RIP CNN+

[George K]

Looks like Chris Wallace chose poorly.

Warner Bros. Discovery is shutting down CNN+ as of April 30, marking one of the company’s first significant maneuvers since completing the merger of WarnerMedia and Discovery less than two weeks ago.

The decision puts an abrupt end to an ambitious and aggressive venture that people familiar with the matter say rankled David Zaslav, the new CEO of Warner Bros. Discovery, from the start. Zaslav was annoyed by the decision of Jason Kilar, the former CEO of WarnerMedia when it was owned by AT&T, to launch CNN+ just weeks before Discovery was set to take over operations.

“This decision is in line with WBD’s broader direct-to-consumer strategy,” said Chris Licht, the incoming CEO of CNN, in a statement. “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.” Zaslav has been open in the recent past about his desire to combine all of the company’s streaming-video assets, which also include Discovery+ and HBO Max, under a single umbrella.

Andrew Morse, the CNN executive vice president who oversees the newly-launched streaming-video outlet, as well as CNN’s digital and Spanish-language operations, was told of the decision ahead of time, these people said, and is expected to depart after a period of transition. Alex MacCallum was named to oversee digital, and CNN+ employees will be paid for the next 90 days and be given opportunities to explore other positions around the company.

[89th]

What kind of buffoon would subscribe to a news streaming service anyway, specifically a corporate press (i.e., cable news) channel. All they do today is regurgitate the same 7 minutes of headlines over and over 24/7, with annoying opinions and commercials mixed in throughout. Sounds like torture. "Hey honey, I subscribed to CNN+!" is a phrase you'll never hear.

[Mik]

I wondered that myself.

[George K]

What kind of buffoon prime-time anchor would leave a well-paying gig for a streaming service that hadn't even gotten off the ground yet?

[Horace]

@George-K said in RIP CNN+:

What kind of buffoon prime-time anchor would leave a well-paying gig for a streaming service that hadn't even gotten off the ground yet?

I don't know, but the tribal lefties seemed to think it was an "I told you so" moment.

[Jolly]

@89th said in RIP CNN+:

What kind of buffoon would subscribe to a news streaming service anyway, specifically a corporate press (i.e., cable news) channel. All they do today is regurgitate the same 7 minutes of headlines over and over 24/7, with annoying opinions and commercials mixed in throughout. Sounds like torture. "Hey honey, I subscribed to CNN+!" is a phrase you'll never hear.

OTOH...I don't think Fox Nation is going gangbusters, but the word is that the channel is exceeding internal projections. It's not all news, of course.

[Doctor Phibes]

@89th said in RIP CNN+:

What kind of buffoon

The talking heads don't need to be exactly smart. They just need to be good talkers, and in many cases to make it look as though they're not reading an autocue when they're reading an autocue.

After a while, I imagine most of them probably start believing their own bullshit.

[Horace]

@Doctor-Phibes said in RIP CNN+:

@89th said in RIP CNN+:

What kind of buffoon

The talking heads don't need to be exactly smart. They just need to be good talkers, and in many cases to make it look as though they're not reading an autocue when they're reading an autocue.

After a while, I imagine most of them probably start believing their own bullshit.

And then they become presidential debate moderators.

[George K]

LOL:

And meanwhile:

[Horace]

I didn't learn much about Obama as a person during his presidency. But I learned a lot when refused to endorse Biden when that endorsement could have come at any social cost whatsoever to himself. Then his 50th birthday party and the pop culture orgy that was, well, yes, that's Obama the man. Glorified nothing burger. I can't imagine he had anything interesting to say on his podcast, for all the white progressives who probably touched themselves to it.

[Jolly]

Yeah, but he's clean and articulate...

[Copper]

His wife is proud of the USA.

[jon-nyc]

@Horace

I think it was the tribal righties that said that. They were always suspicious of him, at least since the trumpian takeover of the party and the network.

[George K]

"CNN+ didn't last as long as a Jeffrey Toobin Zoom call."

[Horace]

I saw a TV commercial last night for CNN+. Awkward.

[George K]

[Horace]