When Warner Bros. Discovery pulled Looney Tunes from HBO Max earlier this year, it looked like another case of legacy content getting brushed aside in favor of franchise-heavy tentpoles and subscriber-driven strategy. But a few months in, the decision’s proving to be a surprisingly good thing, for the fans, for the shorts themselves, and especially for Tubi.
According to Vulture, Looney Tunes is one of the ten most-watched series on Tubi, based on total viewing time. And this isn’t nostalgia-driven rubbernecking, it’s consistent performance across age groups and demos. “A huge win for us,” said Tubi’s head of acquisitions, Samuel Harowitz, who credited classic animation as one of the biggest fandoms the platform serves.
That’s a quiet rebuke to the assumption that Looney Tunes has aged out of relevance. And it’s a reminder that “kid content” doesn’t have to chase the YouTube algo to find an audience. Sometimes, putting Bugs Bunny in HD and letting people watch for free is enough.
A Win for Tubi and Classic Animation at Large
Tubi isn’t just surfacing Looney Tunes. It’s curating it. The shorts are bundled into 30-minute episodes, with ads placed between the cartoons, not during, replicating a Saturday morning TV feel that’s working across generations. No flashy rollout, no exclusive gimmicks. Just smart packaging, thoughtful placement, and a platform that knows how to serve fandoms that other services overlook.
Even better: the versions streaming on Tubi are sourced from Jerry Beck’s high-quality restorations, originally produced for physical media releases. They’re clean, bright, and surprisingly sharp for 80-year-old animation. As Beck put it, these episodes “look day-one brand new, as the Looney Tunes should.”
Meanwhile, Tubi is reportedly in active negotiations with Warner Bros. Discovery to keep the cartoons on the platform for years. There’s even interest in licensing newer Looney Tunes content or becoming the home for Coyote vs. Acme, though those conversations haven’t started yet.
Tubi Has Found a Format That Works. Now What?
This feels less like a surprise hit and more like the blueprint for how to treat evergreen IP on FAST. If Warner Bros. Discovery saw Looney Tunes as a cost center, Tubi is turning it into an engagement driver. It’s not the first time Tubi has played cleanup crew for abandoned IP, but it may be the most culturally resonant.
By betting on classic cartoons like The Pink Panther, Tom & Jerry, Popeye, and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (1996), Tubi is positioning itself as the closest thing streaming has to the old Saturday morning lineup, tuned perfectly for both the grown-up fans and their cartoon-curious kids.
And here’s the kicker: this isn’t about nostalgia alone. It’s about understanding what still works in streaming. Short-form content. Multi-generational appeal. Low-cost licensing. High repeat value.
The Streaming Wars Take
Warner Bros. Discovery gave up on Looney Tunes because it didn’t fit their paid subscription growth strategy. Tubi turned it into one of its top-performing shows.
That’s the core of this story. It’s not just that Looney Tunes is doing well on Tubi, it’s that it’s thriving under a model HBO Max abandoned. In a market obsessed with originals and tentpoles, Tubi made a bet on evergreen, low-cost IP and smart packaging. It worked.
Sometimes, content doesn’t need a billion-dollar marketing push or a reboot to matter. It just needs a platform that knows how to use it.
Tubi is replicating the TV playbook, scheduled viewing, snackable formats, low friction, and bringing it to streaming. For classic animation and legacy content, it might be the best model we’ve got.
