The Cartoon Network, Inc.

The Cartoon Network, Inc. is an American multinational entertainment company operating as a unit of Warner Bros. Discovery.

Founded by Ted Turner and based out of Atlanta, Georgia, its main properties include its flagship property, Cartoon Network, Boomerang, as well as programming blocks Cartoonito, Adult Swim and Toonami. It is a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Discovery Networks.

History
On March 25, 1986, Turner Broadcasting System acquired Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer/United Artists. On October 18, Turner forcibly sold back MGM. However, Turner kept much of the film and television library made before May 1986 (including some of the UA library) and formed Turner Entertainment Co. On October 8, 1988, its cable channel Turner Network Television was launched and gained an audience with its extensive film library. In 1991, Turner also purchased the library of animation studio Hanna-Barbera. Ted Turner selected Betty Cohen (then-Senior Vice President of TNT) to devise a network to house these programs. On February 18, 1992, Turner Broadcasting announced its plans to launch Cartoon Network as an outlet for an animation library. On March 12, 1992, The Cartoon Network, Inc. was founded one month after Turner's plan was announced. On October 1, 1992, its namesake TV channel officially launched as the first 24-hour single-genre cable channel with animation as its main theme.

In 1994, Hanna-Barbera's new division Cartoon Network Studios was founded and started production on What a Cartoon!. This show debuted in 1995, offering original animated shorts. In 1996, Cartoon Network aired two preschool programs: Big Bag, a live-action/puppet television program with animated short series produced by Children's Television Workshop, and Small World, which featured animated series aimed at preschoolers imported from foreign countries. Turner Broadcasting System merged with Time Warner, which consolidated/reverted ownership of all the Warner Bros. cartoons. The network could then continue more original productions.

From January 4, 1999, Cartoon Network aired Ed, Edd n Eddy until its finale on November 8, 2009, making it the longest running standalone original series in rank.

Acquisition by AT&T
On October 22, 2016, AT&T disclosed an offer to acquire Time Warner for $108.7 billion, including assumed debt held by the latter company. The merger would bring Time Warner's various media properties, including The Cartoon Network, Inc., under the same corporate umbrella as AT&T's telecommunications holdings, including satellite provider DirecTV and IPTV/broadband provider AT&T U-verse. Time Warner shareholders approved the merger on February 15, 2017. On November 20, 2017, the U.S. Department of Justice filed a lawsuit against AT&T and Time Warner in an attempt to block the merger, citing antitrust concerns surrounding the transaction. U.S. clearance of the proposed merger—which had already received approval from European, Mexican, Chilean and Brazilian regulatory authorities—was affirmed by court ruling on June 12, 2018, after District of Columbia U.S. District Court Judge Richard J. Leon ruled in favor of AT&T, and dismissed antitrust claims asserted in the DOJ's lawsuit. The merger closed two days later on June 14, 2018, with Time Warner becoming a wholly owned subsidiary of AT&T, which renamed the unit WarnerMedia. The U.S. Court of Appeals in Washington unanimously upheld the lower court's ruling in favor of AT&T on February 26, 2019.

WarnerMedia-Discovery merger
On May 17, 2021, AT&T and Discovery, Inc. reached a definitive Reverse Morris Trust agreement, in which AT&T would spin out WarnerMedia into an independent company (unwinding the prior 2018 acquisition of the former Time Warner) that would concurrently acquire Discovery's assets, for $43 billion in cash, securities and stock plus WarnerMedia's retention of certain debt. Under the transaction, which was expected to be finalized by the second quarter of 2022, The Cartoon Network, Inc. and all other assets of WarnerMedia would be combined with the assets of Discovery, Inc. AT&T shareholders would own 71% of the company's stock and Discovery shareholders would own the remaining 29% share, with each shareholder group appointing representative board members; David Zaslav, President and CEO of Discovery, would head the new company, replacing WarnerMedia CEO Jason Kilar.

On June 1, 2021, it was announced that the merged company would be known as Warner Bros. Discovery; Zaslav explained that it would reflect "the combination of Warner Bros.' fabled hundred-year legacy of creative, authentic storytelling and taking bold risks to bring the most amazing stories to life, with Discovery’s global brand that has always stood brightly for integrity, innovation and inspiration." The merger was officially completed on April 8, 2022, with The Cartoon Network, Inc. becoming a subsidiary of WBD.

Production studios

 * Williams Street
 * Cartoon Network Studios
 * Hanna-Barbera Studios Europe

U.S. television channels

 * Cartoon Network
 * Cartoonito (block)
 * Adult Swim (block)
 * Toonami (block)
 * Toonami Rewind (block)
 * Checkered Past (block)
 * ACME Night (block)
 * Boomerang
 * Discovery Family
 * Discovery Familia (Spanish-language counterpart)

Other channels
Note: In Italy and the UK, the network's "+1" timeshift channels are often temporarily rebranded and carry only one franchise for around a month, such as Looney Tunes, Tom and Jerry, and Ben 10.