CNN Shutters Casey Neistat's Video Company Beme, Which It Bought 14 Months Ago For $25 Million (theverge.com) 62
In late November 2016, CNN purchased YouTube star Casey Neistat's video-sharing app Beme for $25 million. The news network purchased the app in a bid to harness Neistat's (at the time) 6 million subscribers, with the hopes of turning the company into an independently operated daily online news show and a core part of CNN's offerings that would appeal to a younger demographic. Today, CNN has shut down Beme because Neistat was unable to figure out a viable strategy due to creative differences and sluggish process. He will be departing from CNN. The Verge reports: "I couldn't find answers. I would sort of disappear, and I would hide, and I would make YouTube videos for my channel because at least I would be able to yield something," Neistat told Buzzfeed News. "I don't think I'm giving CNN what I want to give them, and I don't think they're getting value from me." When CNN bought Beme, it said Neistat's company would focus on "timely and topical video and empowering content creators to use technology to find their voice." Beme currently employs 22 people, and CNN said it would re-employ most of the team, though some would lose their jobs. CNN plans to continue developing tech products developed by Beme, including an unreleased live-news app called Wire.
Re:Lol (Score:5, Funny)
They gave him $25 million for nothing and he's -their- bitch?
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I could have told them they weren't going to get anything good from him for half the price.
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I could have told them that for the same price they'd have to pay to watch one of those youtube videos.
Probably cheaper cause it would be a very short assessment.
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Casey who?
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Beme what?
Re: What's the story? (Score:2)
Suckers (Score:3)
That fool is laughing all the way to the bank. I can't stand the guy but kudos for rolling CNN.
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Not necessarily.
I have no clue who this guy is, never heard of him, but if he actually WANTED to make this work and simply couldn't it probably feels like a pretty bad defeat despite the money.
Surprising? Not really... (Score:4, Informative)
Then again when you are CNN and part of a big corporation like Turner Broadcasting it's not exactly the end of the world if you end up throwing 25 million USD down the drain.
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Plus they probably lost a bunch of viewers when CNN inserted their bias.
Re:Surprising? Not really... (Score:5, Insightful)
Until recently, I used CNN for world news -- they were biased but reliable. Then, somewhen during the US election campaign, they went completely bonkers. I don't know how to call them without being unfair to ordinary lying sacks of shit.
This started with them not giving a single mention to Hillary's wrongdoings that were all over other news sites. Since then, they can't post a single article without propaganda stuffed with obvious lies -- especially if there's a word like "gun" or "nuclear" anywhere within six clicks of the piece. Fake News at its finest, indeed.
While it's usually good to hear both sides, CNN has gone to Daily Stormer's level; going there is a waste of time.
Re: Surprising? Not really... (Score:1)
I don't think CNN is alone. Somewhere along the way everyone decided that polarized echo chambers are the way to more money. Everyone loses but the news organizations.
Re: (Score:3, Interesting)
Since then, they can't post a single article without propaganda stuffed with obvious lies...
They have a shit ton [cnn.com] of articles up right now. Would you mind linking to one and pointing out these obvious lies that can't be missed?
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Look at how many hits there are. Wow. [google.com]
> "They stopped being journalists and began being *cheerleaders*, and became people who had a conclusion that they reached, and then searched for facts to show that Hillary Clinton was an 92, 93, 99 point 9999 chance winner, of winning this campaign."
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X2lWZ7CsXu0 [youtube.com]
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Wow! Hits on Google! What was I thinking??? Obviously CNN is a sack of liars if Google returns results! I notice you don't link to one of their articles where they're purporting lies. I wonder why.
Look at how many hits there are. Wow. [google.com]
Here's [wikipedia.org] a much more useful link if you're trying to discredit CNN. You might have linked to something like this [cnn.com] and tried to explain why swift, responsible, and aggressive handling of misreporting is the same as lying. They have a stellar track record of getting the facts straight or immediately correcting themsel
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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/... [wikipedia.org]
https://nypost.com/2017/06/27/... [nypost.com]
https://nypost.com/2017/12/11/... [nypost.com]
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/0... [nytimes.com]
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You do realize you shared the same link I did? Saying "CNN has corrected themselves more than once" is not remotely the same as saying CNN "can't post a single article without propaganda stuffed with obvious lies." Unrelated, calling them biased is importantly different than calling them liars. I wouldn't even call FoxNews liars even though they've got a few strikes and their bias turns my stomach. There are organizations that describe themselves as news outlets that I'd happily call liars, but CNN and FoxN
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Not that any amount of examples would ever sway you.
One would do me. Just one. One link to their site with a story full of lies. Or an example where they made a mistake and doubled down on instead of correcting. Not that any amount of examples will ever be provided.
Piss dossier
Maybe you can give me a link to CNN's site where they say that DJT's water-sports tape is more than allegation?
