://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2020/10/att-plans-thousands-of-layoffs-at-hbo-warner-bros-rest-of-warnermedia/
 

More layoffs, potentially in the thousands as WarnerMedia hacks to the bone to deal with their astronomical debt and COVID killing their businesses.  No one went to Six Flags this year.  The focus continues to remain on HBO Max as their be-all, end-all.

Edit - Random downvotes won’t stop the truth Elfie.  You want to get mad, get mad at AT&T.

Edited October 9, 2020 by Jman

[ben0119]

On 10/9/2020 at 3:57 PM, Jman said:

https://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2020/10/att-plans-thousands-of-layoffs-at-hbo-warner-bros-rest-of-warnermedia/
 

More layoffs, potentially in the thousands as WarnerMedia hacks to the bone to deal with their astronomical debt and COVID killing their businesses.  No one went to Six Flags this year.  The focus continues to remain on HBO Max as their be-all, end-all.

Edit - Random downvotes won’t stop the truth Elfie.  You want to get mad, get mad at AT&T.

AT&T is a horrible a company.  We had great cell service til they took over Cingular and ruined it.  I don't feel sorry for them at all. 

Unfortunately, it won't be the execs who made these bad decisions who will suffer.  It will be the people under them.

Edit -

"Like the rest of the entertainment industry, we have not been immune to the significant impact of the pandemic. That includes an acceleration in shifting consumer behavior, especially in the way content is being viewed," WarnerMedia said. "We shared with our employees recently that the organization will be restructured to respond to those changes and prioritize growth opportunities, with an emphasis on direct-to-consumer. We are in the midst of that process and it will involve increased investments in priority areas and, unfortunately, reductions in others."

I fucking hate this corporate talk.

Edited October 11, 2020 by ben0119

[Jman]

AT&T has cut 8700 jobs with promises of more to come as outrage channels are cheering.

https://www.bizjournals.com/dallas/news/2020/10/24/att-third-quarter-cuts.html

[The1gairon]

... "outrage channels are cheering"?

[PokeNirvash]

I don't know what it means either.

[Jman]

4 minutes ago, PokeNirvash said:

I don't know what it means either.

The usual Youtube assholes that post videos cheering this sort of thing as a result of offending them.

[CountFrylock]

so a lot of adult swim streaming shows were canned and it seems toonami pre-flight's apart of that list

 

Edited November 15, 2020 by CountFrylock

[The1gairon]

.... is DeMarco and Gill getting sacked?!

[PokeNirvash]

1 hour ago, elfie said:

.... is DeMarco and Gill getting sacked?!

I don't think so. From what it sounds like, the ones getting sacked are those explicitly involved in the streams; in particular Matt Harrigan, who's been behind all of [as]'s streaming content for the past couple of years. Other stream-specific people are either going to be laid off like Andrew Choe, or have already been laid off like J. Christopher Arrison, with content creators like Max Simonet and (I hope) Dave Bonawits being spared thanks to their involvement with stuff besides streaming programs.

Despite hosting Toonami Pre-Flight, Demarco and Gill primarily serve as block producers, not streaming personalities. Not to mention one of them's the VP of on-air production, which [as] needs more than ever now that they're losing the rights to Senpai Guy. So yeah, Demarco is guaranteed safety from getting sacked. Gill might be at risk, but I'm hoping he gets out of it clean too.

[Jman]

The biggest shot for HBO MAX yet.  Warner movies.  All of them.  No extra cost.

[Sketch]

2 hours ago, Jman said:

The biggest shot for HBO MAX yet.  Warner movies.  All of them.  No extra cost.

If that doesn’t significantly increase subscriptions, probably nothing will.

Aside from just being a boon to HBO Max, this feels like a really responsible move on WarnerMedia’s part. Though health concerns are hardly the only reason they would do this. The content can’t make any money sitting on a shelf. Having the films on Max for 31 days along with putting them in theaters where they can be, gives people options.

Disney is in a much better position to simply wait to put out their Marvel movies but WarnerMedia is bleeding and has to try something drastic to stop that bleeding.

Hopefully the increase in subscriptions is worth it because they are also giving pirates high quality video to share on day one instead of limiting that to cam footage taken at a theater. Because there’s too many services now and nobody wants to pay for all of them.

[The1gairon]

WOW.

 

 

....... WHOEVER'S RUNNING WARNER MEDIA, .... GIVE THEM A RAISE.

[MasqueradeOverture]

It is a smart move, and it's also not "The Death Of Cinema" that people around the web are mourning/celebrating it to be.

[The1gairon]

Oh so it's like PPV only on HBO MAX, and at the same time as the movie is in theaters. Okay. I had to reread a bit.

I do hope this isn't permanent though. I miss going to the theater. And theater owners and executives are not happy.

[MasqueradeOverture]

1 hour ago, elfie said:

Oh so it's like PPV only on HBO MAX, and at the same time as the movie is in theaters. Okay. I had to reread a bit.

I do hope this isn't permanent though. I miss going to the theater. And theater owners and executives are not happy.

HBO Max had a messy rollout, so I think this is an effort to pull as many subscribers in as possible in the window of a year.

That said, there's only so much revenue you can get this way. Once the flow of new subscribers plateau, there's really no reason to spend $100+ million dollars on movies when they can just produce more TV shows for a much lower price tag. This is why I see this as a temporary thing and why they're simultaneously releasing this massive backlog of delayed flicks to theaters, because the profits from a streaming service alone still pales in comparison to box office receipts that would normally exist had it not been for one of the horsemen of the apocalypse fucking this year up.

Tl;dr version: Temporary solution to a temporary problem.