CNN Will Report More User-Generated News After Acquisition of Beme

“By joining forces with CNN, we’re able to give our mission more than just one, startup-budgeted shot,” social sharing app’s co-founder says

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CNN has purchased the technology and team behind Beme, a social sharing app popular with millennials, as it aims to increase user-generated content.

YouTube personality Casey Neistat and former Tumblr VP of Engineering Matt Hackett created Beme, which will become part of CNN on Jan. 31. The company will no longer operate independently after the takeover.

“Hearing voices and seeing perspectives far from your own matters. These principles, on which Beme was built, will form the core of our mission as a part of CNN,” Hackett said in a blog post.

 

He continued: “By joining forces with CNN, we’re able to give our mission more than just one, startup-budgeted shot. We are going to hunker down and create something new. To do that with the full focus it deserves, we have to say goodbye to Beme.”

Hackett acknowledged that the closure of Beme “will be a disappointment” to fans, but assured its users that “for the next two months, you’ll be able to download everything you’ve created, from videos to reactions, neatly archived.”

Beme’s 11 employees will join CNN as part of the deal. The Wall Street Journal reported that the deal is values at “about” $25 million, citing people familiar with the matter.

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