Written by Yuvraj Malik
(Reuters) – CNN plans to cut about 100 jobs as part of a plan to consolidate its news operations and strengthen its digital business, according to an internal memo seen by Reuters on Wednesday.
CNN International CEO Mark Thompson said in a memo to employees that the network will merge its newsgathering and digital news teams, invest in video operations and launch pay-per-view news products.
“We are building a $1 billion digital business of the future,” he said in the memo.
Thompson, a former New York Times and BBC executive who took over as CNN’s chief executive in October last year, is trying to streamline the network’s operations and boost sales to counter declining TV viewership.
CNN plans to launch a standalone subscription product for CNN.com by the end of this year, the first in a series of planned subscription offerings, including one focused on lifestyle and premium content.
The company will create a future TV lab, a unit to produce content for the Max streaming platform and package CNN’s TV content for its digital channels. CNN, owned by Warner Bros Discovery (NASDAQ: ), began streaming content on Max last year.
Thompson also detailed several changes to CNN’s editorial workflow, including a centralized planning and pitching process and a new “story director” role to manage all aspects of a story from inception to publication or broadcast.
The memo said Thompson will discuss the plan with staff at a council meeting on Wednesday.