Cable’s 5 a.m. slot handed to a FAST program… 2,172 global FAST channels as of July, with news channels up 52.9% to 211.

CNN Headlines, the free ad-supported streaming (FAST) channel operated by CNN, recorded 179% growth in watch time and 58% growth in unique viewers in the year since its July 2025 launch. In the most recently completed quarter, reported on August 13, 2026, watch time rose 192% and unique viewers 51% against the same period a year earlier. The figures come from a channel that was not a rerun of the cable feed, but a separate operation with a dedicated anchor and purpose-built live programming.

CNN FAST 채널 ‘헤드라인스’ 출범 1년… 시청시간 179%·순시청자 58% 증가
CNN 헤드라인스(CNN Headlines), 케이블 뉴스를 옮겨 담는 대신 전용 앵커와 전용 라이브 프로그램을 편성해 1년 만에 시청시간 179% 성장 기록. 무료 채널에서 확보한 시청 데이터를 유료 구독 상품 올액세스(All Access)로 잇는 구조.
K엔터테크허브 (K-EnterTech Hub)Jung Han

In Nielsen’s June 2026 edition of The Gauge, streaming took 48.5% of total U.S. viewing while cable fell to 19.5%. Gracenote’s Q3 2026 Data Hub, released August 21, counted 2,172 global FAST channels as of July, up 17.5% year over year, with news and commentary the fastest-growing genre: 211 channels, up 52.9%. On the other side of the ledger, Kagan estimated in October 2025 that CNN would shed 7.6% of its pay-TV subscriber base by the end of 2026. Cable news operators began running their free channels as separate business units under those conditions.