CNN's streaming service began with a bang but it is now mustering only a bit more than a whimper as an expected mass of subscribers appear to be steering clear. Now, network executives are expected to begin cutting millions from their original budget.

On Tuesday, Axios reported that CNN's management is mulling over the possibility of cutting hundreds of millions of dollars from CNN+, the network's news streaming service, after failing to lure in enough subscribers since its launch.

According to a separate report by CNBC, CNN+ attracted fewer than 10,000 users daily in its two weeks of existence. To give an idea of how this contrasts with other networks, Disney Plus attracted 10 million subscribers on its first day of existence on Nov. 13, 2019.

CNN+’s failure to attract subscribers follows optimistic projections produced by CNN executives together with consultants from McKinsey that predicted at least two million subscribers in the United States alone by the end of 2022. This number, it estimated, would rise to about 15 to 18 million after four years when it was then expected to break even after reaching international markets.

One reason why CNN+ may be flailing stems from a wider decline in overall ratings. In February, it was reported that CNN saw a 69% drop in the size of its prime-time audience compared to the same time last year as well as a 68% decline in its total number of viewers.

With the end of the 2020 presidential election, news networks as a whole also experienced a decline in the size of their audience, according to an analysis by the Columbia Journalism Review.

However, CNN itself reported last month that Russia's war in Ukraine created a boom in demand for news. In total, the network said it averaged 1.316 million total viewers by the end of February.

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