Now, three months into Mr. Licht’s tenure, the network finds itself facing big questions about how it can continue to expand its business with its moonshot streaming service dead and the traditional TV business in structural decline.

Projections from S&P Global Market Intelligence say CNN’s profitability is on a pace to decline to $956.8 million this year. That would mark the first time since 2016 that the network had dipped below $1 billion in profit, according to three people familiar with its operations.

Two people familiar with CNN’s operations said the network’s initial 2022 profitability target was $1.1 billion, which Mr. Licht is on track to miss by more than $100 million. But another person familiar with the matter said that by the accounting of company executives, Mr. Licht was on track to meet a profitability target of roughly $950 million for the year, since the network’s initial budget didn’t account for losses associated with launching the CNN+ streaming service…

Mr. Licht, who took over CNN in May after a corporate merger made Warner Bros. Discovery its parent company, has tried to sell its staff on a vision for the network that isn’t tethered to traditional TV ratings. During a meeting with employees his first week, Mr. Licht said CNN would generate revenue by pitching advertisers on the network’s “pristine brand,” not just sheer audience size, according to a recording of his remarks obtained by The New York Times.

“I don’t want producers making decisions based on what they think will rate,” Mr. Licht said, according to the recording.