CNN plans to launch a new app, "CNN Weather," by the end of the year, Axios has learned.

Why it matters: It's part of a broader plan by the network to invest more in lifestyle and subscription news products as part of its digital transformation under CEO Mark Thompson.

• The network also plans to introduce a new cross-platform streaming service this year.

🌦️ Zoom in: CNN Weather will combine expertise from CNN's meteorology and climate teams in a mobile-first app that will provide targeted local weather forecasts and 24/7 coverage of major regional and national weather events, CNN EVP of digital products and services Alex MacCallum told employees in a town hall Tuesday.

• Thompson plans to officially announce the news at its advertising presentation in New York on Wednesday, a source said.
• The app will be available free to start, but it's expected to eventually be paywalled.
• A spokesperson confirmed the launch and provided a comment from MacCallum, who said: "As we build out a subscription portfolio and offering for our users, we are looking to launch a series of lifestyle-oriented products that become essential to people's everyday lives. Weather is a natural fit for our audience and for the CNN portfolio."

☃️ Zoom out: CNN has been beefing up its climate and weather teams ahead of launch.

• The company, which has decades of experience covering breaking weather events, is considered an authority in emergency weather events, especially internationally.
• The company was one of the first major international outlets on the ground to cover the catastrophic flooding in Libya in 2023, as well as the Turkey-Syria earthquakes that same year.
• CNN is nominated for an Emmy for Hurricane Milton coverage from last year.

The big picture: CNN's digital evolution has been rocky amid leadership and ownership changes.

• The network launched a subscription streaming app, CNN+, in 2022, only to have it shuttered weeks after launch by its new owners, Warner Bros. Discovery.

Meanwhile, competitors have been ramping up their streaming and digital product efforts.

• Fox News Media is projecting half a billion dollars in revenue this fiscal year for its non-cable TV businesses, its executives told me.
• The company launched Fox Weather, an ad-supported streaming service, in 2021.

What's next: CNN Weather is likely the first of many lifestyle and subscription products that CNN will experiment with as it looks to find its future beyond cable.

Disclosure: The author is a paid contributor for CNN.

ESPN remains interested in a potential Major League Baseball distribution package, especially one that includes local games, despite recently opting out of its national package with the league three years early, chairman Jimmy Pitaro said Tuesday.

Why it matters: MLB commissioner Rob Manfred has been clear that he believes the regional sports network model that baseball relied on for decades to distribute local games can't be fixed.

• He instead wants to nationalize the league's local rights under one streaming entity when the majority expire in three years.

🎤 The latest: Speaking to reporters at a press event in New York City, Pitaro said ESPN is "ready to listen when the league is ready to have a conversation" about a new distribution deal that could include local rights.

• "We are not in conversations with them," he said.
• "I'm assuming — I don't know for sure — they are out there testing the market, which is their right to do," Pitaro added.
• "But we love the game of baseball, and we would like to figure something out with them, ultimately ... And yes, that includes local in-market games."

📺 State of play: MLB is currently in talks with several networks — including NBC Sports, Amazon and Netflix — about new deals to air its national TV rights package through 2028, per Puck.

• Those talks, which appear preliminary, could also set the MLB up for a larger discussion about simplifying its local rights with one streamer when its national rights expire.
• Fox, one of MLB's national TV partners, is reportedly interested in renewing its deal until 2028, as is ESPN, whose agreement would need to look different for both parties to get onboard.

Between the lines: In recent months, the league has started to secure more local streaming rights through MLB.TV that could help it build a national package.

• The league is reportedly considering a deal to license its MLB.TV out-of-market game package to networks and/or digital platforms.

🌏 Zoom out: MLB's international ambitions could also factor into its streaming partnership conversations, a source told Axios. Streamers with an international presence could present an interesting opportunity for the league as it looks to grow its fanbase abroad.

What to watch: To fully nationalize the league's local sports rights deals, Manfred needs buy-in from teams in bigger, more lucrative markets.

• Those clubs, like the Yankees and Los Angeles Dodgers, also own their RSNs and would need to agree to pool their local TV revenue with smaller market teams.

