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Max (formerly HBO Max) launching CNN Max (not actual CNN) streaming next month

Cord-cutters still hooked on cable news only want one thing from CNN: a standalone streaming subscription to the channel. Maybe this new CNN Max product will be that? Not a chance.

Last year, the new bosses at Warner Bros. Discovery pulled the plug on CNN+ before it had time to complete a single news cycle.

Now the marketing gurus behind the infamous HBO Max to just Max rebrand have a completely original idea. What if CNN had a streaming video product that wasn’t actually CNN?

CNN Max, which is totally not just CNN+ but from the new regime, launches in September from $9.99. The difference this time is that it’s not actually a standalone subscription. The $9.99 and up price tag actually refers to Max (formerly HBO Max), and CNN Max is a feature within the big bundle of content.

To be fair to CNN Max, which is different from CNN and the shortly lived CNN+, the new product might reflect more of what’s on the cable channel than what Max subscribers get now.

Max subscribers will begin seeing CNN Max Live News (Beta), as it’s officially called, starting September 27. Max is already home to CNN Originals. The difference is that CNN Max will feature “programming from the CNN and CNN International TV channels, plus original news coverage created just for Max.”

The “custom schedule of CNN programming just for Max subscribers” will likely change based on Max subscriber feedback, however, so it’s difficult to nail down exactly what CNN Max will ultimately become. How much of the “live news” product will be live? For now, we just know it will be the “news” solution within Max, and it will not be the streaming version of CNN proper. Learn more here.

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