During its upfront presentation in New York last week, CNN introduced a live news service called Watch CNNx that allows viewers to choose content in real time. The service will be available on iPads and on TVs through set-top boxes later this year. Alongside the live CNN feed, CNNx offers a rundown of stories that appear on the right side of the screen, while a menu of digital features, including photo galleries, appear at the bottom. Additionally, CNN plans to use Flipboard’s display ad format on its applications.

“CNNx brings unprecedented control over the live news experience,” said K.C. Estenson, CNN Digital senior VP and general manager. “It’s like you’re suddenly the producer of your own newscast.”

“The rundown feature gives access to 24-hours worth of TV stories. When news breaks, viewer will have access to digital features as they are created and posted by the editorial staff,” reports Broadcasting & Cable. “Estenson said CNN’s website is being redesigned so that content is delivered to all devices and to make sure that ad messages travel with the content seamlessly and natively.”

According to the CNN press release, users will log in to Watch CNNx via their TV provider username and password. The service provides viewers with the following:

• Access 24 hours of CNN television rundowns to see segments they’ve missed or what’s coming up next.
• Control their own news experience by previewing or scrolling back through the segments they want to watch.
• Go deep on any topic or issue covered with related digital content automatically curated in real time — articles, images, social commentary, and more.
• Watch CNN TV live or on demand.
• CNNx not only adapts to the breaking news cycle, it actually gets better. 

Addressing media buyers at the upfront, CNN CEO Jeff Zucker also discussed CNN’s All Screen measurement tool. Calculated by Nielsen, All Screen allows CNN to document out-of-home viewing for the first time. According to Zucker, out-of-home viewing (primarily in offices) provides a 32 percent lift to CNN’s audience.

“We’ve always known CNN has a substantial out-of-home unmeasured audience,” Zucker said. “All Screen allows us to measure it on a regular, transparent basis.”

For those interested in learning more about the CNNx platform, there is a 2-minute video on Vimeo.