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CNN+ is a defunct subscription streaming service and online news channel owned by the CNN division of WarnerMedia News & Sports. It was launched on March 29, 2022 and was later shut down on April 28, 2022. Designed as an offshoot of the CNN television channel, the service carry a daily lineup of live news programming, as well as original series and documentaries drawn from the channel's library, and an "interactive community". Some of its programming was hosted by existing CNN personalities, while CNN also hired
Fox News The Fox News Channel (FNC), commonly known as Fox News, is an American Multinational corporation, multinational Conservatism in the United States, conservative List of news television channels, news and political commentary Television stati ...
journalist
Chris Wallace Christopher Wallace (born October 12, 1947) is an American broadcast journalist. He is known for his tough and wide-ranging interviews, for which he is often compared to his father, ''60 Minutes'' journalist Mike Wallace. Over his 60-year care ...
to host an interview program for the service. During the launch of CNN+, it came amid the merger of WarnerMedia with Discovery Inc. to form Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD), which was completed in early April. On its launch, CNN+ received mixed reviews, while it was reported that fewer than 10,000 people were using CNN+ on a daily basis. On April 21, 2022, new CNN head Chris Licht and WBD's head of streaming J.B. Perrette announced that CNN+ would be discontinued effective April 28, 2022 (only 30 days after its original launch), citing the service as being incompatible with the company's goal of having one streaming service to encompass all WBD properties. Selected CNN+ original programs were picked up by HBO Max and the main CNN network. After having been removed from HBO Max ahead of the launch of CNN+, CNN's library of factual programs were moved to Discovery+ on August 19, 2022. After the relaunch of HBO Max as Max in 2023, CNN announced that it would attempt another streaming news service—CNN Max—which was launched on Max in late-September 2023.


History and development

On July 19, 2021, CNN announced that they would offer a new round-the-clock streaming service, due to launch in the first quarter of 2022. The plan was for the service to provide eight to 12 hours of live programming a day, complemented by original series created just for the service and others culled from the network's archives, as well as an "interactive community" that would allow viewers to interact with on-air talent. The service was described by CNN head Jeff Zucker as "the evolution of video news and the start of a new era for the company", while the service's chief Andrew Morse described it as the "most important launch" for CNN since its founding in 1980. Former
NBC News NBC News is the news division of the American broadcast television network NBC. The division operates under NBCUniversal Media Group, a division of NBCUniversal, which is itself a subsidiary of Comcast. The news division's various operations r ...
correspondent Kasie Hunt was one of the first personalities confirmed to join the service; ''The Source with Kasie Hunt'' was announced as the title of her news show. On December 12, 2021, the network announced that Scott Galloway, a
New York University New York University (NYU) is a private university, private research university in New York City, New York, United States. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded in 1832 by Albert Gallatin as a Nondenominational ...
professor, joined CNN+ as a contributor to its original live programming. On the same day,
Chris Wallace Christopher Wallace (born October 12, 1947) is an American broadcast journalist. He is known for his tough and wide-ranging interviews, for which he is often compared to his father, ''60 Minutes'' journalist Mike Wallace. Over his 60-year care ...
announced that he would join CNN+ after spending 18 years at
Fox News The Fox News Channel (FNC), commonly known as Fox News, is an American Multinational corporation, multinational Conservatism in the United States, conservative List of news television channels, news and political commentary Television stati ...
, as well as serving as the host of '' Fox News Sunday''. Throughout the month of January 2022, several CNN cable news anchors, including Kate Bolduan, Wolf Blitzer, Jake Tapper, and Fareed Zakaria, and former NPR host Audie Cornish had joined CNN+ to host original programming shows on the streaming service. That same month, CNN+ announced additional talent hires, including Rex Chapman and Alison Roman, had joined the streaming service.


