HLN

HLN (Headline News) is an American basic cable news channel owned by CNN.

The channel primarily carries a schedule of news programming during the daytime hours, with the remainder of its schedule dedicated to true crime programs drawn largely from the library of defunct sister network Court TV, as well as new original programs within the genre.

The channel originally launched in 1982 as CNN2, a spin-off of CNN. Its original format featured a cycle of regularly updated segments at thirty-minute intervals twenty-four hours a day, briefly covering various areas of interest, such as national news, sports, entertainment, weather, and business. The network later introduced an automation system to cycle these segments in a pre-recorded format, removing the need for them to be aired live. In 2001, the channel began to diverge from this strict rolling news format, adding more live-anchored programming, and later introducing a primetime block featuring pundit-based programs, with hosts such as conservative radio host Glenn Beck and legal commentator Nancy Grace among others.

In the mid-2010s, HLN repositioned itself as a social media-centric network, highlighting headlines popular on social networking services, and introducing several programs relating to the subject of social media. Under new CNN president Jeff Zucker, the channel began to backpedal on this programming in 2016, gradually shifting to a focus on crime, "regional" headlines, and entertainment stories (in contrast to CNN's current focus on politics) during its daytime programming, with the remainder of its lineup being devoted primarily to true crime programming.