Struggling CNN Turnaround Plans: Videos, Layoffs

CNN CEO Mark Thompson revealed to staffers Wednesday a drastic new plan to push the cable news network into the digital age — and signaled that job cuts are coming.

The NY Post reports the media boss called the incoming changes — which will include a new subscription service and structural changes to the newsroom — a “key milestone in the transformation of CNN” in his memo to company employees.

Thompson said he plans to lay off 100 employees – about three percent of the workforce – as well as build a new digital subscription service that he hopes will generate more than $1 billion in revenue. 

The CEO was brought on last summer to help push the television news network into the future, after pulling off a turnaround at The New York Times. Thompson acquired tech review company Wirecutter and launched the cooking vertical during his nearly decade-long tenure at The Times.

Originally founded by Ted Turner in 1980 as a 24-hour cable news network – a revolutionary concept at the time – CNN has long relied on distribution fees from cable companies. 

While CNN and parent company Warner Bros Discovery remain profitable, the cable TV business model is becoming defunct as Netflix and other popular streaming services have reinvented the television industry.

A definitive CNN subscription business has been a long-time coming. While streaming service CNN+ was launched in March 2022, it was nearly immediately canceled when parent company WarnerMedia merged with Discovery the following month.

Now, budget-friendly streaming service CNN Max can be found within the parent company’s Max umbrella. But Thompson said he plans to create a subscription that will generate more than $1 billion for the company.

Another proposed shift is a reimagining of the CNN newsroom. While currently split into three divisions – US television, international television and digital – Thompson wants to combine the three sections under one umbrella.