Warner Bros Discovery to launch news streaming service CNN Max in the US on September 28

Warner Bros. Discovery announced Thursday the launch, on September 27, of a streaming news service, CNN Max, in the United States.

CNN Max will leverage the news network’s global reporting resources and also offer new original programming, such as “CNN Newsroom with Jim Acosta, Rahel Solomon, Amara Walker and Fredricka Whitfield.”

It will also seek to capitalize on the immediacy of breaking news and analysis, differentiating CNN Max from the short-lived streaming service CNN+, which launched in March 2022 and offers lifestyle programming.

CNN’s parent company, Warner Bros. Discovery, is working to increase the time subscribers spend on its Max streaming service, augmenting its HBO scripted series with Discovery’s reality shows to keep viewers watching.

The latest news and analysis would further expand Max’s programming, although it would allow CNN to reach a younger streaming audience.

CNN’s ratings are falling, even as the company tries to attract more Republican viewers. Its profit fell below $1 billion (nearly Rs. 8,250 crore) in 2022 and is expected to be slightly higher this year than last year, at $938.6 million (nearly Rs. 7 750 crore), according to data from S&P Global Market Intelligence. These estimates are for CNN networks that operate in the United States, including CNN en Español and CNN International.

During the month of June, CNN’s viewership lagged behind Fox and MSNBC in prime time and throughout the day, according to Nielsen data.

The CNN Originals hub that is part of the Max service will be renamed CNN Max, and US subscribers will have access to live news as well as existing original series such as Anthony Bourdain: Parts Unknown and Stanley Tucci: Searching for Italy.

© Thomson Reuters 2023