Instead of being based on advertising, like the video service it began in June 2005, Pipeline is available only to paying subscribers for $2.95 per month or $24.95 per year. It can already be accessed in 25 countries.

The downloadable player used to watch the streams looks, for lack of a better expression, really cool. There is one main window and four smaller windows all simultaneously playing live feeds. If a user wants to focus on one of the smaller window, one click of the mouse makes it the big window. The player can be maximized, minimized, reduced to text feeds of breaking news that sit in the corner of a desktop, and has a search function.

With Pipeline CNN appears to be moving towards the concept of personalized news. Executive vice president of CNN News Services, Susan Grant, said, "Today, the CNN.com user can not only read a story and view video on demand, but with CNN Pipeline, the user can also take control of daily news clips, several live streams of news and even video from CNN's extensive archives. CNN Pipeline creates an added dimension to online news, offering an experience that is even more relevant, credible and catered specifically to the user's needs."

Newspapers can look at this latest online development with fear or opportunity. Live online video feeds, "designed for people to 'watch and work'", will furnish anyone with a computer breaking news all day long meaning that even newspaper websites could have a lot of trouble keeping up.

On the other hand, this leaves space for newspapers to become more reflective, focusing on the details and stories behind the breaking stories. Instead of worrying about being first on the scoop, newspapers in the future may be charged with digging deeper, providing the best explanation of what the scoop means.

Source: CNN.com, (demo of Pipeline)