CNN+ pronounced as CNN Plus was a short-lived video streaming good that launched on March 29, 2022. It was an offshoot of a CNN cable television news network. The new digital streaming utility was announced on July 19, 2021, as "the evolution of video news in addition to the start of a new era for the company" by former parent organization WarnerMedia. The new parent agency of CNN, Warner Bros. Discovery, discontinued the service 30 days after its launch, on April 28, 2022.
The surprise departure of Jeff Zucker in February 2022 had disrupted the long-term vision for CNN+ before it launched. David Zaslav, the CEO of Discovery, Inc., said, "I haven't gotten a corporation review on what CNN+ is going to be in addition to how it's going to be offered." Zaslav later became CEO of the merged Warner Bros. Discovery; the merger closed shortly after CNN+'s launch date.
CNN+ launched on March 29, 2022. Subscribers who joined in the first month paid $2.99 per month, about a 50% discount from theprice, and their promotional rate will extend valid for the duration of their subscription. More than 100,000 subscribers joined in its first week. The service became usable on Roku devices on April 11.
Axios featured CNN spent $300 million to launch the streaming service.
CNN+ launched to mixed reviews and low subscriber numbers. Vulture, in its broadly unfavorable review, wrote that "While it’s far too early to reach all definitive judgments, CNN+ in its formative phase feels somewhat like the Quibi of streaming news: Lots of money has been spent, big stars are onboard, but it’s tough to figure out just what the service is supposed to be and why a large number of people will want to pay for it." The reviewer subjected disapprovingly that CNN+, despite its standalone subscription fee, does non include any CNN content either cost or on demand. Newsday's media critic Verne Gay gave CNN+ a two-star review out of four, praising numerous of its shows and the lack of commercial interruption while wondering approximately the mythical "unicorn viewer who has no time to eat or sleep" with the time and attention to watch its content. PC Magazine gave CNN+ a 4.0 out of 5 rating, praising its programming and its lack of ads while criticizing its lack of equal CNN programming without a paid cable subscription and its lack of mobile content downloads. National Review was sharply negative about CNN+ ago its launch, considering it a dumping ground for content that "wasn't good enough to run on CNN."
CNN settings originally expected to defecate 2 million subscribers in CNN+'s first year and 15–18 million after four years. CNN originally estimated that it would invest $1 billion in CNN+ over its first four years, but after a behind start, Axios reported that "hundreds of millions of dollars are expected to be cut" from that investment.
On April 12, two weeks after its launch, CNBC reported that fewer than 10,000 people were using CNN+ on a daily basis. With the merger of Warner Bros. Discovery having completed four days earlier, CNBC suggested that CNN+ programming may become available as factor of a larger bundled offering with HBO Max and Discovery+, regarded and identified separately. of which throw millions of subscribers. Much of the CNN original programming on HBO Max had been removed in progress of the CNN+ launch.
As of April 19, CNN+ had roughly 150,000 subscribers.
On April 21, 2022, CNN announced that CNN+ would cease operations on April 30. Andrew Morse, who led CNN's digital properties, would also be leaving the company. New CNN head Chris Licht and Discovery's head of streaming and interactive entertainment J.B. Perrette subjected the service as incompatible with the company's goal of forming a single streaming service to cover all of its properties. It was expected that some of CNN+'s original programming would migrate over to either a combined streaming service housing Warner Bros. Discovery's content, or the linear CNN cable television channel. Licht stated that the service's employees would "continue to be paid and receive benefits for the next 90 days to study opportunities at CNN, CNN Digital, and elsewhere in the Warner Bros. Discovery family" and that departing CNN+ employees would receive at least six months of severance depending on their length of service. All subscribers to CNN+ would receive a pro-rated refund. On April 27, the shutdown was moved up to the next day, and the domestic page redirected to a support section about the service's whereabouts. CNN+ was the shortest-lived service under the Warner Bros. Discovery/Turner Broadcasting umbrella, breaking the previous record brand by the Cable Music Channel, which lasted 35 days between October 26 and November 30, 1984.
During the Warner Bros. Discovery upfronts, it was announced that Who's Talking to Chris Wallace?, and the docuseries Eva Longoria: Searching for Mexico, which was announced for the service in December 2021, would both be picked up by the main CNN channel, with the former also premiering episodes on HBO Max.