It’s been two weeks since the launch of CNN Plus, and leaks about internal panic over the failure of the much-hyped streaming service keep coming.
SO WHAT
The post-Trump reckoning continues for CNN.
WHAT THEY’RE SAYING
On Tuesday alone, there were three anonymously sourced reports about how poorly things are going with CNN Plus.
SMALL AUDIENCE: The streaming service has yet to surpass 10,000 daily viewers, CNBC first reported.
- That’s despite CNN investing big in on-air talent like former Fox News anchor Chris Wallace to appear online.
- “[T]he paltry audience casts doubt on the future of the application following the recently completed combination of Discovery and WarnerMedia into Warner Bros. Discovery,” per the report.
BIG CUTS: CNN is expected to slash hundreds of millions of dollars of planned spending on the streaming network, Axios reported earlier in the day.
- About $300 million has already been spent on CNN Plus, and the original plan was to invest another $700 million or so in the first four years, according to Axios.
- At that point, the service was expected to have 15-18 million subscribers and be profitable enough to break even.
- But those goals no longer look realistic.
UNHAPPY TALENT: Wallace is “having daily breakdowns” over CNN Plus’ glitchy rollout, if you believe Jon Nicosia, a former managing editor of Mediaite.
- Nicosia’s source said Wallace wants a “CNN show or is threatening to walk” and is “having staffers count how many times a day his promo is playing.”
- Fox Business reported last week that CNN Plus employees are “bracing for layoffs” amid disappointing subscription numbers.
“We continue to be happy with the launch and its progress after only two weeks,” a CNN spokesperson told CNBC.
- CNN Plus launched Monday on Roku, one of the biggest U.S. streaming companies, which should yield a subscriber boost.
HOW IT HAPPENED
After riding high on anti-Trump programming for seven years, CNN has been laid low by dwindling ratings and a series of scandals that in recent months led to the ouster of star anchor Chris Cuomo and former president Jeff Zucker.
- The new boss, Chris Licht, starts May 1, and no final decisions about CNN Plus have been made in the meantime, Axios reported.