Warner Bros. Discovery To Separate Linear From Streaming And Studios

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Warner Bros Discovery is to bring in a new corporate structure that will see the creation of two separate divisions, Global Linear Networks and Streaming & Studios.

The never-ending cycle of merger and demerger is described as being “designed to enhance its strategic flexibility and create potential opportunities to unlock additional shareholder value.”

The two divisions will both come under the corporate wing of Warner Bros Discovery, but ultimately this could lead to a spin off of the channel assets. A sale of linear channels in the Nordics and Poland is already under consideration and is a reflection of similar moves within the big US networks. The future is clearly in streaming service Max and the production that feeds it.

“Since the combination that created Warner Bros. Discovery, we have transformed our business and improved our financial position while providing world class entertainment to global audiences,” said Warner Bros. Discovery President and CEO, David Zaslav. 

“We continue to prioritise ensuring our Global Linear Networks business is well positioned to continue to drive free cash flow, while our Streaming & Studios business focuses on driving growth by telling the world’s most compelling stories. Our new corporate structure better aligns our organization and enhances our flexibility with potential future strategic opportunities across an evolving media landscape, help us build on our momentum and create opportunities as we evaluate all avenues to deliver significant shareholder value.”

Its expected the new structure will be in place by mid-2025.

Last month, Comcast confirmed the separation of NBCUniversal’s cable television networks including USA Network, CNBC, MSNBC, Oxygen, E!, SYFY and Golf Channel. It might be expected for a similar move to take place at Paramount Global once its new owners are in place.

Possibly Cancelled. Still No Update Of A Unicorn: Warriors Eternal Season 2 On Adult Swim

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Unicorn: Warriors Eternal is an American adult animated fantasy television series created by Genndy Tartakovsky and aired on Cartoon Network's night-time programming block Adult Swim. The series stars the voices of Hazel Doupe, Demari Hunte, and Tom Milligan. 

Tartakovsky originally conceived Unicorn: Warriors Eternal in his early days at Cartoon Network Studios. The series took almost 20 years to get made, with Tartakovsky pitching it to various studios before it was picked up by Cartoon Network and HBO Max.

The series premiered on Adult Swim from May 5, 2023 and concluded on June 30, 2023 literally a year ago with only 10 episodes. Although a second has yet to be commissioned by the network, Tartakovsky has expressed interest in doing multiple seasons.

Why Unicorn: Warriors Eternal may not be returning with a season 2?

No one at Cartoon Network, Adult Swim or Warner Bros. Animation not even Genndy Tartakovsky has talked about the show. As for the creator, he's currently working on Heist Safari and a third season to Primal for the mentioned brands.

If anything, it's possible that with Warner Bros. Discovery being cash constraint that they rather put their focus on lesser projects. Even with Tartakovsky already working on these projects it's possible he may not be able to pencil in Unicorn: Warriors Eternals.

Another theory that comes to mind is the possibility of it being a miniseries I mean that's happened with Infinity Train but surprisingly got additional seasons. Both of which had their first seasons end with a question mark with one that was eventually renewed.

Even My Adventures With Superman which was originally commissioned by Cartoon Network before moving to Adult Swim. Unlike Unicorn: Warriors Eternal, Superman got a 2 season renewal but with that concluding soon was renewed for a season 3.

Warner Bros. Discovery Looking To Bundle Max With Other Streaming Services In Parts Of Europe And Africa

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Following the first phase of the recent WBD’s European roll out of Max, Leah Hooper Rosa, EVP of EMEA Streaming, the company’s goal is to operate across all major markets, including the UK.

She said she expects to see more conversations in the future about launching Max in the UK. WBD previously announced it plans to launch service Max in the country by 2026. The media and entertainment powerhouse currently has a long-running licensing partnership with UK pay TV operator Sky, for its HBO content which runs until the end of 2025.

Hooper Rosa, said, “We’re in the game now of we want to be a top three global streaming service. That’s our ambition.”

“We’re on a multi-year journey in terms of our Max roll out across Europe. We’re actively in conversations. Our CEO and Gerhard Zeiler (president of WBD International)  have also shared with partners and working out what that would look like,” she added.

Referring to the company’s recently partnership with Disney to offer a bundle including Disney+, Hulu and Max in the US, Hooper Rosa said – “it’s natural that we see those types of things move into Europe”.

The streamer has launched across Europe in partnership with telcos and pay TV provider in select regions.

“We haven’t seen too many types of those relationships yet in Europe with other streamers doing streaming bundling. But I think there is an opportunity for that in the future and we’ll see how consumers react to that,” she added.

