Max – formerly known as HBO Max – is branching into live news coverage.
Warner Bros. Discovery announced Max will soon launch a 24/7 live news stream called CNN Max starting with an open beta on Sept. 27. This will give Max subscribers the ability to watch the news anytime, anywhere.
The new service will include both brand new programming such as CNN Newsroom with Jim Acosta, Rahel Solomon, Amara Walker and Fredricka Whitfield and CNN Newsroom with Jim Sciutto. Sciutto will also host breaking news coverage on the service. Network staples such as Amanpour, Anderson Cooper 360, and The Situation Room With Wolf Blitzer will also be made available on the streaming service.
JB Perrette, Warner Bros. Discovery’s CEO and President of global streaming and games said the program will provide “even more quality choices for Max customers who will be able to easily catch up on what is happening in the world, particularly in moments of breaking news, all within one seamless experience.”
Perrette’s statement also mentions that the service will be available at “no extra cost.”
Aside from its 24/7 livestream, Max will also have expanded access to CNN original programming and even more news content in the CNN Max hub.
This is not CNN’s first foray into streaming. The network launched CNN+ in April 2022 which swiftly shut down after less than a month of operation following the Warner Bros-Discovery merger. The streaming service had fewer than 10,000 paid users daily, though it reportedly cost the network $300 million to create.
Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav made the controversial decision to shut the streaming service down with the hopes of hosting all of the company’s programming under one streaming service.
Early reports claimed Max was beginning to troubleshoot live programming on the streaming service earlier this summer, hinting that CNN Max would be making its debut sooner rather than later.
This move could be just what the network needs considering reports from earlier this year showed CNN primetime ratings fell by 61 percent in March 2023.
It appears CNN Max will be available to Max subscribers at no additional charge when the open beta launches, though it’s unclear if that will change down the line.
CNN Max is set to launch Sept. 27.
