Staff at the US-based channel are braced for substantial job cuts and a move back to its original home in Atlanta.
- Changes to live TV output coming soon
- Broadcaster developing more subscription options.
CNN CEO Mark Thompson has confirmed media reports surrounding job losses at the channel. 6% of its workforce are up for the chop, as the Warner Bros Discovery-owned service restructures its business.
The changes come ahead of a new live TV line-up on both its US and international channels.
Meanwhile, CNN has confirmed it wants to develop its digital subscription products. In the USA and some European countries where Max has already launched, CNN is one of the channels viewers can live stream through the Max app. But CNN wants to grow a standalone option where subscribers can stream CNN outside of Max. It follows the closure of its last standalone subscription product, CNN+, back in 2022. However, at least in Europe, that appears at odds with the recent expansion of a free CNN live stream on platforms including Samsung TV Plus and Pluto TV.
CNN launched as a rolling news channel in the 1980s, coming to the UK and Europe via satellite later in the decade. But in recent years, the channel has pivoted to more opinion-based programmes interspersed with lifestyle programming in its international service. At the same time, viewing figures on the channel, alongside other broadcast news channels have fallen.
Thompson says that despite the job cuts, he doesn’t expect the overall headcount to fall much this year, because some of the cuts will be offset by new posts in digital newsgathering, boosting its website and apps.
Meanwhile, rival CNBC reports that a number of programmes on CNN could move back to Atlanta, CNN’s original home. In recent years, more and more programmes have moved out to New York and Washington. Sources indicate CNN may opt to make programmes in Atlanta where production costs are cheaper.
Website paywall
CNN recently introduced a fee for heavy users of its news website in the USA. In return for unlimited access, users must pay $3.99 a month. The charge, which is expected to be rolled out elsewhere in the world over time, aims to foot the bill for CNN’s journalism, as it pivots away from relying on advertising and revenue from cable and satellite operators globally.
By: RXTV Staff