Max debuted in Iberia, the Nordic markets and parts of central and eastern Europe earlier this month, as part of a staggered roll-out for simplicity, said the WBD exec. Further launches are planned for France, Poland, the Netherland and Belgium June.

Currently the streamer is available in 20 countries, including Denmark, Finland, Norway, Sweden, Spain, Portugal, Andorra, Bosnia & Herzegovnia, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Hungary, Moldova, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia and Slovenia.

At present, WBD will only introduce tis Max’s ad-supported subscription plan in Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Finland, Netherlands, Romania, Poland, France and Belgium.

For their strategy in Europe she explained, “its really a combination of the maturity of the ad market in those regions and the of maturity of our business because we need to be able to sell ads or to be able to have the capability to work with a partner.”

Max also offers a sports add-on, providing coverage of major international and European sports including Australian Open, Roland-Garros, The Championships, Wimbledon, US Open, Giro d’Italia, La Vuelta a España, Tour de France, and every major winter sports World Championship and World Cup events.

As part of the move, Hooper Rosa said it will be scaling back its content across its other streaming services including discovery+ where Max is present, which was the streaming home for WBD’s sports content across the company’s European markets.

“Max is our flagship streaming service,” she said. “So what we’re doing now is a  wind down across Europe of our other streaming services. It’s really on a market by market basis of how we’re managing that transition.”

Disney And Warner Bros. Discovery To Rollout Bundled Disney+ And Max Streamer

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The companies are aiming to launch the bundle this summer. The exact launch date and the price point have not yet been announced, but plans call for both ad-free and ad-supported versions to be available.

The move creates the first cross-company partnership for any of the top-tier services to come to market as the race to catch up with Netflix began in earnest about five years ago. It follows years of speculation and public musings by top executives about when bundling across the industry might reduce friction and begin to make streaming more cost-efficient for programmers and consumers alike. Pay-TV operators long served as third-party bundlers in the cable age, but while distribution deals with the likes of Roku and Amazon are key to any streaming service gaining traction, it’s mostly every-app-for-itself in the streaming era.

Churn, the industry term for the number of canceled subscriptions in a given period, has been a nagging problem for media companies. For decades, they had grown accustomed to the far more stable patterns of pay-TV, which was built on a foundation of long-term contracts and physical equipment. In the realm of direct-to-consumer internet businesses, a tap of an app can vaporize revenue, one of the many reasons why companies have been looking more closely at bundling, especially with cord-cutting ravaging their pay-TV network holdings.

Viewers, meanwhile, complain of a dizzying landscape of apps and titles filling their screens, making the simple act of finding something to watch a grueling process. The “endless scroll” of Netflix and later imitators has amplified Bruce Springsteen’s fabled lament about “57 channels and nothin’ on.”

Within companies, synergistic bundling has been commonplace for several years, with Disney in the vanguard with its successful troika of Disney+, Hulu and ESPN+. Many players are taking the next step and more fully consolidating services. Max last year rebranded from HBO Max and added Discovery+ programming. Disney has been steadily bringing its flanker services into closer alignment with flagship Disney+, adding a Hulu tile to Disney+ earlier this year and planning an ESPN one later this year.

In yet another sign of the times, Paramount+ and Showtime’s streaming service fully merged in 2023. Paramount Global’s recent travails and efforts to finalize a potential merger have also been accompanied by speculation that Paramount+ would be ripe for the kind of bundle announced by Disney and WBD. Comcast and Paramount had held talks about a Peacock-P+ combo, but those discussions reportedly faltered due to disputes over control.

Disney, despite rolling up all of Hulu in a buyout of Comcast’s one-third stake in recent months, has shown increased interest in joint ventures. It recently teamed with Fox Corp. and WBD on a sports-focused streaming bundle. That still-unnamed service, nicknamed “Spulu,” is due to launch this fall.

Brands to be showcased in the new Disney-WBD bundle include ABC, CNN, DC, Discovery, Disney, Food Network, FX, HBO, HGTV, Hulu, Marvel, Pixar, Searchlight and Warner Bros. The new offering will be available for purchase on any of the three streaming platforms’ websites.

“On the heels of the very successful launch of Hulu on Disney+, this new bundle with Max will offer subscribers even more choice and value,” said Joe Earley, President, Direct to Consumer, Disney Entertainment. “This incredible new partnership puts subscribers first, giving them access to blockbuster films, originals, and three massive libraries featuring the very best brands and entertainment in streaming today.”

“This new offering delivers for consumers the greatest collection of entertainment for the best value in streaming, and will help drive incremental subscribers and much stronger retention,” said JB Perrette, CEO and President, Global Streaming and Games, Warner Bros. Discovery. “Offering this unprecedented entertainment value for fans across all the complimentary genres these three services offer, presents a powerful new roadmap for the future of the industry.”

