Can CNN reach $1 billion in subscription revenue?

Simon Owens does the arithmetic on the Financial Times report that CNN hopes to hit $1 billion in digital subscription revenue by 2030: at current pricing that is roughly 14 million paid subscribers inside three years, more than the New York Times. "I'd put its chances at near zero," he writes, unless the figure folds in the combined Paramount+/HBO Max streaming bundle. Seen in: Simon Owens's Media Newsletter. Published: 14 Oct 2026, 02:13 CEST.