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CNN Enters Its Max Era

As Zaslav works to convince NYT and BBC vet Mark Thompson to take over CNN, the D.T.C. braintrust at Hudson Yards is testing the limits of the post-cable future with a plan to finally begin live-streaming the network’s primetime talent on Max.

Mark Thompson would be seen as a serious choice who could potentially reshape CNN’s digital and streaming efforts, and who at the very least might erase the stain of the Chris Licht era.
Mark Thompson would be seen as a serious choice who could potentially reshape CNN’s digital and streaming efforts, and who at the very least might erase the stain of the Chris Licht era. Photo: James Manning/Getty Images
Dylan Byers
August 25, 2023

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On Thursday, one day after the news broke that David Zaslav was pursuing a new leader for CNN, Warner Bros. Discovery announced plans to launch CNN Max, a 24-hour streaming channel on its recently rebranded Max service. The dual headlines out of Hudson Yards this week portend a potentially significant shift in fortunes for the beleaguered cable news network over the long term, one that could conceivably help move it past the general state of torpidity and inertia that has dragged on morale since Chris Licht’s installment as chief executive sixteen months ago.