Spoilers: Velma Likely Cancelled On Max Following Season 2 Finale

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Velma is an American adult animated mystery television series based on the character Velma Dinkley from the Scooby-Doo franchise. Developed and created by Charlie Grandy for HBO Max, it stars executive producer Mindy Kaling as the voice of the titular character, with Sam Richardson, Constance Wu and Glenn Howerton in supporting roles. 

The series revolves around Velma Dinkley and the other human members of Mystery Inc. before their official formation, making it the first television series in the franchise to not feature the character Scooby-Doo.

Since its inception, Velma had received mixed reviews from critics, who praised the voice acting and animation, but were divided towards the humor and criticized its meta storytelling , characterization, writing, and departures from the traditional Scooby-Doo format. 

Despite the massive backlash that the show has taken, Velma was Max's most-watched animated original show in 2023. The [hate] streaming was probably what contributed to a second season and the fact most programs from the Scoobiverse are two seasons long.

Max released the second season of Velma which too was dismayed by Scooby-Doo fans for its directionless storyline and puns inserted throughout but what caught the attention was the season 2 finale which welcomed back a classic character, Scrappy-Doo.

SPOILERS

Like the other characters that first got their start in Scooby-Doo, Where Are You?, Scrappy isn't like the original iteration of the talking puppy. In Velma, Scrappy is created as a part of "Project Scooby" by the military in an effort to infiltrate "meddling kids".  

Unfortunately for the government, their experiment falls out of their control and Scrappy begins going on a murder spree for all those responsible for the project. For those looking for more spoilers, season two ended with quite the bang. 

Scrappy attempts to kill Velma and company, only to be killed himself as the titular character becomes a ghost and takes control of his body. Velma is left deceased when the season two finale comes to an end with no third season confirmed.

But judging by the finale, it wouldn't seem far fetched if the show had concluded with this episode. Considering all the hate Velma got, Scrappy-Doo kind of redeemed himself after serving as one of the most disliked characters in the franchise. 

Press Release: Warner Bros. Discovery To Launch Max In Europe Beginning May 21

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Warner Bros. Discovery announced today that Max, its enhanced streaming service, will launch in the first European countries beginning May 21. Max brings together HBO Max’s can’t-miss programming, Discovery’s engaging real-life entertainment and all the world-class action from Eurosport’s premium subscription service to create a complete viewing experience for the whole household with premier TV shows, fresh and iconic movies, unmissable sports, and flagship TV networks in select countries, in a single destination for the first time.

On May 21, Max will become available across the Nordics, Iberia, and Central and Eastern Europe. Launches will follow closely after in Poland, the Netherlands, France, and Belgium*. France and Belgium are the first new countries where WBD has launched its streaming service in over two years. These launches mean Max will be available in 25 countries in Europe and 65 countries and territories worldwide after launching in the U.S. in May 2023, and launching in Latin America and the Caribbean earlier this year.

JB Perrette, CEO and President of Global Streaming & Games at Warner Bros. Discovery announcing the rollout of Max at the TV festival Series Mania said: “Max is the streaming home of Warner Bros. Discovery and builds on our long heritage in Europe, bringing together an incredible breadth and depth of culture-defining entertainment from our services and networks, all in one place. The unrivalled content we’ve got on Max from ‘House of the Dragon’ to Olympic Games Paris 2024 and beyond means whatever your mood or the occasion, Max has something great for everyone, every time.”

Content offering

The launch of Max in Europe is marked by the return of the highly anticipated HBO Original “House of the Dragon,” which premiers on Max in Europe on June 17. Max will bring a new streaming experience to Europe with more than double the amount of content currently available on HBO Max. This summer, Max will be the only place to stream every live moment of Olympic Games Paris 2024 in the 25 European countries where Max will be available. Paris 2024 will be included in all subscription plans, ensuring all customers will gain complete access to the biggest sporting event in the world.

Max stands out as distinct amongst streamers by uniquely combining unrivalled breadth and its new and improved app with iconic franchises and a strong product experience. Subscribers will be able to enjoy a wide range of quality entertainment with Warner Bros. movies such as Barbie, Aquaman and The Lost Kingdom, and Wonka, HBO Originals The Last of Us, The White Lotus, Euphoria, True Detective: Night Country, The Regime, The Sympathizer, The Jinx - Part Two and the upcoming new comedy The Franchise.