Go deeper.

ESPN plans to launch its forthcoming streaming service, which will simply be called "ESPN," this fall with two different price points, executives told reporters in New York City on Tuesday.

• Fox Corp. CEO Lachlan Murdoch this week announced that Fox's news streaming service, which will include entertainment, sports and news, will launch this fall as "Fox One."
• CNN told employees in a town hall this morning that in addition to CNN Weather, its general streaming service will also launch this fall.

Why it matters: Cable TV subscribers of all three services will get access to their respective streamers at services at no additional cost, as a way for cable companies to preserve their relationships and deals with traditional TV providers.

🔌 Between the lines: Streamers generally aim to target fans with options that are either cheaper than what they currently pay for their cable bundle, or easier to access.

• ESPN's new service, which will include content from all of ESPN's cable networks and its digital streaming service ESPN+, will cost $29.99 per month for unlimited access.
• For consumers looking for an even cheaper option, ESPN will offer a "select" tier of its new streaming service for $11.99.
• Murdoch told investors that pricing for Fox One would be "in line with its wholesale pricing," (i.e., its cable pricing).

Zoom in: ESPN's parent, Disney, will also offer consumers a special option at launch to bundle Disney+, Hulu and the new ESPN unlimited streaming service for $29.99 monthly for the first 12 months.

• After that, the package will cost $35.99 with ads on Disney+ and Hulu, or $44.99 with no ads on those services.

Go deeper.

The Atlantic is partnering with Apple to launch exclusive audio benefits for subscribers, executives told Axios. The outlet will also start selling subscriptions directly on Apple Podcasts.

🍎 Why it matters: The vast majority of the Atlantic's podcast downloads this year are on Apple, a spokesperson confirmed, which makes it a ripe platform to grow its subscription audience.

🎧 The big picture: More news companies are finding audio is a successful venue for adding subscribers.

• The New York Times started selling audio subscriptions through Apple and Spotify last year.
• The Economist added a podcast subscription tier in 2023.
• Vox Media started to experiment with subscription podcasts that same year.

Zoom in: Beginning Wednesday, The Atlantic will launch a new podcast feed on Apple Podcasts called "The Atlantic Out Loud."

• The feed will feature narrated magazine stories as they are published, which complements the outlet's broader editorial strategy of expanded magazine features, said chief growth officer Megha Garibaldi.
• (Last year, The Atlantic expanded its print product from 10 yearly editions to 12 — a nod to its founding as a monthly magazine.)
• Subscribers will also get select ad-free episodes of popular Atlantic podcasts like "Holy Week" and "Floodlines."
• The new partnership will prompt listeners who discover The Atlantic on Apple Podcasts but are not currently subscribed to the publication via the iOS app. Existing subscribers will be prompted to connect their subscriptions via The Atlantic's website.

📈 Zoom out: The Atlantic, one of the oldest magazines in the country, has successfully built a digital subscription business, thanks in part to strong editorial gets and partnerships with third parties like Apple.

• Executives told Axios The Atlantic had surpassed 1.1 million paid subscribers, which was aided by its partnership with Apple selling subscriptions through Apple News.
• After losing millions of dollars for several years, The Atlantic finally turned a profit last year.

Share this story.

David Letterman, Chuck E. Cheese and 50 Cent are all promoting their own TV channels with one crucial common denominator — they're free, Axios' Kerry Flynn writes.

Why it matters: With subscription services reaching saturation, free, ad-supported TV apps have become "the new default TV experience," Sarah Nelson, global head of strategic partnerships at Samsung TV Plus, told Axios.

👀 Driving the news: Amazon said the ad-supported tier of Prime Video reaches 130 million U.S. customers on Monday at its Upfront presentation for advertisers.

• On Wednesday, Netflix — once famously anti-advertising — will host a formal Upfront presentation to Madison Avenue ad buyers.

State of play: Free TV dominated the sales pitches during last week's NewFronts, the annual advertising event for digital-focused companies.

