Skip to main content

CNN+ plans, price, shows, and more

You can’t be a media entity without also having your own streaming service. Them’s the rules. And that’s exactly what’s coming with CNN+, the latest service from parent company WarnerMedia. It stands to launch on March 29 and become the new home for the news network. There’s going to be all kinds of live news, of course, as well as new original series and shows.

CNN+ will be full of faces that you’ve known on the network for years, as well as some new appearances by old favorites.

And it’s priced to compete, particularly if you get in from the get-go. Here’s everything you need to know about CNN+.

CNN Go will cease to exist later in 2022.
Phil Nickinson/Digital Trends

CNN+ Price

CNN+ will cost $6 a month, or $60 a year. The annual price will save you $12, essentially getting you two months for free.

Those who sign up within the first four weeks of the CNN+ launch, however, will get a special price of $3 a month. That comes out to $36 a year, assuming no annual payment option. The special introductory price will be good “for life,” which really means until you cancel the subscription. Should you choose to restart, you’ll be forced to the $6/$60 plan.

CNN+ shows and series

In addition to all the live content you’ll be able to find on CNN Plus, shows also will be bifurcated into daily programs (new on weekdays) and weekly shows. There will be household names from the current CNN ranks — hi, Wolf Blitzer — as well as those making the leap from other networks, like former Fox News journalist Chris Wallace.

And keep in mind that what you see here is just for starters, and doesn’t really include anything live and truly newsy. There will be more.

Weekday shows on CNN+

Following are what you can expect daily on weekdays on CNN+

  • 5 Things with Kate Bolduan (7 a.m. EST): The CNN anchor hosts an expansion of the network’s podcast and newsletter to get things going in the morning.
  • Go There (8 a.m. EST): On the front lines of breaking news.
  • Big Picture with Sara Sidner (9 a.m. EST): An in-depth look at the most important and interesting stories of the day.
  • Reliable Sources Daily (11 a.m. EST): CNN Chief Media Correspondent Brian Stelter does what he does best in an expansion of his nightly newsletter.
  • The Source with Katie Hunt (4 p.m. EST): A daily fresh take on politics and power structures behind the policies with Hunt, a CNN anchor and chief national affairs analyst.
  • The Global Brief with Bianca Nobilo (5 p.m. EST): A recap of the most important international stories of the past 24 hours.
  • Who’s Talking to Chris Wallace? (6 p.m. EST): The former Fox News anchor will have candid conversations across the spectrum of news, sports, entertainment, art, and culture.
  • The Newscast with Wolf Blitzer (7:30 p.m. EST): The CNN stalwart moves out of the Situation Room and into the traditional evening newscast, but with a “sleek, modern twist.”

Weekly shows on CNN+

Other shows on CNN+ will be weekly. Five will be available the first week, starting March 29. Two more will premiere in April, and another pair in May. Here’s the breakdown:

Available starting May 29:

  • Anderson Cooper Full Circle (New episodes Tuesdays and Saturdays): It’s not AC360, it’s Full Circle. The show has previously been available on other CNN Digital properties.
  • Boss Files with Poppy Harlow (Mondays): The CNN anchor sits down with some of the biggest names in business.
  • Jake Tapper’s Book Club: The anchor (and author) interviews a wide range of authors and some of his favorites.
  • No Mercy No Malice with Scott Galloway (Tuesdays): The marketing prfessor brings his entrepreneurial experience, predictions, and more to a weekly business show.
  • Parental Guidance with Anderson Cooper (Wednesdays): Because one show isn’t enough, the new dad takes on life as a working parent.

Available in April

  • The Don Lemon Show (Fridays): The longtime CNN anchor is in the studio with a new format.
  • Rex Chapman (Mondays): The former NBA star brings life and passion to the latest headlines as only he can.

Available in May

  • 20 Questions with Audie Cornish: The acclaimed journalist has 20 questions for her guests, who’ll run the gamut from newsmakers to cultural icons.
  • Cari & Jemele: Speak.Easy: The former ESPN co-hosts make the leap from Vice TV.

And coming later are:

  • Christian Amanpour: One of the world’s most respected and accomplished journalists brings her years of experience and unique global perspective.
  • Masters in Medicine with Dr. Sanjay Gupta: America’s doctor takes you to mini-med school.