A new slate of Max Originals based on popular Warner Bros. Pictures’ entities will be coming to Max including The Penguin and Welcome to Derry (Stephen King’s IT). Films from WB’s extensive library including the Harry Potter franchise, Paddington, The Matrix, The Dark Knight, Joker, and The Lord of the Rings, as well as fan favorites like 90 Day Fiancé, Gold Rush and Fixer Upper from Discovery will also be offered.

A Sports Add-On will bring fans extensive coverage of major international and European sports including every tennis Grand Slam – Australian Open, Roland-Garros, The Championships, Wimbledon and the US Open, cycling’s three Grand Tours – Giro d’Italia, La Vuelta a España, and the Tour de France in addition to the Tour de France Femmes, 24 Hours of Le Mans, and every major winter sports World Championship and World Cup events. Rights vary between countries.

A selection of flagship live linear networks will also be available on Max in some countries in select plans including CNN International in France and Poland, TVN in Poland, TV Norge in Norway, Kanal 5 in Sweden and Eurosport in all countries.

Plans

Max will offer a choice of different plans, plus a Sports Add-On which may be added to any base plan**. Full details about pricing will be announced in the coming weeks and will vary country by country.

Basic with Ads Plan:

• This plan will allow users to enjoy Max at a lower price and will include advertising.

• It will be available first in nine European countries, before expanding to others.

• The first countries where the Basic with Ads plan will be available are Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Finland, Netherlands, Romania, Poland, France and Belgium.

• Users will be able to stream content on 2 devices simultaneously. 

• Content will be available in Full HD resolution.

 

Standard Plan:

• Users can stream content on 2 devices simultaneously. 

• Content will be available in Full HD resolution. 

• This plan will allow up to 30 downloads of available content to watch offline.

 

Premium Plan:

• Provides the best consumer experience.

• Users can stream content on up to 4 devices simultaneously. 

• Full HD or 4K resolution and with Dolby Atmos sound (as available).  

• This plan will allow up to 100 downloads of available content to watch offline. (Limits apply)

 

Sports Add-On:

• The Sports Add-On will provide coverage of top sports events including Grand Slam tennis, cycling’s Grand Tours, 24 Hours of Le Mans, the live linear networks Eurosport 1 and Eurosport 2 and much more.

• Customers should check local listings for rights availability in their countries.

• The Sports Add-On is sold as an add-on to any base plan.

• Users can stream sports content on 2 devices simultaneously (of their available base plan streams).

 

Existing HBO Max subscribers will be able to discover the new experience on Max while keeping their current profiles, and viewing history, continuing their Max journey where they left off. In some cases, depending on device or operating system, the HBO Max app will be automatically updated to the Max app. In other cases, when users open their HBO Max app, they will be prompted to download the new Max app, allowing them to begin exploring the new platform in just a few clicks. discovery+ and Eurosport premium SVOD subscribers will be given details in due course about how to subscribe to Max.

*WBD’s enhanced streaming service will be called HBO Max in the Netherlands and Belgium.

**Channels and live content in Standard and Premium plans, and the Sports Add-On may contain ads. On-demand content in all plans may include sponsorship and product placement.

WBD Unveils European Launch Details For Max Streamer Including In France As International Boss Gerhard Zeiler Talks Up Synergies: “We Are On The Way To $5B And Who Knows Where We Will End Up?” – Mipcom Cannes

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The Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD) Max streamer will launch in 22 European countries in spring 2024 and France and Belgium later next year, the media outfit revealed today.

Opening Mipcom Cannes with a keynote, interntional boss Gerhard Zeiler and EMEA Head of Streaming Leah Hooper Rosa brought highly-anticipated news of the rollout of the new streamer in the continent, which is rebranding from HBO Max with a bigger offering.

The Nordics, the Netherlands, Iberia and CEE, which already have HBO Max, will gain access to the rebranded streamer in the spring.

There will then be a “second wave” of launches later next year including in France and Belgium, which currently don’t have HBO Max, although WBD has an output deal with Amazon locally in France.

The service launched earlier this year in the U.S. and other territories. It will launch later in the UK due to the pre-existing content deal between Sky and WBD.

“The content breadth is so huge and we are enabling customers to find this content,” added Hooper Rosa. “And then they are increasing their time watching this breadth of genre, so streaming provides another avenue that compliments our distribution.”

“We promised the market $3B synergies, now we are on the way to $5B and who knows where we will end up?,” Zeiler went on to say.

He talked up the success that WBD has had with its goal to “execute as efficiently as possible” its “defining mission and vision.”

Following the Warner Bros merger with Discovery, new boss David Zaslav said he was targeting $3B synergies, which has seen the merger of teams and thousands of layoffs, but that synergy figure has crept up and up, confirmed by Zeiler today to be approaching $5B by next year.

He reiterated a “culture eats strategy for breakfast” mantra and said “we are one company not six or seven diluted units.”

