CNN To Launch New Streaming Service As It Sets Sights On Digital Future; About 200 Jobs To Be Cut In Restructuring
CNN is cutting about 200 jobs as it focuses on a digital future, the network said Thursday, while its CEO Mark Thompson unveiled plans for a new subscription streaming service.
In a memo to staffers, Thompson wrote, “Our objective is a simple one: to shift CNN’s gravity towards the platforms and products where the audience themselves are shifting and, by doing that, to secure CNN’s future as one of the world’s greatest news organizations. America and the world need high quality, fair-minded, trustworthy sources of news more than ever. This difficult and sometimes painful process of change is the only way to make sure we can still provide it.”
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The changes also include ones to its network’s schedule, with The Situation Room with Wolf Blitzer and Pamela Brown replacing Jim Acosta’s 10 a.m. ET show, and plans for a new morning show with Audie Cornish, according to The New York Times. It’s unclear what other role Acosta will take, but the network had previously offered him the midnight time slot, likely meaning that he would have to move to Los Angeles. There has been some backlash to the plans as an effort to downplay Acosta’s presence, as he often sparred with Trump during his first term.
The network also plans to launch a new subscription lifestyle product, as Thompson has previously signaled CNN would put a greater emphasis on areas outside of political news.
The job cuts, about 6% of the workforce, are focused on its traditional linear TV, and would be countered by a $70 million Warner Bros Discovery investment in digital, with plans to hire 100 people in the first half of this year and more after that, per the network.
In his memo, Thompson said, “Yes, there are job-losses – around 6% of the current CNN workforce will be impacted – but we don’t expect total headcount to fall much this year, if at all. That’s because of the $70 million we’re investing in our digital plans and the many new jobs it will pay for. Some of that money’s going in product and tech, but a lot is also going into new high-quality journalism and storytelling.”
CNN already has a streaming presence on Max, the Warner Bros Discovery platform, that mirrors a significant share of linear content. But in his memo, Thompson wrote that they will “continue to have a strong presence on Max, but we also believe it is not a complete answer to the future of the great linear CNN experience.”
He wrote that they “plan to develop a new way for digital subscribers at home and abroad to stream news programming from us on any device they choose. It’s early days but we’ve already established that there’s immense demand for it not just in America but across much of the world.”
Thompson also signaled that they have been working with distributors — i.e., cable and satellite operators — on how to bring the service to the market. Like other linear networks, CNN has to balance the need for traditional TV subscriber fees with the urgency of shifting consumer habits to streaming. In 2022, CNN launched CNN+, a subscription service with distinct content from the main network, but it sputtered and was shut down after about one month.
Under Thompson, who joined CNN in 2023, the network has upgraded CNN.com, with Alex MacCallum leading digital products and services, and Thompson wrote that there would be a “further pivot to digital video,” as well as the new lifestyle product. CNN started a subscription paywall for CNN.com last year. MacCallum also plans a restructuring of her leadership team, with the creation of Content and Transformation, Audience and Features teams in her group. Also planned is the creation of a Video News Editorial organization to coordinate video across all platforms, including digital and linear TV.
CNN has seen a significant audience decline on its flagship network in the past four years, a reflection in part of audience erosion in cable TV. The new lineup also will reflect budget considerations. Thompson wrote that the changes will “strengthen our domestic schedule” while “also placing our production costs on sustainable footing to match the changing economics of linear television platforms.” Last year, the network overhauled its morning lineup, with the programming no longer produced in New York but is operation in Atlanta, where there are cost savings.
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