Operations

The surprise departure of Jeff Zucker in February 2022 had disrupted the long-term vision for CNN+ before it launched. David Zaslav, the CEO of Discovery, Inc., said, "I haven't gotten a business review on what CNN+ is going to be and how it's going to be offered." Zaslav later became CEO of the merged Warner Bros. Discovery; the merger closed shortly after CNN+'s launch date. CNN+ launched on March 29, 2022. Subscribers who joined in the first month paid $2.99 per month, about a 50% discount from the regular price, and their promotional rate was to have remained valid for the duration of their subscription. More than 100,000 subscribers joined in its first week. The service became available on
Roku Roku ( ) is a brand of consumer electronics that includes streaming players, smart TVs (and their operating systems), as well as a free TV streaming service. The brand is owned by Roku, Inc., an American company. As of 2024, Roku is the U ...
devices on April 11. ''Axios'' reported CNN spent $300 million to launch the streaming service.


Reception

CNN+ launched to mixed reviews and low subscriber numbers. '' Vulture'' wrote that "While it's far too early to reach any definitive judgments, CNN+ in its formative phase feels somewhat like the
Quibi Quibi ( ) was an American short-form streaming platform that generated content for viewing on mobile devices. It was founded in Los Angeles in August 2018 as NewTV by Jeffrey Katzenberg and was led by Meg Whitman as CEO. The service raised $ ...
of streaming news: Lots of money has been spent, big stars are onboard, but it's hard to figure out just what the service is supposed to be and why a large number of people will want to pay for it." The reviewer noted that CNN+, despite its standalone subscription fee, did not include any CNN content, either live or on demand. ''
Newsday ''Newsday'' is a daily newspaper in the United States primarily serving Nassau and Suffolk counties on Long Island, although it is also sold throughout the New York metropolitan area. The slogan of the newspaper is "Newsday, Your Eye on LI" ...
s media critic Verne Gay gave CNN+ a two-star review (out of four), praising many of its shows and the lack of commercial interruption while wondering about the mythical "unicorn viewer who has no time to eat or sleep" with the time and attention to watch its content. ''
PC Magazine ''PC Magazine'' (shortened as ''PCMag'') is an American computer magazine published by Ziff Davis. A print edition was published from 1982 to January 2009. Publication of online editions started in late 1994 and continues . Overview ''PC Mag ...
'' gave CNN+ a 4.0 out of 5 rating, praising its programming and its lack of ads while criticizing its lack of live CNN programming (without a paid cable subscription) and its lack of mobile content downloads. ''
National Review ''National Review'' is an American conservative editorial magazine, focusing on news and commentary pieces on political, social, and cultural affairs. The magazine was founded by William F. Buckley Jr. in 1955. Its editor-in-chief is Rich L ...
'' wrote that the channel was a dumping ground for content that "wasn't good enough to run on CNN." CNN executives originally expected to have two million subscribers in CNN+'s first year and 15–18 million after four years. CNN originally estimated that it would invest $1 billion in CNN+ over its first four years, but after a slow start, '' Axios'' reported that "hundreds of millions of dollars are expected to be cut" from that investment. On April 12, two weeks after its launch,
CNBC CNBC is an American List of business news channels, business news channel owned by the NBCUniversal News Group, a unit of Comcast's NBCUniversal. The network broadcasts live business news and analysis programming during the morning, Day ...
reported that fewer than 10,000 people were using CNN+ on a daily basis. With the merger of Warner Bros. Discovery having completed four days earlier, CNBC suggested that CNN+ programming might become available as part of a larger bundled offering with HBO Max and Discovery+, each of which have millions of subscribers. Much of the CNN original programming on HBO Max had been removed in advance of the CNN+ launch. By April 19, CNN+ had about 150,000 subscribers.