Zeiler has seen something off an exodus in his international team of late but this wasn’t addressed at Mipcom. He set a new team earlier this month following a spate of exits including the likes Priya Dogra, Pierre Branco and Hannes Heyelmann alongside Robert Blair, who had worked in Warner Bros sales for 25 years.

‘Tom And Jerry’ To Spar In Singapore; First Ever Localized Version To Premiere On Cartoon Network & HBO GO

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Warner Bros Discovery has announced the first ever localized version of the Tom And Jerry series, featuring the famous cat and mouse duo as they take their rivalry to Singapore.

Produced locally in Asia, in association with Warner Bros Animation, the new 7×3-minute series will premiere on Cartoon Network in Asia Pacific and HBO Go in Southeast Asia, Taiwan and Hong Kong later this year, before being rolled out internationally. 

A pilot episode giving a flavour of what’s to come will launch in August – further details will be announced soon. 

The project is produced by Warner Bros Discovery’s Carlene Tan, with Vivek Bolar serving as lead director. India’s Aum Animation Studios handled the animation, with stories and designs from Singapore-based Robot Playground Media and Chips and Toon Studios.

Christopher Ho, Warner Bros Discovery’s Head of Kids, Southeast Asia, said: “This series brings back the iconic music and classic animation style from the Hanna-Barbera 1950s era – but with a modern Singaporean twist. 

“With distinctive landmarks, backdrops and atmosphere, the Asian city-state is the ideal location to create a humorous addition to the Tom And Jerry canon. Working with homegrown creative talent in Singapore and across Asia, this project grows the much-loved franchise in the region and beyond.”

Vishnu Athreya, Senior Vice President of Series, Warner Bros Animation and Cartoon Network Studios, said: “Tom And Jerry are two of our most universally loved characters, proving that laughs can translate to any audience. The fans in Asia have long embraced these characters and it’s great to finally give them a version to call their own.”

Tom And Jerry is one of Warner Bros Discovery’s leading franchises with a global social reach of 50 million and almost 30 billion minutes watched on the Warner Bros Kids YouTube channel. There have been more than 500 episodes, 15 movies and seven Academy Awards so far in its 83-year history. 

Warner Bros Discovery also plans to launch additional Tom And Jerry-branded consumer products to complement the series launch later this year.

Regular Nick Shorts: Cartoon Network And Max Acquired Rights To Lana Longbeard With Tara Duncan Loading Up On Disney Channel And Gamebox To Rollout A 60 Minute Ghostbusters Game

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Zephyr Animation

2D-animated comedy Lana Longbeard has landed its first presales, with Warner Bros. Discovery (EMEA), Super RTL (Germany), Gulli (France) and CBC (Canada) claiming it for their regions. Co-produced by Zephyr Animation (APC Kids’ production arm) and Canadian studio Copernicus, the 52 x 11-minute series for six to nines tells the story of a courageous teen girl who sets sail on her father’s viking ship on a quest to become a famous adventurer. APC Kids has the global distribution rights.

Superights

Animated adventure series Tara Duncan will be distributed worldwide (excluding China) by Paris-based Superights. Produced by Princess Sam Pictures and based on a 15-book series by Sophie Andouin-Mamikonian, this CG-animated show stars a girl who travels to a magical planet to learn how to control her powers and defeat evil villains. Princess Sam has already sold the first season (52 x 13 minutes) to buyers including Disney (France, Belgium, Japan, Africa and the Netherlands), Rai (Italy) and RTE (Ireland), and a second 52-ep season is currently in production.

Columbia Pictures Location Based Entertainment

Who you gonna call? A Ghostbusters VR game is in the works at Columbia Pictures Location Based Entertainment and Immersive Gamebox. Based in London, Immersive Gamebox operates experiential game rooms where content from popular entertainment brands is projected onto the walls for kids to interact with through touch-screens and motion-tracking. The techco is gearing up to launch a 60-minute Ghostbusters: The Cursed Collection game at its 20 locations in the UK, EMEA and US later this year. In the experience, kids will explore haunted streets and battle ghosts from the ’80s movie franchise.

Cartoon Network And Max EMEA Commission New CG-Animated Preschool Series Karters From MediaWan

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Mediawan Kids & Family’s new 2D production house, Somewhere Animation, is teaming up with video game adaptation specialist Marla Studios to turn creature-collection game Temtem into a comedy-adventure series for kids.

The partners are developing the massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG) from Spanish developer Crema into a 26 x 22-minute series for kids ages six and up. Josh Hamilton—best known for his work as a writer on Nickelodeon’s Avatar: The Last Airbender—will write and direct the new series as showrunner.

