Warner Bros. Discovery has been dishing out cuts and cancelations in all areas of its output over the last few years, and it seems that the cull is still ongoing. According to an email sent to subscribers, the Boomerang streaming service will be shut down at the end of September, with some content being migrated to Max and the rest seemingly disappearing into the streaming void.
Boomerang began life in 2000 as a cable network channel, which ran some of Warner Bros. most iconic animated shows, such as various iterations of Scooby-Doo, Tom & Jerry shorts, and an abundance of Looney Tunes shows, shorts and movies. In 2017, the channel became its own streaming platform, and as well as continuing to host classic cartoons of the past, it also started producing new and exclusive content to keep subscribers happy. Seven years later, and it seems that, while Warner Bros. Discovery has never revealed subscriber numbers, the platform is not paying its way.
While this sounds like a disappointment for Boomerang subscribers, the email does soften the blow by transferring subscribers from the $6 per month Boomerang plan to an ad-free subscription for Max at no extra cost to them. This is not something to grumble about when considering the regular cost of the ad-free tier of Max is $17. The email went on to add:
“On Max, you can enjoy loads of Boomerang fan-favorites with Scooby, Bugs Bunny, Tom & Jerry and more! While some Boomerang content may not be available, you’ll have access to Max’s full catalog of iconic series, hit movies, fresh originals, breaking news, and family favorites, including The Amazing World of Gumball, Teen Titans Go!, Lego Batman and more.”
Warner Bros. Discovery has Made Many Changes
Coming out of the Covid pandemic, many studios and streaming platform owners were forced to take a moment to tot up their losses and make some difficult decisions about how they would balance the books. For many, the answer lay in streamlining their businesses, by combining previously individual services, dropping content from their platforms, or canceling projects that they didn’t believe would pay their way.
While all of Hollywood’s big players have been involved in this kind of cost-cutting and amalgamation of their content and how it can be accessed, Warner Bros. Discovery has been the subject of more headlines than most. This has mainly been due to the number of high-profile, completed projects that they have scrapped, such as Batgirl, new Scooby-Doo movies, and the Looney Tunes’ Coyote vs Acme movie. Now the news of Boomerang merging with Max has caused more complaints against the company and its management in the last few years.
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From those who believe that Warner Bros. Discovery is being stripped to the bone ready for a takeover bid by Comcast, to others who simply don’t believe the company has been managed correctly for the last three decades, it seems that even though this latest cost-saving measure doesn’t have much of a negative impact on subscribers, it has just provided more ammunition for those looking criticize the current management team of one of Hollywood’s most iconic studios.