Amid ongoing financial pressures, CNN has implemented a new strategy to sustain its operations. Starting Tuesday, the network will begin charging some users a monthly fee of $3.99 for access to its content. The initiative is part of their effort to create a consistent revenue stream to support journalism worldwide.
“Starting today, we are asking users in the United States to pay a small recurring fee for unlimited access to CNN.com’s world-class articles,” announced Alex MacCallum, CNN’s Executive Vice President of Digital Products and Services. The decision, outlined in an internal memo, represents a significant shift in the network’s approach to supporting its extensive journalistic endeavors. “Only after users consume a certain number of free articles will they be prompted to subscribe,” explained MacCallum.
Subscribers will receive unlimited access to CNN.com’s content and enjoy added benefits, including exclusive election coverage, original documentaries, a curated daily selection of standout journalism, and reduced digital ads. “Over time, we will invest in ways to better meet our users’ needs and expand our aperture to engage and serve new audiences,” MacCallum noted in the memo.
Big news about CNN today: CNN’s website, one of the most popular news sites in the world, is starting to ask some users to pay $3.99 a month for access — laying the first bricks in a paywall that should, over time, help foot the bill for CNN’s journalism. https://t.co/fW7PwFHmts
— Brian Stelter (@brianstelter) October 1, 2024
Under her superior, CEO Mark Thompson, MacCallum, a former fixture at The New York Times, continues to draw on her past experiences at the publication. The Times, often admired in the media industry for its effective business model of converting online readers into paying subscribers, appears to have influenced CNN’s recent strategic shift.
Over the summer, Thompson outlined this shift in a memo, revealing CNN’s ambition to excel in the digital subscription arena. “CNN will create best-in-class, subscription-ready products that will provide need-to-know news, analysis and context in compelling new formats and experiences, starting with CNN.com’s first subscription product launching before the end of 2024,” he stated.
CNN has been grappling with the challenge of offsetting declining cable television viewership and revenues by creating new digital income streams. In 2022, under its previous management, CNN launched a streaming service called CNN+ to establish direct-to-consumer relationships. However, the timing coincided with a change in corporate ownership to Warner Bros. Discovery, which prioritized cost-cutting measures, resulting in the rapid cancellation of CNN+ just weeks after its launch. Currently, CNN is focusing on generating subscription revenue through its core offerings, while still providing certain content for free, including its homepage, live breaking news stories, standalone video pages, and sponsored articles.
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