- | 10:00 am
What happens to CNN Plus subscribers now that the streaming service is shutting down?
The quick demise of CNN Plus drew immediate comparisons to Quibi, the ill-fated streaming service founded by Jeffrey Katzenberg.
CNN Plus, the newly launched paid streaming service, is already shutting down.
News of its troubles emerged earlier this week whenĀ AxiosĀ reported that CNNās parent company, Warner Bros. Discovery, hadĀ suspended marketingĀ for the much-hyped service, sparking widespread speculation that the product would not survive much longer. It will officially shut down on April 30.
Current subscribers of CNN Plus will receive āprorated refunds of subscription fees,ā according to CNN and WBD.
Chris Licht, the new head of CNN Worldwide, hinted that some version of CNN Plus could be folded into a larger streaming service at the company. āAs we become Warner Bros. Discovery, CNN will be strongest as part of WBDās streaming strategy which envisions news as an important part of a compelling broader offering along with sports, entertainment, and nonfiction content,ā Licht said in a statement.
On social media Thursday, the quick demise of CNN Plus drew immediate comparisons to Quibi, theĀ ill-fated streaming serviceĀ founded by Jeffrey Katzenberg, which folded after six months. However, CNN Plus appears to be, at least in part, a victim of interoffice politics, as the bosses at WBDāwhich was created from a recently completed merger between AT&Tās WarnerMedia assets and Discovery Inc.āwere apparently not fans of the concept, asĀ VarietyĀ reports.
CNN Plus did not offer a live feed from its eponymous cable network, but ratherĀ companion contentĀ featuring additional programing and CNN personalitiesāa source of confusion for some customers who had expected it to function as an extension of CNN proper. The service cost $6 a month or $60 a year.