CNN Pipeline: Soft Launch On Sunday

CNN wants a very “soft launch” for Pipeline, as the network’s decision to put the service online Sunday afternoon demonstrates. Links to Pipeline were posted on a slightly retooled home page, and the subscription windows were posted for customers.

Subscribing to the service is simple. Click over to http://www.cnn.com/pipeline/, select an access option, fill in your billing and account information, and click submit. The Pipeline window opens immediately. CNN is offering three pricing options: $2.95 a month or $24.95 a year, including a 14-day free trial, or a 99 cent day pass for 24 hours. “Be there, LIVE and commercial free for as little as 99 cents,” the site says. “Control it. Watch it. Live.”

For a while on Sunday, Pipeline streamed CNN International in the main pipe, along with two Newssource feeds and a rolling weather update. During CNNI commercials, headline billboards filled the screen with music accompaniment. On Sunday night, the main feed switched to a “Countdown to Launch” (above).