Temtem was released in 2020 on PCs and consoles after a successful Kickstarter crowdfunding campaign. By September 2022, it had reached one million total users across all platforms, according to its Kickstarter updates.

Set in a fantastical island world, the game lets players collect and tame mystical creatures called Temtem, which can be used for battling, trading with friends and breeding to create offspring with new powers.

The game differs from other MMORPGs by putting a greater emphasis on teamwork and offering more humorous storylines, according to a release.

Based in Paris, Somewhere Animation opened its doors in April 2022 and is led by Totally Spies! producer Arthur Colignon. The studio is one of Mediawan’s eight subsidiary companies. LA’s Marla Studios specializes in adapting video games for film and TV. Though its credits include adult-skewing IPs such as Duke Nukem and Brothers in Arms, Marla’s founder—Assassin’s Creed producer Jean Julien Baronnet—also produced Netflix’s animated series adaptation of Ubisoft’s popular kids and family game Raving Rabbids.

This Temtem collaboration joins a growing number of fantasy games that are being adapted as TV series for kids and families. Other such projects currently in the works include Final Fantasy IX from Cyber Group Studios and Aurion from French prodco Chouette and African video game studio Kiro’o Games.

In other Mediawan news, the company revealed at a press conference yesterday in Annecy that Warner Bros. Discovery EMEA has signed on as a co-production and broadcast partner for sister studio Method Animation’s new CG-animated series Karters (52 x 11 minutes). Cartoonito EMEA will exclusively air the show in a first window, though a premiere date has yet to be announced. Aimed at four- to eight-year-olds, Karters tracks a group of heroic kids who race mini-cars in fantastical environments while trying to help legendary creatures known as Unipets.

Method is also adapting a picture book series called Taïtikis by PJ Masks creator Romuald Racioppo as a CG-animated preschool series (52 x 11 minutes). And the studio has joined on as a co-pro partner for action-adventure kids series Anansi from South African prodco Diprente.

Finally, Spanish prodco DeAPlaneta Entertainment has struck a deal to be the exclusive licensing and merchandising agent in most territories except China for upcoming Mediawan Kids & Family animated series Karters, The Three and Witch Detectives. DeAPlaneta will also manage digital, interactive, gaming and web3 rights for these brands. Other Mediawan properties included in this master licensing deal will be announced at later dates.

New Series Alert: Cartoon Network And Max Greenlight New Preschool Series For Cartoonito, Hop! From Arthur Series Creator Marc Brown

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Following last year’s momentous finale of the beloved “Arthur” series, creator Marc Brown is beginning his next chapter in the world of children’s television with “Hop,” a new preschool animated series greenlit today by Max. The series marks Brown’s first television show since “Arthur’s” staggering 25-year run, where he began telling children’s stories. Co-creators and fellow “Arthur” alums, Peter K. Hirsch and Tolon Brown, will join Marc in bringing his beloved children’s book illustrations to life on “Hop,” produced by Epic Story Media and animated by Loomi Animation.

Epic has engaged RespectAbility – the esteemed advocacy nonprofit organization fighting stigma and advancing opportunity for people with disabilities – to consult on the series.  “Hop” follows an eclectic group of besties whose comedic adventures teach preschoolers about embracing their own uniqueness. Led by Hop, an enthusiastic, empathetic frog with one leg shorter than the other, he and his quirky friends address kid-relatable problems with a healthy dose of laughter, silliness, and adventure.

Set in the aspirational community of Fair Village, every episode is grounded in emotional reality but soars into the world of fantasy, populated by dragons, trolls, talking banjos, and magic crayons. With a gentle balance of humor and heart, our heroes go on fun escapades to discover that they can overcome any obstacle with perseverance, creativity, and teamwork. Together, they show us the power of friendship and kindness as they navigate the mud puddles of life.

“Even before ‘Arthur’ ended, I was nurturing a new project about a little frog named Hop, for a younger audience,” said Brown. “As Hop’s world grew in my imagination, I drew inspiration from the great work my friend Fred Rogers had done. With ‘Arthur,’ we occasionally introduced characters with disabilities, but they never became part of the ensemble cast in any meaningful way. But the characters in “Hop” reflect many kids who are underrepresented in the media.  Some of our characters have disabilities but they never define who they are or what they can achieve. Kids are kids and each one is unique and filled with potential. And kids love to have fun, that’s what ‘Hop’ is all about!”

Ken Faier of Epic Story Media adds, “We’re extremely proud of our work and collaboration with industry experts on representing characters in an inclusive way. It is an honor to have developed ‘Hop’ with Marc, Peter and Tolon who know how to engage not only today’s youth but parents looking for quality content. We believe ‘Hop’ will have longevity in the marketplace for many years to come.”

