(Headline USA) CNN’s purge continued this week with the network firing another 20 staffers originally assigned to its failed CNN+ streaming service that was axed earlier this year.
Multiple sources confirmed to the Daily Beast on Wednesday that CNN got rid of the remaining staffers attached to CNN+, including those working on the Interview Club, which claimed to offer subscribers “access to newsmakers like never before.” The staffers were reportedly told to look for work at other networks.
“Leadership has spent the past several months evaluating our business to ensure it is best positioned for the future,” a CNN spokesperson said in a statement. “CNN has opened more than 300 new jobs since May and will continue to align our resources with our greatest opportunities for growth.”
CNN+ was shut down in late April less than one month after launching. The network poured an estimated $300 million into the platform. Former CNN chief Jeff Zucker seemed to think it would be a gamechanger for CNN, but management decided the project was a waste of money and shut it down.
The network is planning to scale down in other ways as well. Management laid off a “small number” of people in its audio division, according to the New York Post, and have plans to cut back on its podcast operations as well.
CNN has also parted ways with a number of controversial partisan on-air figures, including Brian Stelter and Jeffrey Toobin. Host Don Lemon was also demoted from a primetime host to an early morning host.
The network’s recent attempts to appear more “centrist,” however, have fallen flat. Former Fox News host Chris Wallace’s new CNN show was a total flop with abysmal ratings and reviews, bringing in only 401,000 viewers.
Looking closer at the demographics, only 44,000 viewers from the 25-54 age group watched the pilot episode—that’s 36% of the 2022 average.
