Remember when Chris Wallace left Fox News? How could you not, we were partying all night. Wallace said he was happy to be working for Jeff Zucker and given the freedom that streaming allows. It was perfect. Wallace was hired to do a show on CNN’s streaming paysite. Creating a CNN paysite is the dumbest idea since Ursala Berkowitz said to Ferd Burfle, “Let’s go vote for Joe Biden.
If people aren’t willing to watch CNN for free, why in the world would they pay to see it on a streaming site they have to pay for? Indeed, there are less than 10,000 subscribers. They must be losing their shirts. It might have worked if they had some people that could excite the potential subscribers. But, Chris Wallace? Fuggetaboutit. CNN plans to cut the budget by millions and could be getting ready for a shutdown.
Wallace said this about switching to CNN:
“I am thrilled to join CNN+. After decades in broadcast and cable news, I am excited to explore the world of streaming. I look forward to the new freedom and flexibility streaming affords in interviewing major figures across the news landscape—and finding new ways to tell stories. As I embark on this adventure, I am honored and delighted to join Jeff Zucker and his great team. I can’t wait to get started.”
What is he talking about? At Fox News, he was constantly telling stories. He just didn’t start them with “once upon a time” like most fictional storytellers.
Via the AXIOS and the Palmieri Report:
Investment and projections for CNN+ are expected to be cut dramatically in response to a low adoption rate, two sources tell Axios.
By the numbers: The news giant was initially planning to invest around $1 billion in the service over the next four years.
-Hundreds of millions of dollars are expected to be cut from that original investment total.
-To date, around $300 million has been spent on the subscription service, which includes a sizable marketing investment.
-The new company’s leadership team still has yet to decide the ultimate fate of CNN+. CNN’s new boss, Chris Licht, will start May 1.
-Details: CNN executives, with help from consulting firm McKinsey, originally expected to bring in around 2 million subscribers in the U.S. in the service’s first year and 15-18 million after four years.
-They originally planned for the service to break even after four years.
-Much of the subscriber opportunity executives see comes from international markets.
-Sources say those subscriber expectations will need to be dramatically reduced if investment is cut.
