According to Business Insider, Neistat was supposed to develop a new millennial-focused outlet for CNN through the Beme app. The network had acquired the video-sharing app in 2016.
Neistat addressed his departure from CNN in a YouTube video on January 25, which went viral.
Matt Hackett, the co-founder and chief technology officer (CTO) of Beme, made a lengthy blog post about Beme shutting down.
The news network CNN reported that it will try to find new job opportunities for the 22 Beme employees within the company, however, some will be laid off.
A viral online filmmaker, Neistat was brought to CNN to turn Beme into a new outlet for digital storytelling. The network hoped to leverage Neistat’s popularity on social media to help reach a new generation of viewers.
Neistat had appeared on the cover of The Hollywood reporter in 2017. In that cover story feature, Jeff Zucker, the president of CNN had noted that he became interested in Neistatwhen he learned about him from his teenage son.
