CNN’s streaming service shutting down a month after launch

CNN’s new streaming service, CNN+, is shutting down only a month after launch.

In a memo on Thursday, incoming CNN chief executive Chris Licht said the service would shut down at the end of April.

CNN+ launched when its parent was still part of AT&T.

It combined with Discovery earlier this month in a new company, Warner Bros Discovery, under Discovery chief executive David Zaslav, who had his own vision for CNN and its Warner siblings.

Discovery had previously suggested that it wanted to merge the new company’s separate streaming services, which include Discovery+ and HBO Max, into a single app.

Mr Licht said some CNN+ content will wind up on other company networks, and the streaming service’s employees will get opportunities to apply for jobs elsewhere inside Warner Bros Discovery.

The head of CNN+, Andrew Morse, is leaving the company.

Mr Licht wrote: “While today’s decision is incredibly difficult, it is the right one for the long-term success of CNN.

“It allows us to refocus resources on the core products that drive our singular focus: further enhancing CNN’s journalism and its reputation as a global news leader.”

Under AT&T, there were 100 million dollars (£76.7 million) in development costs and some 500 employees assigned to building out CNN+.