Warner Bros. Discovery is getting into the spooky spirit early, setting the Halloween-themed programming slate for its cable networks, which includes the linear debut of Matt Reeves The Batman, as well as new and returning specials and film marathons across Food Network, Discovery Channel, TNT, TBS, TCM, Travel Channel and Cartoon Network/Adult Swim.
The leader in Warner Bros. Discoverys Halloween-themed programming game, Food Network is bringing back four popular series and two specials, including Halloween Baking Championship, Halloween Wars, Outrageous Pumpkins, Halloween Cookie Challenge and Kids Baking Championship: Bloodcurdling Bakes.
The cable debut of The Batman on TNT will air as part of a curated Halloween-themed film block across both TNT and TBS in September and October, with TNT showing Godzilla, The Mummy and a Scream movie marathon, and TBS airing Beetlejuice, Gremlins and Goonies.
Hosts Duff Goldman and Rosanna Pansino, portrait, as seen on Halloween Cookie Challenge Season 2. Rob Pryce On Discovery Channel, paranormal investigators Zak Bagans, Aaron Goodwin, Jay Wasley and Billy Tolley will appear in the two-hour special Ghost Adventures: Devil Island on Sept. 27. The channel will also air five new episodes of Ghost Adventures beginning Oct. 4 with a spinoff companion series, Ghost Adventures: Screaming Room, debuting Oct.18. Additional spooky Discovery series airing September through October include Expedition X, Schock Doc: Yeti Massacare and Expedition Bigfoot.
Over on TCM (which has received much programming attention from Warner Bros. Discovery since backlash to downsizing at the network in June), a Creepy Cinema collection of features will air every Tuesday beginning Oct. 3. The films will be introduced by actor Mario Cantone and TCM host Ben Mankiewicz. Beginning Oct. 6, the network also will spotlight Gothic movies each Friday and will add its Creepy Comedies lineup to the schedule on Sunday, Oct. 29. TCMs Terror-Thon will air for 48 hours straight Oct. 30-31.
Cartoon Network will be airing a month-long Scoobtober event featuring Scooby-Doo-themed programming beginning Oct. 1. A Halloween-themed episode of Teen Titans Go! will premiere Oct. 7.
Starting in September, Travel Channel will feature new seasons and episodes of Zak Bagans and Eli Roths terrifying film anthology series The Haunted Museum, Jack Osbournes Night of Terror, Paranormal Caught on Camera, The Dead Files and The Ghost Town Terror.
Food Networks Halloween lineup grows network ratings by more than 50 percent when series like Halloween Wars, Outrageous Pumpkins, Halloween Cookie Challenge or Kids Baking Championship: Bloodcurdling Bakes hit the air and lead right into the holiday season serving as a valuable gateway for the network since every single Halloween series that we put on hits the top five in ratings, Warner Bros. Discovery chairman and chief content officer of US Networks Group Kathleen Finch told Variety. Were employing a similar strategy with networks across our portfolio because we see seasonal content as a big opportunity to grow audience share in Q4.
Finch added, Weve seen a tremendous upside to including seasonal programming as part of our portfolios content strategy if it makes sense for an individual brand. We dont force it. We look for authentic, organic ways to build an audience by delivering content that they cant resist, and it works.