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u.s. news Diasabra 23 aPriL 2022

The Edsel, Quibi and CNN+? New addition to business failures

(AP) — The Edsel. Quibi. an estimated $250 million, sidered paying the monthly
New Coke. The Segway. the name remembered as a $5.99 fee to subscribe.
DeLorean sports cars. The synonym for business failure
pantheon of colossal busi- long after the car itself was He said it had “lots of famous
ness failures has a new forgotten. faces that I get other places.”
member in the CNN+
streaming service. Coca-Cola’s attempt to in- CNN+ has a handful of its
troduce a new flavor in 1985 own news programs, docu-
The news network’s sub- was dropped in weeks. Ex- mentaries and talk shows and
scription offering hadn’t even cept for its cameo role in the big names like Chris Wal-
been operating for a month “Back to the Future” movies, lace, Anderson Cooper and
before Warner Bros. Discov- the DeLorean didn’t make a Jemele Hill but, because of
ery announced this week that dent. Inventors of the Seg- cable and satellite contracts,
it would be shutting down on way found in 1999 that not could not offer a streamed
April 30. many people wanted to spend version of what most people
around $5,000 for a glorified know CNN for, the televi-
“It’s going to be in the Top scooter. sion network’s continuous close. didn’t think CNN+ was go-
10,” said Steve Rosenbaum, news coverage. ing to work, based on its own
executive director of the Quibi, short for “quick One of the service’s big- experience with streaming.
NYC Media Lab and an ex- bites,” had the backing of People can find stream- gest champions, former
pert in business innovation, Hollywood’s biggest names ing news in several places CNN chief Jeff Zucker, was “If we’re going in a new di-
surveying the lengthy history and $1.75 billion from inves- — ABC, CBS and NBC all bumped out of the picture on rection, we can’t let it go on
of products that went belly- tors when the mobile video have their own services, for Feb. 1 when he was forced to one moment more than it
up. service was introduced in example — for free. resign because of not disclos- needs to,” said J.B. Perrette,
2020. It lasted six months. ing a romantic relationship head of streaming for the
While “CNN minus” com- “In launching a new business, with a co-worker. new company, in the em-
ments quickly proliferated, Presciently, reporter Josef timing is everything and their ployee meeting.
it’s no joke to the more Adalian recalled that failure timing couldn’t have been CNN+ launched on March
than 300 people hired for in an article for Vulture head- worse,” said Allen Adamson, 24, only days before Dis- Licht repeatedly praised
CNN+, which was in devel- lined, “CNN+ has Quibi cofounder of the marketing covery executives took over. his staff for the quality of
opment for two years. CNN Vibes,” that posted two days firm Metaforce. “Streaming In a sense, that was a busi- CNN+, and there’s no way
is expected to absorb some of after its launch. services were in a bubble and ness provocation: Why start of knowing whether the
those jobs but there will be everyone knew there was a a project that was the brain- product itself would have
layoffs — a clear picture on “CNN+ in its formative limit to how many streaming child of a former leadership failed if it had a few years to
those numbers is still emerg- phase feels somewhat like the services they would get.” team, just before new leaders settle in.
ing. Quibi of streaming news,” were coming with ideas of
Adalian wrote. “Lots of mon- When Discovery bought out their own, not to mention a And Rosenbaum said he
The company spent hun- ey has been spent, big stars CNN’s previous corporate mandate to cut costs? might have been enticed to
dreds of millions of dollars on are onboard, but it’s hard to owner, AT&T, many observ- see if it was worth it with an
the project and no one knew figure out just what the ser- ers believed CNN+ would Incoming CNN chief execu- offer of a few free months.
when, or if, losses would be vice is supposed to be and eventually be absorbed into a tive Chris Licht, in Thurs-
replaced by profits. why a large number of people larger app that also had enter- day’s meeting with employ- Time, however, was one
will want to pay for it.” tainment offerings. ees, likened it to a new owner thing CNN+ did not have.
Old-timers remember the coming in, seeing a beautiful
Edsel, a new car model intro- Rosenbaum, a self-described It never got that far, leaving new house, but declaring he “It’s a big failure,” Adam-
duced by Ford in 1957 that news junkie, couldn’t figure some of its employees shell- needed an apartment instead. son said, “but not as big as it
was poorly made and too ex- out what CNN+ offered that shocked at the Thursday would have been if it kept go-
pensive. It was discontinued was unique and vital to him. meeting when they were told The Discovery team made it ing and became a black hole
after two years, costing Ford He said he never even con- the service would abruptly clear in the meeting that they of money.”

Disney government dissolution bill signed by DeSantis

(AP) — Florida Gov. Ron ney World’s private gov- new state law critics have nations in the state and added
DeSantis on Friday signed ernment, after the enter- dubbed “Don’t Say Gay.” For DeSantis, the attack on that it would in turn support
a bill to dissolve Walt Dis- tainment giant opposed a Disney is his latest salvo in a organizations working to op-
The law would eliminate culture war waged over poli- pose the new law. DeSantis
the Reedy Creek Improve- cies involving race, gender and his fellow Republicans
ment District, as the 55-year- and the coronavirus, battles then lashed out at Disney,
old Disney government is that have made him one of and have defended the law as
known, as well as a handful the most popular GOP poli- reasonable.
of other similar districts by ticians in the country and a
June 2023. The measure does likely 2024 presidential can- At the bill signing ceremony
allow for the districts to be didate. Friday, DeSantis said Disney
reestablished, leaving an av- lied about the content of the
enue to renegotiate its future. The dispute with the com- education law but that he
pany began with Disney’s viewed the company’s vow to
The move could have huge criticism of a new law barring fight the law as unacceptable.
tax implications for Disney, instruction on sexual orien-
whose series of theme parks tation and gender identity in “You’re a corporation based
have transformed Orlando kindergarten through third in Burbank, California, and
into one of the world’s most grade as well as instruction you’re gonna marshal your
popular tourist destinations, that is not “age appropriate economic might to attack
and serves to further sour or developmentally appropri- the parents of my state. We
the relationship between the ate.” view that as a provocation,
Republican-led government and we’re going to fight back
and a major political player in In March, Disney said it against that,” DeSantis said.
the state. would suspend political do-