A person walks past the headquarters of Cable News Network (CNN) on November 17, 2022 in Atlanta, Georgia.
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CNN is coming live — again.
Warner Bros. announced. Discovery said Thursday that CNN Max will be added to its Max streaming service on September 27, and will serve as a streaming service. 24/7 live news center.
It will feature content from top broadcasters — such as Jim Acosta, Rachel Solomon, Amara Walker, Frederica Whitfield, and Jim Chioto — tailored to the live streaming app, as well as CNN staples like Anderson Cooper 360, Amanpour, and Amanpour. . “Tournament with Jake Tapper.”
Earlier this year, Warner Bros. brought back. Discovery launches flagship streaming service, HBO Max, called Max, bringing together content from Warner Bros. and Discovery+ under one roof. While some of the CNN content featured on the app, such as documentaries, news and sports, is not yet included.
The move to add CNN news to Max also comes more than a year after the company shut down broadcast network CNN+, just weeks after launching the app and after Warner Bros. and Discovery merger.
CNN has been in turmoil for some time — from the resignation of former leader Jeff Zucker in early 2022 to the swift closure of CNN+ and more recently the ouster of chairman Chris Licht after a series of missteps. Semaphore on Wednesday mentioned Mark Thompson, former head of the BBC and The New York Times, was a candidate for the top job at CNN.
Still, the move toward live streaming was inevitable, even with the shift away from a standalone app like CNN+.
During an earnings call earlier this month, the CEO of Warner Bros. Discovery, David Zaslav, hails news and sports as “distinguished” who can make platforms, including live broadcasts, “really alive”.
“I talked about news and sport as artillery and a real opportunity for us,” Zaslav said at the time. “So, we’ll come to you guys soon. We worked hard this summer.”
As for including sports on Max, Warner Bros. Discovery is targeting the start of the MLB playoffs this fall to offer sports on its streaming app, CNBC previously reported.
It has been difficult for broadcasters to add live broadcasts or simulcasts of pay-TV networks such as CNN to their services, however, it requires negotiations with pay-TV distributors. Pay-TV companies hand out high fees to run networks exclusively on their packages, and they’re falling short in allowing redundancy over broadcast, especially as the rate of cord cutting accelerates.
Correction: This story has been updated to correct Jim Sciutto’s spelling.
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