What WarnerMedia is going to with Discovery Family after the 2022 merger?

[Moe]

That's interesting. They should do it more often.

I do think that they start to do digital subchannels to carry family programming and I noticed that digital subchannels are growing like wild, but sadly, I cannot get those in great picture quality due to poor reception in my area. Our house is in the valley with huge hills and mountain surrounds. If I was in NYC, DC or LA so it would be different story, even able to get all channels with cheap rabbit antenna, but in here, you need very expensive outdoor antenna and recommended to be installed by professionals.

I wish that there are free local channels via online.

That could work. Make a retro Saturday morning block if they wanted to.

Yes, those shows heavily re-run in 1990s and that how I remembered a lot.

Tom & Jerry Kids helped to remove the bad reputation from shows in 70s and 80s, also it was major improvement as broadcast channels start to loosen the standards and practices rule, so this and Tiny Toon Adventures won't survive if 70s rule is in place.

Oh yeah, I heard about that. I remember when the Boomerang streaming service was announced in 2017, they're going to have new original series for the channel and the app. I guess, AT&T pruchased TimeWarner in 2018 and planned on doing HBO Max, plans for Boomerang originals came and went so quickly.

Yes, WB abandoned Boomerang app and they haven't add new contents since 2019, I think so. However, it is useful if you want to access to most Popeyes and MGM shorts and some rare LT/MM shorts that aren't available on HBO Max. They have all episodes of Yogi Bear and Huckleberry Hound that you can't find somewhere.

Yup, it's Cartoon Network 2.

Exactly, we need to retool Boomerang to make truly retro channel and send 90s and 2000s CN original shows to air on DF instead.

WarnerMedia seems not know about what they do and CN schedule is awful nowadays, even no diverse of different programming anymore, definitely not 1994 or 2004.

 

[LinusFan303]

I think I've said this before ,probably in the Future of Discovery Family thread, but I could see it being replaced by Boomerang since Discovery Family has more carriage, Comcast has never carried Boomerang. Plus it has an HD feed that's widely carried and can give Boomerang a HD broadcast.

Now, I know "what about the Boomerang Channel feed?" , well they end that one so providers would be happy not to have to carry one more channel than they already have, especially one that's carried as SD only.

There's no way Discovery Family is going back to being a big kids channel anymore, they hung up that act in 2014, they acquired instead, good thing AT&T was awful because they are AT&T and Discovery got to buy Warner Media for 66 million dollars less than AT&T did. It's sad, but you it's something that was seen from a miles away.

Discovery currently focuses on Discovery Channel, Science Channel, Investigation Discovery , HGTV, Food Network(Co-owned by Nexstar) , Magnolia Network (which replaces DIY) , Travel Channel (kind of) , OWN, Motortrend (the network and streaming service)

Discovery Life, AHC, GAC( is being sold to someone else) , Discovery Family, DIY (read above), Destination America are mostly dead rerun channels.

Animal Planet, Cooking Chanel, and TLC confused me so I'm not sure where to put them.

Warner has focus on TNT, TBS (still making new scripted shows and unscripted, plus sports) Cartoon Network, CNN, TCM is a special case, but not dead. That's it.

Tru TV is kind of stuck, they may use it for sports over run , same with HLN which has one news show then gives up for the day, it's programming after news is redundant with Investigation Discovery.

Boomerang is floating in the drift.... not sure what it's for, just there. Warner was cleaner with channels than say Viacom or Discovery. It will be interesting to see where they want to go with this.

Discovery should do some clean up, there's nothing wrong with rerun channels, per say, but it would make sense to have a little house cleaning. Discovery Family mostly airs stuff that could air on Discovery Life, Destination America, Cooking Channel (which seems less primary than Food Network) and stream on the Plus.
Moving Boomerang to Discovery Family's spot would still be mostly reruns but at least might be serviceable. The other thing is Discovery might not do anything and just speed on as long they can as status quo and just focus on core brands and be happy.

I know a lot of people miss the Hub, but it's probably for the best it's not running now, we would have probably ended up getting threads about how they are running one show a day now, or remember when the hub was good? or something. It was a special network, we'll never probably have like again, but at least they were mad enough to try it.

