CNN Checkout Channel was a satellite television network operated by ActMedia and Turner Broadcasting System through its CNN and Turner Private Networks subsidiaries. The network was a place-based out-of-home advertising service, fed via televisions installed in the checkout lines of participating supermarkets. The service carried a mixture of news programming provided by CNN, accompanied by national advertising sold by the network. Costs of installing the service's equipment were covered by Turner, and stores received a share of national advertising revenue. By 1993, CNN Checkout Channel was carried in 840 stores. Reception to the service was mixed; some were neutral to the concept, while cashiers at its participating stores found the in-store televisions broadcasting its programming to be distracting. After believing that it would be too difficult to make the service profitable, Turner discontinued CNN Checkout Channel in March 1993, and took a write-down of $16 million. Background CNN Checkout Channel was first announced in September 1990 as a joint venture between the marketing firm ActMedia, who provided a startup cost of nearly $70 million, and CNN, who provided content for the service. Turner Broadcasting System would have an option to acquire an equity stake. Turner operated Checkout Channel through its Turner Private Networks subsidiary, which also operated CNN Airport Network. The service was conceptualized by Richard Larsen, an MIT professor of queueing theory; he explained that "waiting in a supermarket checkout line is something we all experience daily. We're hassled by high levels of stress and frustration. It's a subtle form of imprisonment, but the Checkout Channel changes empty time to informative and productive time." CNN Checkout Channel was initially trialed at a Kroger location in Detroit. For its wider roll-out, it was introduced at stores in markets such as Atlanta, Charlotte, Columbus, Los Angeles, New York City, Philadelphia, Providence, and San Jose. Acme Markets, A&P, Finast, and Kroger served as partner chains for the service. The CNN Checkout Channel broadcast blocks of news programming, interspersed with commercial advertising. National advertising packages with exclusivity in certain product segments were sold in quarterly and yearly packages. ActMedia president Wayne LoCurto explained that advertising rates for CNN Checkout Channel were comparable to those of traditional daytime television. Among the launch advertisers were Coca-Cola, Campbell's, Ford Motor Company, Kraft, Kimberly Clark, and Walt Disney World. The service also covered the costs of installation and equipment (such as televisions and the satellite system), and