CNN+, the streaming service that made waves when it poached Chris Wallace from Fox News, is dead a month after it began. Here's why it failed.
Chris Wallace back the wrong horseAs in any implosion, there is a host of factors behind it, but the biggest is Discovery’s acquisition of WarnerMedia, CNN’s parent company. The merger became official April 8; the new company, Warner Bros. Discovery, wasted no time cleaning house.
Chris Licht, the incoming chairman and CEO of CNN Worldwide, said in a statement Thursday the decision was made “to cease operations of CNN+ and 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,” Licht said.
Translation, for those who don’t speak corporate: Customers don’t need it, don’t want it and aren't going to pay for it. Some programming may find its way to a single-destination streaming service that will combine Discovery+ and HBO Max. Turns out it wasn’t the best idea to launch a high-profile, expensive venture just as the new bosses who had no input into it are on their way into town. You don’t paint the walls purple and pink right before someone new is about to move in.