CNN expands streaming subscriptions in UK and Canada under Skydance ownership

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CNN streaming UK & Canada

Highlights

CNN launches its all-access streaming subscription in the UK (£4.99/month) and Canada (C$7.99/month), targeting $1 billion in digital revenue by 2030.
Skydance's $111 billion takeover of Warner Bros Discovery prompts a global streaming expansion, with a $6 billion cost-savings target amid $1.8 billion 2024 revenue projections for CNN.
Thompson considers integrating CNN content into Skydance platforms like Paramount+ and HBO Max while maintaining a standalone service, as CNN faces U.S. antitrust scrutiny.

International rollout and digital revenue plan

As reported by Financial Times, CNN is launching its all-access subscription service in the UK and Canada for the first time outside the U.S., extending a product that debuted domestically a year ago. The service includes a live news stream separate from CNN's traditional television channel, on-demand video and unlimited access to its online journalism.

The subscription is priced at £4.99 a month in the UK and C$7.99 in Canada, with further country launches planned next year. CNN chair Mark Thompson, who remains in charge of the network after David Ellison's Skydance completes its $111 billion takeover of Warner Bros Discovery, is pursuing a digital business that he says can generate more than $1 billion in annual revenue by 2030.

Thompson says the U.S. service is performing ahead of internal forecasts, although CNN is not disclosing subscriber numbers. He also says the network's global newsgathering operation gives it a strong base for expanding digital access across multiple platforms.

Ownership transition and wider business pressures

CNN is expected to generate $1.8 billion in revenue and $600 million in adjusted operating profit this year, according to financial projections disclosed in a January regulatory filing. The international streaming push comes as Skydance, a heavily indebted media group, has pledged to find $6 billion in cost savings after the takeover.

CNN executives present their digital strategy to Skydance this spring, but the two sides have yet to discuss a detailed business plan, according to a person familiar with the matter. Warner Bros Discovery had previously committed more than $70 million over several years to Thompson's turnaround effort, and Thompson tells staff last week that Ellison and his team have seen the strategy and support it.

Thompson says he is open to placing CNN programming inside broader Skydance streaming platforms including Paramount+ and HBO Max, while keeping a standalone news subscription. The ownership change also unfolds as CNN faces rising friction with President Donald Trump's administration, after the Justice Department says over the weekend it is investigating CNN and other television networks over whether they violated antitrust law by pausing pooled coverage of Trump.

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