CNN’s newly launched streaming service is apparently getting off to a slow start.
And veteran journalist Chris Wallace, who left Fox News after nearly two decades for a show on the new streaming service CNN+, is reportedly not happy about it.
Journalist Jon Nicosia, of News Cycle Media, tweeted on Tuesday, “SOURCE: Chris Wallace is ‘having daily breakdowns’ over the ‘miserable launch’ of [CNN+].
“Wants a ‘CNN show or is threatening to walk’ they go on. ‘He is having staffers count how many times a day his promo is playing,'” he continued.
SOURCE: Chris Wallace is "having daily breakdowns" over the "miserable launch" of @CNNplus. Wants a "CNN show or is threatening to walk" they go on. "He is having staffers count how many times a day his promo is playing"
— Jon Nicosia (@NewsPolitics) April 12, 2022
Finally, Nicosia wrote, “SOURCE CONT’D: ‘He’s telling anyone that will listen he wants Cuomo’s old time slot.'”
SOURCE CONT'D: "He's telling anyone that will listen he wants Cuomo's old time slot"
— Jon Nicosia (@NewsPolitics) April 13, 2022
Wallace announced his departure from Fox News in Dec. 2021
“I’m ready for a new adventure,” he explained to viewers of his show. “The bosses here at Fox promised me they would never interfere with a guest I booked or a question I asked, and they kept that promise.”
He added, “I have been free to report to the best of my ability, to cover the stories I think are important, to hold our country’s leaders to account.
CNN+ launched on March 29, and early reports indicate that it is struggling to pick up viewers.
The streaming service is designed to focus on news, not entertainment, making it different from other streaming services.
It features live daily newscasts, and interview shows that are also available on demand.
Subscriptions cost $5.99 per month or $60 a year.
However, Axios reported on Tuesday, “Investment and projections for CNN+ are expected to be cut dramatically in response to a low adoption rate.”
It added that around $1 billion was expected to be invested in the streaming service over the course of four years, but, “Hundreds of millions of dollars are expected to be cut from that original investment total.”
Additionally, according to CNBC, the streaming service has been drawing fewer than 10,000 people per day since it launched.
Still, a CNN spokesperson told the outlet, “We continue to be happy with the launch and its progress after only two weeks.”