MEDIA LOSER: Brad Ferrer & CNN+
Warner Bros Discovery has suspended marketing spending for CNN+ and laid off CNN's chief financial officer, in a pair of decisions that Axios reports are tough news for the new subscription service. CNN CFO Brad Ferrer has been replaced by Neil Chugani, Discovery’s current CFO for streaming and international, as part of what Axios terms “a broader finance team restructuring.” “Inside CNN, executives think the launch has been successful. Discovery executives disagree,” according to the report, written by media reporter Sara Fischer, who did note CNN+ has over 150k subscribers so far - which is not nothing. The streaming service was projected “to become profitable in four years by investing $1 billion into the service,” according to Axios, but the roll-out has been plagued with problems and bad press. Despite CNN+ now being available on Roku, “with marketing around the service suspended, there are concerns that growth will be short-lived,” wrote Fischer. Axios blamed “bad timing, limited communications and misaligned incentives" for the incredibly rocky rollout of the service. Mediate founder Dan Abrams and founding editor Colby Hall discussed that misalignment, and the marketing misses, just days ago. "Other high-level positions at WarnerMedia across different business functions are likely to be eliminated to cut costs and streamline leadership in coming weeks," Axios added. It's just the latest losing moment for the fledgling streamer, and Ferrer the latest of many blows to CNN's existing leadership. |