CNN Is Trying to Sell a Streaming Service Again (Only More Expensive This Time)

For several years now, CNN has been desperately trying to modernize its media franchise by launching a streaming service. Those of you aware of this effort will recall CNN+, which launched a few years ago and, despite much hype and funding, floundered. For less than a month.

Well, don’t be discouraged, CNN is trying again now.

This week, the news network’s owner, Warner Bros. Discovery has announced its next venture into streaming: CNN “All Access”. From the looks of things, ie As reported by CNBC“All access” doesn’t look terribly different from the last attempt to make this thing happen.

“This is an essential step in CNN’s evolution,” Quote from Reuters Alex McCallum, executive vice president of digital products and services at CNN Worldwide.

It may be essential, but will it actually work? That question hangs over this whole operation. That would likely only work if the network could corner a market of people who feel it’s in their best interest to spend a certain amount of money so they can stream CNN news programs—and the jury is still out on whether such a market exists.

Speaking of money, “All Access” costs comparable (but actually higher) fees to CNN+, which costs $6 a month or $60 a year when it launches in 2022. “All Access” costs $6.99 a month or $69.99 a year, reports CNBC, so, accounting for inflation, that’s not a terrible jump in price. The outlet also notes that, in an effort to garner some early interest, the service is also offering a limited-time annual subscription that costs just $41.99. To qualify for that deal, you’ll need to sign up by January 5.

If you remember, CNN+ was created several years ago and was initially praised as the future of news programming. Disturbingly, almost no one signed up for the service. At this time CNBC that reportIn the first few weeks of the service, only 10,000 people watched CNN+ per day. Some commentators Note that The demographic most committed to accessing media via streaming (younger viewers) was not as likely as the demographic most familiar with watching CNN (older viewers). At the time of its ill-fated launch, it was Compared to QuibiThe financially bloated streaming service launched in 2020 seeking to monetize “quick bites” infotainment but crashed within a year.

No one knows CNN+: The Sequel Will flounder or flourish. The news network has obviously set the bar pretty low for itself. With CNN+’s woefully short-lived tenure, the new service will likely just need to last two Months considered an improvement by the company’s C-suite.