Warner Bros. Discovery will shutter streaming service CNN+ on April 30. It launched March 29 for US$5.99 monthly or US$59.99 annually. (The New York Times)

Talking point: CNN had spent tens of millions of dollars on marketing and hiring, and planned to spend US$1 billion over four years, sources told The New York Times. But executives at Discovery, which completed a merger with WarnerMedia on April 8, had been skeptical about CNN+’s investment and broader strategy. The news comes at a pivotal time for streaming services. Earlier this week, Netflix shares plummeted about 35 per cent when the company reported it lost subscribers in its most recent quarter, marking its first subscriber drop in more than a decade. Billionaire investor William Ackman lost more than US$400 million when his hedge fund sold 3.1 million Netflix shares it had purchased three months prior. Meanwhile, HBO and HBO Max added three million subscribers quarter-over-quarter, it said in its earnings report Thursday.