As the recent closure of CNN+ after 30 days, the streaming business is tough for companies to break into. For every Netflix, YouTube, and Prime Video, there are competitors that never manage to appear on the general public’s radar. Then, there are others, like CNN+, that make audiences go, “What were they thinking?” We take a look at the streaming services that didn’t make it.
CNN+
Did you really think we weren’t going to start this list with Jeff Zucker’s dumbest decision since the Tonight Show fiasco? CNN+’s new owner, Discovery, acquired the streaming service on April 8 along with the rest of WarnerMedia’s portfolio and immediately announced the shutdown of CNN+.
The new company, Warner Bros. Discover, was originally going to close CNN+ on April 30, 2022, but the streaming service didn’t even last that long. It ended 2 days early and all subscribers received full refunds.
Initially hailed as the “most important launch for network since Ted Turner” by CNN’s chief digital officer Andrew Morse, CNN+ now has the dubious distinction of being the shortest lived streaming service. While it was able to steal Chris Wallace from Fox News and feature new shows from CNN stalwarts Wolf Blitzer and Jake Tapper, CNN+ was doomed form the start. Notably, the streaming service did not feature a way to livestream its parent network. Instead, WarnerMedia planned to create eight to 12 hours of personality-driven live programming that was not associated with the main channel. That didn’t excite many people, so the service shut down with fewer than 10,000 people using the service each day.
News junkies will now have to turn to the CBS New Streaming Service, which is free and still going strong after seven years, for their fix.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xhB6CsZOqnc
Seeso
Seeso was NBCUniversal’s comedy streaming service. It lasted less than 2 years. Seeso offered a combination of popular comedy shows like Saturday Night Live, The Office (UK), and Parks and Recreation and original shows. The streaming service gave us Bajillion Dollar Properties$, Gentlemen Lobsters, The Cyanide & Happiness Show along with many other classics that you didn’t know exists.
In Seeso’s defense, if you believe what the former head of Seeso, Evan Shapiro, told IndieWire, the streaming platform was supposed to add non-comedy content to evolve into Peacock. However, a lack of corporate funding and subscriptions made that impossible.
Quibi
Prior to CNN+’s failure, Quibi was the biggest joke in the streaming wars. Launched in April 2020 at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, Quibi didn’t stand a chance. While short-form content seemed like a good idea – so much so that it raised $1.75 billion from investors – when the company was founded in August 2018, the mobile only streaming service didn’t stand a chance as viewing habits changed. In April 2020, people were stuck at home with nothing to do and easy access to television. Watching content on a 6-inch screen lost any appeal it initially had. A combination of poor timing, a lack of marketing, and misunderstanding the market caused Quibi to crash and burn in 6 months. Anyone who wants to watch short-form content will watch Tik Tok, YouTube, or a free website, meaning there was no reason for viewers to pay $5 dollars a month for Reno 911!, The Andy Cohen Diaries, and Chrissy’s Court starring Chrissy Teigen.
For those who didn’t subscribe to Quibi and want to check out some of the defuct services content, former Quibi content has migrated over to The Roku Channel, which is a free ad-supported streaming service. Despite its name, The Roku Channel does not require a Roku device.
Yahoo! Screen
It’s hard to believe that Yahoo! Screen lasted 6 years. The streaming service is best known for giving Community fans their sixth season, but not having the budget for the much hoped for movie. In fact, the fate of Yahoo! Screen was so tied to Community that its easy to forget that Katie Couric and John Stamos had shows on the platform. Unfortunately for Yahoo, its pivot to media didn’t work because the company’s best known for a search engine and an email service that no one has used since 2005.
While there are other streaming services like Turner Broadcasting’s Super Deluxe, Verizon’s go90, Movielink, and MSN Soapbox that lasted for short periods of time or struggled for years in obscurity until their owners finally ended support, many of the lesser-known Netflix alternatives are lost to history. For example, if you search for Super Deluxe, you get a link to the streaming services Wikipedia page and unrelate links to the move of the same name. The lack of information suggests that there are many more failed streaming services that have been lost to history.
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