BY ALEX WEPRIN | HollywoodReporter.Com
Troy Warren for CNT
The WarnerMedia-owned cable news channel is branching into the burgeoning NFT space with a new offering it is calling the “Vault by CNN.”
This … is a non-fungible token of CNN.
The WarnerMedia-owned cable news channel is branching into the burgeoning NFT space with a new offering it is calling the “Vault by CNN.”
Beginning in late June, the company will “mint” NFTs on the Flow blockchain of memorable moments from CNN’s 41-year history. It will then sell them to the public as digital collectibles. The first batch of news “moments” is TBD, but the company says it could include coverage from presidential elections, CNN exclusives, or moments from world history (want to own CNN’s coverage of the Berlin Wall coming down? Now might be your chance!).
The tokenholder will be able to display the moments they own on a user page in the “vault,” and CNN says that it is working with a third-party company to produce a physical version of the NFTs for some limited edition sets that “will include a premium video display case that will render a physical representation of the Moment on a screen.”
Unlike many other NFTs being offered on the market, users won’t need to pay with cryptocurrency; they can buy their CNN moments with a credit card. Users will need to create a digital wallet with the blockchain company Blocto, however.
In a FAQ about the service, CNN explains the rationale to launch the “Vault”: “Until now, there has been no way to ‘collect’ these moments. Users can often find old footage online, or packaged up in documentaries, but they cannot ‘own’ them or display them in the way they can with a print newspaper or magazine.”
An NFT is a digital asset that represents some real-world item, be it a piece of art, or music, or in this case, TV news coverage. An NFT acts as something like a digital certificate of authenticity, letting users sell or trade the rights to the digital item they hold. While they are often associated with cryptocurrency because they rely on blockchain technology, they are a separate use case for the underlying tech.
NFTs have increasingly caught the eye of the entertainment industry, which saw the success of NFT programs like NBA Top Shot, and others have sought to adapt it for themselves. Most recently, Fox announced the creation of what it is calling Blockchain Creative Labs, staking $100 million in the business unit, which will seek to create NFT content and experiences based on Fox properties.
