CHANGING CHANNELS

CNN to Lay Off 100 People in Pivot to (Digital) Video

The cuts come ahead of the network’s plan to launch two subscription products—one focused around original series and productions, and another targeting Spanish-speaking consumers.

CNN’s cutting 100 people as it prepares to launch dual digital subscription services, the latest effort in CEO Mark Thompson’s plan to reinvigorate the cable news titan. The areas impacted by the cuts, reported by Variety, were not specified, though they come as part of a newsgathering restructuring. They come ahead of the network’s plan to launch two subscription products on CNN’s website, one focused around its original series and productions and another targeting Spanish-speaking consumers. Both will expand CNN’s focus beyond hard news and touch on beats like lifestyle and other departments, something Thompson previewed in a pitch to advertisers in May. “We plan to take the journalistic firepower, user-experience and commercial potential of CNN Digital to the next level with strategic commitment, significant fresh investment, an injection of specialist expertise and plenty of creativity and experimentation,” Thompson wrote, according to Variety.