Welp! That didn’t take long. It was reported today that CNN’s new paid streaming service, CNN Plus will be going bye-bye after just a few weeks (3, actually) of life.
The news of the service’s demise comes via m Variety and The New York Times, which cited multiple anonymous sources.
The New York Times reports that the service will shutter on April 30.
CNN Plus launched on March 29: For $5.99 each month, the service offers access to a library of new and old shows starring well-known faces from the cable news channel.
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Chris Licht, the incoming chairman and CEO of CNN, told staff Thursday that the platform will cease operations on April 30 in a memo, according to TheWrap. You can read the memo in full below.
“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,” said Licht in a statement.
He continued, “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. 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.”
Here’s more via TheWrapPro:
WBD (Warner Bros. Discovery) hasn’t announced any subscriber numbers publicly, though none of the company insiders we spoke to disputed Axios’ reporting that placed the service at about 150,000 subscribers currently. It’s tough to find a comp for CNN+. Fox Nation, which was founded in 2009 and transitioned to a streaming service in 2019, has yet to officially release subscriber numbers. A June 2020 Forbes article cited Parks Associates data placing Fox Nation’s subscribers between 200,000-300,000. That’s about eight months after its streaming launch. Business Insider cited Wall Street estimates earlier this month stating Fox Nation currently has about 1.5 million subscribers. For another comparison, though it’s a much broader content service than CNN+, Comcast reported that Peacock had reached 10 million subscribers a month after its April 2020 launch.
Sensor Tower recent figures show that the CNN app, which gives users access to CNN+, got about 18,000 installs on the day of launch. During the seven days ending March 22, it had an average of 9,000 installs per day.
Get the rest of the TheWapPro’s coverage HERE.
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