For some odd reason, WB has an embargo on characters that are in movies being used on TV. So Supergirl, a show where Superman is openly recognized and is, to some degree, a main character, isn't allowed to show his face on camera. But he does "appear" as a shadowed figure or his hands or feet or something does make an appearance. They can show parts of Superman but not his whole face or even his costume (I'd kinda like to know if this version has an "S" like Supergirl does!). This doesn't make any sense to me. I don't think anyone will mistake this version for the movie version. Smallville is another example of a TV version of Superman that bent the rules by not calling him Superman. Gotham has a Bruce Wayne but no Batman.
Speaking of Smallville, they wanted to use Bruce Wayne but were told they couldn't because he had movies in the works. Meanwhile there were how many Batman cartoons on the air during that time? This doesn't just refer to Supergirl either. We recently found out that Arrow had to drop their version of the Suicide Squad because of the movie. Despite having obviously different versions of the characters. WB's system doesn't make a lot of sense. How far does this rule extend? What parts of Superman are allowed to be shown and what parts aren't? Can we hear his voice? I guess not since he's never said anything.
I think it's time for WB to drop their embargo on movie characters. Especially since they don't really enforce it very well anyway. There doesn't appear to be a consistent rule and a whole slew of loopholes that can be exploited. Besides, with a Justice League movie supposedly in the works, they have already broke it with the Flash TV show.