CNN+ staffers, many of whom gave up solid positions at CNN, are furious over the network pulling the plug on the streaming service, the
New York Post reports.
(Read CNN CEO Chris Licht's internal memo to staffers here)
With fewer than 10,000 daily viewers for CNN+, parent company Warner Bros. Discovery decided to pull the plug on April 30, a mere month after launching CNN+ on March 29.
The stunning news of CNN's failed $300 million investment in CNN+ leaked out, and was promptly confirmed, midday Thursday.
Staffers are reportedly being being paid for the next 90 days, along with six months' severance and the chance to rejoin CNN.
But that is too little, too late for most. "The big people will likely be saved — but what about everybody else?" one insider tells The Post.
Indeed, CNN+ top talent — former Fox News anchor Chris Wallace (said to be paid $9 million a year) and MSNBC reporter Kasie Hunt ($1 million) — are expected to be given prime spots at CNN or on other platforms at Warner Bros. Discovery's media empire.
Some insiders say Wallace may be offered Chris Cuomo's former 9 p.m. primetime slot.
Shortly after CNN parent company, WarnerMedia, recently merged with Discovery, Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav met with Chris Licht, the newly minted president of CNN replacing Jeff Zucker.
"The irony is that Zaslav came in a few weeks ago and told the CNN+ staff they would soon be running the world — ahead of CNN anchors on TV," another CNN+ insider tells the Post.
The immediate goal for CNN+ was to reach 2 million subscriptions within a year and to hit a target of 15-18 million viewers by 2026. By The Post's estimate, it was bleeding $9,375,000 a day.
As one CNN+ staffer summed up the ordeal: "Is this the way David Zaslav operates?"
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