Shutdown

On April 21, 2022, CNN announced that CNN+ would cease operations on April 30. Andrew Morse, who led CNN's digital properties, would also be leaving the company. New CNN head Chris Licht and Discovery's head of streaming and interactive entertainment J.B. Perrette described the service as incompatible with the company's goal of forming a single streaming service to cover all its properties. It was expected that some of CNN+'s original programming would migrate to a combined streaming service housing Warner Bros. Discovery's content or the linear CNN cable television channel. Licht stated that the service's employees would "continue to be paid and receive benefits for the next 90 days to explore opportunities at CNN, CNN Digital, and elsewhere in the Warner Bros. Discovery family" and that departing CNN+ employees would receive at least six months of severance depending on their length of service. All subscribers to CNN+ would receive a pro-rated refund. On April 27, the shutdown was moved up to the next day, and the home page redirected to a help section about the service's whereabouts. CNN+ was the shortest-lived service under the Warner Bros. Discovery/
Turner Broadcasting Turner Broadcasting System, Inc. was an American television and media conglomerate founded by Ted Turner in 1965. Based in Atlanta, Georgia, it merged with Time Warner (later WarnerMedia) on October 10, 1996. As of April 2022, all of its ass ...
umbrella, breaking the previous record set by the Cable Music Channel, which lasted 35 days between October 26 and November 30, 1984. During the Warner Bros. Discovery upfronts, it was announced that ''Who's Talking to Chris Wallace?'' and the docuseries '' Eva Longoria: Searching for Mexico'', which were announced for the service in December 2021, would both be picked up by the main CNN channel, with the former also premiering episodes on HBO Max. On August 4, 2022, it was announced that a "hub" featuring CNN original series and documentaries would be added to Discovery+ on August 19, 2022. In August 2023, CNN subsequently announced that it would launch a new streaming news channel on Max known as CNN Max on September 27, which will feature a mixture of original live news programming and simulcasts of CNN primetime programs.


Original programming


Live weekday schedule

The network's daily programming included: * ''5 Things with Kate Bolduan''; adapted from CNN's podcast and newsletter of the same name, it highlighted the five key stories of the day. * ''Go There;'' an anchorless newscast featuring live field reports by CNN correspondents, and viewer questions. * ''Big Picture with Sara Sidner''; a discussion program focusing on "the most important and interesting story of the day". * '' Reliable Sources Daily;'' a spin-off of CNN's Sunday morning program, hosted by chief media correspondent
Brian Stelter Brian Patrick Stelter (born September 3, 1985) is an American journalist best known as the former chief media correspondent for CNN and host of the CNN program ''Reliable Sources'', roles he held from 2013 to 2022. He returned to CNN in 2024. St ...
. * ''The Source with Kasie Hunt''; a political analysis program. * ''The Global Brief with Bianca Nobilo'' (simulcast with
CNN International Cable News Network International or CNN International (CNNi, simply branded on-air as CNN) is an international television channel and website, owned by CNN Worldwide. CNN International carries news-related programming worldwide; it cooperates ...
; the only such program simulcast with a linear CNN network). * ''Who's Talking to Chris Wallace?''; An interview program hosted by former Fox News journalist Chris Wallace, airing Mondays to Thursdays. * ''The Newscast with Wolf Blitzer''; a newscast billed as a modernized equivalent to a traditional evening newscast, featuring "original reporting from around the world, investigations and consumer focused stories"


Weekly schedule

* ''Boss Files with Poppy Harlow'' (Mondays) * '' Anderson Cooper Full Circle'' (Tuesdays and Saturdays) * ''No Mercy, No Malice with Scott Galloway'' (Tuesdays) * ''Parental Guidance with Anderson Cooper'' (Wednesdays) * ''Jake Tapper's Book Club'' (Sundays) * ''Rex Chapman'' (Mondays) * ''The Don Lemon Show'' (Fridays)


Daily schedule

* ''CNN+ Special Report'' (breaking news coverage) * ''Interview Club'' (CNN+ subscribers ask questions to experts in live interviews)


CNN+ Original Series

* ''Land of the Giants: Titans of Tech'' * ''The Murdochs: Empire of Influence'' * '' The Wonder List with Bill Weir'' (season 4) * ''Flashpoints with Fareed Zakaria''


CNN+ FlashDocs

New documentary unit exploring timely and topical pop culture stories. * ''Chicago vs. Jussie Smollett''


References


External links


Official website
*
Archive of April 22, 2022
{{DEFAULTSORT:CNN Plus Max (streaming service) Internet properties established in 2022 Internet properties disestablished in 2022 2022 establishments in the United States 2022 disestablishments in the United States Internet television streaming services Defunct video on demand services Defunct subscription services Former Warner Bros. Discovery subsidiaries Plus