CNN rebrands paywall as streaming service's Basic tier

The outlet is launching a brand new All Access tier which will include exclusive live and on-demand programming.

By Emma Keates | October 16, 2025 | 10:56am

Photo: Brandon Bell/Getty Images

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CNN rebrands paywall as streaming service's Basic tier

CNN is giving that whole streaming service thing another go, and we’re finally getting some details about how it will work. Like pretty much every other major streamer at this point, CNN’s service (which seems to just be called “CNN”—no “+” this time) will be separated into tiers. You might already be subscribed to the new service’s Basic tier; it’s just a rebranded version of the paywall the network launched for the first time last year, per The Hollywood Reporter. The paywall isn’t active for every article on CNN.com, but users who “consume a certain number of free articles” (the actual number is unclear) are now prompted to pay $3.99 per month for continued access, per the network’s 2024 announcement.

The company has also added a new All Access tier which will include access to CNN’s articles and a “selection of CNN’s live US and International programming,” as well as access to the full library of CNN Originals and documentary programming. It will also include access to exclusive live and on-demand programming, per THR. The full slate will be revealed at a later date. All of that will cost you $6.99 per month or $69.99 for one year. (At launch, you’ll also be able to get it for a discounted rate of $41.99 for one year.)

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CNN is betting this streaming service will last longer than its previous attempt, CNN+, which only made it one month before shutting down in 2022. Even with this track record, CNN VP Alex MacCallum recognizes that a streaming offering is “an essential step in CNN’s evolution as we work to give audiences the complete CNN experience in a format that reflects how audiences engage with the news today,” as he shared in a statement to THR. The company’s CEO Mark Thompson also described the relatively stripped-down service during Warner Bros. Discovery’s upfront presentation earlier this year. “It’ll be our first true news streaming service,” he said. “One simple way to explore the very best of CNN journalism on your phone, your connected TV, or other digital device.” It will feature “live channels and news feeds, exclusive programming and other content and all the storytellers our audiences know and trust,” he added.

The new offerings will officially launch sometime later this fall. HBO Max subscribers who may be wary of adding yet another service to the rotation should also be aware that CNN is planning to turn off its 24/7 news stream on the streamer on November 17. Users will presumably be able to reactivate something similar on the new streamer, as long as they’re willing to fork over more money to do so.