The New Management at CNN May Have Already Begun Dismantling the Dysfunctional Network Apparatus – Opinion

There are more signs that new bosses will be walking through CNN, pointing out where they need to go.

As the merger of Warner Media and Discovery Networks was nearing completion, it quickly became a matter not-if but-when the CNN struggling news network would undergo changes. That aNswer is coming to light – it is nYou can find out more at ow. These much-needed improvements at this iconic, but failing news agency are already being made and are moving quickly.

We reported yesterday on David Zaslav’s new merger and how he was targeting CNN for significant changes. The beleaguered CNN+ has reportedly begun to retool. At Axios, Sarah Fischer detailsThe new Warners/Discovery leadership is working to address what has been a major problem in the company’s history.

Warner Bros. Discovery has suspended all external marketing spend for CNN+ and has laid off CNN’s longtime chief financial officer as it weighs what to do with the subscription streaming service moving forward, five sources tell Axios.

It took three weeks. CNN+ was made unavailable for three weeks. The management has already declared it to be a failure after three weeks. The Discovery executives have a lot of streaming experience and are now able to see what works for consumers. It is possible to roll it into HBO Max, similar to NBC News and Peacock, or bundle the services (similarly Disney+/Hulu/ESPN+), offering the content free of charge in an ad-supported deal.

While the management team at CNN+ was unhappy with its rollout before the merger, certain realities rendered a delay unaffordable. These included the fact that many talent had been paid high salaries and would now be working on the sidelines to make content. It is evident that CNN+ did not meet projections. This was partly due to unrealistic projections. 

CNN staffers had previously looked into hardcopy news sources to help them set subscription goals. Although Wall Street Journal and Washington Post both have more than 2.5 million subscribers, that’s not a fair comparison. These are subscriptions that have been converted from print editions to digital versions. This is different from cable news networks which remain on air and offer an additional premium product. 

True comparison is Fox Nation with 1.5 million users of its streaming service. This is an average of three years for the cable news channel, which is much more popular in terms of ratings. For a network with a viewership that is sometimes less than half of Fox’s and as low at 20% in primetime, a fair estimate would be around a couple hundred thousand subscribers. This subscriber figure would need to be maintained over time. Discovery Management is aware of this fact and are currently looking at new plans to launch their brand-new service.

Sarah Fischer says that although some within the network are upset that CNN+ money is not being offered, this, like projection staff members, is a reality. They aren’t going to waste money on poor results if they are in a state of streamlining, restructuring and optimization. 

With an initial projected budget of $1 billion for the service, that figure flies directly in the face of Zalav’s pledge to trim $3 billion from the new company’s expenditures. It is unlikely that the planned expenditure will survive, especially when you consider the poor return on initial investment. This trainwreck has seen marketing costs of $300,000. 

It is yet another example of the quick action taken by new operators. It is remarkable that CNN was still in status quo as of November 2017. While CNN was still in the thick of the insurrection, viewers were still obsessed by Fox News and, despite numerous reasons for his dismissal, Chris Cuomo continued to be on TV in primetime. Cuomo was gone in the not too distant past, Jeff Zucker is now the chief of Fox, while the Fox focus has decreased and so is the obsession with the January 6th riot.

Zucker drove the story’s focus, and CNN+ was no different. Warners/Discovery had to be stopped from having any influence on the rollout of the merger until it received governmental approval. The debut was set. The next step was to remove Zucker and make any moves possible with the service without him. As you can see, Zucker was replaced by Jason Kilar who had been his trusted ally and stepped down as Warners CEO as per plan.

Ironically, a new product by CNN is seen as the old method of doing business at CNN. It has proven to be a loss-making business model. Recent years have seen profitability primarily through carriage deals with satellite and cable providers. There has been less advertising. It is an indication that people are consuming CNN by default, rather than by choosing to. It is an issue that the new management has recognized as a need to be fixed.