CNN+ Cuts Expected as Network Fails to Gain Viewers

By WMAL.com

After announcing an investment of $1 billion over four years to launch CNN+ the network is expected to drastically scale back the investment due to the channel’s failure to gain users. As of April, CNN had invested nearly $300 million into the subscription service.

Working closely with the consulting firm McKinsey, executives for the network initially expected CNN+ to garner 2 million users in the first year and break ever over four years with the addition of between 15-18 million users. The subscription service currently sees fewer than 10,000 daily users, well below initial projections, according to a report by CNBC. The failure marks another set back for CNN which has bled viewership over the past year and a half.

Chris Wallace, former Fox anchor who left the conservative network to join CNN+, is reportedly irate over the networks failure to build the streaming service as initially planned. “Chris Wallace is ‘having daily breakdowns’ over the ‘miserable launch’ of [CNN+],” said reporter Jon Nicosia. “[Wallace] wants a ‘CNN show or is threatening to walk’ they go on. ‘He is having staffers count how many times a day his promo is playing.’”

It is unclear what the future holds for the failing news network’s endeavor into streaming.