CNN is a leaky boat taking on water.
The network has been mired in scandal.
And Chris Wallace uttered these five words after hearing about CNN’s massive failure.
Since Discovery Media merged with Warner Bros and took control of CNN, new management has not at all been impressed with the network.
Discovery board chairman John Malone even said he wanted CNN to be more like Fox News in terms of having straight news counterbalanced with opinion shows.
So it was no surprise when new leadership pulled the plug on the network’s streaming service CNN+ only 23 days after the service launched.
Former ESPN host Jemelle Hill has been booted from another venture, and former NBA player Rex Chapman, who’s an insufferable leftist on Twitter, will also see his show canceled.
But people are particularly interested in the fate of former Fox News host Chris Wallace, who defiantly exited the right-leaning network for CNN+.
When asked about his next move, Wallace said, “I am going to be fine.”
But Wallace’s attempt at nonchalance belies his manic demeanor during the last days of the streaming service.
Wallace was reportedly barking at people to keep him updated on the service’s abysmal viewer numbers.
Wallace also grumbled that he wanted a CNN show if the streaming service went under.
Thus far, there has been no announcement from CNN if they plan to give him a cable show.
Wallace’s move from prominent news anchor on Fox News to afterthought casualty on CNN+ was a terrible miscalculation on his part.
On the way out the door, Wallace said his time at Fox News became “unsustainable” because his views differed from the opinion hosts.
Now it’s time to see if the Democrats who applauded him will give him a soft landing.
After news of CNN+’s collapse, Wallace also said in an interview, “I’m in good shape, whether it’s at CNN or someplace else…I think you’re seeing a lot of the anchors at CNN Plus doing everything they can do to protect the people that were working on their team, and to make sure they either get a safe landing at CNN or someplace else.
That has yet to be seen.
CNN+ was not exactly a fount of news talent.
Wallace also gave his reasons for the streamer’s failure, explaining, “When I came over to CNN Plus, there were some very smart people, from [former network president] Jeff Zucker to [former WarnerMedia chief executive] Jason Kilar, on down, who were saying that the future of cable news was in great jeopardy, because of the fact that you’re seeing people unbundle…The idea was that you’ve got to a get a foothold in the streaming world…Two weeks ago, streaming was king…and, suddenly, streaming is in an ICU, on life support…I have absolutely no idea which is right and which is wrong, but the Discovery people are in charge, and so they made the decision.”
Somehow, other streamers have been able to stay afloat.
The key is having content that people want to see, something CNN+ did not figure out.
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