FromĀ axios.com by Sara Fischer:
Warner Bros. Discovery has suspended all external marketing spend for CNN+ and has laid off CNN’s longtime chief financial officer as it weighs what to do with the subscription streaming service moving forward, five sources tell Axios.
Why it matters: Inside CNN, executives think the launch has been successful. Discovery executives disagree.
- CNN+ has roughly 150,000 subscribers so far.
- Warner Bros. Discovery wants to eventually build one giant service around HBO Max.
- New leadership has replaced CNN CFO Brad Ferrer with Neil Chugani, Discovery’s current CFO for streaming and international, as part of a broader finance team restructuring.