CNN+ goes bust two days earlier than announced

Those that subscribed to the service will be refunded, with Digital Trends noting that those who signed up for their monthly plan received a 50 percent discount during the early bird window, which was set to end on April 28, so subscribers can expect to see a $3 refund in their account.

The emailed statement from CNN regarding the shutdown of the service reads as follows:

"CNN+ streaming will come to an end on April 28, 2022. If you purchased your subscription directly from us, we will be providing a full refund for your subscription fee back to your original CNN+ payment method by May 28, 2022. If you purchased your subscription via a third party, such as Apple, Google, Roku, or Amazon, that third party will process a full refund of your subscription fee in accordance with their respective refund policies and timelines. You can confirm the details of those refunds directly with the applicable third-party app store provider."

On the streaming service’s website that now redirects to a CNN help page, it states that users can expect a refund by May 28, taking around the same amount of time to receive the refund as the streaming service existed.

The website also states that "As of April 28, 2022, the CNN+ daily and weekly shows, Interview Club, and the on-demand library of CNN Original Series and Films are no longer available."

In a town hall with employees last week, CNN executives noted the streaming platform's inability to show live breaking news a crucial failing, according to Newsmax. Contracts with cable and satellite companies didn’t allow for the streaming service to show live CNN television shows.

"It's a little bit like The New York Times subscription without The New York Times," said J.B. Perrette, head of Discovery's streaming services.

This comes as a sharp contract to other broadcast networks like CBS, NBC, and ABC, which offer free news-streaming services.