CNN+ Sent to Chopping Block Less Than A Month After Launch
Streaming service “CNN Plus” spent $300 million in three weeks before its parent company pulled the plug
CNN’s parent company Warner Bros. Discovery has officially pulled the plug on the premium streaming service CNN+ after a mere three weeks. Thursday’s announcement came as a “total and utter shock” to employees of the service, which has reportedly already spent $300 million to hire top corporate media talent, launch and advertise, with another $700 million in investments planned.
New CNN+ logo 🙏🏻 pic.twitter.com/bOSaH1MjE3
— Sweet Potato Patch Lit 🕯🍃 (@sourpatchlyds) April 22, 2022
Variety broke the story on Thursday morning, saying the decision came from Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav. By noon, CNN executives confirmed it to the staff at their offices in New York City , saying the service would formally shut down on April 30.
Officially, Zaslav wants to unite all of the company’s brands under one streaming service. CNN+ was commissioned by former WarnerMedia CEO Jason Kilar, just weeks before Discovery acquired its parent company AT&T earlier this year.
The plan had been to invest $1 billion into the venture, hiring executives, producers and on-air talent from other networks, and planning for CNN+ to break even after four years. The service reportedly attracted a mere 10,000 people to tune in on a daily basis.
CNN’s incoming CEO Chris Licht announced the end, telling CNN+ staff they would get paid for the next 90 days and be given opportunities to get hired elsewhere inside the company.
People want to consume news. There are sectors of the media ecosystem growing rapidly: especially those that are independent of corporate control, devoted to heterodox views and free discourse.
What's failing is establishment tripe that spreads disinformation to serve one party: https://t.co/Z2dIiF1W01
— Glenn Greenwald (@ggreenwald) April 21, 2022
“CNN+ had a short life – if you blinked, you missed it – but the light it cast upon the world was dull, banal and pointless, like a wisp of wind that you’re not even sure blew by,” independent journalist Greenwald posted on Twitter.
I’m seeing a lot of “don’t make fun of CNN+ shutting down – people lost their jobs!” from the same people who were all too happy to see small businesses locked down, people lose their livelihood, and millions of employees deemed non-essential who had to provide for their families
— Gina Bontempo (@FlorioGina) April 22, 2022
Customers of CNN+ will receive prorated refunds of subscription fees, the company said.
Maybe CNN should go on Netflix lol
— odysee (@OdyseeTeam) April 22, 2022