If at first you don’t succeed, try, try again. That’s what’s happening with CNN, which is taking another swing at a standalone streaming subscription service.
CNN’s new “All Access” subscription plan comes three years after the colossal failure of CNN+, an attempt at a supplemental streaming service for CNN “superfans” that lasted for less than a month.
The new CNN streaming plan will be a “centralized destination for CNN’s journalism,” but the official CNN press release stops short of promising a simulcast of the CNN basic cable channel.
Priced at $6.99 a month and slated to go live on October 28, the CNN “All Access” plan will offer a “selection of CNN’s live US and International programming,” as well as access to a thousand hours of on-demand CNN Original Series and CNN Films content.
Also on tap is “exclusive new” on-demand CNN shows and special features, “exclusive” live events, and everything in CNN’s basic subscription tier, including all CNN.com articles and subscriber-only content.
Current pay-TV subscribers will get CNN’s new streaming content for free, although they’ll have to subscribe to CNN’s basic tier for full CNN.com access.
CNN has a checkered history when it comes to streaming subscriptions, to put it mildly.
CNN+ was an instant flop, debuting in March 2022 with its own slate of “original, live, on-demand and interactive programming” and shuttering barely a month later. The service cost $5.99 a month and—notoriously—lacked a live feed of basic-cable CNN.
A year later, CNN launched a live 24/7 stream on HBO Max, but that feed will go away on November 17 to make way for the new CNN streaming subscription tier.
So, will the new CNN subscription service deliver a live CNN simulcast? That’s not entirely clear yet, with CNN saying that the “full schedule and content offering will be available at launch.”
It’s worrisome, however, that CNN is promising only a “selection” of live CNN programming, rather than a full-on simulcast of the CNN cable channel. If that’s in fact the case, CNN may face an uphill battle—again—in terms of convincing news junkies to pay up for the new service.
At least early subscribers will get a discount, with CNN offering a year of its All Access tier for $41.99 if you sign up by January 5, 2026. The usual annual rate will be $69.99.