Michael Ouweleen, president of Adult Swim, Cartoon Network, and Boomerang added: “Marc is a legend in children’s programming, having created one of the most iconic television shows that has garnered almost every honor imaginable. ‘Hop’ exudes everything families love about ‘Arthur,’ but with a fresh cast of modern characters that authentically represent the sundry of little eyes watching TV.”

Microids Announces Totally Spies! Game For Consoles, PC

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Microids has announced a partnership with Banijay Kids and Family for a new video game based on the animated series Totally Spies! It will launch for consoles and PC in 2024.

Here is an overview of the game, via Microids:

The Totally Spies! video game will offer players the opportunity to step into the shoes of the three legendary secret agents, Sam, Clover and Alex. Together they must try and save the world from a new enemy, with a host of thrilling missions, offering innovative game mechanics.

“Microids is committed to faithfully and innovatively adapting well-known IP and it is a real honor for us to work on the Totally Spies! license,” said Microids CEO Stephane Longeard in a press release. “Thanks to the skills of our studios and in-house teams, we will do everything we can to offer the community a game that meets its expectations.”

Banijay Kids and Family new business and strategic alliances director Annick Bizet added, “We are seeing great momentum building for the Totally Spies! brand ahead of the much-anticipated return of the series next year. Microids’ expertise and passion for the world of video games, make it the perfect partner to recreate the universe for an authentic and captivating game for our fans.”

HBO Max To Be Renamed Max From May 23, Unveils New Content And More

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“This is our time. This is our chance,” Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav said today in his livestream intro for the company’s unveiling of Max, its rebranded streaming service that goes live May 23. “This is our rendezvous with destiny.”

Max will be the streaming destination for Max and HBO originals, Warner Bros. films, the DC universe, the Wizarding World of Harry Potter and kids content, along with programming across food, home, reality, lifestyle and documentaries from leading brands including HGTV, Food Network, Discovery Channel, TLC, ID and more.

Calling WBD “the greatest storytelling company on Earth” and the biggest and most successful creator of content, Zaslav said Max is “home to shows that have a supersized effect on people an culture,” singling out The Last of Us, The White Lotus, Succession and Euphoria.

Billing Max as “the one to watch for every mood and every moment,” the service’s three-tier pricing also was announced: $9.99 a month/$99 a year for ad-supported tier Max Ad Light; $15.99/$149.99 for Max Ad Free, which offers two concurrent streams; and $19.99/$199.99 for Max Ultimate Ad Free, up to four concurrent streams.

“This new brand signals an important change from two narrower products — HBO Max and Discovery+ — to our broader content offering and consumer proposition,” JB Perrette, WBD’s President & CEO of Global Streaming & Games, said during the presentation. “While each product offered something for some people, Max will have a broad array of quality choices for everybody.”

Among the programming highlights discussed today:

• Max original Harry Potter series, a faithful adaptation of the beloved original book series by J.K. Rowling, who will serve as executive producer;
Max original comedy series derived from The Big Bang Theory;
• HBO original Game of Thrones prequel A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms: The Hedge Knight;
Max original drama series based on The Conjuring films;
• Magnolia Network’s Fixer Upper: The Hotel;
Discovery Channel’s Survive the Raft;
Max original Peter & the Wolf short film from U2’s Bono;
• Adult Swim’s Rick and Morty: The Anime;
Investigation Discovery’s Lost Women of Highway 20;
• Cartoon Network’s Tiny Toons Looniversity; and
• TLC’s Love & Translation

Max also provided first looks today at upcoming titles including:

• The Penguin starring Colin Farrell
• HBO Original drama series The Sympathizer, an espionage thriller and cross-culture satire based on the Pulitzer Prize-winning novel;
• HBO Original limited series True Detective: Night Country, starring Jodie Foster and Kali Reis
• HBO Original limited series The Regime, starring Kate Winslet (retitled from The Palace);
• Max Original six-part docuseries SmartLess: On the Road, following Jason Bateman, Will Arnett, and Sean Hayes as they take viewers on an exclusive behind-the-scenes look at the sold-out live tour of their podcast
• Max Original kids series Gremlins: Secrets of the Mogwai
• HGTV’s four-part Barbie Dreamhouse Challenge hosted by Ashley Graham.

Also making announcements during WBD’s streaming day were Casey Bloys, Chairman and CEO of HBO and Max Content, and HBO SVP Programming Kathleen McCaffrey.

