CNN+ IS COMING

CNN has disclosed the first details of its long-awaited new subscription streaming service, called CNN+, which will launch in the first quarter of 2022.

CNN+ will have 8-12 hours of original live content each day. The network didn’t provide any specific programming information but Monday’s release made clear it would involve contributions from existing CNN talent as well as entries from the network’s catalog of series and documentaries including past seasons of Anthony Bourdain: Parts Unknown and Stanley Tucci: Searching for Italy.

From CNN.com:

CNN can’t just sell its current live programming via streaming due to lucrative and long-term deals with cable distributors. The company generates more than a billion dollars in profit annually, largely from cable subscriber fees and advertising.

So CNN is effectively building a parallel track, right next to its existing TV track, to serve both existing cable subscribers who want additional programming and customers who don’t have cable at all.

Zucker framed it this way in his statement: “On top of a television offering that has never been stronger, which remains at the core of what we do today, we will offer consumers a streaming product that grows the reach and scope of the CNN brand in a way that no one else is doing. Nothing like this exists.”

The new streaming service will launch in the first quarter of 2022, but they have not yet announced how much this new service will cost.

Susan Saunders 7/20/21