Warner Bros Discovery to Launch CNN Max News Streaming Service in US on September 28

Warner Bros. Discovery said on Thursday it was launching a round-the-clock news streaming service, CNN Max, in the United States on September 27.

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

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

CNN's parent, Warner Bros. Discovery, has been working to increase how much time subscribers spend on its Max streaming service, augmenting its HBO scripted series with Discovery's reality shows to keep viewers watching.

Breaking news and analysis would further expand Max's programming, even as it allows CNN to reach a younger streaming audience.

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

During June, CNN's audience lagged behind Fox and MSNBC in prime time and across the total day, according to data from Nielsen.

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 to the existing original series such as Anthony Bourdain: Parts Unknown and Stanley Tucci: Searching for Italy.

© Thomson Reuters 2023