CNN to lay off hundreds of employees as network makes digital pivot: Report

KENNEDY FELTON: Warner Brothers Discovery is struggling, with its ownership of cable channels leaving it at risk as viewers head to streaming and digital offerings.

As it restructures itself, one of its channels is set to take a large hit: CNN. 

The cable news pioneer will lay off hundreds of employees as it slims down its TV production to build around a more digital-focused strategy, according to reporting from CNBC.

The network suffered a sharp ratings decline in the weeks after last November’s election.

The reporting suggests CNN is aiming to consolidate production teams and lower costs to make its shows for linear TV, with the network planning to relocate production of some of its shows from New York and Washington to its headquarters in Atlanta.

CNN CEO Mark Thompson told workers in a town hall meeting earlier this month that the network’s parent Warner Brothers Discovery is investing $70 million this year to facilitate a transition to a digital focus, The New York Times and Semafor report.

CNN has 3,500 total employees and some of their biggest on-air personalities will likely not be part of the layoffs, since they are under contract.

Ahead of the digital shift, CNN announced last fall that it will be paywalling its website, charging $3.99 a month for users who read more than a certain, undisclosed number of articles.

CNN is not the only network experiencing layoffs. CBS laid off a handful of on-air staffers last fall, including former CBS Evening News anchor Jeff Glor. ABC News laid off 75 workers in October as part of broader cutbacks at Disney.

And CNBC reports that, along with CNN, NBC News is also planning layoffs, but with sources saying they will lay off fewer than well under 50 people.

For Straight Arrow News, I’m Kennedy Felton.

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