WarnerMedia has become the latest media operation to announce it is pulling out of Russia in the wake of the war in Ukraine.
In an internal memo, CEO Jason Kilar said the company was “pausing all new business in Russia”.
“This includes ceasing broadcast of our channels, halting all new content licensing with Russian entities, and pausing our planned theatrical and games releases.”
Although CNN has no plans to shut its Moscow bureau it has suspended reporting from the country following the new law that places restrictions on independent journalism. It is currently reviewing the law to assess whether it is possible to recommence reporting.
Cartoon Network is also being withdrawn.
Discovery, which runs 15 channels as part of a joint venture with Russia’s National Media Group, ceased transmissions on Wednesday. It’s not clear if there are wider implications for Discovery’s agreement with National Media Group, which was also responsible for the distribution of the WarnerMedia channels.
Amazon has suspended the shipment of products to customers in Russia and will not be taking any new clients to Amazon Web Services. “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,” Amazon said in a statement.
