Rumour: TNT Is Being Discontinued As A General Entertainment Brand Across Africa

By the end of March, several Boomerang feeds across Europe will replaced by Cartoonito. A new preschool destination offering fun, imaginative and entertaining content with shows like Batwheels, Interstellar Ella and Bugs Bunny Builders.

As mentioned last month, Boomerang might not be the only feed to get supplemented by another brand later in the year even the likes of TNT is said to be phased out for a more modern brand, Warner TV.

According to a press release in Spain, TNT is being discontinued as a general entertainment brand across Europe, with Spain set to rebrand the channel to Warner TV from April 14. Joining regions such as Poland, Latin America and Romania.

This was kind of expected after the UK announced the relaunch of TNT but as a sports channel something Warner Bros. Discovery wants to incorporate globally.

Of course, Warner Bros. Discovery in Africa remains silent about the upcoming developments on TNT and their silence further boosts speculation of a possible rebrand. TNT is also celebrating 100 years of Warner Bros. as the above-mentioned regions for Warner TV.

The only thing I'm curious about with this new brand name is how it will be any different from TNT. Cause honestly I can see them continuing to reserve it as a movie brand as we got more modern films and less TCM these past months with Venom and Suicide Squad.

But most Warner TV's are seen airing made for TV series so chances are we could get something similar if not the usual films and wrestling. The channel is male oriented, perhaps a selection of Adult Swim would make much sense at this point.

My hunch is that TNT Africa will probably rebrand in April or May. My guess on why Warner Bros. Discovery has yet to talk about the channel has to do with the upcoming rollout of Cartoonito. They want to put more emphasis on that and by next month or so focus on TNT.

Recap From The Past Decade: Cartoon Network Is Experiencing Some Minor Setbacks

Cartoon Network is a children's based entertainment channel owned by Warner Bros. Discovery that is home to various animation such as We Baby Bears, Teen Titans GO!, Craig Of The Creek, Summer Camp Island and The Adventures Of Ivanhoe.

As seen this past decade, Cartoon Network has been branded off as The Teen Titans GO! Channel for some regions they tend to incorporate 2 other shows into the mix but when those fade away these wacky crime fighters are what's left of the channel.

I know some are probably annoyed by the show but you've got to admit kids love TTG! if it was able to live past 7 seasons and get 2 feature films and soon a spinoff Teen Titans GO! Presents The Night Begins To Shine.

For a while I thought the channel didn't care about most of their original shows as you had shows like Summer Camp Island getting brushed off on Sunday mornings, popular shows like OK! KO Let's Be Heroes becoming the least promoted show during its run on the channel.

But it wasn't until last year where we got a clear idea as to why Cartoon Network became The Teen Titans GO! Channel apparently the WarnerMedia part of Warner Bros. Discovery had been producing content with no proof of financial return on top of carrying a huge debt.

It led to speculation that Warner Bros. Discovery was shutting down the most popular channel in the African market and global but luckily the network acknowledged that and were able to put these people to sleep.

From what was mentioned last year, Warner Bros. Discovery is trying to turn Cartoon Network into an animation brand for kids and young adults I mean we got upcoming shows like Unicorn Warriors Eternal, Invincible Fight Girl and Tiny Toons Looniversity.

Can I say that of their upcoming slate are in development hell I mean some consumers were quick to speculate the demise of Cartoonito after their hours on Cartoon Network was reduced alongside the demise of Little Ellen and Scooby-Doo And The Mystery Pups.

Without realising that the main network is hovered with problems as well. As mentioned their yet-to-be-seen original slate has been delayed several times already UWC was meant to launch in 2021 and till now it hasn't been released.

Notice how the channel only has 1 original show which hasn't been cancelled We Baby Bears seeing as Teen Titans GO! is kind of under Warner Bros. Animation. Internationally, it is being covered up with shows like Lego Monkie Kid, Jade Armor and Big Blue.

All the more reason to show that Cartoonito isn't the only brand presented with obstacles even Cartoon Network.

Recap To The Past Week: Scooby-Doo And The Mystery Pups No Longer Moving Forward On HBO Max, Cartoonito Remains Safe In Case You're Wondering

Cartoonito is a brand name Warner Bros. Discovery gives to their preschool offering and by the end of the March it would have replaced several Boomerang feeds across Europe. As seen this past week, Cartoonito lost another original show, Scooby-Doo And The Mystery Pups.

Announced in 2022, Scooby-Doo And The Mystery Pups was meant to serve as the first ever preschool series for the Scooby-Doo franchise. It would have featured Scooby and Shaggy as camp counselors who would be recruiting three pups as mystery solvers.

In a tweet by animation writer Roger Eschbacher, he mentioned that the show wrapped early as they lost their distribution to HBO Max so they're hoping another platform would pick up the project and this is not the first Scooby-Doo based project to have gotten canned as well.

Last year, they axed SCOOB!: Holiday Haunt despite the wrapping production to the film and curating a soundtrack. Not long ago, two projects had surfaced Haunted Highrise which would have welcomed back The Hex Girls and another on Krypto The Superdog.

Since word on these cancellations came out several consumers have started speculating the demise of Cartoonito. I mean sure the brand had severed some minor setbacks following the cancellation of Little Ellen but there's been some upsides in the process.

Batwheels launched in 2022 and become the most streamed show for preschoolers on HBO Max. Aside from that, it gained popularity internationally the same popularity that is currently found on Cartoon Network for several decades despite the fall in viewership in the U.S.

