CNN To Lock Content Behind Paywall Starting in October

ATLANTA, GA — (09-26-24) — Time Warner’s CNN Cable News Network will begin locking online news content behind a paywall next month in an effort to increase revenue “as cable television erodes industrywide,” with advertisers fleeing and ratings plummeting for the 24 hour Political Opinion Network.

According to the New York Times who broke the story on Thursday, cites two unnamed sources familiar with the network’s plans. According to the Times, CNN “will begin experimenting” with charging readers to gain access to its online news content starting in October “as part of a bid to shore up its business as cable television erodes industrywide.”

CNN’s paywall will reportedly require readers to pay a subscription fee to access content after they have surpassed the number of free articles available to non-subscribers. This is the same system that the New York Times and several other online news outlets started doing several years ago.

In fact back in April, newly named CEO of CNN Worldwide, Mark Thompson hinted at a CNN subscription model in a memo to staffers.

“The traditional TV universe is shrinking steadily,” Thompson warned. “The shift from linear broadcast to digital means that the audience for all news channels on US cable has fallen by roughly a fifth in just the past two years. TV remains an important way of reaching some loyal audiences, but the critical revenue we currently derive from it is increasingly under threat.”

While the report did not reveal exactly how much it would cost to get past CNN’s paywall, the two unnamed sources told the Times that subscriptions would start out “inexpensive” in an effort to “gauge customer demand.”

Article by: Paul Goldberg, Staff Writer

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