CNN is ready to re-enter the streaming era.
The Warner Bros. Discovery-backed news organization has announced that starting October 28, it will launch a new “All Access” subscription product for $6.99 per month or $69.99 per year. The company touted the new service as the best way to interact with a rapidly growing array of new content built for viewers on mobile devices and connected TVs. Subscribers who sign up by January 5, 2026 will receive an annual plan for the first year at a special introductory price of $41.99.
“This new subscription service will give viewers access to the best of CNN’s content across platforms, including multiple livestream channels, our signature video-driven journalism, and all articles on CNN.com and within our mobile apps,” Alex McCollum, executive vice president of digital products and services at CNN Worldwide, said in a statement. “This is an essential step in the evolution of CNN as we work to provide our viewers with the complete CNN experience in a format that reflects how they engage with news today.”
The new launch represents CNN CEO Mark Thompson’s continued efforts to propel CNN, a mainstay of traditional television, into a new era as news junkies increasingly turn to non-traditional video sources for both immediate information and in-depth coverage. Strategy is extremely important. Unlike many rivals, CNN has not yet developed a sustainable digital video product. And while it was experimenting, competitors like NBC News and CBS News began offering content that could be seen everywhere from Amazon’s Fire portal to YouTube.
“All Access” subscribers (the product builds on the “Basic” subscription tier, which allows unlimited reading of CNN articles, its mobile app, and some subscriber-only content) will be able to stream a selection of CNN’s live U.S. and global programming. CNN’s library of original series and documentaries. New content from CNN journalists. and exclusive live events. CNN said it will release the full schedule and content at launch.
In some ways, the new concept reflects one of CNN’s biggest efforts in recent times. The company will debut CNN+, a subscription-based streaming hub, in 2022 that executives say is the best way to build a loyal audience with a mix of lifestyle and news programming that relies on personalities like Wolf Blitzer, Kate Bolduan and Casey Hunt. Within a month of its launch, the service was shut down by CNN’s new parent company.
CNN announced the launch as parent company Warner Bros. Discovery prepares to split its assets and place CNN among other traditional cable networks. As a result, the streaming CNN product previously available on the company’s Max streaming hub will be removed, and new consideration may be given to whether to bundle it with other broadband products offered by the new entity.