 

[Moe]

Tru TV is kind of stuck, they may use it for sports over run

TruTV used to be crime and reality shows, especially towing shows but not anymore after 2014. I used to love TruTV but now, I dislike it. TruTV did great job to get me out of depression by laughing very hard.

Boomerang is floating in the drift.... not sure what it's for, just there. Warner was cleaner with channels than say Viacom or Discovery. It will be interesting to see where they want to go with this.

I do think that Boomerang has favorable TV schedule when compared to CN but sadly, Boomerang and DF aren't accessible by many households because cable and satellite companies put both in expensive, high tier.

 

[JMTV]

I do think that they start to do digital subchannels to carry family programming and I noticed that digital subchannels are growing like wild, but sadly, I cannot get those in great picture quality due to poor reception in my area. Our house is in the valley with huge hills and mountain surrounds. If I was in NYC, DC or LA so it would be different story, even able to get all channels with cheap rabbit antenna, but in here, you need very expensive outdoor antenna and recommended to be installed by professionals.

I wish that there are free local channels via online.

Sure, I can see that.

Yes, those shows heavily re-run in 1990s and that how I remembered a lot.

Tom & Jerry Kids helped to remove the bad reputation from shows in 70s and 80s, also it was major improvement as broadcast channels start to loosen the standards and practices rule, so this and Tiny Toon Adventures won't survive if 70s rule is in place.

That's interesting.

Yes, WB abandoned Boomerang app and they haven't add new contents since 2019, I think so. However, it is useful if you want to access to most Popeyes and MGM shorts and some rare LT/MM shorts that aren't available on HBO Max. They have all episodes of Yogi Bear and Huckleberry Hound that you can't find somewhere.

I used to subscribe Boomerang app around the same time HBO Max came out last year, but I quickly lost interest because I thought HBO Max had much bigger and better library and most CN Studios produced series from the 2000's should've gone to HBO Max from the get-go anyway.

The Boom app was fine for what it was and at least it had a decent selection of content, but the UI and design didn't really appeal to me, in my opinion.

Exactly, we need to retool Boomerang to make truly retro channel and send 90s and 2000s CN original shows to air on DF instead.

That would be awesome, but I doubt that's gonna happen.

WarnerMedia seems not know about what they do and CN schedule is awful nowadays, even no diverse of different programming anymore, definitely not 1994 or 2004.

That's sadly true. Even the late 2000's to early 2010's CN had better variety than we got now.

There's no way Discovery Family is going back to being a big kids channel anymore, they hung up that act in 2014, they acquired instead, good thing AT&T was awful because they are AT&T and Discovery got to buy Warner Media for 66 million dollars less than AT&T did. It's sad, but you it's something that was seen from a miles away.

Fair enough.

Animal Planet, Cooking Chanel, and TLC confused me so I'm not sure where to put them.

I guess somewhere in the middle. Sometimes they do care, sometimes they don't care. It's very wishey-washey.

Discovery should do some clean up, there's nothing wrong with rerun channels, per say, but it would make sense to have a little house cleaning. Discovery Family mostly airs stuff that could air on Discovery Life, Destination America, Cooking Channel (which seems less primary than Food Network) and stream on the Plus.
Moving Boomerang to Discovery Family's spot would still be mostly reruns but at least might be serviceable. The other thing is Discovery might not do anything and just speed on as long they can as status quo and just focus on core brands and be happy.

I understand.

I know a lot of people miss the Hub, but it's probably for the best it's not running now, we would have probably ended up getting threads about how they are running one show a day now, or remember when the hub was good? or something. It was a special network, we'll never probably have like again, but at least they were mad enough to try it.

Yeah, I definitely do understand. The Hub was a very special network for it's time due to it's experimentation and creativity. It was a fun network while it lasted. At least I can say, that I'm glad that The Hub was recognized all because of the huge success of MLP. If it wasn't for that show, The Hub would've faded into obscurity similar to Fox Family, but even quicker.

Moving forward, the channels that was closest thing was similar to The Hub, in terms of airing primetime reruns, was Cozi TV and Uplifting Entertainment. Even then, Cozi had better programming, while UP had better branding, IMO.

