Chris Wallace was once an anchor on the top-rated cable news network, but he bailed on that gig to join the short-lived streaming service CNN+. Now, Wallace says he’s “been a victim” of the situation but nevertheless insists that he’s “in good shape.”
Last week (a mere three weeks after launch), Warner Bros. Discovery announced that CNN+ would be shutting down on April 30.
“Are there already enough choices for news sources out there, and are the days of streaming already over?” former CBS News reporter Jacqueline Adams asked Wallace when he appeared at a Common Ground Committee live-streamed event titled “Media, Politics, and Polarization.”
“It’s an interesting thing and I’ve been a victim of all of this in the last week,” Wallace said before touting the company line that the timing of the launch and the merger with Warner Bros. Discovery doomed CNN+, not the dismal subscription numbers. Despite an investment of $300 million in its development and launch, fewer than 10,000 people were reportedly using CNN+ daily — far below expectations.
“The idea was you’ve got to get a foothold in the streaming world because that’s where the future of news off the mainstream networks is going to be,” Wallace insisted. “Now you have some equally smart people that have come in with a diametrically opposed view, these are the new bosses at CNN+ because of [the Warner Bros. Discovery merger] who have come to the conclusion that to have a narrow niche product like a news streaming service doesn’t work.”
“I have absolutely no idea which is right and wrong, but the Discovery people are in charge and so they made the decision,” Wallace said.
Maybe CNN, which has been bleeding viewers for some time now, was never likely to get far asking users to pay for even more content from them. Did you ever consider that, Chris Wallace?
Despite reports that Wallace had daily tantrums over the CNN+ botched launch, he insisted he’s all smiles and sunshine, and he seemed to open the door to leaving CNN for greener pastures. “I am going to be fine. I’m in good shape, whether it’s at CNN or someplace else.”
Source: PJ Media
