Discovery and WarnerMedia are now one entity after a long-awaited merger. For the conglomerate’s new chief, David Zaslav, there are many issues to consider.
One is the fate of CNN+, which was launched by Jason Kilar, the previous head of WarnerMedia, just before the Zaslav takeover. Kilar decided on launching CNN+ with a planned budget of $300 million, a gigantic number to spend on a niche streaming service.
A lifetime subscription is $3 a month if you sign up now, but the question is whether or not it will be around for a lifetime as it’s now conceived. Around 100,000 subscribers have signed up in its first weeks. CNN+ is not a streaming version of CNN’s cable news, but rather has its own special programming. And there are doubts about the ability of CNN+ to attract superfans to the same extent as the streaming service from Fox News, Fox Nation.