Warner Bros. Inc. Discovery adds CNN to its Max Streaming service

CNN is one step closer to its digital future.

Warner Bros. said: Discovery, the parent company of both CNN and Max, said Thursday that the satellite news network will begin a 24-hour broadcast channel on Max on September 27.

The company said CNN Max will feature premium live programming, including a live-only news program hosted by veteran anchor Jim Chioto, and, in an even more unusual move, will broadcast live several programs from the cable network.

The overlap will include a minimum of four hours of cable programming such as “The Lead With Jake Tapper,” “The Situation Room With Wolf Blitzer,” and “Anderson Cooper 360.” JB Perrett, president of global broadcasting at Warner Bros. Discovery, said in an interview that the cable shows will be broadcast at the same time as they appear on cable.

CNN, as well as competitors such as Fox News, have generally avoided simulcasting live programming from its parent cable network on over-the-air channels, usually out of fear that it might conflict with lucrative agreements with major cable operators.

However, some companies are starting to make moves. NBCUniversal began airing the MSNBC staple, “Morning Joe,” and CNBC’s morning show, “Squawk Box,” began airing live on the Peacock streaming service this year.

Mr. Perrett said the company would be “respectful” of agreements with distributors, but stressed that it was within its rights to air some cable shows. He also said that the CNN Max lineup was not yet final and that more live programming from CNN’s cable network could be integrated into the broadcast channel.

“We are very aware of what we can and cannot do,” he added.

This endeavor isn’t CNN’s first foray into the live broadcast business. CNN+, an expensive broadcast-only channel, shut down within weeks after the Warner Bros. merger. and Discovery in April 2022. The channel featured premium cable news network programming, including “Jake Tapper’s Book Club” and “Parental Guidance With Anderson Cooper.” However, the new Warner Bros. Discovery management team had a dim view of this approach.

Upon shutting down the service, Mr. Perrett invoked social media posts that called the service “CNN Minus” because it contained none of the actual programming of the cable news network, which he referred to in a meeting with staff as the “global connection” card of that news organization.

“If you were to run CNN as a service, consumer expectations would be live news,” Perrett said in the interview. “All the rest of that stuff — parenting advice, lifestyle — is all fine, but that’s marginal. The main goal is live news.

Broadcasting news channels is, of course, nothing new. ABC and CBS have had digital shows for years. NBCUniversal said its NBC News Now digital channel, which debuted in 2019, is already profitable.

Several media companies, including The Walt Disney Company, which owns ESPN, are beginning to consider when and how they can begin offering their live cable programming over the air.

“We haven’t said when, but we know it will happen,” Disney CEO Robert Iger told CNBC last month.

For CNN, the changes come as it searches for a full-time leader. Warner Bros. Discovery is in talks with several candidates, including Mark Thompson, former executive of The New York Times and BBC, to replace Chris Licht, who was fired in June.

Mr Perrett said CNN Max would debut using an “experimental moniker”, allowing the company to tweak the service. One possibility: When a viewer is watching an HBO show, like “And Just Like That,” on Channel Max, a banner might appear at the bottom of the screen indicating that CNN Max is covering a breaking news story.

In addition to Mr. Chioto, CNN Max will have other live programming featured, including a streaming-only show hosted by Jim Acosta, Rachel Solomon, Amara Walker, and Frederica Whitfield.