After less than a month, CNN Plus is gone.
We’re crossing our fingers that you didn’t sign up for CNN Plus during the “Deal of a Lifetime discount” offered by the cable network. A 50% discount was available to anybody who signed up for the $5.99 per month subscription and kept their account active. CNN Plus, on the other hand, is no more. After less than a month, it disintegrated.
According to Variety, Warner Bros. Discovery, the parent company of CNN Plus, is shutting down the network. According to “two persons acquainted with the situation” who spoke to Variety, “staffers, as well as fans and readers throughout the globe,” are receiving specifics today. Afterwards, CNN verified the story, confirming on April 30 that the programme will be shut down one month after its premiere on March 29.
A few days ago, Netflix reported its first-ever overall subscriber drop in a financial quarter as the latest negative news in the streaming media market. In the first quarter of 2022, the red streaming machine lost more than 200,000 members.
It’s possible that CNN Plus executives would have prefered to lose that many subscribers. Sarah Fisher of Axios has reported that CNN Plus has “approximately 150,000 members” as of the beginning of this week.
As of this writing, CNN confirms that CNN Plus will be ceasing down.
When it comes to streaming services, “consumers are looking for simplicity and an all-in-one solution that gives a better experience and more value than standalone products,” said Discovery’s streaming chief J.B. Perrette.
How did CNN Plus go so wrong?
For CNN Plus, it seems like the service launched at the wrong moment. The service was launched at a time when the finest streaming providers were at their most competitive.
The market is overcrowded: HBO Max is on the increase, Netflix is struggling to attract members, and other streaming services like Peacock and Paramount Plus are providing live events and breaking news. In this market, there is no doubt that it is overcrowded.
While it has taken a long time for a huge success and another long time for anything that’s not Ted Lasso to find its audience on Apple TV Plus, series like Severance, The Afterparty and Pachinko are now prospering on the service. First time a streaming service has won Best Picture Oscar for CODA. Despite this, it was only possible because Apple was willing to let things run in the quiet months.
CNN is one among the numerous brands of the Warner Bros. Discovery empire that has been acquired by the new owners. A company that is acquired by another company may have greater demands from the new owners. CNN officials believe the debut of CNN Plus has been a success, according to Fischer’s article in Axios, but that’s not enough for “Discovery execs,” who disagree.
HBO Max and Discovery Plus are expected to be merged into a new super-service, and CNN programming might be included.
CNN Plus suffers from the “ESPN Plus issue,” as I like to call it. ESPN Plus did not come with any live ESPN channels when it started and still does not. CNN Plus made the same mistake, launching without the distinguishing feature that makes its name so well-known.
ESPN Plus, on the other hand, has become a must-have for UFC fans, since PPVs are hosted there. It’s no longer an option for WWE fans not to use Peacock, which just acquired the rights to broadcast WWE events as well as its back library.
CNN Plus isn’t necessary if you’re already a CNN fan. Advertisement content indicated that CNN viewers, especially Don Lemon and Anderson Cooper, received more of their favourite characters. Because of this, CNN Plus seems to be a speciality service aimed towards CNN’s ardent followers.