CNN chief Jeff Zucker addressed his employees in a town hall meeting Tuesday, reports WSJ, and mentioned the news network’s streaming plans. He talked about the WarnerMedia-Discovery merger and confirmed that a standalone CNN streaming service is officially in the works.
Though Zucker has shared few details so far, he did reveal some information about the streaming service. He said it would be available within the next year. It’s being referred to as “CNN+” internally, he said, and that it’s is in its developmental stages right now.
The business strategy at CNN is staying the same following the network’s spin-off with WarnerMedia as part of the WarnerMedia-Discovery merger. Previously, Zucker said he would stay at CNN through the expiration of his contract, which comes later this year. Following the merger, he is still planning to remain at CNN and is “on the same timetable.”
As we reported in early April, it seemed likely that a CNN streaming service was in the works, but it had not been confirmed at that point. In an interview, WarnerMedia CEO Jason Kilar said, “It’s absolutely possible for CNN to be able to both have a linear channel, and do that incredibly well, and be able to invent and serve customers in other ways over the internet.”
Then, Kilar continued, “Keep in mind that when you talk about a 24-hour linear channel, there’s a certain shelf space, and it’s literally 24 hours of programming. And that might sound like a lot of programming. But I would argue that the world, given how many people aren’t in all their diverse interests and all the news that’s going on in this world, I would argue there’s a great big opportunity that is not limited by shelf space, and not limited by 24 hours, in terms of the amount of programming.”
It’s unclear exactly when in the next year CNN+ would launch, but The Streamable will keep you updated on the service, its launch date, and what it has to offer.