The Wall Street Journal On May 13, CNN+ conducted an intense deep dive into the CNN+ disaster. You will find that it was much worse than you thought. There were only 5000 people watching at any given time. In a country that has 329 millions inhabitants, this is a staggering number.
It Journal’s Lillian Rizzo explained in a scoop: “The chief executive of the newly formed Warner Bros. After learning that the service, which costs $5.99 per month, signed up approximately 150,000 users in its first weeks, Discovery’s David Zaslav decided to discontinue CNN+.People familiar with the situation stated that it was monitored by between 5,000 to 10,000 people at all times.”
CNN’s delusional vision is amazing! In a March 2022 pitch, the network predicted that 29 million “super fans” could pay to watch them.
CNN+ even sent out swag packets to employees as a final insult… After they had been laid off, the streaming channel collapsed. Here’s Rizzo recounting the popcorn makers and other CNN+ gear they received after the bad news:
CNN’s new owner, Warner Bros. Discovery, WBD 1.55%▲ said on April 21 that it was shutting down the weeks-old streaming service CNN+, leaving several hundred employees to look for new jobs.
A few weeks later, several staff received boxes from CNN containing items from the network, including pens and food containers. You can also buy items like headphones and a popcorn machine.The gifts were appreciated by the recipients.
Some arrived with handwritten welcome notes. “This is an incredible time to be part of CNN,” one note said. “Build relationships and take time to connect with colleagues and learn so that you make the most of your time here.”
The ill-timed gifts, which CNN says were sent mistakenly, were another gut punch for staffers that had bet on CNN+—drawn by the promise of growth in streaming—only to watch it collapse in epic fashion.
Try eBay if you want to keep track of the CNN+ weeks. A quick search finds that you can by a “CNN+ Plus Defunct Failed Company” mug for $16.95. You are not yet able to make popcorn, but you can check back over the next few weeks.
Finally, WSJ reported that new CNN president Chris Licht didn’t want his first meeting with CNN+ staffers to be their firing. He met up with them. Two days later, Licht dropped the ax.
Warner Bros. A person who was familiar with Discovery’s plans for shutting down the service said that Discovery did so on April 14. Mr. Licht wasn’t slated to take over at CNN for another few weeks. He was aware plans were being drawn up to make the shutdown announcement and didn’t want that to be his first interaction with CNN+ staffers, the person said. He went to the CNN+ office on April 19 and walked around shaking people’s hands, making small talk and mentioning that his wife worked at CNN for years, people who attended said.
The news was broken to CNN’s top executives two days later by Mr. Licht.
NewsBusters documented every minute of the CNN+ era. (If you can call 32 days an “era.”)
What items lasted for longer than CNN+ New Coke, Tom Brady’s retirement and carrots stored in the fridge, among other things.
CNN could have purchased something instead of spending $300 million on CNN+. 24096,285 pizzas and 6200 Tesla Model 3 vehicles are just a few of the many things that CNN could have bought.
CNN+ says it only gets worse as you keep hearing more. You’ll be notified if this popcorn maker appears on eBay.
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