Outgoing WarnerMedia CEO Says CNN+ Surpassing Expectations, Despite Report on Subscriber Struggles

Zachary LeemanApr 5th, 2022, 5:11 pm
 

Outgoing WarnerMedia CEO Jason Kilar said Tuesday that the recent launch of CNN+ has exceeded his expectations, despite a new report from Business Insider describing early subscriber growth as “small.”

Kilar also announced Tuesday that he was stepping down from his role with the company — as expected — ahead of its merger with Discovery.

In an interview with CNBC’s TechCheck, Kilar was asked about CNN+ and offered only positive words about the infant streaming service.

“It’s ahead of my expectations in terms of where the subscribers are, the engagement [is], the receptiveness that we’re getting in terms of people’s response to the journalists of CNN+,” he said. “I couldn’t be more proud of that team.”

Kilar, who took on his role as chief executive of CNN’s parent company in 2020, added that it is “not an exaggeration” to call the streaming service the “future of CNN.” The service launched on March 29 with a variety of new content, including shows from former Fox News host Chris Wallace and CNN mainstays like Wolf Blitzer, Kate Bolduan, Brian Stelter, Jake Tapper and Don Lemon.

Despite the buzzy launch of the service, a Business Insider report did not paint a positive picture of subscriber growth, which it described as “more of a whimper than a bang.” According to numbers from measurement firm Sensor Tower, the CNN app has seen only a slight bump in downloads since launching. On its first day, the CNN mobile app took in 18,000 new downloads, which was a jump from 9,000 the previous week, according to the measurement.

The CNN app also grew in installs by 33% in the first six days of CNN+’s launch, according to the report, and on the Apple app store, it jumped to 12th under news, but was ranked 181 on its launch day.

A spokesperson for CNN declined to share subscriber numbers, but said of Insider’s subscriber measurements: “Those numbers are incorrect.”

Success for CNN+ is difficult to track. Networks rarely share subscription statistics and other metrics can be unreliable.

CNN staffers remained optimistic about the service on Tuesday. Brian Stelter retweeted a clip of Kilar praising CNN+, and Executive VP and Chief Digital Officer Andrew Morse described the CNN+ situation as “a very strong start.”

“We are off to a very strong start. Couldn’t feel better about about the journalism, the storytelling, the team, the product or the customer response,” he tweeted.

A statement from CNN to Mediaite echoed these points, claiming the performance of CNN+ in its first week is “well ahead of expectations.”

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Zachary Leeman

Zachary Leeman covered pop culture and politics at outlets such as Breitbart, LifeZette, BizPac Review, HollywoodinToto, and others. He is the author of the novel Nigh. He joined Mediaite in 2022.