WarnerMedia has become the latest media operation to announce its withdrawal from Russia following the war in Ukraine. CEO Jason Kilar said the company was “suspend all new business in Russia.” This includes WarnerMedia channels such as Cartoon Network, as well as “stopping all new content licensing with Russian entities and suspending our planned theatrical and game releases.” The release of “The Batman” in Russia has since been discontinued.
While revenue from Russia is minor for diversified global media companies, the shutdown of film releases and suspension of programming are major.
“We are monitoring this situation closely,” Kilar said in the note. “And future business decisions will be made with that context in mind.”
Although CNN has no plans to close its Moscow bureau, it has suspended reporting until it can review the new law and assess whether it is possible to start again.
Over the past 13 days, more and more large companies have left the Russian market. As of yesterday, Discovery and Amazon Prime Video are also ceasing operations in Russia. Discovery removed 15 of its channels and Amazon said: “We are also suspending access to Prime Video for customers based in Russia, and we will no longer be taking orders for New World, which is the only video game we sell directly. in Russia.”
Related: How Roku, Netflix, and Others Handle Russian Content After the Ukrainian Invasion
