CNN to cut hundreds of jobs as TV group faces 'profound' shift in news habits

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CNN has revealed plans to lay off hundreds of staff, with the troubled network's chief executive warning of a “profound and irreversible shift” in how viewers engage with news.

Chief Executive Mark Thompson said in a memo to employees on Thursday that 200 jobs, or about 6% of CNN's workforce, would be affected due to a sharp decline in ratings at CNN's traditional cable business.

The cuts are part of a sweeping reorganization that sees the media group eyeing a future beyond traditional television.

Thompson said it doesn't expect total headcount to drop as the company is investing $70 million in its digital business, which it hopes will generate $1 billion in revenue by 2030.

CNN is investing in a TV-like streaming subscription service that will be available on devices around the world, hoping it can offset the decline of traditional linear TV programming. The group expects to create hundreds of new positions as a result, with the first 100 positions to be posted and filled in the first half of 2025.

“Some of the funding is for product and technology, but a lot is also for new high-quality journalism and storytelling,” Thompson said in a memo seen by the Financial Times.

CNN is in talks with distribution partners to launch a streaming service later this year.

Thompson, who was named CEO in 2023 and is tasked with restoring the fortunes of the struggling cable network, has made digital growth the centerpiece of his new strategy as the industry faces the long-term decline of traditional TV.

The broadcaster is struggling in a ratings war with right-wing Fox News and left-wing MSNBC. That trend was laid bare this week, as CNN attracted only a fraction of the audience of previous presidential inaugurations.

Just 1.7 million households watched Trump's inauguration on CNN between 11:30 a.m. and 1 p.m. Monday, down from 10 million households in 2021. By comparison, more than 10 million viewers watched the inauguration on Rupert Murdoch's Fox News.

Overall television ratings for Monday's inauguration were the lowest in a decade. Fewer than 25 million Americans watched Trump take the oath of office as president, down from the nearly 34 million who watched Biden's 2021 inauguration and the 31 million who watched Trump's 2017 inauguration, according to Nielsen data.

“The changes we are announcing today are part of this great news organization's ongoing response to profound and irreversible changes in the way audiences in the United States and around the world consume news,” Thompson said. “From linear to digital, fixed to mobile , traditional long-form broadcast to any number of different formats and use cases.”

He added that the shakeup was “to ensure CNN's future as one of the world's greatest news organizations,” adding that “more than ever, America and the world need high-quality, unbiased, and trustworthy news sources.” “.

Thompson also announced further reorganization of CNN's newsroom, hiring former New York Times deputy Alex MacCallum last year to lead the transition to digital.

Thompson said in the memo that McCallum has built the first direct-to-consumer subscription product on a digital platform, a video carousel and refreshed the CNN.com website.

Thompson laid out further plans for digital video, the launch of CNN's first lifestyle-oriented service and a new premium digital advertising platform.

He also announced changes to the broadcaster's domestic and international schedules and cost-cutting plans.