I do think that Boomerang has favorable TV schedule when compared to CN but sadly, Boomerang and DF aren't accessible by many households because cable and satellite companies put both in expensive, high tier.

Sure, Boomerang's schedule nowadays were "favorable" compared to CN, but that's not saying much since I still hate their 2015 branding, back then and now.

 

[Silverstar]

we need to retool Boomerang to make truly retro channel and send 90s and 2000s CN original shows to air on DF instead.

WarnerMedia seems not know about what they do and CN schedule is awful nowadays, even no diverse of different programming anymore, definitely not 1994 or 2004.

1. That ship has sailed a long time ago. Retro channels have gone the way of the Edsel. The audience clamoring for 60's to '00's nostalgia is too narrow a market for a channel devoted solely to it to work anymore. Something like that could conceivably work as a programming block (provided the people in charge of said block regularly rotated the shows to keep the lineup from getting stale and it aired during a non-peak viewing hour), but as a 24/7 linear network with no new or original shows, I can almost guarantee that such a channel would be remade into a general entertainment channel inside of 2 years. Retro channels were more of a thing back in the late 80's through mid-90's when there were like 30-something channels that aired all or mostly repeats, but the industry has changed a lot since then.

2. This is why Tom Ascheim is adding the Cartoonito block, shows aimed at girls and families and live-action/hybrid shows to the network. Ironically, CN seems to be planning what they had planned to do to Boomerang years earlier. We have to wait and see if this strategy will work, but it can't be worse than the current glut of Teen Titans GO!, Gumball and Steven Universe reruns.

 

[Goldstar!]

Exactly, we need to retool Boomerang to make truly retro channel and send 90s and 2000s CN original shows to air on DF instead.

That would never work now. Retro channels have zero staying power. Even formerly retro channels like TV Land have had to become general entertainment channels in order to stay afloat. Without original programming, a retro channel wouldn't last longer than a year or two.

I think that Boomerang should go back to being a block on Cartoon Network. The only chance Discovery Family has of being relevant would be if it had it's own original programming, but Discovery isn't interested in making scripted shows and Warner Bros. has no need for a third kid's channel.

 

[JMTV]

This is why Tom Ascheim is adding the Cartoonito block, shows aimed at girls and families and live-action/hybrid shows to the network.

Also, a family movie night block on weekends.

I think that Boomerang should go back to being a block on Cartoon Network. The only chance Discovery Family has of being relevant would be if it had it's own original programming, but Discovery isn't interested in making scripted shows and Warner Bros. has no need for a third kid's channel.

True. I think a Boomerang block on CN should be on Saturdays and Sunday mornings.

 

[Moe]

1. That ship has sailed a long time ago. Retro channels have gone the way of the Edsel. The audience clamoring for 60's to '00's nostalgia is too narrow a market for a channel devoted solely to it to work anymore. Something like that could conceivably work as a programming block (provided the people in charge of said block regularly rotated the shows to keep the lineup from getting stale and it aired during a non-peak viewing hour), but as a 24/7 linear network with no new or original shows, I can almost guarantee that such a channel would be remade into a general entertainment channel inside of 2 years. Retro channels were more of a thing back in the late 80's through mid-90's when there were like 30-something channels that aired all or mostly repeats, but the industry has changed a lot since then.

That would never work now. Retro channels have zero staying power. Even formerly retro channels like TV Land have had to become general entertainment channels in order to stay afloat. Without original programming, a retro channel wouldn't last longer than a year or two.

Ask Cozi and MeTV - they are doing well with retro channels, or channel with completely re-run of shows. TV Land and Logo abandoned the new original series.

There is no point for Boomerang to have new original series and new originals should air on CN instead. Boomerang is basically re-run of TV shows that previously aired on CN and other networks, especially legacy Saturday morning cartoons.

Discovery Family doesn't make any sense and if Hasbro truly care about viewership so they should push to air on main Discovery channel, but Hasbro moved the new original shows to Netflix. Discovery Family is becoming re-run of TV shows.

I think that Boomerang should go back to being a block on Cartoon Network. The only chance Discovery Family has of being relevant would be if it had it's own original programming, but Discovery isn't interested in making scripted shows and Warner Bros. has no need for a third kid's channel.

but Cartoonito is going to be a morning block on CN soon and that left no room for Boomerang to occupy as separate block.

