CNN pulls the plug on the network's streaming platform after only a month

CNN pulls the plug on the network's streaming platform after only a month

Transcript¹

NPR's Steve Inskeep talks to Carol Costello, a professor and former CNN anchor, about the collapse² of the streaming service CNN+.

STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:

In a matter of weeks, the cable TV network CNN dove into internet streaming and then climbed back out. It is shutting down CNN+. The company attracted big-name talent from NBC, Fox and NPR, among others - Chris Wallace, Audie Cornish, Kasie Hunt. But then a new corporate³ parent had other ideas. Carol Costello joins us now. She's a former CNN anchor who now teaches journalism⁴.

Welcome.

CAROL COSTELLO: (Laughter) Oh, nice to be with you this morning. You know, that all sounded so painful for me, and I don't even work there anymore.

INSKEEP: (Laughter) Oh, my goodness. Well, what did you think about when you heard the news?

COSTELLO: Well, first of all, I was sad because here it goes again, CNN taking another hit on its reputation. And this time, it's so not deserved. And I'm really disappointed that this new venture in delivering news was not given time to work.

INSKEEP: That does surprise me as well. Building an audience on the internet - sometimes things are instant hits. But sometimes it takes years to build an audience. And they gave it weeks.

COSTELLO: (Laughter) I know, weeks. You know, the sad thing is, it isn't often that, like, tens of millions of dollars is invested in an experimental venture, one that, you know, the company bigwigs expect to lose money in the short term in order to gain in the long term. That doesn't happen very often. But they were willing to do that in this big news experiment. It was big. It was risky⁵. It was flashy. And it would have been a great test for the future of the news industry.

INSKEEP: Was it just a matter of the change in corporate parents here, new management with new priorities? Or was something else going wrong?

COSTELLO: No. I just think it came down to Discovery. They didn't want to gamble on something that would take a long minute to work. And they didn't think there were enough people willing to pay - what? - six bucks⁶ for a video news service.

INSKEEP: And that was the business model here. There are other internet streaming services that provide live news. CBS has one. ABC has one. But in this case, they wanted people to pay - a subscription⁷ service. Put people up front. That was a risk, I suppose.

COSTELLO: That was a risk. But again, this was an experimental, big, new venture, and maybe they would have adjusted in the future, you know, if it wasn't working. But to just cancel it after a few weeks - it just doesn't seem that they gave that model a chance to work. And that's sad.

INSKEEP: Now, this is something that the old CNN management described as the future of the company, the future of news. Do you think that internet streaming is, in fact, the future of the news?

COSTELLO: Yes. I absolutely think it's the future of news. They're still figuring it out, though, right? It's going to take a minute. And, you know, the way we consume news is changing every single day. But there's no doubt that people are moving their attention online. So news organizations like CNN have to figure it out. And this was their big idea.

INSKEEP: I'm thinking about the way this can be used. I know the CBS internet streaming thing - I can just bring it up on my television. It's just regular TV. It just happens to be over the internet. Is that what you envision happening? Is this something that people would consume in smaller bites, on smaller screens? What does the future look like to you?

COSTELLO: Talking specifically about CNN, you know, people watch CNN for its live coverage⁸. They really love that - and breaking news. That's hard to duplicate, I think, on a smaller screen online. That will be a big challenge for the CNNs of the world, right? But again, they need time to figure it out. And maybe they were on their way with CNN+, but now we'll never know.

INSKEEP: Carol Costello is a former CNN anchor and journalism lecturer at Loyola Marymount University.

Thanks so much.

COSTELLO: Thanks.

(SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC)

1 transcript   

n.抄本，誊本，副本，肄业证书

参考例句：

• A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
• They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。

2 collapse   

vi.累倒；昏倒；倒塌；塌陷

参考例句：

• The country's economy is on the verge of collapse.国家的经济已到了崩溃的边缘。
• The engineer made a complete diagnosis of the bridge's collapse.工程师对桥的倒塌做了一次彻底的调查分析。

3 corporate   

adj.共同的，全体的；公司的，企业的

参考例句：

• This is our corporate responsibility.这是我们共同的责任。
• His corporate's life will be as short as a rabbit's tail.他的公司的寿命是兔子尾巴长不了。

4 journalism   

n.新闻工作，报业

参考例句：

• He's a teacher but he does some journalism on the side.他是教师，可还兼职做一些新闻工作。
• He had an aptitude for journalism.他有从事新闻工作的才能。

5 risky   

adj.有风险的，冒险的

参考例句：

• It may be risky but we will chance it anyhow.这可能有危险，但我们无论如何要冒一冒险。
• He is well aware how risky this investment is.他心里对这项投资的风险十分清楚。

6 bucks   

n.雄鹿( buck的名词复数 )；钱；（英国十九世纪初的）花花公子；（用于某些表达方式）责任v.（马等）猛然弓背跃起( buck的第三人称单数 )；抵制；猛然震荡；马等尥起后蹄跳跃

参考例句：

• They cost ten bucks. 这些值十元钱。
• They are hunting for bucks. 他们正在猎雄兔。 来自《简明英汉词典》

7 subscription   

n.预订，预订费，亲笔签名，调配法，下标（处方）

参考例句：

• We paid a subscription of 5 pounds yearly.我们按年度缴纳5英镑的订阅费。
• Subscription selling bloomed splendidly.订阅销售量激增。

8 coverage   

n.报导，保险范围，保险额，范围，覆盖

参考例句：

• There's little coverage of foreign news in the newspaper.报纸上几乎没有国外新闻报道。
• This is an insurance policy with extensive coverage.这是一项承保范围广泛的保险。