As it tries to woo advertisers with varied offerings across its unified kids and family unit, Warner Media LLC is placing a high emphasis on the preschool audience, including an extended block that will run on Cartoon Network / Adult Swim (US) and streaming service HBO Max.
During its virtual kids and family upfront on Feb.17, Tom Ascheim, president of Warner Bros. Global Kids, Young Adults and Classics, discussed a number of changes, including the preschool push, the integration of various content units under the Cartoon Network umbrella and a new tag line. Ascheim, a former Walt Disney Co. and Viacom executive, took the post at Warner Bros. last year.
Warner Media Kids & Family is vying for the attention of children and their parents not only from traditional linear competitors such as Nickelodeon/Nick At Nite (US) and Disney Channel (US), which are included in the streaming services Paramount+ and Disney+, respectively. It is also competing with subscription video-on-demand players Netflix Inc. and Amazon.com Inc.'s Prime Video.
"Bugs Bunny Builders" and "Thomas & Friends: All Engines Go" are among the 20 series that will bow this fall, with the preschool programming docket pointing to 50 new shows by the end of its sophomore year. The Cartoonito block, which will also draw from library and acquired fare, will run from 6 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Cartoon Network and will be available on HBO Max, which continues its content partnership with Sesame Workshop.
Cartoonito is based on the proprietary preschool educational framework of Humancentric Learning, which espouses the values of empathy, respect and fairness.
As part of the virtual event, Ascheim and Warner Media Head of Advertising JP Colaco discussed how characters and programming from various properties — Cartoon Network Studios, Warner Bros. Animation, DC Comics and Harry Potter franchise — will now be housed together under Cartoon Network as the centralized brand.
In the upfront season, content providers sell ad schedules to media agencies and their clients within their linear and digital offerings ahead of the upcoming TV season. In-person upfront presentations last year were canceled in deference to the health risks posed by COVID-19, a practice that is continuing this year as the pandemic lingers.
For advertisers, the new Cartoon Network provides vastly expanded reach, including a digital footprint that is 2.5x larger than that of Nickelodeon, relative to unique viewers, according to Colaco.
He said the added scale will allow sponsors to take advantage of a "galaxy of opportunities" that also includes working with the company's theatrical and consumer product goods units.
Speaking of movies, Cartoon Network will house a weekend block, as part of an effort to further capitalize on co-viewing trends that have accelerated during the pandemic. In the presentation, Warner Media noted that 61% of kids 3 to 11 have an impact on household buying decisions.
All told, the game plan calls for some 300 hours of original series, including specials and live-action shows aimed at girls. It also includes acquisitions that will appear on Cartoon Network and HBO Max, which is expected to launch an ad-supported version in the second quarter. These new originals are in addition to the 3,000 hours of premium library content also coming to all of Warner Media's platforms.
To underline the changes, Warner Media will deploy the new tagline "Redraw Your World," and Cartoon Network has signed a musician-in-residence deal with 10-year-old Nandi Bushell to create multiplatform promotional content.