CNN+ struggles to lure viewers in its early days, drawing fewer than 10,000 daily users

[RandySF]

Fewer than 10,000 people are using CNN+ on a daily basis two weeks into its existence, according to people familiar with the matter.

The people spoke with CNBC on the condition of anonymity in order to discuss nonpublic data.

CNN+ launched on March 29. The subscription news streaming service, which charges $5.99 a month or $59.99 annually, only became available on Roku on Monday and still isn’t on Android TV. Still, the paltry audience casts doubt on the future of the application following the recently completed combination of Discovery and WarnerMedia into Warner Bros. Discovery.

To put that daily user number in perspective, CNN’s cable network suffered a sharp decline in viewership last year but still rang up an average of 773,000 total viewers a day.

“We continue to be happy with the launch and its progress after only two weeks,” a CNN spokesperson said.

CNN sought to make a huge splash with CNN+, luring big-name talent from rival news networks, such as Kasie Hunt from NBC News and Chris Wallace from Fox News. But there is broad skepticism whether there’s enough demand to sustain a stand-alone news streaming service, with entertainment-first options dominating the landscape. Disney+, for instance, posted more than 10 million subscribers on its first day.




https://www.cnbc.com/2022/04/12/cnn-plus-low-viewership-numbers-warner-bros-discovery.html

[lpbk2713]

1. Give me Sasha Foo and we'll talk.

And Aaron Brown.

[lisa58]

2. Not paying for news, food, history, etc

[JohnSJ]

3. While I am not intrigued by it, the fact that it is only available on Roku and no where else, I

don't think is a fair judge on its future, assuming of course it moves to other platforms

[Doc Sportello]

5. Having their individual streaming service probably sounds like a great idea in the boardroom

What they don't seem to realize is that the average and lower income users are already paying too much of their income for entertainment, etc. With each channel now wanting a streaming service specific to them, there simply aren't enough customers to go around. I watch CNN but no way I would pay for that. And I'm one of those who can't afford 15 different streaming services.

[JohnSJ]

6. That is personally the way I feel about it also. Since AT&T has split off their Warner Brothers

Discovery as a separate company, which includes CNN, HBOMAX, Discovery, etc. If they want CNN+ to succeed I think it would be wise for them to bundle with their other services under Warner Brothers Discovery

[Laura PourMeADrink]

7. We as HBO subscribers we're supposed to get HBO Max for

free.. but haven't bothered to figure out how. Can scratch that off to do list