Another CNN streaming service is coming, because that totally worked last time
CNN is laying off more employees and making plans to launch another streaming service, according to a memo from CEO Mark Thompson obtained by The Hollywood Reporter. Around 200 employees jobs are being cut, affecting six percent of CNN’s current staff.
The changes are being made in response to “profound and irreversible shifts in the way audiences in America and around the world consume news,” according to Thompson. Launching a new streaming service after the abject failure of CNN+ — the former streaming home of Stanley Tucci: Searching for Italy — is apparently tied to that same thinking.
According to Thompson:
Today, I can announce that we plan to develop a new way for digital subscribers at home and abroad to stream news programming from us on any device they choose. It’s early days but we’ve already established that there’s immense demand for it not just in America but across much of the world.
Some of CNN’s shows are already available on Max, the streaming service of its parent company Warner Bros. Discovery, but this new service would presumably be a benefit for subscribers who pay for CNN directly. The company launched a subscription to CNN.com in October 2024 for $3.99 per month or $29.99 per year.
Given the less than 10,000 daily users CNN+ was reportedly able to bring in, it definitely seems like any new streaming service will have an uphill battle.
