Breaking: Live CNN News to Stream on Max Outside of U.S. This Fall; Streamer Working on Plans to Launch Domestically
It looks like Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav learned at least one valuable lesson from the Warner Media team that launched the ill-fated news streamer CNN+ last year. Bloomberg is reporting that WBD’s flagship streaming service Max will begin carrying live CNN programming later this year in markets outside of the United States, but is working on plans to launch the streaming news product domestically as well.
It will not be uncomplicated for the media company to stream its cable news programming in the U.S. due to carriage fee contracts with traditional TV providers that provide the bulk of a network’s revenue. If WBD were to create cheaper ways for consumers to watch CNN — like making it available to stream as part of a Max subscription — the value of the channel in the eyes of cable operators would be diminished, leading to them likely demanding to renegotiate carriage deals. In some cases, those types of renegotiations would be contractually required.
However, according to Bloomberg’s Lucas Shaw and Gerry Smith, WBD is exploring multiple options to bring CNN’s live programming to Max, including some approaches that would not require the company to renegotiate with cable, satellite, and live TV streaming providers.
Bloomberg notes that CNN’s audience reach has dropped to 70 million subscribers this year, despite being as high as 85 million in 2020; exacerbated by cord-cutting during the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic. As of the end of March 2023, WBD had a combined streaming customer base of 97.6 million worldwide subscribers, meaning that by adding the channel’s content to Max, it could dramatically increase its overall reach, allowing WBD to further monetize the news content in an era when cable advertising is decreasing dramatically.
Where Can You Stream CNN?
| DTV STREAM | Fubo | Hulu | Philo | Sling TV | YouTube | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Free Trial | Free Trial | Free 3-Day Trial | Free Trial | Get $25 OFF | Sign Up | |||
| $79.99 | $94.99 | $76.99 | $25 | $40 | $40 | $72.99 | ||
| CNN | ✓ | - | ✓ | - | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | |
Of course, when it comes to linear ad revenue, that is not the largest driver of income for cable channels. Instead, it is the carriage fees that providers must pay for the right to include a channel in their lineups that generates the most money for media companies. That is why the ill-begotten CNN+ did not carry any live programming, and instead planned to rely on a series of news-adjacent shows from familiar names instead. The WarnerMedia team who was launching the product before the company was acquired by Discovery last year clearly did not want to upset traditional TV providers by making a live stream of the signature channel available at a rate far below that of a cable subscription.
How WBD navigates the friction between livestreaming CNN content in the United States vs. keeping cable providers happy will undoubtedly be difficult. If the company is set on launching the news programming on Max, then it will likely either have to compromise on carriage fees or get creative. One fairly simple possibility that would likely be acceptable to TV providers would be for WBD to add a CNN hub in Max that would require TV Everywhere authentication to view the channel in the app.
This way, CNN would be available in the streaming service, but only to viewers who already pay for the channel via a traditional provider.
Max
Max is a subscription video streaming service that gives access to the full HBO library, along with exclusive Max Originals. There are hubs for content from TLC, HGTV, Food Network, Discovery, TCM, Cartoon Network, Travel Channel, ID, and more. Watch hit series like “The Last of Us,” “House of the Dragon,” “Succession,” “Curb Your Enthusiasm,” and more. Thanks to the B/R Sports add-on, users can watch NBA, MLB, NHL, March Madness, and NASCAR events.