{"id":1445970,"date":"2022-04-19T12:29:34","date_gmt":"2022-04-19T16:29:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=1445970"},"modified":"2022-04-19T12:29:44","modified_gmt":"2022-04-19T16:29:44","slug":"cnn-looking-increasingly-doomed","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/cnn-looking-increasingly-doomed\/","title":{"rendered":"CNN+ Looking Increasingly Doomed"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"float:left\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">8<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fcnn-looking-increasingly-doomed%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=1445970&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><div><\/div>\n<p>Warner Bros. Discovery has suspended all external marketing spend for CNN+ and has laid off CNN&#8217;s longtime chief financial officer as it weighs what to do <a class=\"gtmContentClick\" data-vars-link-text=\"with the subscription streaming service\" data-vars-click-url=\"https:\/\/www.axios.com\/cnn-plus-cuts-warner-brothers-discovery-1be0ac3a-6952-4af0-b8e2-03dd6ae0839c.html\" data-vars-content-id=\"b088c03c-b202-4756-8f5f-e64ee77b5095\" data-vars-headline=\"Scoop: CNN+ looks doomed\" data-vars-event-category=\"story\" data-vars-sub-category=\"story\" data-vars-item=\"in_content_link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.axios.com\/cnn-plus-cuts-warner-brothers-discovery-1be0ac3a-6952-4af0-b8e2-03dd6ae0839c.html\" target=\"_self\" rel=\"noopener\">with the subscription streaming service<\/a> moving forward, five sources tell Axios. <\/p>\n<p><strong>Why it matters:<\/strong> Inside CNN, executives think the launch has been successful. Discovery executives disagree.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>CNN+ has roughly 150,000 subscribers so far.<\/li>\n<li>Warner Bros. Discovery wants to eventually build one giant service around HBO Max.<\/li>\n<li>New leadership has replaced CNN CFO Brad Ferrer with Neil Chugani, Discovery&#8217;s current CFO for streaming and international, as part of a broader finance team restructuring. <\/li>\n<li>Other high-level positions at WarnerMedia across different business functions are likely to be eliminated to cut costs and streamline leadership in coming weeks.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>What to watch: <\/strong>Sources say a plan is being considered to replace Chris Cuomo&#8217;s 9:00pm EST primetime slot with a live newscast, instead of personality-driven perspective programming. <\/p>\n<h5>Inside CNN <\/h5>\n<p>Executives are frustrated that new leadership is moving quickly to dismantle what they see as an eventual lifeline for the cable network.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>CNN&#8217;s <a class=\"gtmContentClick\" data-vars-link-text=\"original plan was for CNN+ to become profitable\" data-vars-click-url=\"https:\/\/www.axios.com\/cnn-new-streaming-service-30775bc4-2d25-44fd-a491-3a53ad4b61af.html\" data-vars-content-id=\"b088c03c-b202-4756-8f5f-e64ee77b5095\" data-vars-headline=\"Scoop: CNN+ looks doomed\" data-vars-event-category=\"story\" data-vars-sub-category=\"story\" data-vars-item=\"in_content_link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.axios.com\/cnn-new-streaming-service-30775bc4-2d25-44fd-a491-3a53ad4b61af.html\" target=\"_self\" rel=\"noopener\">original plan was for CNN+ to become profitable<\/a> in four years by investing $1 billion into the service. <\/li>\n<li>A profitable service would&#8217;ve diversified CNN&#8217;s revenue long-term around a digital asset outside of its website, increasing its valuation and potential, executives believe. <\/li>\n<li>CNN+ launched on Roku last week, which should&#8217;ve prompted a subscription boost. But with marketing around the service suspended, there are concerns that growth will be short-lived. A point of pride amongst CNN staffers is how smoothly the app&#8217;s rollout has been technologically. <\/li>\n<li>Executives believe that if the service wasn&#8217;t being knee-capped, its growth rate would&#8217;ve rivaled other print news outlets like The Wall Street Journal and The Washington Post \u2014 which have 2.9 million and 2.7 million digital subscribers, respectively.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Yes, but: <\/strong>That analogy, some argue, assumes customers would get the same product on CNN+ that they do with CNN&#8217;s linear channel, which isn&#8217;t the case.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Internal data shows that the shows that do well are the ones that mimic live TV programs, like &#8220;5 Things with Kate Bolduan&#8221; and &#8220;Reliable Sources Daily&#8221; with Brian Stelter.  <\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h5>Inside Warner Bros. Discovery <\/h5>\n<p>Discovery executives are frustrated that the service launched. If CNN held off launching CNN+ until after the merger, it would have been easier to pivot the company&#8217;s efforts towards something better aligned with Discovery&#8217;s goals. <\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Discovery&#8217;s experience launching niche subscriptions services, like <a class=\"gtmContentClick\" data-vars-link-text=\"GolfTV\" data-vars-click-url=\"https:\/\/www.bloomberg.com\/news\/articles\/2018-11-27\/tiger-woods-hired-by-discovery-to-boost-its-netflix-for-golf\" data-vars-content-id=\"b088c03c-b202-4756-8f5f-e64ee77b5095\" data-vars-headline=\"Scoop: CNN+ looks doomed\" data-vars-event-category=\"story\" data-vars-sub-category=\"story\" data-vars-item=\"in_content_link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.bloomberg.com\/news\/articles\/2018-11-27\/tiger-woods-hired-by-discovery-to-boost-its-netflix-for-golf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">GolfTV<\/a> and its <a class=\"gtmContentClick\" data-vars-link-text=\"Food Network Kitchen App\" data-vars-click-url=\"https:\/\/www.foodnetwork.com\/kitchen\" data-vars-content-id=\"b088c03c-b202-4756-8f5f-e64ee77b5095\" data-vars-headline=\"Scoop: CNN+ looks doomed\" data-vars-event-category=\"story\" data-vars-sub-category=\"story\" data-vars-item=\"in_content_link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.foodnetwork.com\/kitchen\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Food Network Kitchen App<\/a>, has informed its strategy to focus on one scaled general entertainment offering around HBO Max, instead of more niche services that have to compete with big apps for subscriber cash.