CNN joins the streaming war with its own service, CNN Plus

What started over 10 years ago like a fight between Netflix and Hulu has now become a confusing streaming service battle, with content rights and originals still ephemeral, variable prices, and multi-tiered subscriptions. The latest network to engage in the streaming war is CNN, is about to launch its own standasingle streaming service, called CNN +, in 2022.

“As the most trusted and recognized name in news, CNN has unmatched global reach, world-class talent, and a vast library of existing content, including award-winning series and movies,” said said Jeff Zucker, president of WarnerMedia News and Sports and president of CNN Worldwide. . “In addition to a television offering that has never been stronger, that remains at the heart of what we do today, we will offer consumers a streaming product that expands the reach and reach of the CNN brand. in a way that no one else does. . No such thing exists.

In a press release, the company stresses that CNN + must be “separate and distinct” from CNN, with 8 to 12 hours of live programming per day. Unlike the quick and catchy headlines featured on CNN, CNN + content will focus on topics such as climate change, space and science, as well as race and identity. Other major news networks jumped on the bandwagon long before CNN, with CBS bragging about CBSN, Today and NBC News on their own streaming apps as well as streaming Peacock and Fox News on the Fox Nation platform.

CNN + joins Peacock, HBO Max, Apple TV +, Paramount +, Disney +, IMDb TV, Youtube TV, Discovery +, Roku and a myriad of other smaller hyper-focused streaming services to hit the market in recent years, offering their own libraries of film and television series, live event covers and original productions. Soon enough cord-cutters can find themselves embroiled in subscription fees as networks adopt the “divide and conquer” approach to their content listings. Wow, we can’t wait to have to pay for six different services every month just to watch TV. It almost makes you miss the simple cable days.