CNN has shut down its brand-new streaming service, CNN+only a month after its launch.
Gatekeepers News reports that the incoming CNN Chief Executive Chris Licht in a Thursday memo said the service would shut down at the end of April.
CNN+ launched when its parent was still part of AT&T. It combined with Discovery earlier this month in a new company, Warner Bros. Discovery, under Discovery CEO David Zaslav, who had his own vision for CNN and its Warner siblings.
In the Thursday memo, Licht said consumers wanted “simplicity and an all-in service” rather than “stand-alone offerings.” Meanwhile, Discovery had previously suggested that it wanted to merge the new company’s separate streaming services, which include Discovery+ and HBO Max, into a single app.
However, Licht said some CNN+ content will wind up on other company networks, and the streaming service’s employees will get opportunities to apply for jobs elsewhere inside Warner Bros. Discovery. Nevertheless, the head of CNN+, Andrew Morse, is leaving the company.
Licht wrote, “While today’s decision is incredibly difficult, it is the right one for the long-term success of CNN. It allows us to refocus resources on the core products that drive our singular focus: further enhancing CNN’s journalism and its reputation as a global news leader.”
Former US President Donald Trump, among other critics who mocked the website for the quick demise of CNN+ said, “Congratulations to CNN+ on their decision to immediately FOLD for a lack of ratings, or viewers in any way, shape, or form.
“It was like an empty desert out there despite spending hundreds of millions of dollars and the hiring of low-rated Chris Wallace, a man who tried so hard to be his father, Mike, but lacked the talent and whatever else is necessary to be a star.
“In any event, it’s just one more piece of CNN and Fake News that we don’t have to bother with anymore!”
An industry insider told DailyMail.com, “Chris Wallace has total egg on his face – leaving his plum gig at FOX News to front the biggest media failure of the century.
“At least Quibi lasted eight months – CNN+ couldn’t even make it 30 days. If I worked at CNN I’d be p***ed – $300 million to launch a streaming service that can’t even make it a month.
“Chris Wallace interviewing Judy Collins should have been the first signal this was doomed – who was going to watch that? What a waste of $8m, CNN should have left him at FOX.
“CNN had three years to plan this out – and they couldn’t even last 30 days, what an embarrassment.”
