Max drops ‘Looney Tunes’ in shift away from family content
Max drops ‘Looney Tunes’ in shift away from family content
The move is just the latest to indicate that kids programming isn’t a priority for the streamer.
Max is ready to grow up. That may seem like a strange position for the streamer to take, considering the HBO programming that calls the streamer home is synonymous with having an older audience. But in a bid to refocus the streamer on more adult and family content, Max has purged its library of classic “Looney Tunes” cartoons, the latest turn in the streamer’s ever-evolving rhetoric on content for younger kids.
Key Details:
- Newer “Looney Tunes” titles remain on the service for now.
- Max doesn’t view kids’ content as a priority because of its performance metrics.
- Warner Bros. Discovery also shut down its Cartoon Network streamer Boomerang last year.
While some newer “Looney Tunes” titles remain in place on the streamer, Max has removed the bulk of the original cartoons that launched the signature Warner Bros. brand between 1930 and 1969. The disappearance was confirmed by Deadline, and seems designed to be a permanent removal, instead of a temporary library reshuffling.
A Warner Bros. Discovery spokesperson confirmed to Deadline that the titles had been pulled and that the move is intended to refocus Max on adult and family content, and less on titles specifically intended for younger children. Content for kids apparently doesn’t perform as well on the streamer according to this spokesperson, and Max is no longer prioritizing it as a result.
WBD has sent some mixed messages regarding kids’ titles in recent years. In 2022, when the service was still named HBO Max, company CEO David Zaslav said that he wanted to use the platform to reimagine kids content on streaming. Later that year, however, the company scrapped plans for its streamer to attempt to compete more directly with Disney+ for kids and family attention.
Then in 2023, when the company merged most of its discovery+ content onto Max, WBD streaming chief J.B. Perrette said that kids content had good potential on the combined service. Despite that message, WBD shut down its Cartoon Network-focused streamer Boomerang in September.
Now it looks as if the latest purge of kids’ content is underway at the streamer. There could be more removals in the future, so viewers should keep an eye on their favorite animated classics on Max.
HBO Max
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