Thread by @AnimationOnMax

Since I've been seeing people ask about when some Cartoon Network shows are leaving Max, I need everyone to know that you can check the end dates for literally any title on Max by going to a series or movie's page while logged out and checking the source code (Ctrl+U)

Use this to plan your watches accordingly! I was able to look up the end dates for a bunch of stuff yesterday and found out a lot about how WBD runs Max and manages its library.

Long thread below 🧵

First, let's rip the band-aid off. The majority of Boomerang, Cartoon Network, and Adult Swim shows that are NOT currently running (or recently ran) have end dates at some point in 2025. From Scooby-Doo to Powerpuff Girls to Moral Orel...

... but so do lots of high-profile shows from the WB library like The Big Bang Theory, Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, Full House, Gotham, The Vampire Diaries, Gossip Girl, etc. Does this mean WBD hates all of these shows and doesn't want them on Max? Obviously not

Max has to pay money to license most of their programs from the studios that made them, even to their sister studios like Warner Bros. Television. These licenses are not indefinite; they can last for 1, 2, 3 years, but they always run out, and then need to be renewed

A few months ago, there was noise when big CN shows like Regular Show, Gumball, and Steven Universe got dropped from Max on Oct 1. Around the same time, Max's licenses for Adventure Time, the Criterion collection, and one of their top shows, Friends, were about to run out too

Friends is one of the most expensive shows for Max to license. Back in 2019, they paid $425M to WBTV for the ability to stream it for 5 years. They just renewed that license; the show left Max for a little bit, came back, and now has an end date in Sept 2029, a 5 year extension

All of this comes out of Max's programming budget, which is not unlimited because the service has to make a profit. At the same time, they renewed the license for their films from Criterion for 2 more years—they now have end dates in 2026—that's a collection of hundreds of films!

Of the CN shows, Max only kept Adventure Time, which got a one year extension—it's set to leave again in Oct 2025. I don't think Max is removing shows out of apathy for Cartoon Network, it might be that they have a lot of licenses to renew all of the time that eat up the budget

When the Max programming team only has so much money to spend, and the CN shows are competing against Friends (WB's most popular sitcom) and a curation of world cinema classics that bring a lot of prestige to Max, you can guess why they ended up getting the short end of the stick

You can also check the end dates for individual episodes, which lets us know that some shows have seasons that are licensed in separate deals. The first three seasons of Craig of the Creek left Max on Dec 1, but seasons 4-6 are here to stay until 2036 (!)

The same is true for Teen Titans Go. Seasons 1-7 have an end date of Jan 1, 2025, but the most recent episode from season 8, which has been adding new episodes to Max next day or a few weeks after they premiere on Cartoon Network, has an end date of Nov 2, 2033

In 2022, CN and AS brokered a generous deal with Max that would send new episodes of their shows to Max next day (the AS twitter alluded to it at the time). As a result, pretty much every CN/AS show or season that premieres as of 2022 stays on Max for 9+ yrs after they're added

Recent shows like Total Drama Island and Invincible Fight Girl have end dates in 2033 and 2035. But for an older show like Aqua Teen, season 12 stays til 2033 while previous seasons expire in May 2025; Max will have to pay to continually relicense those to keep the show together

Max Originals' end dates tend to vary. Creature Commandos, which just came out, has an end date in 2029. The furthest out I've seen is Gen:Lock, that one Rooster Teeth series, which leaves in 2036. Eventually, these licenses too will have to be renewed or the shows leave Max

The wildest thing I've found is that many of Discovery's unscripted programs have end dates in 2099 or later. I don't think this means Max has drawn up century long contracts for these shows, rather, the coders type in nonsense years to show that Max can stream them... forever?

From what I've read, Discovery produces their shows on a model where they own the programs 100% and don't have to profit-share with the production companies that made them or pay royalties to anyone that worked on them. I suspect that, because of this... deadline.com/2019/06/discov…

Discovery is able to give their shows to Max for free, or self-deal and license them to Max for such a comically low amount that's basically peanuts. (Note: This doesn't include the BBC nature documentaries or the made-for-OWN Christmas TV movies, which have normal end dates...

... nor does it include Max Original unscripted shows. Peep the difference between the end dates for seasons of Selena + Chef produced by Max vs. Food Network!)

and this is NOT something that can be done with WB shows. In 2020, Max paid WBTV $600M for the rights to stream Big Bang Theory for 5 years. Profit participants such as the creators threatened to sue WBTV if they didn't sell the show for a hefty price that reflected its value...

... and enabled WBTV to cut healthy royalty checks. Same is true for cartoons—royalties go out to artists in TAG (for their healthcare) and actors in SAG, so WB and CN must sell their shows at fair market value. That way the people who worked on them get the $ they're entitled to

My guess is, if cartoons continue to get dropped from Max at the end of 2024 and throughout 2025, it's probably not because WBD hates all animation, but bc these cartoons are competing for relicensing against expensive juggernauts like BBT, and they're never really prioritized

Lots of people hope that streaming can be a substitute for home video, but in reality, a streaming service like Max is just a TV network that's trying to air thousands of shows and movies at once when it doesn't have the money to do so. Very ridiculous, deeply unsustainable model

I highly recommend y'all keep yourselves updated on the statuses of your favorite classic shows so you're no longer caught off-guard by removals! I expect the app will continue to be messy until Max becomes successful enough that it can afford to expand its library again

shout-out to this thread on the HBO Max subreddit that taught me how to look up this information btw reddit.com/r/HBOMAX/comme…