• by Karlene Lukovitz  @KLmarketdaily, August 24, 2023

With an eye to boosting its struggling CNN franchise while also building up its newly reincarnated Max streamer, Warner Bros. Discovery will launch CNN Max — a 24/7 news streaming hub free to subscribers across all Max plans — on Sept. 27. 

CNN Max, which is replacing the current CNN Originals hub now available to Max subscribers, will offer some flagship CNN network shows, livestreamed  concurrently, including “Anderson Cooper 360,” “The Lead With Jake Tapper,” “Amanpour” and “The Situation Room With Wolf Blitzer” — as well as hundreds of on-demand episodes of CNN Originals news and entertainment shows on the existing hub, such as “Who’s Talking With Chris Wallace” and “Stanley Tucci: Searching for Italy.” 

In addition, CNN Max will offer new programming created for the Max streaming audience, including “CNN Newsroom with Jim Acosta,” “Amara Walker,” “Rahel Solomon,” “CNN Newsroom with Jim Sciutto,” and “Fredricka Whitfield.” 

WBD CEO David Zaslav just last month signaled an intention to expand the Max brand into live news and sports, but did not reveal whether that would be accomplished by adding live elements to Max, or by creating spin-off platforms. 

In the news sector, at least, that question now appears to be answered, although WBD offered no information as to whether it had struck advertising and/or distribution revenue-sharing deals to accommodate its cable and satellite operator partners.   

Also, the new hub — which comes just 16 months after new owner WBD aborted the costly CNN+ streamer launched by prior management — is being described as “part of an open beta for news that will enable experimentation with product features, content offerings and original storytelling, all with the input and feedback from the Max community.” 

“As we laid out at our launch only a few months ago, our vision for Max is to be The One to Watch for all members of a household,” stated JB Perrette, CEO and president, global streaming and gams for Max. “CNN Max is differentiated by having 24/7 news at its core from CNN, the leading global news organization, and being available on a scaled streaming service in the U.S., which has a significantly younger and additive audience compared to traditional TV. This provides 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. We’re excited to engage our Max community in this initial beta stage to help us learn and develop what appeals most to our customers in this new genre.”