CNN announced the planned fall launch of a new streaming direct-to-consumer service. Pricing and start date details have yet to be revealed, but network CEO Mark Thompson announced the new product Wednesday at the Warner Bros. Discovery Upfront in New York City. Thompson said the streaming service will be tied to a CNN.com subscription product. As with recent streaming launches from FOX and ESPN, CNN is taking care not to compete with its most lucrative customers, traditional cable providers, who will be able to pass through the new offering at no additional charge.

The new product “will be part of CNN’s new All Access subscription service tier,” writes Adweek, noting that if it is to have its own name, that has yet to be announced.

“CNN introduced its All Access tier in October 2024, with a metered digital paywall on its website for U.S. visitors,” explains Adweek. A subscription of $3.99 per month is required to get unlimited digital access and exclusive content, while infrequent visitors are allowed a few monthly freebies.

“Alex MacCallum, CNN’s executive vice president of digital products and services, said in a statement that bundling the video service with CNN’s existing digital subscription product would allow ‘audiences to get the most out of CNN in one seamless and simple way,” The New York Times reports.

MacCallum, who was hired from The Washington Post where she was chief revenue officer, returned to CNN in January 2024 after a brief prior stint. She plans to hire “200 digital-focused employees this year,” according to NYT, noting that “the network laid off roughly 200 employees focused on its traditional TV operations this year.”

CNN’s new streaming initiative won’t duplicate CNN+, NYT says, describing the goal as “more stripped down, resembling the network’s traditional cable experience, although not an exact replica.”

“The streaming product will provide a simple and centralized way for audiences to experience CNN’s journalism and original programming. Subscribers will be able to choose from a selection of live channels, catch-up features and video-on-demand programming, across all platforms: the CNN mobile app, connected TV apps and CNN.com,” CNN said in an announcement.

At the Upfronts, CNN dropped another piece of news, with CNN Weather debuting “as its first digital lifestyle product,” Adweek reports, detailing “the standalone app will blend weather and climate reporting with user-friendly features that offer real-time weather information.”