Max streaming platform will add 24/7 live news programming this fall with the launch of CNN Max.
The new service launches Sept. 27, and will feature original content plus Newsroom shows anchored by Jim Acosta, Rahel Solomon, Amara Walker and Fredricka Whitfield, parent company Warner Bros. Discovery announced Thursday.
“CNN Max will leverage CNN’s reporting excellence, global newsgathering, and live programming from CNN US, CNN International, and feature original programming built specifically for Max,” the company said in a news release. “CNN Max will be a new seven-day-a-week/24-hour service and be 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.”
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The announcement comes just over a year after the CNN+ streaming service shut down in April 2022, a month after it launched. The decision was among a string of changes following the merger of Warner Bros. and Discovery Inc.
With the launch of the new service, Max’s currently branded CNN Originals hub will be renamed CNN Max.
The new service will include episodes of current and legacy CNN programming like Who’s Talking to Chris Wallace? and The Whole Story with Anderson Cooper, along with Anthony Bourdain: Parts Unknown (Seasons 1-12), Stanley Tucci: Searching for Italy (Seasons 1-2), and the original film NAVALNY.
CNN Max will also stream Amanpour, Anderson Cooper 360, The Lead with Jake Tapper, and The Situation Room with Wolf Blitzer, the company said.
Notably absent will be Don Lemon, who was fired after 17 years with the network in April of this year by then-CNN chief Chris Licht. After a tumultuous year at the network and declining ratings, Licht was ousted in June.
CNN Max will be free to existing Max subscribers and launches Sept. 27 on Max.
