CNN+, the network’s widely anticipated (and mocked) streaming platform, finally came out and the rumor is that it’s quite the flop. Fox Business News’ Charles Gasparino tweeted out that rumor, saying:
Breaking: @CNNplus employees bracing for layoffs possibly as soon as May amid projections of lackluster sales of new streaming channel; CNN employees say new streaming channel could be merged into larger @discoveryplus as early as May unless subscriptions pick up 130 @FoxBusiness
Breaking: @CNNplus employees bracing for layoffs possibly as soon as May amid projections of lackluster sales of new streaming channel; CNN employees say new streaming channel could be merged into larger @discoveryplus as early as May unless subscriptions pick up 130 @FoxBusiness
— Charles Gasparino (@CGasparino) March 30, 2022
CNN’s Matt Dornic responded to Gasparino’s tweet in a reply, saying:
For the record, we are VERY happy with the launch of CNN+ and are only bracing for a long run of success.
For the record, we are VERY happy with the launch of CNN+ and are only bracing for a long run of success.
— Matt Dornic (@mdornic) March 30, 2022
Gasparino fired back with a snarky retweet comment, saying:
The “well oiled” @CNN PR Flack department won’t respond to my calls for comment but tweets out their response. Nice
The “well oiled” @CNN PR Flack department won’t respond to my calls for comment but tweets out their response. Nice https://t.co/jvSLIv3lie
— Charles Gasparino (@CGasparino) March 30, 2022
CNN, for its part, refused to deny the report when asked by the Daily Mail. That outlet, which apparently received a CNN response, unlike Gasparino, reported that:
CNN refused to deny a report that the company is bracing for layoffs as soon as May due to subpar subscription signups for its brand new CNN+ streaming service.
[…]’CNN + employees bracing for layoffs possibly as soon as May amid projections of lackluster sales of new streaming channel; CNN employees say new streaming channel could be merged into larger Discovery+ as early as May unless subscriptions pick up,’ Gasparino wrote on Twitter.
CNN officials rebuked statements that the launch of their streaming service was unsuccessful, but did not provide information on how many subscribers CNN+ currently has nor deny that possible layoffs were in store in the near future.
A CNN spokesperson did, however, tell the Daily Mail that “We are very happy with the launch of CNN+ and look forward to its long success ahead.”
While CNN’s nonresponsiveness other than vague, hyperpositive messaging makes it hard to know what’s really going on with the streaming service, as little has been reported. However, the streaming service struggling would make sense.
That’s because though the network released it as a way of making up lost revenue after suffering major problems in the cable market, the problem isn’t that CNN wasn’t a streaming service, it’s that CNN’s content is terrible.
That was noted on Twitter, with one hilarious commenter saying:
Your ratings for the free channel are a dumpster fire yet you somehow think a PAID version is gonna do well? Got a bridge in Brooklyn to sell ya
Your ratings for the free channel are a dumpster fire yet you somehow think a PAID version is gonna do well? Got a bridge in Brooklyn to sell ya
— Steve Bryson (@srbryson) March 31, 2022
The cable channel isn’t free, obviously: you have to pay for cable to get it. But, still, “Steve” has a point: the problem is that CNN has terrible content that very few Americans like, not that it doesn’t charge for a streaming service.
Perhaps a few fools and far-left firebrands will buy a CNN+ subscription so that they can be disappointed by Chris Wallace and the other B-list personalities the network has hired.
But that’s unlikely to solve the network’s problems, even if it itself isn’t a big enough issue to cause the rumored layoffs. The network needs better content, not a boilerplate streaming service.
By: Gen Z Conservative, editor of GenZConservative.com. Follow me on Parler and Gettr.
This story syndicated with permission from Will, Author at Trending Politics
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