CNN+ To Close

[James2001]

Will CNN come back onto Virgin now they seem to have realised people aren't going to pay for CNN stand alone? I miss watching it, but I'm not going to the effort of taking out an extra subscription for it.

I'm not sure there is a direct connexion, as it didn't launch in this country (and in the US it is still part of cable and satellite packages in addition to CNN+), but Discovery may well take a different view re cable in the UK.

Though it was still removed from Virgin to be replaced by a pay-for stream on the CNN website- which I doubt many pay for (particularly as I'd have to watch via either my computer, phone or tablet, and not be able to watch it through the TV). It's a shame, as I watched their coverage of the US elections and capitol riots and enjoyed it, but I just don't consider it worth paying for as a stand alone service, especially when there's other options. For example NBC News Now is now on Virgin, and I can get CBS News and ABC News Live through my Roku box, so other ways to get US oriented news without needing to pay for CNN, as well as Al Jazeera, France 24 and NHK for international news through Virgin, and DW through Roku. IMO CNN shot themselves in the foot by taking themselves off broadcast platforms in the UK.

[Langham]

It's all rather bemusing   It's a costly mistake - new studios, new graphics, even new presenters. I was looking forward to seeing what guests Chris Wallace was going to interview. He left Fox News in a media flurry citing CNN+ as one of his reasons, as well as criticising his old network. Where's he going to go now? I don't really see him as a CNN personality, even though he reportedly lobbied for his own show (possibly replacing Cuomo) on the cable channel after the lack of subscribers to CNN+. *BUT* if he does, I think it is very welcome hiring, as the channel in my view needs to regain some of the gravitas and authority of old.

https://eu.usatoday.com/story/entertainm...400934001/

[RR]

IMO CNN shot themselves in the foot by taking themselves off broadcast platforms in the UK.

It is still on the other platforms it was on before, plus a few newer ones - as you mention having a Roku it is on Rakuten TV, where it is a free channel for example. It's also free on many TVs - on my LG it is IP-125 within the LG channels.

As I say above, I suspect there is a better chance of a deal with Virgin Media being agreed now under new owners than previously - as part of a wider package of channels, and with any specific subscription completely off the table for now.

[i.h]

Isn't there a degree of common ownership between Liberty Global / VMO2 and what's now Warner Bros Discovery? IIRC Malone has fingers in both pies.

Not that it should matter much, clearly more exposure is better for a news channel (and therefore they should be ensuring that they're on Sky and Freesat too) but it might grease the wheels.

[James2001]

as you mention having a Roku it is on Rakuten TV, where it is a free channel for example..

That must be very new, last time I looked Rakuten TV was just a platform for buying premium movies.

[FrancisC]

Sara Fischer says Chris Wallace could be going to the main network but not at 9pm - which, in my opinion, is a good idea - full hour of straight “newscast”, rather than interviews or analysis (which all has its place) is preferable:

https://twitter.com/sarafischer/status/1...ixwo9QmqWw

[CantGetIn]

I don't really understand the logic in starting a service and then pulling it so soon. It just screams that the people in charge of CNN don't have a clear plan about where to take the company and that is not good news for CNN in the long term. I don't see CNN mixing well with HBO max etc.

[Omnipresent]

CNN clearly thought pressing ahead with the launch of CNN+ would help its chances of surviving the merger.

It's a quite a big corporate governance failure that the launch went ahead, with a lot of money wasted in the process. Normally in merger and acquisitions activity, pretty much all major decisions are put on hold until the deal completes.

[Mouseboy33]

I think pulling the service before it went on too long was the best move. Just flush it. Get the bad, embarrassing press out of the way. And it will soon be forgotten. Instead of trying to make something work that clearly wasnt going to just to save face is foolish. The channel just went thru a double wammy of upheaval. A new leader a merger and new corporate overlords in one fell swoop. I knew this service wasnt going to be successful. But Im actually happy the new leadership is not shy about making quick changes instead of holding onto something and trying to make it work. Its painful and embarrassing Im sure. But, rip the plaster off and move on. HOPEFULLY this signals the new era of CNN with bold fresh ideas. Hopefully they rebuild. Its going to be hard. But if they dont get it whipped together soon, I feel the channel may get truncated and downsized to a smaller service by the new penny pinching corporate overlords.
They days of a fully-commercial straight-forward news channel.....probably is gone. Large numbers of people just dont consume news the same anymore. Unfortunately CNN allowed HLN (Headline News) to be buried. That pie has been sliced 50 million ways by all the new services available such as CBS News Streaming, Newsy, ABCNews Live, etc. Zucker doing that to HLN was a massive error amongst many.

But the biggest problem to overcome is reputation. The Trump era really did significant damage. Im not specifically talking about the level of the coverage, but I do think he was the most controversial and damaging president in US history, but the way they turn the channel in talking head central and abandoned other news for the most part. But also how they were used by people as something bad and how they were and continued to mocked by the right and is the butt of the joke on FNC and the weird creepy reaches of the right. Those viewers are gone and will never return. So it seem to me they need to double down on the international audience, but its going to be more difficult to monitize today since every little country has a "24hr news channel". WHat is CNN's role going forward?

[Charles]

I'm a little surprised they pulled the plug so quickly. Obviously there were a lot of structural issues and a flawed roadmap for CNN+, but overall, I would have thought they could have kept it functioning in a low profile form before transforming it into something more sustainable. All of CNN's competitors have launched standalone streaming products unique for the web, and it seems like a mistake for CNN to enter that space (even with a flawed concept) only to withdraw so quickly.

CNN should be building something really robust like what NBC has been doing for a few years now with NBC News Now. It's going to take CNN quite some time to catch up.

[May_Dupname]

I wonder if GBNews should be a bit more worried now? I know Warner Bros Discovery are only a partial shareholder, but if they're willing to pull the plug on a start-up from an established loss making brand like CNN just a month after launch, it makes me wonder if the new board and management will be reviewing all loss making or duplicated sections of the business as part of the merger?

[Newsroom]

This is pure embarrassment for CNN+ though I'm not shocked. Cancelled after a trial. Way too presumptuous it would succeed when there is soooo much news on offer for free.

I feel for the talent that were probably forced to take up positions and of course Zucker.

[Medianext.MX]

And, in an unexpected turn of events, CNN+ is dead as of today. The Source with Kasie Hunt and Reliable Sources Daily had their final broadcasts last week.

https://deadline.com/2022/04/cnn-plus-to...235011538/

Additionally, Axios revealed the numbers behind the construction of CNN+:

https://www.axios.com/cnn-plus-pitch-dec...c725e.html