CNN.com launched a new version of its site, and at first glance it doesn’t seem like anything earth shattering.

It looks similar to the old design. Some like it more, some like it less and few really care one way or the other (I have no real preference over the looks of either, as they were both above average but nothing special). The new CNN.com is a much better site, however, and here is why:

CNN got rid of Pipeline, it’s old commercial free video service on the Web. For $19.99 a year users got live feeds and a lot of CNN video clips (all searchable) without commercials. I was a subscriber, and it was a good idea, but wasn’t executed well. There was no Mac version of the application, and the Web player was buggy. It often didn’t work right, and I all but stopped using it out of frustration.

CNN also got rid of it because less than 1 million people subscribed. They just weren’t reaching a mass audience with the service, and CNN is a video company. They didn’t want to pull a Wall Street Journal and limit their impact on the nation.

Now pipeline is gone. In its place is the ability to watch video from CNN.com itself. The video is bigger, looks better and is easier to use than Pipeline. Best of all you don’t need to sign up and pay money to see it in a pleasing format. The occasional commercial is worth it in my opinion for free content.

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