UPDATED: CNN+, the news network’s expensive venture into subscription streaming, will shut down at the end of the month.
The heavily promoted service launched on March 29, but almost immediately there were reports of lower-than-expected subscription numbers and plans for cutbacks under new CNN parent Warner Bros. Discovery.
Chris Licht, the new chairman and CEO of CNN Worldwide, said that they have decided to “focus our investment on CNN’s core news-gathering operations and in further building CNN Digital. This is not a decision about quality; we appreciate all of the work, ambition and creativity that went into building CNN+, an organization with terrific talent and compelling programming. But our customers and CNN will be best served with a simpler streaming choice.”
All of the broadcast news divisions and news networks have launched streaming offerings, but none gained quite the attention that CNN+ did, conceived during the era of former CNN President Jeff Zucker. He lured away talent from other networks, including Kasie Hunt from NBC News and Chris Wallace from Fox News, and development costs reportedly approached $100 million.
The night of the launch, CNN threw a party at the stylish Peak Restaurant & Bar in NYC’s Hudson Yards, sipping cocktails, munching mini-risotto balls and enjoying the insane view from the 101st floor. Ethan Hawke and Carl Bernstein mingled with talent like the newly arrived Chris Wallace.
But the ambitious move into streaming was met with a lot of doubts, particularly given that it was being sold as a subscription offering. By the time it launched, CNN was offering a 50% discount to early subscribers on its monthly fee of $5.99. While some of its programming gained notice — including some of Wallace’s in-depth sitdown interviews — there were reports that early subscription numbers were dismal. Moreover, the service was a kind of news and lifestyle hybrid but not, at least in its initial days, a replacement for the round-the-clock breaking news coverage on regular CNN. Through the day, there were gaps in programming in the CNN+ live feed.
The network went forward with the streaming service even after Zucker’s abrupt exit. There also was the uncertainty of new CNN parent Warner Bros. Discovery’s streaming strategy, as well as the ultimate plans of Chris Licht, who will officially succeed Zucker on May 1.
More to come.