CNN+ soft launches in web browsers a day early

People are now able to sign up, log in and watch shows on CNN+, the new streaming service from the longtime news network — a day before owner WarnerMedia has said it was going to go live. It’s available now at plus.cnn.com, and CNN+ confirmed to Digital Trends that it’s up and running in a web browser, but not visible in any of the CNN apps just yet. So there will presumably be an app update any time now.

CNN Plus as seen on the CNN website. — Phil Nickinson/Digital Trends

We were able to go ahead and register via the CNN+ website, paying by credit card. (which was the only payment option.) The regular price of $6 a month or $60 a year was listed, as was the 50% off deal for early adopters who sign up by April 26. That deal is good for as long as you don’t cancel your subscription. If you do, you’ll be back on the full-price plan.

Daily live programming, which was announced last week, already is up and running. That slate includes:

5 Things with Kate Bolduan at 7 a.m. ET
Go There at 8 a.m. ET
Big Picture with Sara Sidner at 9 a.m. ET
Reliable Sources Daily at 11 a.m. ET
The Source with Katie Hunt at 4 p.m. ET
The Global Brief with Bianca Nobilo at 5 p.m. ET
Who’s Talking to Chris Wallace? at 6 p.m. ET
The Newscast with Wolf Blitzer at 7:30 p.m. ET

The early availability appears to be a bit of a soft launch — Reliable Sources Daily has host Brian Stelter opening with the turmoil from Sunday night’s Oscars presentation, which saw Will Smith strike comedian Chris Rock onstage after Smith took offense to a joke. As of 4:30 p.m., everything save for the three later shows had an episode available to watch.

Also live now is Interview Club, the feature that allows people to ask questions of the hosts and personalities you’ll be watching on CNN+. And that makes sense — you wouldn’t want that feature to be empty when the service officially launches. We were able to ask a question, which was limited to 250 characters, that will be reviewed by the Interview Club moderation team.

The CNN+ account settings section allows you to edit your display name, which is used in Interview Club, as well as your actual first name and last name. You can set your ZIP code, if you want — it’s optional — and manage your subscription or payment method. There’s also a section for subscription to various CNN newsletters — blessedly, it doesn’t sign you up for any without your permission. You’re also able to change your account avatar to one of 52 images. It looks like there is an option for you to possibly upload your own image, but that’s not yet live.

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