CNN+ turned out to be a minus.
The cable news giant said Thursday that its much-hyped streaming service will shut down on April 30 after just one month, a mortifying crash-and-burn for the ratings-challenged network as it struggles to find its footing amid upheavals in management and ownership.
Warner Bros. Discovery, which took over CNN in the merger this month between Discovery and former owner WarnerMedia, made the decision Thursday to pull the plug on what had been a pet project of the prior regime, including former CNN President Jeffrey Zucker, who left in February.
The network had sunk an estimated $300 million into the March 29 launch, bringing on big media names from other networks such as Chris Wallace, Jemele Hill and Kasie Hunt, but failed to catch on with subscribers or the new bosses. Even though the move reportedly saves the company an estimated $1 billion over the next few years, investors did not appear thrilled: Warner Bros. Discovery stock closed at $21.45 a share Thursday after the news broke, down $1.56, or nearly 7%, for the day.
The reaction from CNN’s legion of critics on the right was scathing, starting with former President Donald Trump, who famously dubbed the network “fake news CNN.”
“Congratulations to CNN+ on their decision to immediately FOLD for lack of ratings, or viewers in any way, shape, or form,” Mr. Trump said in a statement, adding that “it’s just one more piece of CNN and Fake News that we don’t have to bother with anymore.”
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Ownership also announced that CNN Executive Vice President Andrew Morse, who headed CNN+, would leave the company after a transition period. Officials tried to paint the abrupt about-face as a way to refocus on newsgathering and on the online side of the business. Having CNN+ on its own in the marketplace clashed with that vision.
“As we become Warner Bros. Discovery, 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,” Chris Licht, chairman and CEO of CNN Worldwide, said in a press release headlined “CNN+ to Cease Operations.”
“We have therefore made the decision to cease operations of CNN+ and focus our investment on CNN’s core news-gathering operations and in further building CNN Digital,” he said.
The idea is to bring the company’s brands, which include HBO, the Discovery Channel, TBS and TNT, under one streaming umbrella, a platform that could ultimately include CNN+ programming.
“Consumers are the center of our strategy,’’ said Discovery streaming head J.B. Perrette. “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, and, for the company, a more sustainable business model to drive our future investments in great journalism and storytelling.”
He and Mr. Licht broke the news at a Thursday afternoon meeting to the CNN+ staff, which reportedly numbers about 400. Mr. Licht called it a “uniquely sh—-y situation.”
“It is not your fault that you had the rug pulled out from underneath you,” Mr. Licht said at the town hall-style meeting, according to CNN.
He said the management would try to absorb as many staffers as possible into the rest of the company and that those who cannot be reassigned would receive a minimum of six months of severance pay.
“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,” Mr. Licht said in his statement. “But our customers and CNN will be best served with a simpler streaming choice.”
‘Spectacular failure’
For CNN, the failure to launch was the latest in a string of public relations disasters.
Media critic Joe Concha tweeted that the 30-day shutdown “might be the most spectacular failure we’ve seen in media history. And that ain’t hyperbole — $300 million spent for less than 30 days of existence.”
Curtis Houck, managing editor of the conservative Media Research Center’s NewsBusters, said he was stunned by the decision of CNN’s old guard to push ahead with CNN+ in the face of clear misgivings from the incoming team.
“CNN+’s demise was predictable to just about everyone on planet Earth with the exception of those inside the network,” said Mr. Houck. “The fact that it launched despite reported objections from now-parent company Discovery illustrated the narcissism that was at work inside the network formerly run by Jeff Zucker.”
The New York Times, citing what it said was an audio of some of Mr. Licht’s address Thursday, said he at one point compared CNN+ to a house a builder erects without bothering to consult with the prospective owner.
“Then the new owner came in and said, ‘What a beautiful house! But I need an apartment,’” Mr. Licht said.
Launched in 1980, CNN was the first 24-hour news network, but it now trails both Fox News and MSNBC in the ratings among news-and-opinion channels.
CNN+ was supposed to compete with Fox Nation, Fox’s streaming service, but attracted only about 150,000 subscribers despite the low cost of $5.99 per month, according to Axios.
The network has long marketed itself as “the most trusted name in news,” but its anti-Trump bent rankled conservatives and failed to attract liberals. Nielsen ratings data from October found that more Democrats watched Fox than CNN, The Wrap reported.
“And since fewer people watch CNN than their competitors at Fox and MSNBC, it wasn’t surprising to see that a potato salad kickstarter has made more money and a YouTube video of paint drying has more views than the reported 10,000 daily users for CNN+,” Mr. Houck said.
The network was embarrassed by the high-profile departures of Mr. Zucker, who failed to disclose a sexual relationship with a top CNN executive, and former anchor Chris Cuomo, who was fired in December for working behind the scenes to defend his brother, former Gov. Andrew Cuomo, against sexual harassment accusations.
Where CNN still reigns supreme is online. Its website was the No. 1 digital news outlet in 2021 and 2022 in the “key metrics of U.S. unique visitors, mobile unique visitors, video unique viewers, and young adult unique visitors,” the company said.
Also taking a reputational beating Thursday was Mr. Wallace, who left the top-rated Fox network in December to host his own show on CNN+ called “Who’s Talking to Chris Wallace?” He later said that working for Fox had become “unsustainable.”
Tweeted former Trump White House press secretary Sean Spicer: “I guess No One is Going to Be Talking To Chris Wallace.”
The abrupt cancellation spurred a running joke online about “things that lasted longer than CNN+.”
Conservative media critic Brent Bozell tweeted that the list would include New Coke, Tom Brady’s retirement, the O.J. Simpson trial, the XFL, and carrots in the refrigerator.
Mr. Perrette emphasized that CNN would return to streaming as a key part of the company’s direct-to-consumer service.
“We have very exciting opportunities ahead in the streaming space and CNN, one of the world’s premier reputational assets, will play an important role there,” he said.
• Valerie Richardson can be reached at vrichardson@washingtontimes.com.
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