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WarnerMedia Reorganizes Adult Swim, Crunchyroll, More Under Global Kids & Young Adults Unit
posted on by Rafael Antonio Pineda
WarnerMedia, the new content company created after AT&T's acquisition of Time Warner last June, announced a reorganization of its divisions on Monday that will bring many of its subsidiaries and brands — including Otter Media (Ellation, Crunchyroll, Rooster Teeth, VRV), Cartoon Network, Adult Swim, and Boomerang — into a single "Global Kids & Young Adults" unit.
Warner Bros. chairman and CEO Kevin Tsujihara will have oversight of all WarnerMedia-licensed consumer products in the company's effort to launch an "integrated, global approach to all our kids and animation businesses." Tsujihara stated that there will be chance for WarnerMedia brands to collaborate, with opportunities to release new animated TV and digital projects in coordination with Warner Animation Group features.
Tsujihara sent a memo about the reorganization to Warner Bros. employees on Monday, and one section of the memo dealt with Otter Media:
Otter Media speaks loudly—and effectively—to the millennial/Gen Z audience and brings together highly passionate communities through content. Bringing our iconic brands, infrastructure and library together with Otter's creative talent, reach and diverse set of communities will help us grow this important audience segment for Warner Bros. and WarnerMedia content and services. This move also enables us to create the scale necessary for passion-driven digital media companies to be successful.
AT&T announced last August that it had acquired the entirety of Otter Media, the holding company that operates Crunchyroll and VRV's parent company Ellation, from its previous co-owner The Chernin Group. AT&T announced at the time that it planned to fold the company into WarnerMedia.
Since the acquisition, WarnerMedia closed the DramaFever streaming service last October, resulting in layoffs for 20% of the company's 110 employees. WarnerMedia also closed the FilmStruck streaming service last November. AT&T folded Machinima into its digital media company Otter Media on January 1 as part of a larger restructuring that saw layoffs of about 10% of Otter Media's staff. Machinima laid off 81 staff members from its team of around 100 employees and ceased operations in early February.
Sources: Variety (Cynthia Littleton, link 2) via The Cartoon Brew (Carlos Aguilar)
