CNN to slash 100 jobs with new streaming service

By AFP
July 11, 2024
The CNN logo stands outside the venue of the second Democratic 2020 US presidential candidates debate, in the Fox Theater in Detroit, Michigan, US on July 30, 2019. — Reuters
The CNN logo stands outside the venue of the second Democratic 2020 US presidential candidates debate, in the Fox Theater in Detroit, Michigan, US on July 30, 2019. — Reuters

NEW YORK: CNN, which has struggled amid the decline of the US cable broadcasting industry, plans to launch a new paid streaming service and to cut about 100 jobs, the company´s CEO said Wednesday.

The network, which once set the pace in cable news, aims for its new $1 billion-plus subscription news product to launch before the end of 2024, Chief Executive Mark Thompson said in a memo to staff.

Under the new plan, CNN aims for its initial “need-to-know” subscription product to be followed by “want-to-use” paid offerings centered on lifestyle journalism, Thompson said. CNN also plans to merge three separate newsrooms for US newsgathering, international newsgathering and global digital news into a single organization.

As a result, the company expects to eliminate about 100 jobs out of the 3,500-person global workforce, Thompson said. Ratings for CNN in the United States have lately lagged those of rivals Fox News and MSNBC. CNN hosted the first US presidential debate between Joe Biden and Donald Trump on June 27.