• Samsung touted its free, ad-supported television (FAST) channels on Samsung TV Plus including from Letterman, the Jonas Brothers and Billboard.
• LG and Vizio presented their FAST services along with content providers like Vevo, Revry and Dr. Phil's Merit TV.
• Fox-owned Tubi's event featured actor Noah Beck crediting the "lack of paywall" to why his movie, "Sidelined: The QB and Me," went viral across social media.

By the numbers: FAST isn't new, but the number of channels and viewership is rising.

• An estimated 1,755 FAST services are available in the U.S., U.K., Germany and Canada, as of May 5, up 17% since June 2024 and 67% since June 2023, according to Gracenote.
• Nielsen said Pluto TV, Paramount's FAST service, was the first to appear in The Gauge, its monthly analysis of TV consumption, in August 2022.
• PlutoTV viewership is up 15%, Tubi's up 21% and The Roku Channel's up 67% since April 2024, per Nielsen.

Yes, but: YouTube captures the most streaming viewership on TVs, per Nielsen.

• Building a FAST channel can be a significant investment — more so than uploading new or old programming on YouTube or social channels.

Share this story.

The Trump administration on Saturday fired Shira Perlmutter, head of the U.S. Copyright Office, almost immediately after the Copyright Office published a nuanced report on the use of protected material for AI training, Axios' Ina Fried writes.

Why it matters: The move is seen as a political win for the AI community over creatives who have been advocating for legal protections for their work in the AI era.

🏛️ Reality check: Perlmutter's firing — like the dismissal of the librarian of Congress that preceded it — broke from precedent, since both the Copyright Office and the library are under Congressional oversight.

• Democrats argue Perlmutter's removal is illegal. The Trump administration didn't directly comment on the report when dismissing Perlmutter.

📃 Driving the news: The Copyright Office's "pre-publication" version of its 108-page report argues for a balanced approach that recognizes the contributions of both tech firms and content creators.

• "American leadership in the AI space would best be furthered by supporting both of these world-class industries that contribute so much to our economic and cultural advancement," the agency writes.

🤖 The report concludes that while some generative AI probably does constitute a "transformative" use, the mass scraping of all data for commercial use probably does not qualify as fair use.

• The news industry's main trade body lauded the report for recognizing copyright owners' right to protect their works and prosper in the digital ecosystem.

The bottom line: Thoughtful thinkers around AI will face an uphill climb in this era of hyper-partisanship and "move fast, break things" tech firm tactics, Fried notes.

Go deeper.

Time plans to launch a new editorial vertical called Time Longevity, dedicated to the coverage of science, health, business, tech and policy innovations that address aging and the human lifespan, CEO Jess Sibley and editor-in-chief Sam Jacobs told Axios.

Why it matters: It's part of a broader transformation of Time's business from a consumer site to a platform for business decision-makers, Sibley said.

Zoom out: Over the past few years, Time has invested more editorially in covering topics top-of-mind for business and policy elites, such as health, AI and climate, per Jacobs.

• 🩺 "What we're seeing is this conversation around longevity really matters to those decision-makers in whatever field they're in," he noted.
• 💸 The audience and advertiser opportunities are "truly limitless," Sibley said, noting the topic impacts readers of all ages and demographics.

Zoom in: The new franchise will launch later this year as a multi-platform series spanning events, digital coverage and print specials.

• Coverage is meant to provide a trusted guide for people looking to understand more about aging and living a longer, healthier life. That includes everything from financial planning and retirement to climate and wellness.
• The company will feature longevity as one of its tracks this year at its Time100 Health Leadership Forum in the fall, Jacobs said.
• It will launch a "future of living" interview series that will live across its platforms.
• The newsroom will also launch a special report that will get a dedicated section of the magazine, a digital landing page and social coverage.

What to watch: Asked about reports that Salesforce co-founder Marc Benioff was eyeing a possible sale of Time, Jacobs said, "We are launching longevity in part because we believe in Time's longevity."

• Jacobs said he expects to keep working with Benioff and his wife, Lynne, who co-owns Time, "for a long time."

Share this story.