WarnerMedia Shuts Down CNN’s Great Big Story Unit

By Jon Lafayette
( Broadcasting & Cable )
last updated

5-year-old unit victim of economy, AT&T restructurings

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

Great Big Story logo

(Image credit: Great Big Story)

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.

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Jon Lafayette
Jon Lafayette

Jon has been business editor of Broadcasting+Cable since 2010. He focuses on revenue-generating activities, including advertising and distribution, as well as executive intrigue and merger and acquisition activity. Just about any story is fair game, if a dollar sign can make its way into the article. Before B+C, Jon covered the industry for TVWeek, Cable World, Electronic Media, Advertising Age and The New York Post. A native New Yorker, Jon is hiding in plain sight in the suburbs of Chicago.