Great Big Story, a video unit that worked with WarnerMedia’s CNN, announced that it was being shut down on Wednesday.

The five-year-old unit aimed to tell stories for younger viewers and create branded content for advertisers.

The unit was doomed by the COVID-19 recession and by restructuring activities by WarnerMedia, part of AT&T, which has been looking to reduce debt and focus on core business.

In a tweet, Great Big Story said “Challenging times call for difficult decisions, and it is with a heavy heart that we are announcing today that we will be closing the doors of Great Big Story.”

Great Big Stories won a Cannes Lion, three Emmys and had a fanbase on social media of more than 14 million followers.

CNN’s short digital film unit Great Big Story has named Christine Cook as senior vice president of global sales and brand strategy.

Cook, who had been senior VP and global head of advertising partnerships for Flipboard, will report to Katrina Cukaj, executive VP of portfolio sales and client relationship for Turner Ad Sales, and Rani Raad, president of CNN International Commercial.

Related: CNN’s Great Big Story Lands on Xumo’s OTT Lineup

In her new post, Cook will focus on revenue strategy and advertising growth for the company.

“Over the past two years, Great Big Story has traveled the world to bring a growing community of fans untold and inspiring stories, while forging innovative content partnerships rooted in the same commitment for marketers,” Cukaj said. “We’re thrilled to have Christine onboard to lead this next chapter in Great Big Story’s global sales expansion.”

Read more at broadcastingcable.com.

Xumo, the free, ad-supported OTT video aggregation service, said it has added CNN’s Great Big Story to its streaming lineup on its supported platforms.

The distribution deal opens another conduit for Great Big Story and its mix of adventure-focused micro-documentaries and digital series. Great Big Story notes that it’s 1,500-plus “stories” (offered in categories such as Frontiers, Human Condition, Flavors, Planet Earth and Origins) have been watched 1.7 billion times. Frontiers, Human Condition, Flavors, Planet Earth and Origins.

Xumo is adding Great Big Story to its mobile apps, integrations on smart TVs (channel 132 on Xumo), as well as LG’s Channel Plus service, and Roku devices. Of recent note, Layer3 TV has integrated Xumo on its set-top box platform.

RELATED: Layer3 TV Expands OTT Slate With Xumo

“We’re excited about the opportunity to feature Great Big Story in an OTT environment and believe the partnership serves as a natural fit to reach intellectually curious audiences through our platform that delivers content to all screens in the home,” Stefan Van Engen, SVP, content programming and acquisitions at Xumo, said in a statement. 

Xumo today delivers more than 100 OTT-delivered channels on its platform

Time Warner Inc. chairman and CEO Jeff Bewkes said the media giant will  increase its investments in new digital products and infrastructure, building on its HBO Now and CNN’s Great Big Story online initiatives.

Time Warner launched HBO Now, its standalone online service in April. Last month, Turner and its 24-hour news network CNN announced a new social media delivered short form video network – Great Big Story – targeted at millennials.

“Having great content is no longer enough,” Bewkes said. “While we are living in the Golden Age of television programming, for many consumers, the television viewing experience is stuck in the Bronze Age.”

Time Warner said it is still in the middle of its budgeting process. But on a conference call with analysts to discuss third quarter results, chief financial officer Howard Averill said the investments could reach into the “hundreds of millions of dollars.”

Turner chairman and CEO John Martin said that investment will be “mostly outside of the programming arena,” focused on new business and building new brands like the Great Big Story initiative, its August purchase of a majority stake in streaming video pioneer iStreamPlanet and its recently resurrected internal comedy focused digital business Super Deluxe.

Bewkes also said Turner is rethinking the length of its subscription video on demand windows.

“Our company has led the industry in making our content available to consumers on an on-demand basis,” Bewkes said. “Due to ongoing shifts in consumer behavior, we think it’s important to provide even more on-demand content as part of our network offering. As a result, we’re  evaluating whether to retain our rights for a longer period of time and, forego or delay certain content licensing. This would effectively push SVOD window for content on our networks to a multiyear period,  more consistent with traditional syndication.”

The moves come after a mixed third quarter for the company. While earnings per share hit a record $1.25 per share, revenue rose 5% and adjusted operating income nearly tripled in the absence of one-time charges, affiliate fees declined and domestic advertising revenue was flat.

Total revenue was up 5% to $6.6 billion at the media giant, driven mainly by its Warner Bros. film unit and Home Box Office. But affiliate fees at its Turner Broadcasting unit were down 1%, compared to consensus estimates of 2% growth.  

“It looks to us like the see-saw ride in media investor sentiment just got another jolt of cord-cutting fears,” wrote Sanford Bernstein media analyst Todd Juenger in a note to clients.