[4] The launch of the CBC's 24-hour news service was delayed several times: first when Allarcom, who had filed a competing application for an all-news channel, chose to appeal the CRTC decision;[5] second, when the federal cabinet issued a directive to the CBC to revise its service plan for the network to include private commercial broadcasters and to launch a parallel French language service;[6] and lastly, when cable companies were reluctant to add the service just five months after a similar launch of numerous other channels.

[7] CBC Newsworld finally began broadcasting on 31 July 1989 from several regional studios in Halifax, Toronto, Winnipeg and Calgary, becoming Canada's first all-news channel.

In the 1990s, the channel also aired repeats of CBC Television's political sketch comedy series This Hour Has 22 Minutes and Royal Canadian Air Farce, but these were discontinued in 2001 after a CRTC directive that the shows did not qualify as news programming.

Soon after, Newsworld International was sold to USA Networks in 2000, then to Vivendi Universal Entertainment in 2001, and then to Al Gore and Joel Hyatt in 2004.

In December 2008, it was reported that the CBC planned to revamp Newsworld in 2009, as the result of a strategic review and market survey.

Tentative plans also called for the revamped channel to have more prominent displays of news headlines and weather reports.

A new lineup of programs was introduced to the network, with a greater emphasis towards live news coverage.

The Hour with George Stroumboulopoulos was launched in 2005 in an attempt to attract younger viewers; similar news-oriented talk shows, such as Pamela Wallin Live, CounterSpin, Face Off, and Benmergui Live, also aired on the network in the 1990s.

[1] Instead of producing a separate noon-hour program, most CBC Television stations simulcast CBC News Network from 12:00 to 1:00 pm local time, with an "L-bar" showing local news and weather headlines.

‘CBC Rundown with Andrew Nichols’ was also ended, in favour of an expanded two-hour Canada Tonight.