If everything goes according to plan, Warner Bros. Discovery is about to be acquired by Paramount Skydance for $111 billion, and ahead of that deal, Warner Bros. officially wiped an entire brand that has been a part of Cartoon Network for years. With Warner Bros. Discovery and everything under its umbrella getting ready to become a part of Paramount, fans are witnessing multiple changes to the Warner Bros. Discovery brand, and will likely get to see even more changes being made after the acquisition goes through. One part of Warner Bros., which already made headlines in previous months and years, was affected in the worst way possible, as it seemingly is gone altogether.
As of September 25, Cartoon Network's preschool programming-focused brand, Cartoonito, has seemingly become nonexistent in the United States, as the brand's section has entirely disappeared from the Cartoon Network app, and all of the brand's shows have been grouped in with regular Cartoon Network shows and programming. As mentioned, this move comes as Paramount Skydance is in the process of officially and legally acquiring Warner Bros. Discovery, Cartoon Network's parent company.
For reference, Cartoon Network and Cartoonito were already heavily affected by the merger previously. When Cartoonito was first introduced in 2021, it was given an eight-hour block on Cartoon Network. Through the years, its block was heavily reduced a little at a time, until, in 2025, Cartoonito shows were only shown in 30-minute blocks without any branding.
In May 2025, Warner Bros. Discovery eliminated the brand altogether, as Cartoonito's programming block was removed from the Cartoon Network schedule with seemingly no warning, meaning that it was taken off of the air entirely.
However, it is worth noting that, despite not being on Cartoon Network's programming schedule, Cartoonito still existed after May 2025. The brand had the strongest presence on the Cartoon Network app, where it was given a page entirely dedicated to the preschool-focused projects.
However, as mentioned, beginning September 25, Cartoonito was removed from the Cartoon Network app in the United States, just like the brand was scrubbed from Cartoon Network's programming schedule around a year-and-a-half earlier.
It is also worth mentioning that, after the Warner Bros. Discovery and Paramount Skydance merger was announced, a lot of shows under the Cartoonito umbrella were canceled entirely. For example, Scooby-Doo! and The Mystery Pups were thrown away entirely, and Tom and Jerry Time was released outside of the United States (when it was originally supposed to air on Cartoonito).
So, Cartoonito essentially doesn't exist in the United States any longer, at least regarding Cartoon Network's television programming and the official app. Cartoonito's official YouTube channel is still active, though, as new videos are posted on an almost-daily basis. The brand also livestreams episodes of its TV shows 24/7 on YouTube, so Cartoonito is staying alive in the United States that way.
Cartoonito still airs internationally, so it also still has a little bit of life in other places. However, with the way everything in the entertainment industry is trending, and the sacrifices Warner Bros. has already had to make for Paramount, it would not be a surprise if Cartoonito ceases to exist entirely, all around the world, within the next year or two.
Will Cartoon Network Get Shut Down?
Cartoon Network has already had to suffer major cutbacks thanks to Paramount's acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery, and many fans are frankly worried that, once the merger is complete, Paramount could shut down the entire Cartoon Network brand.
Those worries aren't anything to blow off. Paramount is already the parent company of Nickelodeon, a brand that has its own branches of children's and preschool programming. Throughout the years, Nickelodeon has seen a lot of success, so it wouldn't be too shocking if Paramount simply decided to merge Cartoon Network into Nickelodeon, thus essentially ending Cartoon Network altogether.
That is, more or less, exactly what happened with Cartoonito, as the surviving shows from that brand were eventually grouped in with Cartoon Network titles and programming in general. If the same were to happen with Cartoon Network and Nickelodeon (with, in this case, Cartoon Network being merged into Nickelodeon), no one would be too surprised.
Paramount could argue that a move such as that would make more sense logistically and financially, and if that were the case, there is no reason the company wouldn't pull the trigger on it.
It is also just a simple fact that Cartoon Network is not as successful as it used to be. Cartoons and children's animated shows aren't as popular as they once were, especially with the rise of technology and the access many have to short-form content. Cartoon Network isn't as versatile as Nickelodeon, particularly because Nickelodeon puts a lot of emphasis on different forms of content in both live-action and animation.
Cartoon Network, on the other hand, is obviously geared mostly toward animation. The brand has aired live-action projects before, mainly just to compete with other companies like Nickelodeon and Disney. Essentially all of those titles (like Level Up and Incredible Crew, which aired on a branch of Cartoon Network called CN Real) were experiments around the late 2000s and early 2010s, but Cartoon Network never found much success with them.
All of that said, Cartoon Network is just not as safe as something like Nickelodeon. After the merger, if Paramount needed to cut something in that realm, Cartoon Network would likely be in more jeopardy than other brands.
Fans would, of course, be devastated. Cartoon Network has been around since 1992, and has been the home of some of the most beloved animated series of all time. However, it all boils down to companies and brands needing to change with the times, and for something like Cartoon Network, where the content is a bit more niche, that is easier said than done.
