Major shift: CNN to ask readers to pay for articles

Cable News Network is planning to add a paywall to its website, building on a system that asks readers to register by email, according to reports.

CNN hasn’t confirmed the coming paywall, but two unnamed people who know about the decision told The New York Times on Thursday that the paywall will launch next month.

The network will prompt frequent readers to pay after they look at a certain number of articles, according to the newspaper. CNN is the most visited news site in the U.S.

In July, the company hinted in an internal memo at a move toward subscriptions.

CNN CEO Mark Thompson, who took over last year, told employees he wanted to make “best-in-class, subscription-ready products that will provide need-to-know news, analysis and context in compelling new formats and experiences” before the end of 2024, according to TheWrap media news site.

In June, CNN began testing a registration wall, asking high-frequency readers to provide an email without asking them to pay.

“We can identify a really attractive, very strongly engaged, tenured and qualified news audience who I think could be very attractive to advertisers as well,” Mr. Thompson told Axios.