Paramount Global In Talks With Tyler Perry To Sell Majority Stake In BET

Paramount Global is mulling the possible sale of a majority stake in BET Media Group, which includes the BET cable network, BET Studios and VH1, a source with knowledge of the matter told Reuters.

The company believes BET, an entertainment brand focused on the Black community and culture, would attract substantial interest from Black investors or institutions, said the source, who was not authorized to speak publicly.

BET drew an immediate expression of interest from Byron Allen, whose Allen Media Group's assets include The Weather Channel. A spokesperson for Allen Media Group said it "will be pursuing the acquisition of the network."

Media mogul Tyler Perry, the actor and producer best known for the "Madea" movie franchise, also is interested bidding, according to the Wall Street Journal and various Hollywood trade publications.

Perry has a longstanding relationship with Paramount, partnering with the media company to launch the BET+ subscription service in 2019. He retains a minority stake in the service.

Paramount also formed BET Studios in 2021 through a partnership with "Black-ish" creator Kenya Barris, actress Rashida Jones and "S.W.A.T" co-creator Aaron Rahsaan Thomas.

Paramount hopes to maintain a minority stake to benefit from any value that might be unlocked by the transaction, the source said.

The Wall Street Journal first reported that Paramount was exploring a possible sale of BET as it looks to improve its balance sheet.

Press Release: TNT To Become Warner TV In Spain As Part Of Global Celebration Of Warner Bros. Studios 100th Anniversary

Under the slogan "Pure entertainment", Warner TV will offer a wide range of internationally successful film and series programming, which includes an extensive catalog of reference titles from the prestigious Warner Bros. Studio.

Warner Bros. Discovery launches its new entertainment channel Warner TV on April 14, coinciding with the international celebration of the 100th anniversary of Warner Bros. Studios. The brand, under the slogan "Pure entertainment", will offer a wide range of internationally successful film and series programming, which includes an extensive catalog of reference titles from the prestigious Warner Bros. studio. The new channel is thus aligned with the Warner TV channels in Europe, already present in France, Italy and Germany.

The new brand will take the place of TNT and, therefore, Warner TV will be present in the main pay television operators maintaining the same dials: Movistar Plus+ (dial 35), Vodafone TV (dial 30), Orange TV (dial 17) , Euskaltel (dial 16), R (dial 22), Telecable (dial 9), Virgin Telco (dial 20), Tivify (dial 16) and through Agile TV (dial 24).

Warner TV's offer is based on pure entertainment, with powerful series and internationally successful movies and, above all, full of stories that will make the viewer dream and exude a great sense of humor. The brand's commitment is to develop an offer of quality content with a triple common denominator: variety, entertainment and lots of fun for all audiences.

For this reason, its programming will be made up of prestigious series, already present on TNT, such as The Rookie, FBI and FBI: International, accompanied by comedies that have become television classics such as Friends, Big Bang or Ghosts. The best Warner Bros. cinema will occupy a privileged place on the channel: it will be the home of the DC Universe with titles such as Joker, Shazam!, Wonder Woman, Aquaman, Justice League or Suicide Squad, along with sagas from the Warner Bros. studio .turned into contemporary classics like The Lord of the Rings, Harry Potter, Fantastic Beasts, Ocean's and Christopher Nolan's Batman and Blade trilogies. To this commitment to quality entertainment, Warner TV will add the premiere on linear pay television of various local and international productions from the Warner Bros. Discovery group. The first of these will be the premiere of Nadie sabe nada, an original program with Andreu Buenafuente and Berto Romero, which has become a benchmark for humor since its birth as a radio program and podcast.

Special Programming
The weekend of the launch, the channel starts with a luxury programming. On Friday, April 14, Warner TV opens with one of DC's most powerful titles: Joker, the film directed by Todd Phillips and starring Joaquin Phoenix, winner of two Oscars and nominated for eleven statuettes.

On Saturday, April 15, the channel will celebrate the centenary of Warner Bros. in style with the broadcast, throughout the day, of emblematic titles of the studio such as Blade, Godzilla: King of the Monsters, Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald, A star is born, The Bodyguard or Wonder Woman, among many others.

To complete the commitment, on the afternoon of Sunday, April 16, Warner TV will premiere in Spain Expedition: Back to the Future, an exciting program of four one-hour episodes produced by Warner Bros. Discovery that will be broadcast as a marathon. A series that will make us live an epic journey in search of DeLorean cars at the hands of Josh Gates and Christopher Lloyd, in which we will visit the most iconic locations in Hollywood where the legendary Back to the Future trilogy was filmed. After the premiere, we will be able to see another of the DC jewels: Aquaman, with an outstanding Jason Momoa playing the king of the underwater nation of Atlantis.

Added to this powerful offer of the linear channel is its Warner TV Now service, which offers 800 episodes of on-demand content made up of Warner TV's reference series, a wide catalog of fiction from Warner Bros. Discovery and original productions from the group such as I don't like driving -which won three Feroz awards in its 2023 edition, including the best comedy series of the year-, Maricón perdido, El gran sarao, Vota Juan and Vamos Juan.

Warner Bros. Discovery officially kicked off its global centennial campaign in January, under the banner Celebrating Every Story, in advance of Warner Bros. Studios 100th Anniversary on April 4, 2023. Throughout this year, around this exceptional birthday, activities and events will be held around the world, to which the brands that make up the Warner Bros. Discovery group will join. The launch of Warner TV in Spain is part of the special actions to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the prestigious Warner Bros. studio.