CNN+ to Shut Down April 30, One Month Post-Launch

Warner Bros. Discovery has announced that it is shutting down CNN+ April 30 as a way to cut costs following the merger of WarnerMedia and Discovery, CNN Business reported Thursday (April 21). The streaming service launched March 29.

See also: US Regulators OK $43B WarnerMedia-Discovery Merger

Customers who are currently subscribed to the service will receive prorated refunds of their subscription fees.

Andrew Morse, the executive vice president in charge of CNN+, will be stepping down from the company as well, the report stated.

At a company meeting announcing the shutdown, Morse said, per the report: “As the company enters an exciting period of change, it’s clear that the vision the new leadership has for the future is different than the one we’ve had. That’s OK. That’s all part of change.”

CNN+ is not the first streaming service to shut down before reaching a year of operation. In October 2020, short-form entertainment streaming service Quibi shut down after only six months of operation.

Read more: Jeffrey Katzenberg’s Streaming Unicorn Quibi Pulls The Plug

In a statement, President and CEO of Discovery Streaming, J.B. Perrette said, “In a complex streaming market, consumers want simplicity and an all-in service which provides a better experience and more value than stand-alone offerings, and, for the company, a more sustainable business model to drive our future investments in great journalism and storytelling.”

In late March, Disney+ announced that it will be adding an ad-supported subscription tier starting in the U.S. in late 2022, with plans to expand internationally in 2023.

See more: Disney+, Netflix Look to Ads as Streaming Market Slows Down

And just this week, Netflix announced in a letter to shareholders that the company is considering adding an ad-supported tier as a way to counteract a recent drop in subscribers.

Read more: Slump in Netflix Subscribers Bucks Connected Economy’s Rise