I do think that is best interest for Boomerang to run as secondary channel like they are doing right now with few new original series and they get about average 100,000 viewers and re-run shows in rotation from WB and CN libraries.

I blame on cable and satellite companies to put Boomerang and DF on higher tier package that lead to not successful for both channels, so it would be very different if they are basic tier. Tell cable and satellite to reclassify as basic tier can fix the problem or combined to offer as digital subchannel. Hulu included Boomerang as basic tier but DF didn't get same treatment.

WarnerMedia needs to do better job with CN's schedule if they want to see as main channel but schedule is going to be very tight after Cartoonito launches and if Adult Swim doesn't reduce the hours.

Discovery has plenty of channels, so Discovery and Warner may have a lot of opportunities to fix to make useful to viewers.

 

[JMTV]

WarnerMedia needs to do better job with CN's schedule if they want to see as main channel but schedule is going to be very tight after Cartoonito launches and if Adult Swim doesn't reduce the hours.

I'm betting Adult Swim will air at 9pm or 10pm once Cartoonito aired. 11 at best. Honestly, I don't understand why Adult Swim has to aired at 8pm since 2014.

 

[Moe]

I'm betting Adult Swim will air at 9pm or 10pm once Cartoonito aired. 11 at best. Honestly, I don't understand why Adult Swim has to aired at 8pm since 2014.

I live in central time zone and Adult Swim started from 7 pm to 5 am.

Higher rating pushed Adult Swim to extend and extend so they can make more money from ads revenues. They care about money over value and moral.

I know some parents block CN as whole because they cannot block Adult Swim only, ouch.

I don’t know if Adult Swim is going to reduce the hours and we may find out about more next month.

 

[JMTV]

I don’t know if Adult Swim is going to reduce the hours and we may find out about more next month.

Fair enough.

 

[Moe]

Fair enough.

I heard that Adult Swim's rating is down because of streaming service like HBO Max so they likely to be ready to see the reduce in hours.

They should remove acquired adult animated shows to narrow the hours between 10 pm or 11 pm and 6 am or 4 am, so acquired adult animated shows can air on TBS or TruTV instead.

There is hypothetical statement - if federal law ban on adult blocks on children's channel so Adult Swim is going to be removed and move to TBS and Boomerang likely to occupy late night schedule, or more worse, re-run of TTG all night lol.

 

[Goldstar!]

Ask Cozi and MeTV - they are doing well with retro channels, or channel with completely re-run of shows. TV Land and Logo abandoned the new original series.

Cozi and MeTV are over the air channels that people can watch for free. I'm talking about cable and satellite. That's a whole different ball game.

There is no point for Boomerang to have new original series and new originals should air on CN instead. Boomerang is basically re-run of TV shows that previously aired on CN and other networks, especially legacy Saturday morning cartoons.

Ideally, that's true, but the sad fact is that retro channels with no original content don't make their parent companies make any money other than subscription fees. Advertisers don't want to run spots on a channel that doesn't show anything new.

Discovery Family doesn't make any sense and if Hasbro truly care about viewership so they should push to air on main Discovery channel, but Hasbro moved the new original shows to Netflix. Discovery Family is becoming re-run of TV shows.

Hasbro doesn't care about Disc Fam anymore. That's the whole point. They're now partnered with Entertainment One and are content to just sell out their content to whomever makes them the best offer.

but Cartoonito is going to be a morning block on CN soon and that left no room for Boomerang to occupy as separate block.

Sure there is. There's late nights and weekends. Basically any non-peak viewing hour.

I do think that is best interest for Boomerang to run as secondary channel like they are doing right now with few new original series and they get about average 100,000 viewers and re-run shows in rotation from WB and CN libraries.

Nobody's watching Boomerang (the channel) anymore. Boom is just Cartoon Network's recycle bin. Beyond that, the channel serves no real purpose. It's not making WB any real money, so they don't care about it. Boomerang will likely just end becoming a button on HBO Max.

I blame on cable and satellite companies to put Boomerang and DF on higher tier package that lead to not successful for both channels, so it would be very different if they are basic tier. Tell cable and satellite to reclassify as basic tier can fix the problem or combined to offer as digital subchannel. Hulu included Boomerang as basic tier but DF didn't get same treatment.

