What’s Going on with Cartoon Network? Speculation and Rumors Circulate Amid CN’s Website Shutdown
Just over 26 years after its launch, the Cartoon Network website has officially been erased.
Without any prior warning to fans of the long beloved cartoon channel, Warner Bros. Discovery (CN’s parent company) decided to pull the plug on the network’s website, eliminating free access to a huge database of Cartoon Network content. Before last Thursday, cartoonnetwork.com was home to pretty much the entire catalog of animated series and movies created by CN, plus unique browser games based on iconic shows – all for free. Now, however, attempts to access the website are met with a message redirecting users to the HBO streaming service Max, where much (but not all) of the CN website’s collection has been transferred to.
Many of the shows previously available on the Cartoon Network website, like “Chowder” and “Ed, Edd n Eddy,” have been added to Max, while others, like “The Marvelous Misadventures of Flapjack,” are on Hulu. And some, like “Foster’s Home for Imaginary Friends,” aren’t available on any streaming platforms. With the CN website no longer in operation, there’s not really a way to access Cartoon Network’s archive of old content all in one place anymore – and definitely not for free.
The news of the CN website shutdown comes just days after Warner Bros.’s announcement that they will be abandoning the Boomerang streaming service – an offshoot of Cartoon Network responsible for the creation of, and home to many, treasured classic animation shows like “Courage the Cowardly Dog” and “The Tom and Jerry Show.” Boomerang subscribers have until the end of September to enjoy access to the platform’s catalog before the shutdown goes into effect and users get relocated to Max.
The decisions to scrap Boomerang and the CN website come as part of Warner Bros. various cost-cutting initiatives, resulting from the company’s poor performance and profit decline over the last couple of years. Ending the longtime free access to the Cartoon Network content database is undoubtedly a feeble cash-grab attempt at saving the floundering Warner Bros., though it is likely to do more harm than good, and could threaten the success of the studio’s future projects.
Despite the website removal, Warner Bros. has affirmed that Cartoon Network will not be closing its doors anytime soon, with a spokesperson from the network citing the website shutdown as part of a re-shift in focus toward “shows and social media where we find consumers are the most engaged and there is a meaningful potential for growth.”
Cable customers can still tune in to the CN channel’s array of daily content, and subscribers to Max and/or Hulu can choose from a limited selection of the CN collection, but the website closure will definitely have some effect on the future of the network. And based on the massive outpouring of disappointment from longtime fans of the channel, it may be pretty difficult for Cartoon Network to bounce back.
