Brian Stelter and Matt Belloni Assess the Demise of CNN+ on CNN+: ‘Never Been on a Program Talking About the Demise of That Program’

The demise of CNN+ was discussed on Friday on CNN+, and the bizarreness was too much for a Brian Stelter guest not to say something.

“I think I’m making history right now,” reporter and Puck News founding partner Matt Belloni said on the CNN+ series Reliable Sources Daily. “I’ve never been on a program talking about the demise of that program.”

“We probably have more viewers now than ever before because there’s so much curiosity,” host Stelter said. His show presented a unique moment for CNN+ as Stelter’s programs mainly focus on analyzing media-related stories, of which the demise of CNN+ after only one month is arguably the biggest one in some time.

In his own analysis of the quick shutdown of the heavily marketed streaming service, Stelter chalked it up to the Discover merger leading to disagreements between old and new camps, with the new team ultimately winning as CNN+ is set to cease operations at the end of the month, though some content could make its way to new services in the future.

Belloni called the situation for CNN+ a “corporate tug of war” and suggested the launch of CNN+ a few weeks before the merger ended was likely a poor decision in hindsight. The app’s content likely should have been rolled into a bigger streamer like HBO Max, he added.

Stelter also threw out the “theory” that it is “too early” to call CNN+ a success or a failure and said the streamer may never be able to be properly judged as one or the other.

“I don’t know if we can even ever assess that because it just simply didn’t have enough time because of the management’s change in direction,” Stelter said, dismissing “haters” already calling the streaming service a failure.

At the top of the show, Stelter thanked everyone who has worked on CNN+, some of whom will be facing layoffs, and dubbed the streamer an “outstanding experiment” and “worthy venture” despite its one-month lifespan.

Watch the full clip above via CNN+

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