Claiming Soros did not work with the Nazis
Despite politically-motivated rumors to the contrary, billionaire leftist George Soros was neither in the SS nor a Nazi collaborator in the Second World War. [snopes.com]
Claiming wiretapping of Trump tower never happened
Obama never tappped DJT's ph
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Sure it's possible there are afew biased stories out there, but most of their content is solid reporting.
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I have no problem with somebody calling CNN biased. They're not FoxNews level biased, but of course there's a slant. But when somebody calls them liars, I'd like to see evidence. There just isn't any. Every time I ask I get no reasonable response, but some mixed reactions from the mod lords. For some people, the phrase "CNN is not FAKE NEWS" is really offensive even though they have no support for their position. Just because our president screams something over and over does not make it true. Our president
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It's a basic reality that's hard for some people to accept.
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Let's look at the list of headlines I see front and center right now. No sign of bias here, nope none at all.
Davos crowd boos when Trump slams free press
Jeers heard as Trump calls media 'fake'
Trump touts his 'America First' age.....
wha.. the President of the United States is newsworthy? oh no.. such bias. They should be spending all their time talking about people who lost the election for POTUS. That would totally prove they have no bias.. yeah. totally.
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Let's take a look at a couple of these. I have my own theory on why there are so many stories that put DJT in a bad light and bias has little to do with it.
Davos crowd boos when Trump slams free press ... Jeers heard as Trump calls media 'fake'
DJT says Stalin-esque stupid shit to the world. World responds appropriately.
Trump touts his 'America First' agenda
Well, yeah... That was his plan going in and exactly what he did. How would you like to see this reported?
Anderson Cooper debunks FBI 'secret society' conspiracy theory
The 'secret society' conspiracy theory is fucking stupid and debunking it is exactly the right thing to do. If you're in support of the 'secret society' theory, it doesn't m
Re:Surprising? Not really... (Score:4)
CNN is garbage and has been for years, along with every other US news channel. CNN international was good as of a year or two ago, because it competes with real news organizations like the BBC. I don't know if it still is good, and I don't know why the US can't have decent domestic news. It's almost as if intelligent, hard-nosed reporters are blacklisted from TV.
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Clinton News Network
Re: (Score:2, Interesting)
an attempt at regaining the sub 30 market that broadcast news media has more or less completely lost.
Two words: Rachel Maddow.
http://www.adweek.com/tvnewser... [adweek.com]
One of the most significant cable news ratings stories for Q2 '17 was the performance of The Rachel Maddow Show.
Maddow finished this past quarter as the No. 1 show across all of cable news in the all-important A25-54 demographic.
And it's not just the under-30 market. MSNBC took even younger audiences.
MSNBC also set network records in the adults 18-49 demo during weekday prime (M-F 8-11 p.m.), finishing at No. 1 for the first time ever for a full quarter.
While the achievement should be seen as a positive, the A18-49 demo is almost never cited by cable news advertisers.
The A25-54 demo is the standard in this genre.
A18-49 is the key demo for advertisers looking at broadcast and cable entertainment networks.
Generations raised on Jon Stewart's Daily Show want charming, intelligent hosts, hosting factual, informative and insightful shows.
They DO NOT WANT to feel like they are being click-baited to sit in front of the TV until that one particular bit of news they are interested in, and are continuously being promised is "coming up next", shows up in the "24-hour news cycle".
They want
Casey Who ? (Score:3, Insightful)
Is that the inventor of Netstat ? ... maybe that's why it failed.
We tend to use "ss" now
That was an extinguish... (Score:1)
CNN suffered from FOMO - Fear of Missing Out (Score:3)
Proof again that making hasty decisions based on FOMO rather than common sense are usually wrong and very expensive mistakes.
Large Media Company Does Stupid Thing - Film at 11 (Score:2)
What, you thought it was going to end with the MySpace buyout? Or Tumblr?
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CNN was already mixed up with the king of these mistakes though. You'd think after getting financially sodomized buying AOL they would have learned.
Probably just buying a potential competitor (Score:3)
Target market? (Score:2)
Is he part of the under-twenty....seven(?) age group? In my thirties I am feeling old, I have never heard of this guy. Whose eyeballs were CNN trying to buy? Americans age 17-28? English speaking europeans 25-40?
6 million viewers is a lot but at the same time is a tiny tiny fraction of total users and there's a better chance you've never heard of the guy...
And nothing of value was lost... (Score:2)
Well, apart from those millions of dollars and a few jobs at... what was that again? Beme?
Have they tried changing the name to Blockchaineme? Maybe that would help.
Casey's original statement (from deleted video) (Score:3)
Nothing new. (Score:2)
Mark Cuban is a billionare because of a project Yahoo bought and shuttered.
How is AOL doing?
CNN Shutters ... (Score:2)
Seen this before... (Score:2)
It's just like when Wayne Campbell sold out to television producer Benjamin Oliver. His show was never the same after that. Noah's Arcade sucks anyway.
Thought of Gershwin when I saw this (Score:2)
Nice work if you can get it.