Quote:
Originally Posted by Fiffy
Surprise! (not  )
How can you launch a paid CNN streaming service that doesn't include the actual CNN news without an additional cable subscription? Who did they think would sign up for this? |
It was always meant to be a complement and not a replacement for the CNN cable channel. CNN is one of the cornerstones of the traditional Cable TV package and they weren't trying to directly compete with it. CNN made over $1 BILLION in
profits last year. They also were only asking for $2.99 a month and you could get it cheaper than that for the life of your subscription if you took advantage of a promotion they were offering.
It's also not being shut down because it wasn't "successful", since it hasn't even been running a full month yet.
This is more about the new leadership (Discovery) having a different long term strategy for streaming than the old ownership (AT&T/WarnerMedia). CNN also just had a recent change in leadership with Jeff Zucker exiting as President in February and Chris Licht from CBS now in his place.
It's just odd that CNN/WarnerMedia pushed through with this and launched it knowing that the new bosses might have a different strategy.
It's looking more clear that in the near future Warner Bros. Discovery will have one single streaming service that offers a variety of content from all of its properties including CNN; instead of offering a bundle with separate services.