Yesterday, CNN launched its own premium streaming service, CNN+, which debuted with about a dozen weekly shows, more than a thousand hours of on-demand content and an interactive element called Interview Club, where viewers can submit questions to reporters and guests before and during certain live events. It’s a major leap into the streaming wars, but this time from a news media perspective – competing with Fox’s four-year-old streaming service, Fox Nation.
The price tag is $5.99/month, and it’s available on Amazon Fire TV, Android phones and tablets, and Apple Devices.
The network has been working on the launch since the summer of 2021, and has invested nearly $100 million in the venture. A CNN spokesperson said the network hired several hundred employees to make it happen, and they lured a few big names from rival networks to the service – Chris Wallace, formerly from Fox News, and Kasie Hunt, from MSNBC.
While the service is the network’s answer to a declining cable news audience, the move begs the question, are consumers willing to pay more for news?
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