CNN+ will shut down just one month after its launch

CNN spent a reported $300 million launching a service that will shut down after less than 30 days of operation.

Published: April 21, 2022 12:21pm

Updated: April 21, 2022 1:34pm

CNN+, the streaming service launched mere weeks ago by the cable news outlert, will shut down on April 30, according to the network.

Hundreds of staffers were informed Thursday of the decision.

The decision was reportedly made by the new management at CNN following a merger between parent company WarnerMedia and Discovery.

The chief executive of Warner Bros. Discovery (the merged company), David Zaslav, envisions all of the company's brands eventually existing under one streaming service. It is possible that some CNN+ content will live on in that form.

The streaming service, which CNN spent a reported $300 million launching, and had plans to spend $1 billion on over the next four years, was initially touted by company executives as the most significant launch since Ted Turner founded the brand in 1980.

Several veteran broadcast journalists, including Fox's Chris Wallace, were given hefty contracts to join the entity, which ultimately struggled to attract subscribers to pay for its hours of daily live programming.