“Our incredible team has been hard at work taking the best of both legacy technology platforms to deliver a product that works much better,” said Perrette. “We’re confident that all these enhancements will deliver a stronger experience for our customers, which will drive more engagement, help enhance retention, and improve customer satisfaction, which in turn will help us continue to scale.”

Here are some highlights of Max product features:

Premium Video Playback. A new video playback experience will deliver smooth and cinematic video to users, wherever and however they prefer to watch. Whether binging their favorites, watching offline on-the-go, or tuning in on Sunday nights for the latest episode of Succession, users can count on seamlessly diving into their preferred worlds.

Personalization. Max will expand personalization beyond just the home page, offering a differentiated and high-performing experience for every user across the whole service.  By significantly increasing our investment in machine learning while maintaining an editorial voice, Max will deliver a unique human and machine approach that will help surface the best content for our users.

More Prominent Kids Experience. At launch, Max will introduce a default kids profile for new subscribers along with accompanying parental controls. Parents can choose to customize settings and select to limit content for the kids profile by ratings: little kids (tv-y), big kids (tv-y7, tvy7-fv), big kids plus (tv-g, g), preteens (tv-pg/pg), or teens (tv-14, pg-13). Parents will also have the ability to set individual profile PINs to lock access to their adult profiles, as well as a parent code to lock their children inside of the Max kids experience.

Simplified Navigation. Max works harder so viewers don’t have to. Streamlined categories, improved content details pages, shortcuts, dedicated brand hubs and thematic content rails, make exploring the app and discovering new interests easier. The updated design coupled with a better personalization engine will help consumers quickly find and discover the best of what they are looking for.

4K UHD. The Ultimate Ad-Free tier of Max will have an expanded catalog of content available in 4K UHD including key programming such as Game of Thrones, The Last of Us, Harry Potter, Lord of the Rings, The Dark Knight Trilogy and more. All Warner Bros. movies released this year and going forward will also be available in 4K UHD when they arrive on Max following their theatrical windows.

Newly Rebranded Max Streaming Service Unveils New Content For Kids And Families

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Warner Bros. Discovery disappointed the children’s TV industry last year when it pulled a number of shows from HBO Max, signaling an exit from this part of the business.

However, now, with the launch of the rebranded Max service, the company behind the Looney Tunes and Hanna-Barbera libraries is returning strong to the sector and admitting that it was ostensibly technical difficulties that caused some of its problems for younger folk.

“We sit on the best library of IP for kids content [compared] to anyone so we’re not only going to reboot a lot of what we already have in our library but we’re also going to make new [shows],” said Kathleen Finch, Chairman and Chief Content Officer, Warner Bros. Discovery’s U.S. Networks Group

Finch revealed three new kids projects as part of the Max launch: Peter and the Wolf, a short film from Bono and Gavin Friday, Gremlins: Secrets of the Mogwai, which launches on May 23, and Tiny Toons Looniversity.

She also added, “We’ve got all kinds of projects… in the works. It’s a way for us to really target the kids market in a way that that HBO hasn’t been able to because… HBO is not a kid friendly brand, necessarily, even though Warner Bros. has some of the best IP in the business.”

David Zaslav, President and CEO of Warner Bros. Discovery, seconded this. He pointed out that parents were unlikely to tell their babysitter to turn on HBO Max to sate their children and the service, known for airing series such as The Sopranos and The Wire, didn’t have the requisite parental controls.

"We have great kids content from Sesame Street to Harry Potter to Looney Tunes, Hanna-Barbera and all the original content that Kathleen’s team produces Cartoon Network. But there wasn’t an entry point. So, when anybody goes to Max on [launch] day, they will wake up and there will be a kids hub and right away it will be kid friendly. And we never we didn’t even have the parental

JB Perrette, President and CEO of Global Streaming and International at Warner Bros. Discovery, added that kids hasn’t “met its true potential” on the old HBO Max service.

“Our leading kids brands like Cartoon Network and Boomerang, bolstered by content from DC, Wizarding World, Hanna Barbera and Looney Tunes used to get double digit shares with 2 to 11 linear audiences [but] in streaming that has virtually disappeared even though all the great content and franchises as are still here. Max will better curate our rich history of amazing animation, seminal children’s television and blockbusters the whole family can enjoy as well as new product features.”

HBO Max did have Sesame Street, with new seasons running on the service through 2025.

However, one of the problems that Casey Bloys, Chairman and CEO of HBO and Max Content, found was that it didn’t surround it with other similar types of programming.

“We had Sesame Street on HBO, which is one of the greatest brands in kids. One of the problems was we didn’t surround it with anything else. So, [this solves] part of the problem. One of the benefits here is we don’t have to go figure out how are we going to get a kids business up and running. We have the expertise in house doing so,” Bloys added.