platform flow CNN+, of CNN’s North American news series, will close April 30 after launching at the end of March in pomp and circumstance, the service’s owner, Warner Bros Discovery, announced Thursday, April 21. The subscription news service, similar to platforms like Netflix or HBO, has abruptly ended, at the same time ushering in new leadership in the North American audiovisual world.
To explain the reason for this failure, it is necessary to detail the course of two companies and the power struggle between them. Discovery Media Group, which owns channels such as Discovery Channel and Food Network, began in 2021 a merger with Warner Media, which is owned by Telecommunications North American AT&T.
In 2018, AT&T acquired the company, then called TimeWarner, for $85 billion (about €78 billion at the current exchange rate), in an effort to ensure attractive content for its cable offering, vertically integrating the business.
However, the cable lost its ground against flowAT&T decided to start a merger between Warner Media and Discovery Inc. In 2021, to free itself from the content sector to focus on its core business: telecommunications. WarnerMedia owns brands and services such as HBO and CNN itself.
CNN+ was conceived by former Warner Media CEO Jeff Zucker as a way to bring the cable news channel into line with the era of flowAnd According to the New York Times, which tells the story.
However, Discovery, which under the terms of the merger will control the new entity, led by David Zaslav, did not believe in the feasibility of the project of a non-linear news channel, and drew its attention to the planned large investment. billion dollars in four years.
However, with the merger approaching, the management of WarnerMedia, aware of the other party’s disagreement, moved forward with the project. However, Zucker left the company after an undisclosed affair, and his successor, Jason Keeler, went on to build CNN+: he hired several characters, produced green-lit content, and threw a lavish launch party.
The merger between WarnerMedia and Discovery took place on April 8 after an investment of $43 billion (€40 billion) by the latter in the process. The new entity, called Warner Bros Discovery, will be headed by Zaslav himself.
And on September 11, the meetings began to dismantle CNN +, which will be evaluated in front of an audience of up to 10,000 people only, according to sources heard by The New York Times. Until Tuesday, Netflix presented disastrous prospects for the next three monthsThat set the final blow for the project, whose cancellation was announced two days later.
Emily Brontë is a journalist and feature writer specialising in culture, entertainment, literature, and current affairs. She is dedicated to producing clear, accurate reporting that helps readers stay informed about developments in the UK and around the world.
