CNN+ launched its paid streaming service on March 29. It is reportedly facing teething problems as the number of viewers who sign up on a daily basis are less than 10,000, according to sources. The cable news network has not as yet released any data on the matter. It was available on Roku only on Monday and is still not streaming on Android TV.
The subscription news streaming service of CNN was launched by CEO Jason Kilar two weeks before Warner Bros. merged with Discovery. He had been upbeat about the numbers in an interview with CNBC but had not shared the numbers. He left the company, a few days ago.
A CNN spokesperson told CNBC that they continued “to be happy with the launch and its progress after only two weeks.” However, people familiar with the matter told the outlet that fewer than 10,000 people were using the recently launched streaming service, on the condition of anonymity, as the data is nonpublic.
According to a report in Axios, around $300 million has been spent on the streaming service, including marketing. The news channel had planned a billion dollar investment in the next four years but the outlet said that hundreds of millions of those dollars will no longer be spent.
CNN will be lead by Chris Licht from May 1. Many decisions including the new budget and more will be discussed when he is at the helm. There could be many changes including resignations as well as job cuts if the budget is cut. There could also be a decrease in the projected viewership if funds get limited.
Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav has not commented publicly on CNN+ after the merger. In February, he told CNBC that he had not got a business review on what CNN+ was going to be and how it was going to be offered.
People familiar with the matter said that it could be offered as a part of a bundle that also had the popular streaming platforms HBO Max and Discovery+, which already have millions of subscribers.
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