Warner Bros Discovery’s (WBD) cable news channel CNN has launched a free, ad-supported streaming television (FAST) network that offers Spanish-language news clips and other content from its CNN en Español brand.
The channel, called CNN Xpress, is launching this week on Amazon-owned streaming services, including Prime Video and Freevee, the network announced on Wednesday. It will operate similar to CNN’s other two FAST services — CNN Headlines in North America and CNN Fast in Europe — in that it will offer a curated selection of news clips that are “tailored for Latino audiences,” CNN said.
“CNN Xpress is an exciting opportunity to showcase highlights of some of CNN en Español’s best content to a broader audience, offering updated news briefs as well as different genres of stories presented in a fast-paced, short-form style that will appeal to a younger and wider demographic,” said Cynthia Hudson, the Senior Vice President and Managing Director of CNN en Español and the network’s Hispanic strategy in the U.S.
Hudson continued: “It offers a novel way to experience CNN en Español’s renowned journalism and storytelling, and we are delighted to offer it to our audiences in the U.S.”
CNN Xpress will utilize a “dynamic schedule of swift, informative and entertaining videos” that is targeted at younger audiences who are more likely to consume short-form content via online platforms as opposed to sitting down with a TV remote and watching a half-hour or hour-long cable news show.
“With stories delivered in three-to-six-minute clips, the new succinct and easily digestible format will keep viewers updated and engaged,” a CNN spokesperson said. “As well as reaching new audiences, CNN Xpress provides more opportunities for brand partners through new advertising formats and targeting capabilities.”
Content for CNN Xpress is hand-selected by CNN en Español editorial workers, while the technical platform for the FAST channel is powered by Amagi.
CNN is one of several news brands that is reaching consumers on FAST platforms. The Walt Disney Company’s ABC News, Paramount Global’s CBS News, Comcast’s NBC News and Fox Corporation all have their own FAST channels, as do companies like Gray Media (Local News Live), the E. W. Scripps Company (Scripps News) and Nexstar Media (The Hill TV), among others.
