Earlier this week, Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD) announced that it is going to be splitting into two companies. One of which will house the Warner Bros. movie, television, and video game studios, DC Comics and DC Studios, HBO and HBO Max, and the TV shows and movies themselves, which is tentatively titled “Streaming & Studios”. The other is tentatively called “Global Networks” and will house the former Turner and Discovery networks, Discovery+, and Bleacher Report.

(For the sake of this article, I will call the “Streaming & Studios” unit Warner Bros. and the “Global Networks” unit Turner Discovery, just to make things easier for myself here. Note that none of these are the official names of either company after the split happens in 2026, as those have not been announced at the time of posting.)

As a fan of the animation-focused brands housed within WBD, I have to wonder what will happen to some of the brands that have ties to Cartoon Network. Because of the way that some of these companies are structured, I imagine that there will be some complications, which I will get into later on.

At the very least, I know where each of these brands themselves are going, so let’s get into that first. Cartoon Network itself (including sub-brands Adult Swim, Boomerang, Cartoonito, and Toonami) is going to be part of Turner Discovery post-split. However, Cartoon Network Studios (CNS), Hanna-Barbera Studios Europe (previously known as CNS Europe), and Williams Street, which were previously part of The Cartoon Network Inc. alongside the network itself, will become part of Warner Bros. post-split, along with all of the shows and movies that these studios have produced. I want to get into the nitty-gritty bits, though, because this separation will most likely complicate the ways in which the network (at least here in the United States) operates, so I might as well get into that next, starting with CNS.

Will the real Cartoon Network please stand up?

CNS has been known to be a first-party pipeline of production for Cartoon Network itself for decades at this point, with many iconic franchises being launched from that studio’s productions, which include Samurai Jack, Foster’s Home for Imaginary Friends, Adventure Time, and Steven Universe, to name a few. After the split happens, the Cartoon Network name will be part of Turner Discovery, whereas CNS will be part of Warner Bros., so what will happen to the studio? Will Warner Bros. start to license the Cartoon Network name from Turner Discovery to keep that studio open as-is? Will the name be retired and folded into Warner Bros. Animation after the split? After all, both studios inhabit the same building and their IPs have been changing their copyright bylines from “The Cartoon Network Inc.” to “Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc.”, further separating the shows themselves from the network that birthed them, both optically and legally. With all of that in mind, does it even make sense for CNS to exist as a separate studio name? Because, let’s be honest, that’s what it is at this point. A studio in name only. It would make a lot of sense for the CNS name to be phased out after the split, especially since it’ll be going the Warner Bros. route of producing series for non-Warner platforms for the first time, starting with Steven Universe: Lars of the Stars for Amazon’s Prime Video. A move like that would sting, but it would ultimately make sense. That’s just me, though.

Hard times on Williams Street

Williams Street is an interesting case, because it essentially does for Adult Swim what I said that CNS does for Cartoon Network, from my understanding (I could be wrong, though). Just like CNS, Williams Street will become part of Warner Bros. after the split, while Adult Swim will become part of Turner Discovery. Williams Street has been in charge of some of Cartoon Network’s most iconic blocks, including Adult Swim and Toonami. What will the split do to that dynamic? Will Adult Swim move the operation of those blocks in-house after the split? Also, will we start seeing Williams Street productions air on platforms that aren’t associated with Adult Swim or Warner Bros. in some way, just like CNS productions? Will the Williams Street studio stay in Atlanta? If not, will it even make sense to keep that studio’s name as-is? Could Williams Street be rebranded as something else or folded into Warner Bros. Animation or Warner Bros. Television? There are a lot of things to think about with Williams Street’s role in all of this.

More streaming complications

Finally, what will the split mean for streaming rights? Certain shows on Cartoon Network and Adult Swim have next-day streaming deals with (HBO) Max at the time of posting. Cartoon Network shows have not done very well on that platform (hence why the network’s library has been mostly eliminated from the streaming platform ever since WarnerMedia and Discovery merged), but Adult Swim shows have been very successful there. Will those next-day streaming deals continue post-split? Will the Cartoon Network, Boomerang, and Adult Swim hubs disappear from HBO Max (which will likely be the name of the platform after the split), just like the Crunchyroll one did a few years ago? As I mentioned earlier, Turner Discovery will own the Cartoon Network, Boomerang, and Adult Swim names, whereas Warner Bros. will own HBO Max, so it will be interesting to see if Warner Bros. continues to use the names of platforms it won’t own anymore after the split on its streaming service.

Bonus: The TCM of it all

This section isn’t necessarily related to animation, but I figured I’d throw it in here. Turner Classic Movies (TCM) is a former Turner network that, as the name implies, focuses on classic movies. The network has carved out its own space in the public consciousness in various ways, including its own film festival. As you have probably figured out at this point in the article, TCM is going to be part of Turner Discovery post-split. Does that really make a whole lot of sense, though? Wouldn’t it make more sense to put TCM under HBO? Both networks serve similar purposes. One just includes original TV shows and airs more recent movies. Putting TCM under HBO’s ownership would certainly make more sense than putting Magnolia Network under that same leadership, which was, and still is, a confusing move. Then again, questionable moves have been a running theme in the entire existence of Warner Bros. Discovery ever since its unholy formation in 2022. Regardless, I think TCM would be a better fit for Warner Bros. than Turner Discovery, and I do hope that WBD can reconsider essentially sending it out to die, but my hopes aren’t high.

Conclusion

It’s too early in the process to know how anything in the WBDemerger, as I’m calling it, will shake out, but I do hope that I put some thoughtful questions out there for all of us to think about. I also hope we can get more definitive answers to some or all of these questions as the split gets closer.

What are your thoughts on all of this? What do you think will happen to all of these companies and the links between them? Also, what do you think will be the names of the two corporate entities after the split? Drop those comments below. Don’t forget to follow me and Cels & Circuits on social media for more on animation and technology. Until next time, I’m Chibueze, signing off.