Despite the hype, CNN’s Internet streaming service, CNN+, has already tanked in its first month online after hiring the likes of left-wing “sports” commentators Jemele Hill and serial fabulist Rex Chapman.
CNN’s streaming service launched only two weeks ago to great fanfare, but now it is being reported that the company is already gutting its investment into the service by millions. Even left-wing Axios noted that the “dramatic cut” is being made “in response to low adoption,” i.e., disastrously low subscription levels.
CNN is now owned by WarnerMedia just as it is merging with Discovery, and some of the execs of these entities are a bit confused as to why CNN rushed through its launch of the now failing service before the merger was complete. And it also does not appear that the new slate of bosses who will have responsibility for CNN+ — including incoming CNN chief Chris Licht– are married to the idea of keeping the service in operation.
It also already appears that mass layoffs will hit CNN+ early as next month, Charles Gasparino reported on March 30.
This dire assessment should set some of CNN+’s new “stars” on edge.
Former ESPN commentator and hardcore leftist Jemele Hill, for one, was thrilled to be back to video after signing her deal with CNN+. Hill insisted in March that CNN+ was a perfect fit for her “boldness and strength.”
The crashing and burning of CNN+ might also be a blow to former NBA player and serial fake news purveyor Rex Chapman — often derided as the “king of misinformation.” Chapman came to CNN’s attention through his Twitter account, which is popular with leftists. He pushes a constant stream of fake news, deceptively altered video clips, lie-based lefty narratives, and calumnies. So naturally, CNN thought he was an excellent fit for the “news” service it was launching.
Then there is bitter ex-Fox News personality Chris Wallace. He has been disparaging his former employer and co-workers for months since abandoning his cushy Fox job to become a putative CNN+ star. Amusingly, Wallace was reportedly left sputtering in a fury after his CNN patron, Jeff Zucker, was fired as CNN’s chief shortly after Wallace quit Fox and joined CNN+.
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