The deck was already stacked against HBO Max when it launched. Despite being bolstered by one of the most legendary names in television, HBO Max- which launched in 2020- was already arriving at the streaming wars a little late. From the minute they went live, Netflix and Amazon Prime Video had already asserted themselves as the number one and number two streaming platforms. If HBO Max wanted to compete, they'd have to pull out the proverbial big guns.
One of the ways HBO Max decided to combat their rivals was by licensing various major IPs. From Friends to Doctor Who, HBO Max established early on that they weren't pulling any punches with their licensed offerings.
Another major selling point for HBO Max among animation aficionados was how the platform boasted the entire Looney Tunes catalog. However, according to Comic Book Resources, half of HBO Max's Looney Tunes content is no longer on the platform.
As of Dec. 31, 2022, HBO Max has removed Seasons 16-31 of Looney Tunes, causing the total number of classic animated shorts available on the platform to drop from 511 to 255, with a total of 256 having been taken down. At the time of writing, Seasons 1-15 of Looney Tunes are still available on HBO Max, as are related shows like Cartoon Network's The Looney Tunes Show and HBO Max's own Looney Tunes Cartoons.
