|
Tuesday, October 28, 2025 |
|
|
|
CNN is now in the digital subscription business in a very big way.
Today, the network is launching a streaming service called All Access, charting a new course in a media era defined by direct-to-consumer relationships and mobile-first news reports.
The new service, which is built into CNN’s existing apps and websites, features multiple live TV streams of news coverage and exclusive content for subscribers. The target audience includes cable cord-cutters and people who consume news primarily on their phones.
No other major TV network has attempted something like this, so it's a newsworthy moment for the industry. I'll take you through it step by step...
|
This "is not CNN 'extra' or 'plus,' it’s CNN," the network's CEO, Mark Thompson, told me in an interview last week. All Access carries "all the programs you expect to get from CNN," he said, which is one of the main reasons why it's different from the short-lived CNN+ service.
Back when CNN+ launched in 2022, cable and satellite carriage contracts stopped CNN from selling a live stream of its existing shows. That's why CNN+ built a parallel programming track.
But as cord-cutting has become an existential crisis for the TV biz, carriage deals have been renegotiated all across the industry, giving channel owners more flexibility while ensuring that cord-keepers still get value for their monthly payments.
The result: CNN can now sell "All Access" for $6.99/month or $69.99/year. CNN is enticing users to pay annually by offering an intro price of $41.99 for the first year.
If you sign up, you'll see that the streaming schedule largely mirrors CNN's existing US cable channel, including the complete prime-time lineup. A handful of CNN US hours are replaced by shows from CNN International and CNN Headlines, but the bottom line is that the anchors and reporters you already know are streaming all day long. Plus, you can toggle over to CNN International during the day and stream live feeds from the field.
"This is live at its core," CNN EVP for digital products and services Alex MacCallum told me as she demoed the service.
>> Big picture: Thompson and MacCallum spearheaded the NYT's shift to digital subscriptions, and in effect, they're now trying to launch a video-centric version inside CNN. If successful, this will reorient CNN's business model over time, making it less reliant on cable subscribers' $$ and giving it more direct relationships with news viewers and readers. Here's my full story for CNN.com...
|
Now to the fun part — answering your questions! Thanks for all the submissions.
Marcus asked: "I already subscribed to CNN.com last year. What happens to that?"
First, thank you for subscribing 👍 Last year's $3.99-per-month digital paywall was a precursor to today's launch. That subscription tier is now called "Basic," giving unlimited access to CNN articles, while "All Access" adds live streams and CNN's library of shows, plus everything in "Basic."
Janet asked: "So if I have cable, will I still get the regular old CNN?"
Yes! I call us seasoned, not old 😉 The CNN TV schedule is not changing.
Jack asked: "My cable includes CNN. Can that leverage to an online subscription? Or do I have to pony up again?"
You can log in, or "authenticate," with your cable username and password to stream All Access wherever you want. You'll only have to pony up if you want unlimited access to CNN articles.
Marcy asked: "Will there be a complete list of what is included and what is not?"
Yes, here's a handy graphic of the CNN stream schedule.
Allan asked: "Will there be any new interactive features to integrate audience participation into your products?"
Yes. For example, on Thursday night, Anderson Cooper will start hosting "All There Is Live," a weekly companion stream to his popular "All There Is" podcast, where he'll react to viewers' real-time comments during the live show.
Jon asked: "Will CNN original programming like Tony Shalhoub's show be available?"
Yes, CNN PR says the latest CNN Original Series and CNN Films will stream "the day after their television airing," and that more than a thousand hours from the network's library are also included.
Geneviève asked: "Any idea on when it will be available in Canada?"
No, I'm sorry. All Access is available in the US, and company executives say they intend to expand to other parts of the world over time.
Debra asked: "Your newsletter will continue, right? 🤞 I’ve been reading since the very beginning ♥️"
Thank you, and yes, nothing is changing here. You'll keep receiving this daily email blast.
|
Clarissa's new report on Austin Tice |
MacCallum also emphasized that "we are leaning into our incredible global news reporting capabilities and leveraging the journalistic engine of CNN," and you can see it on the home page right now. This eye-opening new report from Clarissa Ward tries to solve the mystery around journalist Austin Tice, who went missing in Syria in 2012.
Ward tracked down and confronted Bassam Al-Hassan, a top advisor to former Syrian president
Bashar al-Assad who held Tice after his capture in 2012. "Of course, Austin is dead. Austin is dead," he said in a video captured on hidden cameras worn by Ward and her team. Watch the full exclusive report here...
|
'Slow-motion disaster' in Jamaica |
That's what CNN's Derek Van Dam is calling Hurricane Melissa as the eyewall slowly makes landfall in Jamaica. I don't know about you, but I'm glued to the live coverage right now... |
📚 Today's new nonfiction releases |
CNN anchor Abby Phillip is out today with her first book, "A Dream Deferred: Jesse Jackson, Black Political Power, and the Year that Changed America."
