‘This CNN+ Service Was Doomed’: Brian Stelter Delivers Solemn Eulogy for Ill-Fated Streamer

CNN’s Brian Stelter held an extremely frank conversation about CNN+ — calling it a “doomed” attempt by prior management at the network to create a new streaming service.

Stelter led Reliable Sources on Sunday by acknowledging CNN+’s imminent shutdown, which comes amid an explosive week for the media and entertainment industries. The host called the CNN+ demise “stunning and painful news for everyone involved.”

“Years of development possibly down the drain,” Stelter said. “Some of the shows may never be seen. Hundreds of staffers may be laid off, though the company is trying to place many of them in new jobs.”

Stelter described CNN+’s shutdown as a “corporate move,” since it was facing heavy scrutiny for some time from CNN’s new parent company: Warner Brothers Discovery.

“This CNN+ service was doomed because of the timing of a merger and clashing streaming strategies,” Stelter said. “Warner Brothers Discovery has big plans to compline multiple streaming platform to make one big challenger for Netflix.”

Stelter soon opened up the discussion to his panel, where Axios reporter Sara Fischer — who had a number of high-profile scoops on CNN+ — delved into how Warner Brothers Discovery assessed the streamer as a potential business loss after the ouster of Jeff Zucker.

“They thought this is too expensive, it might not ever get to profit on time, and it doesn’t fit in with what we want to do,” she said. “It’s better to cut it off now than to keep it lagging for months while they decide.”

Watch above, via CNN.