HIGHLIGHTS
- CNN+ will initially be available at a lower membership price.
- In the United States, it will cost $5.99 (about Rs. 450) each month.
- CNN+ will provide live daily news programming, original shows, and other features.
CNN said on Wednesday that it will launch a news and entertainment streaming service named CNN+ in the United States this spring, with an initial reduced membership fee of $2.99 (approximately Rs. 225) per month.
CNN will give the special pricing to anyone who sign up within the first four weeks in the US, taking on known rivals in the highly competitive market of streaming entertainment. When the bargain expires, the service will revert to a $5.99 (about Rs. 450) monthly subscription, the same as Fox Nation, the streaming service provided by Fox's Fox News in the United States.
AT&T's WarnerMedia unit has reportedly invested $120 million (roughly Rs. 907 crore) in the new service and recruited top talent, including Fox News veteran Chris Wallace, former NPR "All Things Considered" co-host Audie Cornish, and Alison Roman, an Instagram personality and author of a popular cooking newsletter.
CNN+ in the United States will contain live daily news programming, original series, real crime episodes, and cuisine and travel shows, according to CNN.
The programme is set to begin following a period of turmoil at the cable news network, where the network's high-profile head, Jeff Zucker, was forced to resign on February 2 after failing to reveal a sexual involvement with a colleague, Allison Gollust.
The Los Angeles Times was the first to publish the cost and release date, which is due in the last week of March in the United States. CNN declined to specify a specific date, just stating that the programme is slated to begin in the first quarter.
Chris Licht, a seasoned television executive, has been chosen the next CNN Global chairman, and will take over after Discovery completes its $43 billion (approximately Rs. 3,47,995 crore) acquisition of WarnerMedia. The transaction is scheduled to finalise this spring.
