CNN is marketing its CNN+ streaming debut as a “historic moment” for the company by selling the first seconds of its first live stream as a set of NFTs, CNN+ chief Andrew Morse said on Wednesday.
The NFTs, of which there will be 250, will feature the first 29 seconds of the first episode of 5 Things with Kate Bolduan, a daily morning show for CNN+ that marked the start of the streaming service’s debut on Tuesday.
The NFTs will be available for purchase beginning on at 10 a.m. PT on March 30 via Vault by CNN, a separate NFT marketplace that sells digital collectibles of major moments in CNN’s history, such as footage of Ted Turner launching CNN in 1980. At launch, each NFT featuring the first moment of Bolduan’s live show will be sold at $50 each; users do not need to use crypto to purchase the tokens.
“CNN+’s debut is a historic moment for CNN,” Morse, the evp and chief digital officer at CNN, said in a statement. “We’re excited to raise the curtain on this new platform and making CNN+’s first live moments available as an NFT is the perfect way to celebrate our launch with digital collectors.”
CNN+ made its debut on March 29 with daily shows from Chris Wallace, Kasie Hunt, Wolf Blitzer, Brian Stelter and Sara Sidner, among others. Other programs out with a weekly schedule include new shows from Anderson Cooper, Poppy Harlow, Jake Tapper, Don Lemon, Rex Chapman and Scott Galloway. Upcoming shows slated for a May release include programs hosted by Audie Cornish, as well as Jemele Hill and Cari Champion.
