CNN’s new streaming service, CNN Plus, is already shutting down New parent company, Warner Bros. Discovery, decided to pull the plug on the streaming service after a slow first month. By Jeremy Barr Today at 12:11 p.m. EDT|Updated today at 1:51 p.m. EDT
https://www.washingtonpost.com/media/2022/04/21/cnn-plus-streaming-shut-down-warner-bros/ New parent company Warner Bros. Discovery has decided to shut down the streaming service CNN Plus, which launched late last month. (CNN) Less than a month after CNN launched with great fanfare a $100 million streaming service that represented a massive bet on the future of digital news consumption, new parent company Warner Bros. Discovery has decided to shut it down at the end of April. CNN Plus offered nearly a dozen live new shows from veteran CNN stars and newly hired marquee talents, such as former Fox News anchor Chris Wallace, that could be watched live or on-demand, as well as a substantial library of original documentaries, such as the food-and-travel programs hosted by Stanley Tucci and the late Anthony Bourdain. Yet the service got off to a slow start, as the cable-news giant found difficulty convincing enough customers to pay the $5.99 monthly cost. On Thursday, new CNN chief executive Chris Licht stunned employees with the announcement it would shutter next week. “While today’s decision is incredibly difficult, it is the right one for the long-term success of CNN,” Licht wrote in a memo to staff obtained by The Washington Post, adding that it would allow the company to “refocus resources” on CNN’s journalism. During a town hall meeting with employees on Thursday afternoon, Licht described the development as a “uniquely [bad] situation,” using an expletive, and told staff that “it is not your fault that you had the rug pulled out from underneath you,” according to a staffer on the call. From March 29: CNN takes a $100 million step into streaming today A veteran producer described the announcement’s impact as “just complete shock across the network.” The producer, who was not authorized to comment and spoke on the condition of anonymity, said that many CNN employees expected “some sort of reimagining” of the service but not a complete shutdown. But the person added that Licht displayed leadership when he “took responsibility” for the decision in the town hall meeting. The service seemed to be in jeopardy almost from the beginning, but particularly after Discovery Inc. formally took control of the CNN brand earlier this month. The network has not released any data on the number of people who have subscribed, but early media reports suggested that the number was lower than expected considering the overall cost of the project. Besides Wallace, CNN Plus was building new shows around several other talents hired away from prominent news organizations, including Kasie Hunt of MSNBC and Audie Cornish of NPR, though the service did not offer the network’s traditional television shows to subscribers. Meanwhile, David Zaslav, the chief executive of Warner Bros. Discovery, had expressed a desire for the larger company to have one primary streaming service, rather than a bevy of services. In the months leading up to the merger, Discovery executives had hoped that WarnerMedia leadership would delay the CNN Plus launch, but company brass, led by chief executive Jason Kilar, decided to move forward with it. Licht said the decision was aligned with the company’s broader strategy for reaching viewers. “In a complex streaming market, consumers want simplicity and an all-in service, which provides a better experience and more value than stand-alone offerings,” he wrote. He also commended the staff for “building and flawlessly launching CNN+ in a very short period of time” and promised that some of the new programming they developed will move to CNN or the company’s other networks, where news will be “an important part of a compelling broader offering along with sports, entertainment, and nonfiction content.” Whereas CNN Plus featured a heavy dose of lifestyle programming and cultural conversation, Licht said that CNN will from now on focus on newsgathering and journalism. As part of the transition, the company announced the departure of Andrew Morse, a veteran CNN digital executive who has served as head of CNN Plus, with Alex MacCallum stepping in to oversee the network’s digital efforts. CNN had hired hundreds of employees to work on the streaming service, and Licht said in his memo that all CNN Plus employees will receive pay and benefits for the next 90 days. Some employees may be able to get other jobs at the company, while those departing the company will receive a six-month severance, he said. CNN Plus employees began announcing their departures on social media. It’s not clear what will happen to the star anchors hired for the service, though some, like Hunt, already appear on CNN’s main television channel. “I think there is going to be a lot of job fear across the board,” another CNN employee, who also expressed confusion about the original CNN Plus strategy, told The Post. And it marks a somber first chapter for Licht, who most recently served as executive producer for Stephen Colbert’s late-night show but previously launched MSNBC’s hit “Morning Joe” and overhauled CBS’s morning news show. He had visited with employees in the network’s New York City office on Tuesday, which an employee said made Thursday’s announcement particularly hard. The network is still reeling from the December 2021 termination of star anchor Chris Cuomo and the sudden resignation of CNN president Jeff Zucker in February. Hunt, in an interview with The Post last month, had said she was excited to get Licht’s advice on her CNN Plus show. “I will be begging him for five minutes of his time to let me know how to make this show better,” she said. Paul Farhi contributed to this report. -- Iw mailing list [email protected] http://sticklist.org/mailman/listinfo/iw_sticklist.org
