Kalshi strikes exclusive prediction data partnership with CNN

CNN has reached an exclusive partnership with prediction market operator Kalshi to integrate its real-time forecasting data across the network’s television, digital, streaming and social platforms, according to a report by Sara Fischer of Axios.

Kalshi will become CNN’s official prediction market partner, marking the company’s first major media deal and its first agreement with a television network. CNN will not pay Kalshi for access to its data, Fischer reported.

Under the deal, CNN will use Kalshi’s real-time API to pull in continuously updated odds on political, cultural, news and weather events. The network will also introduce a Kalshi-powered on-air ticker, and its newsroom and production teams will access Kalshi data for reporting, analysis and visuals. CNN Chief Data Analyst Harry Enten, who has previously referenced Kalshi markets in his segments, is expected to lead the integration.

Kalshi, the world’s largest federally regulated prediction market exchange, has gained attention for its speed and accuracy. It called the New York City mayoral election eight minutes after polls closed, hours ahead of media outlets, according to the company. CEO Tarek Mansour told Axios the partnership aims to help CNN “more accurately report on possible future events, instead of simply reporting on events that had just happened.”Mansour said newsrooms have traditionally focused on the past or present, but prediction market data allows journalists to better interpret what may happen next. The collaboration, he said, is meant to position Kalshi as “the most authoritative source of information about the real-time probabilities of major cultural and political future events.”

CNN executives said the integration would bring a fresh analytical layer to the network’s coverage. “CNN is renowned for accurate, fact-based journalism and analysis that helps audiences understand what’s happening,” Sam Felix, senior vice president of strategic partnerships and business development, said in a statement.

"By partnering with Kalshi to showcase prediction market data in our programming, CNN journalists will have a fresh, data-based angle from which to explore and better understand the world around us," she added.

The agreement comes as Kalshi experiences rapid corporate growth. The company recently confirmed raising $1 billion in a Series E round, boosting its valuation to $11 billion, more than double its valuation two months earlier. Kalshi has also expanded its footprint through recent integrations with Google Finance and Bloomberg terminals.

The CNN deal includes an exclusivity clause preventing the network from partnering with competing prediction market operators. Kalshi’s entry into major media follows similar moves in the sector: Yahoo Finance recently partnered with Polymarket, while Sports Illustrated and Time magazine struck agreements with Galactic.

The partnership also arrives amid political scrutiny. Donald Trump Jr. serves as an adviser to Kalshi and to rival Polymarket, a detail likely to draw attention given CNN’s reputation among conservatives. Fischer noted that Trump Jr. had not publicly commented on the CNN-Kalshi agreement.

Kalshi describes itself as the definitive source for staying informed about the future, with users ranging from reporters and politicians to Wall Street investors and retail traders.