development for two years. CNN is expected
to absorb some of those jobs but there will be
layoffs — a clear picture on those numbers is
still emerging.
The company spent hundreds of millions of
dollars on the project and no one knew when,
or if, losses would be replaced by profits.
Old-timers remember the Edsel, a new car
model introduced by Ford in 1957 that
was poorly made and too expensive. It was
discontinued after two years, costing Ford an
estimated $250 million, the name remembered
as a synonym for business failure long after the
car itself was forgotten.
Coca-Cola’s attempt to introduce a new flavor
in 1985 was dropped in weeks. Except for its
cameo role in the “Back to the Future” movies,
the DeLorean didn’t make a dent. Inventors
of the Segway found in 1999 that not many
people wanted to spend around $5,000 for a
glorified scooter.
Quibi, short for “quick bites,” had the backing of
Hollywood’s biggest names and $1.75 billion
from investors when the mobile video service
was introduced in 2020. It lasted six months.
Presciently, reporter Josef Adalian recalled
that failure in an article for Vulture headlined,
“CNN+ has Quibi Vibes,” that posted two days
after its launch.
“CNN+ in its formative phase feels somewhat
like the Quibi of streaming news,” Adalian
wrote. “Lots of money has been spent, big stars
are onboard, but it’s hard to figure out just
what the service is supposed to be and why a
large number of people will want to pay for it.”