Three years after CNN International was pulled from Virgin Media in the UK, the channel is now once again available to cable viewers. This time around, the channel is available in HD.
- Deal to bring CNN back to Virgin Media signals warming relations between the cable company and CNN’s owner Warner Bros Discovery.
- Relaunch coincides with build-up to November’s US Presidential elections.
- Channel also available on Virgin Media Stream service.
The world’s biggest international news channel is back on cable across the UK. On Tuesday, Virgin Media added CNN International HD to channel 626.
The development follows a summer of negotiations between Warner Bros Discovery (WBD) and Virgin Media over carriage of existing channels on Virgin’s cable and IP-streaming TV services.
CNN International returns in time for viewers to catch the channel’s comprehensive coverage of the US Presidential Elections in November, when Kamala Harris and Donald J Trump go head-to-head in the battle for the White House.
In addition to rejoining Virgin Media’s cable TV service, CNN HD is also available on Virgin Media Stream. CNN is available to all Stream users.
▶ Analysis: What happened to CNN on Virgin Media?
Until 2021, CNN was a basic tier channel widely available on cable and satellite. That changed when CNN International was pulled from both Freesat and Virgin Media. Only Sky retained CNN on its channel list. The move signalled a strategic change for the news channel, in favour of trying to get more customers to pay for CNN.
At the time, CNN was encouraging UK viewers to subscribe to streaming service CNN Live. However, a free live stream of channel remained available on Samsung TV Plus. Additionally, the satellite feed used by Sky stayed free-to-air, undermining the proposition.
The following year, standalone streaming service CNN+ was axed in the USA within weeks of launch.
That marked the end of CNN’s efforts to go it alone. While free-to-air feeds continue to exist for now, CNN will increasingly be bundled together with other WBD channels on subscription pay TV and streaming services. WBD is already bundling CNN on its Max streaming service in a number of European countries. In Germany and Austria, CNN is part of the Discovery+ service.
By: Marc Thornham | Image: CNN HQ