Cash-strapped media giant Warner Bros. Discovery has discontinued its Cartoon Network website.
The David Zaslav-led company on Wednesday reported a staggering net loss of almost $10 billion due to a $9.1 billion impairment charge caused by the declining value of its cable television networks, and redirected visitors to cartoonnetwork.com to a landing page for Max, its streaming service.
“Looking for episodes of your favorite Cartoon Network shows? Check out what’s available to stream on Max (subscription required),” reads a pop-up message on the new Max landing page.
WBD, which owns film studio Warner Bros., the Food Network, HBO and CNN, disabled cartoonnetwork.com on Thursday. Variety reported.
A Cartoon Network spokesman declined to comment on a specific date for the closure or whether there would be any job cuts, but confirmed that the website had been shut down.
“We are focused on Cartoon Network programming and social media where we see the most consumer interest and significant growth potential,” the spokesperson said.
“While some digital products have been shut down, fans can still interact with Cartoon Network through the Cartoon Network app, select TV provider apps on platforms including mobile and connected devices like Roku, Apple TV and Amazon, and social platforms like YouTube, Instagram and Facebook,” the rep added. “And of course, fans can still visit the Cartoon Network Channel to enjoy their favorite Cartoon Network series for 11 hours every day, from 6am to 5pm.”
Before its closure, the Cartoon Network site offered full episodes and clips from shows the network streamed, including “Adventure Time,” “Craig of the Creek,” “The Amazing World of Gumball,” “Teen Titans Go!,” “Steven Universe,” “We Bare Bears” and “Clarence.”
According to Variety, the website also offered access to free games such as “Teen Titans GO!”, “Adventure Time” and “Gumball.”
The closure of cartoonnetwork.com comes as the media giant Subscribers were told that Boomerang Classic’s “Toon Streamer” would be shut down Starting September 30th, we will be migrating our customers and content catalogs to Max.
The recent move is part of Warner Bros. Discovery’s cost-cutting efforts.
The struggling company reported second-quarter revenue fell 6 percent to $9.71 billion.
Last month, WBD cut about 1,000 jobs after analysts called on Zaslav to consider strategic options.
