American news channel CNN comes with its own paid streaming service

The American news channel CNN will offer a paid streaming service under the name CNN+ from next year. It broadcasts eight to twelve hours of live programs daily, and there are non-fiction series exclusively for the service.

The programming on CNN+ will not be the same as that on the television channel, said Andrew Morse, who leads the streaming service as chief digital officer . CNN says it is hiring hundreds of people and developing dozens of TV shows for the service, which should be available in the first quarter of 2022. What CNN+ will cost has not yet been announced.

CNN+ will not be a streaming service for short news, but should offer more depth, says Morse. The live programs on the service are presented by well-known network leaders and new faces. In addition, there will be series on CNN+, both existing CNN productions and new exclusive productions. Morse also states that subscribers to the service will have access to an ‘interactive community’ where members can have ‘direct interaction’ with presenters and experts. Exact details about the programming and community have not yet been disclosed.

According to CNN, the news network can’t just offer its current live programming via streaming because it has lucrative long-term deals with TV distributors worldwide. CNN earns more than $1 billion annually.

Initially, CNN+ will focus on video, but the company is considering offering other forms through the subscription, such as long articles and podcasts. There will be no new app for CNN+. The streaming service will be available in the current CNN app after payment. CNN is owned by WarnerMedia. That company already has several streaming services, such as HBO Max.