CNN All Access Drops to $1.99 a Month for a Limited Time
A Labor Day promo cuts CNN's streaming news service to $1.99 monthly for two months, but the discount expires fast and the price triples after that.
The deal, in dollars
CNN is running a short-term discount on CNN All Access, its streaming news subscription. New and eligible subscribers who sign up now pay $1.99 a month for the first two months, instead of the usual $6.99 a month. That is a savings of about 71% during the intro period, or roughly $10 saved over those two months.
After that two-month window, the price jumps back to the standard $6.99 a month — no negotiating, no reminder call needed on your part, it just reverts. Annualized, $6.99 a month works out to about $84 a year, so the promo really only shaves a small amount off a full year’s cost unless you cancel before the higher rate kicks in.
The catch on timing: this offer is not open-ended. It ends September 7, 2026. Miss that date and you’re signing up at the regular $6.99 rate, deal gone.
What you’re actually paying for
CNN All Access is not just live TV. The $6.99-a-month (or discounted $1.99) subscription includes:
- 24/7 live CNN coverage, including U.S. and international feeds
- More than 1,000 hours of CNN Originals, documentaries and films on demand
- Live coverage of major news events and special programming
- Unlimited access to CNN.com articles and subscriber-only content, on the site and app
- Current shows like Anderson Cooper 360, CNN NewsNight, The Source with Kaitlan Collins, The Lead with Jake Tapper, The Arena with Kasie Hunt, and Erin Burnett OutFront
It streams on Roku, Fire TV, Google TV, Apple TV, LG and Samsung smart TVs, iPhone, iPad, Android devices, and web browsers — no cable box or live-TV bundle required.
Who benefits, who doesn’t
If you’re someone who wants breaking-news access without paying for a full cable package or a pricier live-TV streaming bundle, this is a genuinely cheap way to try it: two months for under $4 total. Compare that to a cable subscription running $80-plus a month, or even a live-TV streamer like YouTube TV or Fubo, which run well over $70 a month and include CNN as one channel among many.
Where it’s less of a win: anyone who forgets to check their billing date. The promo covers exactly two months, and CNN doesn’t appear to be sending a special heads-up before it reverts to $6.99. If you’re not using the service enough to justify $6.99 monthly ($84 a year) on an ongoing basis, this becomes an easy subscription to let ride and overpay for.
What to do about it
Sign up before September 7, 2026, if you want the $1.99 rate — after that date it’s off the table. Set a calendar reminder for roughly seven weeks out from your sign-up date, right before the two-month discount period ends, so you can decide whether to keep paying $6.99 a month or cancel. If you mainly want to catch breaking news occasionally rather than follow it daily, this promo is worth the two months at $1.99 even if you cancel right after — total cost is under $4, cheaper than a single fast-food meal, for two months of an ad-supported alternative to cable news.