Much of the blame should internet streaming services because those have made digital bonus channels like Boomerang, Nicktoons and Disney X-D irrelevant.

WarnerMedia needs to do better job with CN's schedule if they want to see as main channel but schedule is going to be very tight after Cartoonito launches and if Adult Swim doesn't reduce the hours.

Discovery has plenty of channels, so Discovery and Warner may have a lot of opportunities to fix to make useful to viewers.

Which is why they don't need Disc Fam for anything. Disc Fam doesn't even have any of it's own shows that are exclusive to the channel, which would need to happen for Disc Fam to flourish. Discovery officially washed their collective hands on children's entertainment when The Hub ended in 2014.

 

[JMTV]

I heard that Adult Swim's rating is down because of streaming service like HBO Max so they likely to be ready to see the reduce in hours.

I wouldn't be surprised.

Hasbro doesn't care about Disc Fam anymore. That's the whole point. They're now partnered with Entertainment One and are content to just sell out their content to whomever makes then the best offer.

True, but how come Hasbro still partnered with Discovery even though don't care about DF anymore? If they don't care about DF, Hasbro should rip up their contract and moved on to something else by now.

 

[Silverstar]

WarnerMedia needs to do better job with CN's schedule if they want to see as main channel but schedule is going to be very tight after Cartoonito launches and if Adult Swim doesn't reduce the hours.

That's just it, though: Cartoon Network doesn't want to program for all those hours, that's why they gave them up. When Cartoonito rolls in it'll occupy 8 hours on CN's daily schedule; [adult swim] will keep its' 11 hours, leaving 6 hours for the Powers That Be to program for CN. 6 hours is easier to program for than 24, which is what they want: for the extended blocks to do the heavy lifting. Anything else they want people to see they can run on HBO Max, which people have to subscribe to, which puts more money in their pockets. Cha-Ching!

how come Hasbro still partnered with Discovery even though don't care about DF anymore? If they don't care about DF, Hasbro should rip up their contract and moved on to something else by now.

Hasbro has since divested their shares in Discovery Family and their contract with Discovery as I understand it is set to expire soon (sometime in 2022 or 2023, IIRC). I don't know what they're going to do for certain of course, but it wouldn't surprise me if they simply cut their losses and moved on once they're contractually free, especially given their recent partnership with eOne. It's possible that Hasbro/eOne could start running shows on DiscFam, but that would involve Discovery and Hasbro renewing their partnership, which I don't see happening.

 

[Moe]

Cozi and MeTV are over the air channels that people can watch for free. I'm talking about cable and satellite. That's a whole different ball game.

Yes but some cable and satellite channels are secondary channels, known as re-run without new originals and some Discovery channels are nothing but full of re-run shows. Cable usually include MeTV and Cozi as well, especially if viewers have no access to those channels due to poor reception, also Dish carry both as well.

Is it helpful if WB is going to convert Boomerang from cable channel to OTA subchannel?

Ideally, that's true, but the sad fact is that retro channels with no original content don't make their parent companies make any money other than subscription fees. Advertisers don't want to run spots on a channel that doesn't show anything new.

Do they use as tax write off? I'm not expert in tax stuff that associated with studios.

Why does Boomerang continue to have ads supported channel if they don't have a lot of viewers? Few members disagree with me when I said Boomerang has less viewers and few members think that Boomerang has a lot of viewers, so that left me in confusion.

Sure there is. There's late nights and weekends. Basically any non-peak viewing hour.

That is fair, Boomerang block on Saturday and Sunday morning should work well and late night too if WB is ready to give Adult Swim up.

Honest, it don't make any sense for CN to have Adult Swim's block, IMO.

Nobody's watching Boomerang (the channel) anymore. Boom is just Cartoon Network's recycle bin. Beyond that, the channel serves no real purpose. It's not making WB any real money, so they don't care about it. Boomerang will likely just end becoming a button on HBO Max.

I don't think that Boomerang is recycled bin because they air LT/MM, Tom & Jerry and Scooby-Doo that is completely abandoned by CN but I do agree if Boomerang's schedule is filled with full of re-run of original CN series that they tried after rebrand in 2015. Boomerang changed, then backtracked. I have no understanding with Boomerang's point about rebranding because we thought that they goes fill with full of original CN series at first place after rebrand.

