CNN+ struggling to gain viewers in its early days, drawing fewer than 10,000 daily users

According to those close to the situation, less than 10,000 people are utilizing CNN+ on a daily basis now that the app is two weeks into its existence.

The sources spoke with CNBC, after being promised anonymity, in order to discuss data that has not yet been made public by the media group.

CNN+ launched on March 29, and the news subscription service, which costs $5.99 per month or $59.99 annually, just became available on Roku on Monday. The app still is not on Android TV. The weak audience, though, casts doubt on the future of the service after the recently combined merging of Discovery and WarnerMedia into Warner Bros. Discovery.

In order to put that number in perspective, CNN’s cable network also experienced a serious drop in viewership last month, but the station still averaged 773,000 total viewers per day.

“We continue to be happy with the launch and its progress after only two weeks,” said one CNN spokesperson. CNN was looking to make a big impact with CNN+, bringing in talent from other news networks like Kasie Hunt from NBC News and Chris Wallace from Fox News. Still, there is some skepticism surrounding whether there is enough demand to justify a stand-alone news streaming service. 

CNN has not yet released an exact number of subscribers to CNN+. Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav has also not commented in public about CNN+’s long-term future, but he did tell CNBC in February that he would need to see how the application performed before he decides on any moves.

“I haven’t gotten a business review on what CNN+ is going to be and how it’s going to be offered,” he said at the time.