HBO Max has reportedly removed almost every Cartoon Network throwback title available in its streaming library, the most recent ones being pulled on Thursday after their license deals expired.
With HBO Max now back to its original title, Warner Bros. Discovery is continuing an ongoing shift to adult and family programming at HBO Max and away from children’s content.
It began with a slate of children’s animated series being removed from the platform in 2022. Late last year, Max ended the deal for Sesame Street original episodes.
In January this year, a purge began of the network’s old animated content, with shows like “Ed, Edd & Eddy” and “Teen Titans” pulled. Since then, dozens of others have been removed as well, including “The Flintstones,” “The Jetsons,” “Looney Tunes,” “Yogi Bear,” “The Smurfs,” “Samurai Jack,” “Jonny Quest,” “Harvey Birdman” and “The Powerpuff Girls”.
As a result of the newest purge, which saw “Courage the Cowardly Dog” pulled, it appears “Scooby Doo, Where Are You!” and “The Scooby Doo Show” are the only old animated shows still available to stream on the service. The streamer will also lose access to “South Park” from August 5th.
The loss of these vintage cartoons has drawn understandable ire online with a lot of complaints on social media.
New kids animated series that premiere on Cartoon Network will continue to find their way to HBO Max though with shows like “Toad and Friends” and “Iyanu” hitting the streamer later this month.
Source: Deadline
