Cartoon Network has been deleted from the internet.
Warner Bros. Discovery took down the entire content of cartoonnetwork.com this week, directing visitors to a landing page on Max, its subscription streaming service, and encouraging fans to sign up to watch their favorite Cartoon Network shows. The closure of the location appears to have taken place on Thursday, August 8.
“Looking for episodes of your favorite Cartoon Network shows? See what’s available to stream on Max (subscription required),” says a pop-up message on the new Max landing page. “Sign up for Max, where you can also create a child profile with rating restrictions and extra privacy protections to keep it fun and kid-friendly! Cable subscribers, continue to enjoy your favorite CN programs on your TV and connected apps!’
WBD representatives did not immediately respond to a request for more information.
The Cartoon Network site had previously offered full episodes and video clips for its lineup of shows, including “Adventure Time,” “Craig of the Creek,” “The Amazing World of Gumball,” “Teen Titans GO!”, “Steven Universe,” ”We Bare Bears” and ”Clarence.” The site also offered access to free games, including games for “Teen Titans GO!”, “Adventure Time” and “Gumball.”
The closure of cartoonnetwork.com comes a week after WBD told subscribers that the Boomerang classic ‘toon-streamer’ will be shutting down effective September 30 – and that customers (and its content catalog) will be moved to Max.
WBD’s killing of Cartoon Network seems like a cost-cutting move, and also designed to encourage fans to pay for Max. In a series of similar moves, Paramount Global removed a massive amount of content from the Comedy Central site earlier this summer and pulled the entire archive of MTV News and CMT from the Internet.
On Wednesday, Warner Bros. reported. Discovery reported second-quarter revenue of $9.71 billion (down 6%) and a whopping net loss of nearly $10 billion, caused by a $9.1 billion writedown due to a decline in the value of its cable TV networks. Subscribers to the company’s streaming services, led by Max, fell slightly domestically (by about 300,000 to 52.4 million), while international streaming customers rose by 3.9 million to 50.8 in the period million.