Sam Register to Step Down as Warner Bros. Animation President

Sam Register, the long-serving president of Warner Bros. Animation, Cartoon Network Studios, and Hanna-Barbera Studios Europe, is leaving the studio after three decades at the company, according to reports from Variety.

The departure was announced internally in a staff memo from Channing Dungey, chairman and CEO of Warner Bros. Television Group and U.S. Networks. According to Dungey’s memo, the studio and Register mutually agreed not to renew his contract, which concludes next week. Dungey acknowledged in the message to staff that the exit would come as a surprise, writing I know this comes as a surprise and you have a lot to digest.

Register joined Warner Bros. Animation in November 2007 as a producer with a development and production deal. He was named executive vice president of creative affairs a year later and promoted to president in 2014. Before joining the animation studio under a previous regime, Register spent ten years as a producer and senior animation executive at Cartoon Network, where he helped launch the network’s website in the late 1990s. Over his career, he executive produced notable series including Ben 10, The Looney Tunes Show, Teen Titans, Teen Titans Go!, and Scooby-Doo: Mystery Incorporated. A character in the Teen Titans comics was also named after him.

During his tenure leading Warner Bros. Animation, Register’s portfolio expanded. He added Cartoon Network Studios to his responsibilities in 2020 and Hanna-Barbera Studios Europe the following year. However, his domain experienced operational contraction in recent years amid a declining basic cable market and shifts in original programming strategies at streaming platforms like HBO Max.

It’s time for me to move onto the next chapter in my life, and I’m grateful to have Channing’s support as I exit Warner Bros Animation, Register said in a statement included in Dungey’s memo. It’s been an amazing ride and I want to extend my sincere thanks to all the great people I’ve worked with — we’ve built some incredible things together. I wish you all the best moving forward, and I’m excited to explore all the possibilities in my future.

Sam Register

Interim Leadership and Studio Transition

While Warner Bros. conducts a search for a permanent replacement, studio operations will be divided among current executives. According to Dungey’s memo, Matt Matzkin will continue to lead Business Operations. Meanwhile, creative department leadership will be handled by Jay Bastian for Current Series, Jason DeMarco for Anime and Action Series, Audrey Diehl for Kids and Family, Sarah Fell for Hanna-Barbera Studios in the United Kingdom, Peter Girardi for Alternative Programming and Adult, and Sammy Perlmutter for Long Form and Specials.

The search for Register’s successor takes place against a backdrop of wider corporate developments. The leadership vacancy arrives while parent company Warner Bros. Discovery faces a pending acquisition by Paramount, which maintains its own animation division and leadership structure. It remains unclear whether Register’s departure is connected to that transaction.