Original series and films on CNN+

The daily and weekly shows are just the tip of the iceberg for CNN+. There’s also going to be a wealth of on-demand series and films that hit all kinds of categories. They will include:

  • The Land of the Giants: Titans of Tech: This is a five-part series that looks at Meta (formerly Facebook), Apple, Amazon, Netflix and Google. It’s based on the popular podcast from Recode and Vox and will be full of archival footage and new exclusive interviews. (Available at launch.)
  • The Murdochs: Empire of Influence: The six-part series goes inside the legacy of Rupert Murdoch, who brought the world Fox News. It’ll have exclusive reporting from The New York Times, and interviews with people from inside the company. (Available at launch.)
  • Dionne Warwick: Don’t Make Me Over: An intimate portrait of the singer/seer. (Premiering this spring.)
  • The Last Movie Stars: A six-episode exploration of the lives and love story of actors Joanne Woodward and Paul Newman, directed by Ethan Hawke and produced by Martin Scorsese. Will be voiced by George Clooney, Oscar Isaac, Latanya Richardson Jackson, and Laura Linney, with interviews with Sally Field, Melanie Griffith and others. (Premiering summer 2022.)

What devices is CNN+ on?

We don’t yet have a comprehensive list of all the devices on which you can watch CNN+. But the basic rule of thumb is that if you can currently use the CNN Go app on it (and, again, that brand is going to go away), then you’ll be able to use the upcoming CNN app to watch CNN+.

That will include top platforms like Roku and Amazon Fire TV, which re the two largest streaming platforms in the world. It also will include platforms like Apple TV, Google TV and Android TV. And expect to see still be able to watch in a web browser, on various smart TVs, and likely on gaming consoles.

Editors' Recommendations

Phil Nickinson
Phil spent the 2000s making newspapers with the Pensacola (Fla.) News Journal, the 2010s with Android Central and then the…
Amazon Fire TV Channels brings even more free TV to the platform
Amazon Fire TV Channels.

Amazon today announced Fire TV Channels, which brings even more free ad-supported TV — otherwise known as FAST — to the Amazon Fire TV operating system.

The gist is simple: You'll see even more free video promoted to you on the Amazon Fire TV home screen from the various sources within the FAST universe. That means in addition to all the content currently available on Amazon Freevee (formerly known as IMDB TV), there will be video from the NHL, Xbox, and TMZ. There will be a new travel category, too, and Conde Nast and the PGA are teed up next.

Read more
More than 100 Amazon Originals head to Amazon Freevee
Amazon Freevee app on a TV.

If you needed any more proof that branding is out of control, consider the following sentence: Amazon today announced that more than 100 Amazon Originals, which first appeared on Amazon Prime Video, will be made available for free on Amazon Freevee.

Or, in other words, you'll be able to watch things like The Wheel of Time, Reacher, A League of Their Own, and LuLa Rich — to name but a few — for free, without a subscription to Amazon Prime.

Read more
What is Spotify? Music, pricing, and features explained
Spotify app library screen..

Spotify is the first name that comes to mind when you think of music-streaming apps. Love it or hate it, Spotify is currently the most popular music-streaming service, boasting more than 200 million subscribers, putting it ahead of competitors like Apple Music. But what exactly is Spotify, and how does it really work? We're answering all your questions with this deep dive into what you can expect from Spotify. 
What is Spotify?

If you spend even a little time online, you've probably heard of Spotify. It's a popular free and paid music-streaming service founded in Stockholm in 2006 by Swedish friends Daniel Ek and Martin Lorentzon. Fun fact: the name happened by fluke when the partners were shouting names back and forth from different rooms in Ek's Stockholm flat, and Ek misheard one of Lorentzon's suggestions as "Spotify." They later backtracked the meaning as a combination of spot and identify, and there you have it. 
Spotify today is a behemoth of a streaming service that also offers access to podcasts, videos, and highly tailored playlists driven by your unique usage. With several plan tiers to choose from, Spotify's free version lets you listen to unlimited music, podcasts, and even videos, so you can explore your taste without shelling out a thing, but you do have to endure ads and limited functionality (more on that below). It does offer much more robust paid options (more below, too), but the free version is more than enough for the casual listener. 
Spotify is also quite device-versatile, so you can use it on your smartphone, tablet, computer, laptop, TV, smartwatch, gaming console, and even in your car. You get the expected, intuitive controls like play/pause, next/previous, loop a song/playlist, and save favorites. But that's not all. There's a lot that Spotify offers, so let's break down what you can look forward to. 
Spotify features: music, podcasts, and more

Read more