Warner Bros. Discovery has suspended all external marketing spend for CNN+ and has laid off CNN's longtime chief financial officer as it weighs what to do with the subscription streaming service moving forward, five sources tell Axios.

Why it matters: Inside CNN, executives think the launch has been successful. Discovery executives disagree.

What to watch: Sources say a plan is being considered to replace Chris Cuomo's 9:00pm EST primetime slot with a live newscast, instead of personality-driven perspective programming.

Executives are frustrated that new leadership is moving quickly to dismantle what they see as an eventual lifeline for the cable network.

Yes, but: That analogy, some argue, assumes customers would get the same product on CNN+ that they do with CNN's linear channel, which isn't the case.

Discovery executives are frustrated that the service launched. If CNN held off launching CNN+ until after the merger, it would have been easier to pivot the company's efforts towards something better aligned with Discovery's goals.

By the numbers: Last year, CNN brought in roughly $1 billion in profit, with a large portion from long-term distribution contracts for its live TV network, according to two sources.

The big picture: Blame bad timing, limited communications and misaligned incentives for how CNN and Discovery got strategically misaligned on such a massive product rollout.