After 6 Years, This Overlooked Streaming Service Is Beating HBO Max in 1 Crucial Area

Image via HBO Max

Published Mar 1, 2026, 3:29 PM EST

Collier Jennings is an entertainment journalist with a substantial amount of experience under his belt. Collier, or "CJ" to his friends and family, is a dedicated fan of genre films - particularly science fiction, fantasy and comic book adaptations, not to mention all forms of animation animation. This stems from a close bond with his father, who introduced him to these genres via copies of X-Men comics and reruns of the original Ultraman series. Using his near-encyclopedic knowledge and bottomless love of genre, he's been able to tackle a wide variety of articles.

HBO Max is one of the strongest competitors in the streaming game, thanks to its wide range of original and classic programming. Fantasy fans can check out A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms, drama fans will be glued to The Pitt, and if you want an easy weekend binge, then Friends is just a click away. However, Tubi is about to gain a significant lead in the streaming wars, and it has HBO Max to thank. Starting today, a massive collection of Warner Bros. animated series is being added to Tubi's library, with the first wave including Cartoon Network classics like The Powerpuff Girls and Ben 10.

The rest of March will see over 100 series added to Tubi, from Static Shock to Tiny Toon Adventures and Freakazoid. While one might question why HBO Max is letting such a treasure trove of animation slip through its fingers, others are gravitating toward Tubi in droves. It's not hard to see why: not only is Tubi free to watch, provided users are willing to sit through a few ads, it's also gathering a unique collection of films and TV shows. Inscooping up the animated shows that HBO Max has discarded, Tubi is beating its rival in a key area: appealing to a young audience.

Tubi Is Tapping Into A Market that HBO Max Has Abandoned

HBO Max's purge of animation has been a slow but steady one, as it shifts away from a younger audience toward more adult programming. The purge began in 2022, after the service was briefly renamed Max; a collection of animated series were cut short, with a statement that more changes were on the way: "Live-action kids and family programming will not be part of our programming focus in the immediate future." Perhaps the biggest and most alarming shifts came when the entire Looney Tunes catalog was pulled from HBO Max, and HBO chose to let its license for Sesame Street expire. Thankfully, Tubi seems more than willing to be the new home for fan-favorite animated series, as it previously picked up the classic Looney Tunes.

HBO Max's purge hasn't stopped at Looney Tunes, as nearly all of its Cartoon Network programming has been removed. Starting with classics like Courage the Cowardly Dog, Max's animation programming has gradually dwindled to a handful of series; most are DC Comics-related, particularly Batman: The Animated Series and Justice League Unlimited. While that might make superhero fans happy, anyone who grew up on Cartoon Network is probably mourning the loss of the classic shows, not to mention the official Cartoon Network website. Hopefully, Tubi picking up those series will ease their pain.

The cast of 'Looney Tunes' pop out of a circle in an orange screen

Max Just Removed Several Popular Animated Shows From Streaming

Well, "that's all folks."

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By Ryan Louis Mantilla

Tubi Continues To Stand Out in the Streaming World

While HBO Max might have given up on attracting a younger audience, Tubi's new influx of animated series will make it a bigger draw for younger viewers, not to mention older viewers looking for a hit of nostalgia. It's not the first time the service has added some beloved animated series to its stable, as its prior library included classic animation like the original Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. Tubi's genre exploration isn't stopping at animation, as it recently announced a partnership with the Black List screenwriting initiative to develop original screenplays. Black List founder Franklin Leonard expressed his excitement for the deal:

"We’ve seen again and again that when a smart, character-driven horror script meets the right partners, the results can be seismic. Extending our work with Tubi into a dedicated horror initiative feels like the natural next step in our partnership. I’m excited for Tubi’s audience to discover a film that began the way so many of the industry’s favorite projects do, as a script on the Black List website."

Tubi is quickly becoming the streaming service to beat, as it's not only cemented itself as a hub for classic animated series, but is also offering a variety of films and TV shows without costing viewers a dime. So if you want to watch the Powerpuff Girls pummel evil, Scooby-Doo solve mysteries, or Static put a shock to someone's system, then Tubi is the place to be.