By Phillip Swann
The TV Answer Man –@tvanswerman
Max, the streaming service formerly known as HBO Max, today added CNN live and on-demand programming to its lineup. The news hub, which comes free with Max subscription plans (starts at $9.99 a month), features CNN shows such as Anderson Cooper 360, The Lead with Jake Tapper, and The Situation Room with Wolf Blitzer as well as original live programming hosted by network personalities including Jim Acosta, Rahel Solomon, Amara Walker and Fredricka Whitfield. (This morning as of this writing, Max was streaming Early Start, CNN’s early morning program anchored by Kasie Hunt.) The live feed will be 24/7 with a simulcast of the CNN lineup from 4 p.m. ET to midnight and a mix of new shows and CNN simulcast the rest of the day.
The on demand shows from CNN include Who’s Talking to Chris Wallace, The Whole Story With Anderson Cooper, Giuliani: What Happened to America’s Mayor, Navalny, First Ladies, 9/11 and many others. You can see a list here at the CNN hub on Max.
The CNN addition follows an earlier streaming misfire when Warner Bros. Discovery, the owner of Max and CNN, last year terminated the network’s CNN+, which was slated to be a standalone subscription service. However, WBD executives have since merged HBO Max with Discovery Plus, creating Max, a mix of programming from the two services. The company is aiming to provide a diverse lineup of programming that can compete with streaming giants such as Netflix and Disney Plus.
With that in mind, Max will add its much-anticipated live sports tier on October 5 and it will be free to all Max subscribers until February 29. After that, it will be available for $9.99 a month to subscribers of all Max packages. The tier, which will be known as the Bleacher Report Sports add-on plan, will feature sports from Turner’s TNT, TBS and truTV. The streaming service says the first live sporting event will be MLB’s National League Division Series on October 7.
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— Phillip Swann
@tvanswerman
