Jump to content
UnevenEdge

WarnerMedia considering splitting its assets into two companies, one for IP and streaming, one for linear channels


Recommended Posts

2 minutes ago, Top Gun said:

Rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic?

More like taking the lifeboats and leaving the cable outlets to their grim watery fate if I'm reading this correctly.  

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Now this? THIS could legit kill Toonami, Cartoon Network and Adult Swim.

Here's the scenario...

Warner Bros. Studios and Max split off from the cable business entirely taking all the IPs and leaving the Cartoon Network under Discovery Networks with the scraps (if even that). A situation where every single program has to be sublicensed from the split off company. And most of the debt gets passed to the cable network company. You know how hard it is to get Warner to play nice with Adult Swim and Cartoon Network and charge out the nose for various WB productions. Imagine that but potentially 10 times worse and the network would have even less money to pay those hefty sublicensing fees with. At that point they're setting up the kids TV business to die drowning in the debt so that the studio and streaming business can dig itself out of the hole AT&T made. I can't even imagine how CN/AS will function if there's nothing they can air for "free" anymore (obviously royalties get paid for every airing but you know what I mean).

A potentially positive outcome is if CN and Adult Swim (and Toonami with it) are split off from the rest of the cable networks and kept in the studio and streaming side. That would potentially mean they not only survive but they also get to use more WB programming. But even in that scenario they're setting up the linear network to bite the dust in favor of Max. If they value the linear network enough then maybe that could work out in Adult Swim's favor but the only cable networks Zaslav values are Discovery's lot, CNN and the channels that run sports (TNT/TBS).

And here's hoping whatever the situation ends up being doesn't also kill TCM.

Edited by Sketch
  • Like 1
  • D'oh 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Okay, no. I do not need to hear "it's over Toonami is finished" talk from fucking Sketch of all people. Even if it is more reasonable and far more dire than typical "it's over Toonami is finished" talk.

The sooner I'm locked out of this thread for my own mental comfort, the better. >:(

Edited by PokeNirvash
Removed call-out.
  • Haha 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Doom investors when Sketch gives an honest “it’s over” scenario. 
 

Of course, this isn’t the kind of change that happens in a day, but I wonder if the current state of the block is telling of an impending future where they just throw in the towel on the network. Toonami not getting acquired content would be one of the first warning signs. 

IMG_1403.png

  • Like 1
  • D'oh 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 4 months later...

I’ve been thinking about this and honestly it probably won’t mess with AS as badly as some because how much does AS even rely on WB/D for programming? They almost entirely generate ad revenue using 3rd party licenses so the issue of not being able to buy from another division of their parent company isn’t so different than the current situation. AS will potentially get less shows it shares with Max and Max will continue to get shows that never touch AS.

But of course licensing requires money. It’s unlikely they can generate the ad-revenue necessary to keep paying Disney for FOX reruns. So unless the spun off company can financially support AS’ acquisition needs they’re gonna be cooked pretty fast. That said the cable asset company will have few gems as reliable in young adult ad-revenue as AS so it could get some priority at least among the former Turner networks.

Its gonna be harder to keep the lights on without a doubt and eventually the WB/D will deem a block largely fueled by 3rd party programming as unnecessary. They can redirect those viewers to Max or at least they’ll think they can.

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 12/13/2024 at 1:37 AM, Toonamiguy321 said:

On a scale of 1 to Joever, where are we at right now? 

They haven't fully committed to the spin-off, but the restructuring is signaling an intent to do so, which means that if they do next fiscal year, then Cartoon Network is likely boned.

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

WB/D has a bit of pickle on their hands with regards to kids entertainment. CN isn't attracting kids and neither is Max so what can they even do? They can sell new kids shows to Hulu, Netflix or Amazon or they can just stop making kids entertainment. But what does that mean for Adventure Time and Regular Show spin-offs, the upcoming seasons of Gumball and TTG and the anime-style Scooby-Doo? Most of those might still come to Max or surprisingly enough run exclusively on CN if the cable network business does get spun off. They might also remain shared between Max and CN or CN and Hulu, Netflix or Amazon. But just as likely, WB/D will stop making anything they intend to air on CN as they exit the kids entertainment business. That would leave CN daytime even more destitute.

On the off chance that WB/Ds kids business gets entirely funneled from Max to CN, that could actually be a boon for CN. But in Adult Swim's case, Max is competing for the same audience and have little reason to share their wares. Having the two sides of the company split up would probably only make that worse for Adult Swim. AS will have to rely all the more on ad-revenue on linear cable to keep the lights on and pay for the Disney owned sitcoms but since they remain one of the top performing cable networks with young adults and are likely to maintain that position thanks to the return of Family Guy, they can probably hang on just fine even if Max takes away even more potential shows.

  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

×
×
  • Create New...