<\/li>\n<li>Warner Bros. Discovery executives see an opportunity to possibly include some CNN+ content on CNN&#8217;s app and make that video available for free and supported by ads, according to one source. Other CNN+ programming could live within HBO Max. <\/li>\n<li>It sees potential in leveraging the already massive reach of CNN.com and CNN&#8217;s main app to drive its digital growth long-term, as opposed to another subscription outside of linear TV. <\/li>\n<li>Discovery executives are focused mostly on <a class=\"gtmContentClick\" data-vars-link-text=\"returning CNN to its journalistic core\" data-vars-click-url=\"https:\/\/www.axios.com\/cnn-chris-licht-liberal-partisanship-31511ffe-747f-45c3-88dd-026ecf535224.html\" data-vars-content-id=\"b088c03c-b202-4756-8f5f-e64ee77b5095\" data-vars-headline=\"Scoop: CNN+ looks doomed\" data-vars-event-category=\"story\" data-vars-sub-category=\"story\" data-vars-item=\"in_content_link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.axios.com\/cnn-chris-licht-liberal-partisanship-31511ffe-747f-45c3-88dd-026ecf535224.html\" target=\"_self\" rel=\"noopener\">returning CNN to its journalistic core<\/a>, a point Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav reiterated in a town hall last week. That includes less of a focus on primetime perspective programming, and more of a focus on hard, breaking news. CNN+ features an array of soft news content, which doesn&#8217;t align with Discovery&#8217;s broader vision for CNN. <\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>By the numbers:<\/strong> Last year, CNN brought in roughly $1 billion in profit, with a large portion from long-term distribution contracts for its live TV network, according to two sources. <\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Warner Bros. Discovery executives are willing to forgo some of CNN&#8217;s short-term profit growth from linear TV advertising to ensure the network focuses on hard news over ratings, according to one source. <\/li>\n<li>CNN+ executives were originally hoping to attract 2 million subscribers in the first year and 15-18 million over four years, as Axios has previously <a class=\"gtmContentClick\" data-vars-link-text=\"reported\" data-vars-click-url=\"https:\/\/www.axios.com\/cnn-plus-cuts-warner-brothers-discovery-1be0ac3a-6952-4af0-b8e2-03dd6ae0839c.html\" data-vars-content-id=\"b088c03c-b202-4756-8f5f-e64ee77b5095\" data-vars-headline=\"Scoop: CNN+ looks doomed\" data-vars-event-category=\"story\" data-vars-sub-category=\"story\" data-vars-item=\"in_content_link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.axios.com\/cnn-plus-cuts-warner-brothers-discovery-1be0ac3a-6952-4af0-b8e2-03dd6ae0839c.html\" target=\"_self\" rel=\"noopener\">reported<\/a>.<\/li>\n<li>Around $300 million has been spent and hundreds of jobs have been created to support the service. <\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>The big picture: <\/strong>Blame bad timing, limited communications and misaligned incentives for how CNN and Discovery got strategically misaligned on such a massive product rollout.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Fearing regulatory scrutiny, former WarnerMedia former parent AT&#038;T and Discovery avoided direct communication about CNN&#8217;s strategy until the deal officially closed. <\/li>\n<li>While Discovery executives felt they made their priorities publicly clear, CNN executives didn&#8217;t feel corporate pressure from WarnerMedia to pause the rollout, according to four WarnerMedia sources. <\/li>\n<li>Former CNN head Jeff Zucker&#8217;s <a class=\"gtmContentClick\" data-vars-link-text=\"sudden exit\" data-vars-click-url=\"https:\/\/www.axios.com\/cnn-boss-jeff-zucker-resigns-9707aaf5-aa44-4d96-b32b-83f235cefcce.html\" data-vars-content-id=\"b088c03c-b202-4756-8f5f-e64ee77b5095\" data-vars-headline=\"Scoop: CNN+ looks doomed\" data-vars-event-category=\"story\" data-vars-sub-category=\"story\" data-vars-item=\"in_content_link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.axios.com\/cnn-boss-jeff-zucker-resigns-9707aaf5-aa44-4d96-b32b-83f235cefcce.html\" target=\"_self\" rel=\"noopener\">sudden exit<\/a> in early February didn&#8217;t help solve for some of those communications issues. <\/li>\n<li>CNN&#8217;s new leader, Chris Licht, doesn&#8217;t officially begin until May 2nd, but has joined Zaslav on meetings. <\/li>\n<\/ul>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Warner Bros. Discovery has suspended all external marketing spend for CNN+ and has laid off CNN&#8217;s longtime chief financial officer as it weighs what to do with the subscription streaming<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":498,"featured_media":2315279,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1445970","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1445970","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/498"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1445970"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1445970\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2315279"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1445970"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1445970"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1445970"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}