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CNN Shutters Casey Neistat's Video Company Beme, Which It Bought 14 Months Ago For $25 Million (theverge.com)

Posted by BeauHD on from the short-and-sweet dept.

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.

14 of 62 comments (clear)

  1. Suckers by Train0987 · · Score: 2

    That fool is laughing all the way to the bank. I can't stand the guy but kudos for rolling CNN.

  2. Re:Lol by Train0987 · · Score: 4, Funny

    They gave him $25 million for nothing and he's -their- bitch?

  3. Surprising? Not really... by The+Cynical+Critic · · Score: 3, Informative

    I honestly can't say I'm surprised this is how it ended. In terms of content and audience CNN and Casey are so far apart I have a hard time understanding how anyone could think a synergy could be found. It probably was just some out of touch executive desperate to jumpstart an attempt at regaining the sub 30 market that broadcast news media has more or less completely lost.

    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.

    --
    "Why should I want to make anything up? Life's bad enough as it is without wanting to invent any more of it."
    1. Re:Surprising? Not really... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Insightful

      Plus they probably lost a bunch of viewers when CNN inserted their bias.

    2. Re:Surprising? Not really... by KiloByte · · 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.

      --
      The creatures outside looked from Alt-Right to Antifa; but already it was impossible to say which was which.
    3. Re:Surprising? Not really... by gnick · · Score: 2, Interesting

      Since then, they can't post a single article without propaganda stuffed with obvious lies...

      They have a shit ton of articles up right now. Would you mind linking to one and pointing out these obvious lies that can't be missed?

      --
      He's getting rather old, but he's a good mouse.
    4. Re:Surprising? Not really... by Boronx · · Score: 3

      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.

      --
      Play Command HQ online
    5. Re:Surprising? Not really... by gnick · · Score: 2

      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.

      Here's a much more useful link if you're trying to discredit CNN. You might have linked to something like this 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 themselves and you've provided nothing to counter that. If you'd like to trade examples of CNN being inaccurate regarding DJT for examples of DJT being inaccurate about the world around him, I'm definitely game. If you'd like to trade examples of CNN doubling down on misinformation for examples of DJT doing the same, that sounds like fun too.

      I'm waiting to the link to their article full of lies. The assertion was that they never write an article that isn't full of "propaganda stuffed with obvious lies".

      --
      He's getting rather old, but he's a good mouse.
    6. Re:Surprising? Not really... by gnick · · Score: 2

      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 make you biased. It makes you fucking stupid.

      Schumer didn't want WH aide in Trump chat

      How did this even make the list? How is this DJT bashing?

      Trump says he would apologize for retweeting far-right British group

      DJT should apologize for those tweets. Did you see them? Any way, reporting that he's apologizing seems like a pro-DJT story. Reporting ON those tweets comes across as very anti-DJT just as it should.

      I could go on, but we're already past the TL;DR limit. In any case, the assertion was that they couldn't post a single article that wasn't full of obvious lies. I'm waiting to the link to the article full of obvious lies. You can accurately allege bias in the headlines of literally every news agency.

      --
      He's getting rather old, but he's a good mouse.
    7. Re:Surprising? Not really... by gnick · · Score: 2

      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.

      Claiming wiretapping of Trump tower never happened

      Obama never tappped DJT's phones. If you think he did, you're as deluded as him.

      --
      He's getting rather old, but he's a good mouse.
  4. Casey Who ? by psergiu · · Score: 2, Insightful

    Is that the inventor of Netstat ?
    We tend to use "ss" now ... maybe that's why it failed.

    --
    1% APY, No fees, Online Bank https://captl1.co/2uIErYq Don't let your $$$ sit in a no-interest acct.
  5. CNN suffered from FOMO - Fear of Missing Out by JoeyRox · · Score: 2

    CNN saw Casey's 8.7 million youtube subscribers and thought buying him out was a sure way transfer a chunk of those eyeballs to CNN, provided he was the front-man for whatever media content they came up with. CNN was so sure of this strategy that they feared someone else would execute it first, which prompted them to not only buy Casey but also his entire Beme company, to bail it out of the hole it dug itself and its investors into from that failing first-person video app of theirs.

    Proof again that making hasty decisions based on FOMO rather than common sense are usually wrong and very expensive mistakes.

  6. Probably just buying a potential competitor by rsilvergun · · Score: 2

    to shut them down. Microsoft used to do it all the time. $25 million is a small price to pay to shut down upstart new media. Meanwhile Bernie Sanders had to go on youtube to get coverage for his Medicare For All townhall.

    --
    Hi! I make Firefox Plug-ins. Check 'em out @ https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/youtube-mp3-podcaster/
  7. Casey's original statement (from deleted video) by JoeyRox · · Score: 2

    https://www.reddit.com/r/caseyneistat/comments/7swlm5/deleted_video/dt7ywnd/?context=2