Also new today: Jon Karl's "Retribution," Irin Carmon's "Unbearable," and Oz Pearlman's "Read Your Mind." Pearlman rocketed to #3 on Amazon's new releases list thanks to his Sunday appearance on "60 Minutes."
|
New hire for 'Here & Now' |
Veteran journalist Indira Lakshmanan, the ideas and opinions editor at U.S. News & World Report, is joining WBUR as the new co-host of "Here & Now," the live midday news program. Lakshmanan joins Scott Tong and Robin Young, while senior editor Peter O’Dowd "takes on a new role as correspondent and regular fill-in host," and Allan Price joins as executive producer, WBUR says.
|
Dickerson out at CBS News |
"CBS Evening News" co-anchor John Dickerson will exit the network at the end of the year, "the first sign of what is expected to be a major shake-up at the network" under Paramount's new owners, the NYT's Michael Grynbaum wrote yesterday.
>> "Dickerson had been quietly negotiating his exit for several weeks after deciding he wanted to resign as the network heads in a different direction under new ownership," Oliver Darcy reported for Status.
|
More clarity about Paramount layoffs |
Paramount Skydance's post-merger layoffs will begin "with 1,000 job cuts on Wednesday," Bloomberg's Christopher Palmeri reports, citing a source. "A second round is expected later."
>> Later in the day, Palmeri also popped this story: "Paramount Skydance plans to keep much of Warner Bros. Discovery intact if it merges with the rival film and TV studio, a decision that may help address worries about job losses and production cuts."
|
⏱️ The MS NOW countdown begins |
"We will officially make the switch to MS NOW" on Saturday, November 15, MSNBC president Rebecca Kutler told staffers yesterday. An external marketing campaign introducing the new name will start next week, while 15-second ads on the network are already airing. "These brief spots reinforce that while our name will soon change, who we are and where viewers can find us will not: Same mission. New name," Kutler said.
|
NBC advertises around media distrust |
"NBC News unveiled a new marketing campaign on Monday that attempts to address low trust in news media," promoting the network "as a place for 'facts' 'clarity' and 'calm,'" Deadline's Ted Johnson wrote. The 60-second TV spot "will air nationally, during NFL games and on connected TV and streaming platforms," in addition to homepage ad takeovers of outlets like the NYT.
|
>> Bret Baier addressed recent speculation that Bari Weiss might want him to anchor the "CBS Evening News," pointing out that "I'm in a multi-year contract with Fox." He said he's "very happy at Fox and we'll see what happens at the end of that." (Deadline)
>> "On at least three occasions in the past two weeks," a Washington Post editorial has opined on matters in which owner Jeff Bezos "has a financial or corporate interest without noting his stake," David Folkenflik reports. (NPR)
>> One more from Folkenflik: "NPR is accusing the Corporation for Public Broadcasting in federal court of reneging on a contract to appease the White House." (NPR)
>> Karine Jean-Pierre decided to talk to Isaac Chotiner about her new book, "Independent." It, uh... did not go well. (The New Yorker)
|
Elon Musk has officially launched Grokipedia, "an online encyclopedia written by AI that the billionaire has touted as a less biased alternative to the venerable online resource Wikipedia," WaPo's Will Oremus and Faiz Siddiqui report. "The project is Musk's latest bid to harness Grok, the ChatGPT-like AI system developed by his company xAI, to offer right-leaning, freewheeling alternatives to popular mainstream tech tools."
>> Lots of people are comparing Grokipedia's articles to Wikipedia — and "obviously it’s going to sound way different, Musk has promised it would," Hadas Gold writes. The bigger question is, "Will this actually appeal to people beyond a certain fandom? Will MAGA make this their go-to?"
|
>> "OpenAI says hundreds of thousands of ChatGPT users may show signs of manic or psychotic crisis every week," Louise Matsakis reports. (WIRED)
>> Sora "is showing us how broken deepfake detection is," Jess Weatherbed writes. (The Verge)
>> Threads is "rolling out ghost posts, which get automatically archived after 24 hours." (9to5Mac)
>> X "is preparing to put Twitter.com out to pasture." (The Verge)
|
>> Cinemark "will add several Imax screens, including the increasingly popular (and still pretty rare) 70-millimeter film format, to its locations in the US and South America ahead of the release of Christopher Nolan's 'The Odyssey.'" (Variety)
>> Peter Kafka writes that Taylor Sheridan’s decision to decamp from Paramount "reminds Hollywood who still has power." (Business Insider)
>> During meetings with David Ellison and co. at his Texas ranch, Sheridan was "put off by their suggestions for potential new TV shows, a decision to pass on a project and questions about his spending," Joe Flint reports, citing sources. (WSJ)
>> Mike Fleming Jr. says NBCUniversal's deal for Sheridan is in "unprecedented $1 billion territory." (Deadline)
|
|
|
|
® © 2025 Cable News Network. A Warner Bros. Discovery Company. All Rights Reserved.
1050 Techwood Drive NW, Atlanta, GA 30318 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
