Streaming service CNN Plus is now available to Roku devices nearly two weeks after it launched to the public.
The premium streaming news service became available to millions of Roku users in the United States less than three days after CNN’s parent company, WarnerMedia, was split from AT&T and subsequently acquired by Discovery, Inc. The Roku agreement is the first streaming carriage deal for the newly-formed Warner Bros Discovery, which also operates HBO Max and Discovery Plus, both of which are available on Roku as well.
The agreement signals Warner Bros Discovery’s intention to continue running CNN Plus as a separate streaming service from HBO Max and Discovery Plus, at least for the immediate future. Prior to last Friday’s merger, Discovery executives said they intend to offer HBO Max and Discovery Plus as a bundle, then eventually integrate the two streamers into a single experience. It remains unclear if and how CNN Plus will be offered when those plans take place, but before the merger was completed, former WarnerMedia CEO Jason Kilar said offering CNN Plus through HBO Max was always the plan.
“The vision of CNN Plus has always been twofold, which is to have a standalone service…but also have the ability to be bundled into HBO Max where [customers] are able to purchase CNN Plus and consume it either as a standalone app or within HBO Max,” Kilar said during the interview with CNBC.
CNN Plus launched in late March at a price point of $6 a month, though early bird customers were able to grab a 50 percent discount for the life of their subscription. The service offers news and general interest programming from a number of recognizable cable news talent, including Jake Tapper, Wolf Blitzer, Anderson Cooper, Kasie Hunt (formerly of MSNBC) and Chris Wallace (formerly of the Fox News Channel).
CNN Plus is separate from the domestic and international CNN cable news channels, which are still only available to pay TV subscribers.
