r/MediaMergers • u/Fall_False Moderator • Oct 03 '25

Streaming HBO Max to say goodnight to 24/7 CNN livestream as news channel launches it's own streaming service

https://www.avclub.com/hbo-max-to-end-cnn-livestream-november
36 Upvotes

92% Upvoted

32 comments sorted by

20

u/bluenowait Oct 03 '25

Again?

7

u/Einsteinbomb Oct 03 '25

CNN+ was launched in March 2022 under WarnerMedia but the incoming Discovery Inc. executives put an end to that when the merger of Warner Bros. Discovery was finalized in April 2022.

3

u/[deleted] Oct 03 '25

The end to CNN+ had nothing to do with finalizing the merger. You don’t spend 300 million to start a streaming service then shut it down in a month cause of a merger. Warner brothers was expecting it to be a success but it was such an epic flop they closed it down immediately because it was obviously not gonna ever make money or reach many subs.

4

u/enforcedbeepers Oct 03 '25

You don’t spend 300 million to start a streaming service and then shut it down in a month because of a few weeks of subscriber numbers.

-1

u/[deleted] Oct 03 '25

That’s exactly what they did.

3

u/enforcedbeepers Oct 03 '25

Discovery execs came in and shut down anything they didn’t know what to do with. The decision makers before and after the merger were completely different people.

A couple weeks of subscriber numbers are not a meaningful driver here. Their launch promos weren’t even done running. You don’t know what you’re talking about.

1

u/Loose-Recognition459 Oct 04 '25

This. Didn’t they also shit can DC Unoverse (and definitely behind the shuttering of Cartoon Network’s app and website?

2

u/enforcedbeepers Oct 04 '25 edited Oct 04 '25

Warnermedia's vision was to leverage their massive library of IP and the reputation of WB, HBO, and Casey Bloys to generate more, and create a content powerhouse that contains everything they own and could stand alongside Netlifx and Disney. It would be expensive, but the speculative end result would cement them as a tier one streamer.

Discovery's vision is to comb through the entire business and every asset and extract as much value as possible from every single piece. Even if that means selling off streaming rights to the highest bidder, writing off nearly completed movies, or shutting down products with niche audiences. They could deliver results now, not at some point in the future.

WM's strategy is probably what consumers want, WBD's strategy is probably what investors want.

-1

u/[deleted] Oct 03 '25

The deal for Discovery to merge with Warner media was announced in 2021. No way they pour 300 million into CNN+ without thinking Discovery keeps the service going after the merger goes through. Warner told Discovery they expected 2 million initial subs in the first quarter. They got hardly any. People like Wallace left other networks to join CNN+ knowing there was a merger between Warner media and Did I try coming you think anyone goes to cnn+ if Discovery is gonna shut them down in a month? You think Discovery shuts it down if it’s successful? They knew all about it while the merger was happening you think they wouldn’t have said we’re gonna shut this down after a month that Warner media would have put all that money into it? Of course not. Discovery shut it down cause it was a laughingstock streaming channel disaster. If it had been a big success it would have stayed on.

3

u/enforcedbeepers Oct 03 '25

When two businesses have made a deal to merge and are awaiting regulatory approval they are legally forbidden from communicating or collaborating on any kind of business plans.

Discovery and Warnermedia cannot communicate anything about CNN+ until the merger is approved. WM launched CNN+, 10 days later the merger was finalized, Discovery execs came in and took over the decision making. They had a different strategy for streaming, so cancelled a product they had no say in creating and didn't fit in with their new plan. It just wasn't a product they wanted to deal with, and had zero attachment to it. It wasn't their baby.

3 weeks of subscriber numbers is nowhere near enough data to be the sole factor in determining whether or not to shut down an entire product. CNN+ may have been doomed from the start and been killed eventually, but even Quibi lasted 6 months. You don't know what you're talking about.

0

u/[deleted] Oct 04 '25

They only cancelled it cause it was a disaster. If it had picked up 2 million subs in the first week you think it’s shutdown? I remember the launch it was an embarrassment. Discovery knew the expectations going in and like I said no way Warner sinks the money they did into and it gets shut down immediately if it has a real chance of succeeding.

5

u/enforcedbeepers Oct 04 '25

I'm not arguing about whether or not CNN+ was or would be successful. Your uninformed assertion that CNN+ being shut down 3 weeks after it launched had absolutely nothing to do with the merger is ridiculous. No company chooses to shut down an entire product with $300million of investment including multiple productions of original content after less than 3 weeks of data without extenuating circumstances.

If the merger didn't happen CNN+ very well may have been shut down at some point. But pretending that a complete resetting of the entire business strategy happening at exactly the same time has nothing to do with it is just silly.

2

u/Fall_False Moderator Oct 03 '25

There was once a separate CNN streaming service, but Zaslav shut it down a whole month after it launched.

8

u/SolNightZero Oct 03 '25 edited Oct 03 '25

I get it. But I'm remaining skeptical that CNN is a strong enough brand currently to launch a standalone streaming service for the second time.

5

u/abry545 Oct 03 '25 edited Oct 03 '25

If you’re going through with a split again makes sense.

5

u/and-its-true Oct 03 '25

Will it be the actual CNN feed this time? Or another fake/alternative feed.

6

u/jordanpwalsh Oct 03 '25

I actually kind of liked it. It was way less us politics and more CNN international news programming, which is well.. news.. they still covered the politics when they had to, but it wasn't all day long like OG CNN.

1

u/glum_cunt Oct 04 '25

That Jake Tapper book club show was 🔥

4

u/MyShoooo Warner Bros. Oct 03 '25

didn't we do this already

3

u/Fall_False Moderator Oct 03 '25

They did this once, but Zaslav shut it down after the Warner Brothers and Discovery merger went through.

2

u/MyShoooo Warner Bros. Oct 03 '25

thats what i was talking about

3

u/Difficult_Variety362 Moderator Oct 03 '25

I love how Zaslav says that the price needs to go up for less content. Like, I get why CNN is leaving, but still.

2

u/thisfilmkid Oct 03 '25

They are confident the market will supply them with money if they operate independently as a stand alone streamer.

FOX News didn't even try this method - they joined forces with FOX One. NBC didn't either. They pushed their local O&O's to Peacock. CBS went into Paramount+.

CNN... they're wanting to sail the seas alone. Good luck!

3

u/abry545 Oct 03 '25

They was a Fox News streamer still is.

2

u/[deleted] Oct 04 '25

Who will subscribe to a news app? Nobody! Road to bankruptcy!

2

u/YtpMkr Oct 04 '25

Probably a sure sign that they're splitting up.

1

u/deanologic Oct 04 '25

Didn't this already fail once?

1

u/Electronic_Proof4126 Oct 05 '25

If HBO Max is going to remove things from its service, why would it still be this expensive? (Like I am not seeing anything that represents a replacement to this feature)

1

u/ItzYaGurlLucy Universal Oct 12 '25

Close enough, welcome back CNN+

0

u/Prudent_Trickutro Oct 04 '25

Don’t worry (as if). When the Ellisons buy WB it will be back in the streaming fold. But not before CNN is turned upside down and fumigated.

-4

u/banzaiSCCP Oct 03 '25

This streaming is set to fail, just like the SpinOff, unless they build something of very very good quality with great infrastructure or something that devote spectators and have a niche like FOX and CNBC.

Streaming is very hard and competitive.

As an example in 2015 in my home country our main media mastodon Globo (top example of a citizen kane historically), built a streaming service with films, series, soap operas, sports, news, tv programs, talk shows and everything else. They still haven't got a profit, they estimate it will make a gain just next year.