There are some viewers who have satellite TV and has no broadband access because of remote area, find necessary to have Boomerang to watch classic LT/MM and Tom & Jerry.

Much of the blame should internet streaming services because those have made digital bonus channels like Boomerang, Nicktoons and Disney X-D irrelevant.

Sure, I'm wonder about why take too long for studios to close those channels? NBCUniversal is only one of few corporation that went to close channels quickly.

Which is why they don't need Disc Fam for anything. Disc Fam doesn't even have any of it's own shows that are exclusive to the channel, which would need to happen for Disc Fam to flourish. Discovery officially washed their collective hands on children's entertainment when The Hub ended in 2014.

Yes, that why I added shut DF down as option in my post #4 and it is difficult to make a projection about whichever channels in the US will be closed. That leave us to make a lot of speculation.

That's just it, though: Cartoon Network doesn't want to programs for all those hours, that's why they gave them up. When Cartoonito rolls in it'll occupy 8 hours on CN's schedule; [adult swim] will keep its' 11 hours, leaving 6 hours for the Powers That Be to program for CN. 6 hours is easier to program for than 24, which is what they want: for the extended blocks to do the heavy lifting. Anything else they want people to see they can run on HBO Max, which people have to subscribe to, which puts money in their pockets. Cha-Ching!

That is sad to see and CN was my favorite channel in 1990s but I'm not happy with schedules for most TV channels nowadays.

What next? Make new TTG Junior show for Cartoonito and professor would be Robin to tell preschoolers to fly in the sky, so preschoolers ask their parents if their minivan or SUV can fly lol.

 

[JMTV]

Hasbro has since divested their shares in Discovery Family and their contract with Discovery as I understand it is set to expire soon (sometime in 2022 or 2023, IIRC). I don't know what they're going to do for certain of course, but it wouldn't surprise me if they simply cut their losses and moved on once they're contractually free, especially given their recent partnership with eOne. It's possible that Hasbro/eOne could start running shows on DiscFam, but that would involve Discovery and Hasbro renewing their partnership, which I don't see happening.

Ok, l understand.

 

[Silverstar]

That is fair, Boomerang block on Saturday and Sunday morning should work well and late night too if WB is ready to give Adult Swim up.

Honest, it don't make any sense for CN to have Adult Swim's block, IMO.

[adult swim] makes Cartoon Network too much money and earns them big ratings, not to mention that Cartoon Network willingly gave up the nighttime hours years ago; they don't want to run kids' cartoons at night when kids aren't awake to watch them, as sponsors consider that to be a waste of advertising dollars; the [adult swim] block isn't going anywhere.

 

[Moe]

I'm just shared my view that isn't realistic and I already know that CN will never give Adult Swim up, anyway.

Live channels are going to be more useless in the future unless you have no access to reliable internet to stream.

 

[JMTV]

Did they have Hub Network primetime series and movies on either of those channels? Also, which one has the best branding and bumpers? I would say TV Land, but the current one killed it for me.

Yeesh, that bolded part hasn't aged well.

I must've underestimate TV Land currently since I rely on memory of the 2015 rebrand. I take a look at TV Land's current branding, and I really like it.

It does goes back to their classic roots, but more fresh and new. Their bumpers are really good. It does have that Hub 2014 look, but more TV Land style. The programming they had are really great and had great variety despite being marathon-y in terms of it's schedule. Although, they could add more shows to give the network a bit more variety, but hey I'll take it what I can get.

Other than that, I change my mind. I'll go with TV Land being the best version of The Hub right now, in terms of airing old and new primetime reruns and great bumpers.

I know it's a bit off topic, but to answer the main topic question upon reflection? I don't think WarnerMedia is going to change Discovery Family anytime soon since the company is focusing on making content and blocks for Cartoon Network and HBO Max now than something like Discovery Family and Boomerang, even if they merged.

Discovery Family is not relevant anymore and the channel is completely dead to me. Same thing with Boomerang. I apologize for keep beating a dead horse. For now on, I'm just gonna move on.