Warner Bros. Discovery announced on April 21 that the company would end CNN+, the network’s new streaming service that launched just under a month ago.
WarnerMedia launched the $100 million investment into streaming days before Dallas-based AT&T’s April 8 announcement of the finalized merger between the company’s mass media and entertainment corporation and Discovery Inc., forming Warner Bros. Discovery.
In a statement published by Reuters, CNN Worldwide Chairman and CEO Chris Licht said, “CNN will be strongest as part of WBD’s streaming strategy, which envisions news as an important part of a compelling broader offering along with sports, entertainment, and nonfiction content. We have therefore made the decision to cease operations of CNN+.”
The service featured news notables like Anderson Cooper and former Fox News host Christ Wallace and original series. CNN+ is expected to stop streaming at the end of April.
Just weeks into the streaming service’s operation, CNN+ was off to a rocky start and struggling to gain the traction company officials were hoping for, as previously reported by The Dallas Express. Only 10,000 subscribers had signed up for the service by the middle of April. The reason was partly due to frustration among potential users who were met with a limited means by which they could download the service because it was not compatible with all major digital media player platforms.
Reuters reported that subscribers to CNN+ were also unable to access the cable network’s daily news programs due to contractual restrictions with cable providers.
According to The Washington Post, a network employee said of the seven hundred people hired at the launch of CNN+, 350 employees will be laid off, but many will move to other positions within the company. The article said that Wallace and others who came to CNN+ from other news organizations were expected to stay with the company after the service ends on April 30.
Although CNN+’s failure in the streaming arena could be tracked in the weeks after its launch, the news of Warner Bros. Discovery’s decision to shut it down surprised many who thought the new team was ramping up efforts in streaming. David Zaslav, Warner Bros. Discovery’s newly named chief executive officer, said in a release following the WarnerMedia and Discovery Inc. merger that the company “now offers the most differentiated and complete portfolio of content across film, television, and streaming.”
In his statement, Chris Licht said CNN will now focus on its news-gathering organizations and strengthening its digital products.