#Jeff Zucker shutters CNN Airport Network, cites COVID-19

Air travelers will no longer get their news from CNN.

CNN boss Jeff Zucker on Tuesday said that the cable giant is shuttering its CNN Airport Network, which plays exclusively on TVs in airport lounges across the US.

The network, launched 30 years ago, will close up shop on March 31, Zucker wrote in a memo to staff, citing a “steep decline” in usage due to the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as the fact that more travelers now get news from their smartphones.

“The steep decline in airport traffic because of COVID-19, coupled with all the new ways that people are consuming content on their personal devices, has lessened the need for the CNN Airport Network,” Zucker said. “Having to say goodbye to such a beloved brand is not easy … I am sure most of us have a story to tell about which airport we were at when we first learned of a major news event.”

Launched in January 1992, the network is aired in 58 airports across the US and it includes 24/7 news programming from CNN and HLN, as well as entertainment programming from sister channels such as Cartoon Network, TBS and HBO.