Two weeks after launching, CNN’s new subscription-based streaming service is apparently struggling to attract daily viewers and paying customers, internal data suggests.
CNBC reported on Tuesday that, according to sources familiar with the matter, fewer than 10,000 people are currently using CNN+ on a daily basis. Such non-public data, which is typically guarded carefully by media companies, was shared on the condition of anonymity, CNBC noted.
“We continue to be happy with the launch and its progress after only two weeks,” a CNN spokesperson told the business news outlet. A CNN spokesperson did not immediately respond to The Daily Beast’s request for further comment.
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For comparison purposes, CNN, which has lost a good chunk of its audience since the network’s post-2020 election highs, averaged 857,000 total primetime viewers in this year’s first quarter.
While the sub-10,000 numbers don’t take into account the streaming service’s Monday launch on smart TV company Roku—which is likely to boost daily viewership—it still hints at the lack of buzz surrounding the platform and casts doubt on its long-term prospects following this month’s Warner Bros. Discovery merger.
The network attempted to gin up excitement in recent months by touting splashy hires for the platform such as ex-Fox News anchor Chris Wallace, former NPR podcaster Audie Cornish, and sports broadcaster Jemele Hill. Yet, in a space already packed with entertainment-focused streaming services, critics have been skeptical of the demand for a cable news-centric subscription app.
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A rocky start may further cement the possibility that, as The Daily Beast’s Confider newsletter has reported in recent weeks, massive cuts may be on the horizon and the executive in charge of CNN+ could soon be out of a job.
“CNN+ is another headache Zaslav has inherited; under man-about-town and Confider’s favorite schmoozer Chris Licht, the underwhelming streaming service is expected to part ways with Andrew Morse, EVP and head of CNN+, with layoffs expected in the coming weeks,” Confider noted on Monday night.
Axios media reporter Sara Fischer additionally reported that investment in the digital news app is expected to be severely cut owing to a lack of interest from the public. While CNN initially planned to invest a billion dollars into CNN+, “hundreds of millions of dollars” are now expected to be sliced from that total.
“CNN executives, with help from consulting firm McKinsey, originally expected to bring in around 2 million subscribers in the U.S. in the service's first year and 15-18 million after four years,” Fischer wrote, adding: “Sources say those subscriber expectations will need to be dramatically reduced if investment is cut.”
Former WarnerMedia CEO Jason Kilar, who left the company last week amid the merger's finalization, rushed forward with the launch of CNN+ ahead of Warner merging with Discover. He later insisted, just before leaving, that early subscription numbers looked strong for the service.
“It’s ahead of my expectations in terms of where the subscribers are, the engagement, the receptiveness that we’re getting in terms of people’s response to the journalists of CNN+,” he told CNBC earlier this month.
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