As new owner David Ellison takes charge of the news network's future, CNN has launched its first paid streaming service overseas, accelerating its digital business expansion.

Two weeks after Ellison's Skydance completed its $111 billion acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery, CNN will roll out its full subscription streaming product in the United Kingdom and Canada on October 20. The deal gives Ellison control of CNN, CBS, HBO, and Paramount simultaneously.

Following the acquisition, Ellison retained former CNN chairman Mark Thompson to continue running the network. Thompson's goal is to build a digital subscription business that generates more than $1 billion in annual revenue by 2030, offsetting the ongoing decline of the traditional cable television business.

The service launched in the United States a year ago, allowing subscribers to access live news independent of the traditional TV channel, on-demand video, and unlimited reading of CNN's online news content. The UK monthly fee is £4.99, while Canadian pricing is C$7.99 per month; CNN plans to expand to more countries next year.

Thompson said in an interview: "Our roster of foreign correspondents is perhaps larger than that of any other broadcaster in the free world. Since the Ted Turner era, this global news mission has been CNN's label around the world. Making CNN content available to global users across all platforms is the natural choice."

CNN did not disclose its U.S. subscriber numbers, but Thompson said the business is performing better than internal expectations: "We are accomplishing some quite challenging goals."

According to financial projections disclosed in a January regulatory filing, CNN is expected to generate $1.8 billion in revenue this year and $600 million in adjusted operating profit. The overseas expansion comes against the backdrop of heavily indebted Skydance committing to a $6 billion cost-cutting target following the acquisition. People familiar with the matter said CNN executives presented their digital strategy to Skydance this spring, but the two sides have not yet finalized a detailed business plan. Previously, Warner Bros. Discovery had committed to investing more than $70 million over several years to support Thompson's transformation plan.

Thompson told employees in an internal memo last week that Ellison and his team "have seen our digital strategy and are as excited about it as we are." Thompson is not opposed to integrating CNN programming into Skydance's larger streaming platforms, including Paramount+ and HBO Max, while retaining a standalone subscription version for audiences who primarily watch news.

"I am not at all resistant to being part of a streaming service like Paramount+ or HBO Max," he said. He envisions offering users diverse choices: watching live news on television, as well as tracking breaking news and reading reports on mobile devices.

As CNN undergoes its ownership change, it is also escalating tensions with the Trump administration. Over the weekend, the U.S. Department of Justice announced an investigation into CNN and several other television stations, focusing on whether media outlets' suspension of joint White House coverage violated antitrust law. Previously, the U.S. president barred CNN and other media from White House access last month, prompting several stations to temporarily refuse to participate in joint White House coverage.

Thompson said: "For us, the government's continued obstruction of our access to the White House and to the president is a First Amendment issue. What is truly at stake is the public's right to see journalists ask questions and hold American political leadership accountable."