CNN+ Goes Belly Up -- Common Sense -- April 22, 2022

Link here.

TGIF edition. Maybe it's just me but the TGIF edition today is very, very long. 

Re: CNN+ --

CNN+ shuts down: A reported $300 million was spent on CNN+ and it lasted less than a month. (And we thought Quibi’s demise was epic.) It turns out Americans just aren’t interested in paying for content from Don Lemon and Rex Chapman. Brian Stelter, who also had a show on the short-lived service, quoted the new CNN CEO who called it “an incredibly successful launch.” We’re not cable TV experts, but we know that we have more subscribers than CNN+ did. RIP.

Meanwhile on Apple TV+, “The Problem with Jon Stewart”—a mush of lefty rants from a couple years ago warmed up and served again—is a ratings disaster dropping by the fifth episode to just 40,000 viewers. And on Spotify, The Obamas’ deal with the company has fallen apart and they will seek a new podcast home. 

By the way, that $300 million was a drop in the bucket; WBD cut its losses quickly; the original plans were to dump $1 billion / year into CNN+. 

Also in today's edition:

Meanwhile on Apple TV+, “The Problem with Jon Stewart”—a mush of lefty rants from a couple years ago warmed up and served again—is a ratings disaster dropping by the fifth episode to just 40,000 viewers. 

And on Spotify, The Obamas’ deal with the company has fallen apart and they will seek a new podcast home.

I must be the only only misreading this story. I find it amazing how folks seem not to understand what this is all about. I don't get it. "It" being the headlines, the meme, not the actual story. Obama vs Spotify? Obama is in control, not Spotify. Headline writers seem to have it backwards. 

Yes, as Apple FanBoy #3, I am very, very disheartened by Apple TV+ "wokeness." It will end badly. People tune in to be entertained, not lectured, or whatever you want to call it. "Brainwashing" is too 1950s. But Apple really, really needs to tread carefully. As far as paying millions (billions?) for old Hollywood talent -- a huge mistake. Millennials are looking for new faces.

The CNN+ story is the biggest media story this week. I saw the ads less than a month ago announcing CNN+. I was impressed. CNN had a huge amount of really, really good archives. But the CNN name has been so badly ruined by the likes of Don Lemon (?) that it couldn't be monetized. The good news: the really good archives will be re-packaged and picked up by other streaming media looking for filler.