The new Warner Bros. Discovery streaming platform Max announced Thursday the addition of CNN Max, a 24/7 news service that will be free to subscribers.
The streaming news offering will launch Sept. 27, just over a year after the hastily aborted launch of CNN+. That project, which launched in May of 2022, was shut down three weeks later as the Warner Bros. merger with Discovery was freshly underway.
“CNN Max will leverage CNN’s reporting excellence, global newsgathering, and live programming from CNN US, CNN International, and feature original programming built specifically for Max,” the company said in a Thursday release. “CNN Max will be a new seven-day-a-week/24-hour service and be part of an open beta for news that will enable experimentation with product features, content offerings and original storytelling, all with the input and feedback from the Max community.”
The service will feature known CNN anchors and new programming built specifically for the streaming platform. Initial titles include “CNN Newsroom with Jim Acosta, Rahel Solomon, Amara Walker and Fredricka Whitfield” and “CNN Newsroom with Jim Sciutto.”
CNN Max will also feature “Amanpour,” “Anderson Cooper 360,” “The Lead with Jake Tapper,” “The Situation Room with Wolf Blitzer,” and other anchors, correspondents, and contributors.
“As we laid out at our launch only a few months ago, our vision for Max is to be The One to Watch for all members of a household,” said JB Perette, CEO and president of global streaming and games at WBD. “We have the broadest and highest quality entertainment offering, and now will include world-leading news as a meaningful addition for all Max subscribers, at no extra charge.”
CNN rushed to get CNN+ off the ground last spring before the new bosses took over, but did not survive the change of hands as Warner Bros. Discovery brass swiftly brought down the axe over low subscriber numbers and questions over its fit into the new streaming vision.
More to come …
