Mark Thompson’s Vision For CNN Comes Into Focus
Issue #139 — Thompson looks to guide CNN from a linear first organization to one that embraces its products being accessed everywhere, with new revenue streams.
Mark Thompson’s Vision For CNN Comes Into Focus
Mark Thompson’s reign as CNN's CEO and chairman has been quiet and uneventful for the first three months. Thompson has used that opportunity to properly gauge how the mammoth news organization functions and figure out what direction it needs to go under his helm.
This past Wednesday, Thompson revealed the direction for CNN under his guidance, and that route would primarily be a digital one. Thompson wants CNN to stop thinking linear first and switch to a model where its news can be accessible from anywhere, and delivered via whatever means.
The declining number of cable subscribers means that CNN also has to diversify its revenue streams and generate new ones, and this is an arena Thompson is all too familiar with, having been in a similar position at the New York Times.
The internet was initially a thorn in the New York Times’ foot as the accessibility to news drove down hard copy long-term subscriptions, which in turn affected advertising, which combined to bring down overall revenue.
Thompson turned the internet’s negative points into positives by boosting the digital subscriptions of the Old Gray Lady and creating new revenue streams by adding ancillary products like puzzles and games, cooking, and tech reviews.
He is looking to emulate his success at the New York Times at CNN, though the network’s business model is built differently. It may be the number three cable news network, but CNN is a global network with a digital presence that is top tier, ranking in the top three news sites visited globally. It also has a commanding foothold within the social media communities.
But CNN is still an organization that served its linear channels first, and resources at the network matched that. Thompson is intent on changing that.
In his lengthy memo to staff, Thompson outlined what he wanted out of CNN — an organization that is news-oriented first, meets the audience where they are and creates new digital revenue opportunities that do not take away from what is already there.
To do that, Thompson has centralized CNN’s newsgathering operations, with the domestic, international, and digital newsgathering operations now just one “multimedia” unit. Thompson named Virginia Moseley the executive editor in charge of this division, with former CNN International head Mike McMarthy serving as the managing editor reporting to Moseley.
CNN’s linear (TV) products will no longer be the network's focal point; they will still be an important cog in the news distribution wheel, but they will now have to learn to share. Thompson recognizes the smartphone’s prominence as the first screen a consumer accesses, and he wants CNN to be front and center from that standpoint and be accessible, not just through intermediaries.
To help with that, Thompson brought Alex MacCallum back to CNN as EVP of Digital Products and Services. She is an executive who is familiar with both Thompson and CNN. She worked with Thompson at The New York Times and recently departed from CNN after the failed CNN Plus experiment.
MacCallum’s mandate under Thompson will be to “lead a team more single-mindedly focused on developing the products and the subscription and other relationships with users that will make CNN once again indispensable to younger, as well as well as older audiences, and secure our economics into the future.”
That is what Thompson is looking for from the new CNN, an indispensable news product that can be delivered via any vehicle and generate new revenue avenues.
Thompson may be in a new arena, but the foe remains the same. How successful he will be this time depends on whether he can convert CNN from what it used to be to what it needs to be.
(Deadline, The Wall Street Journal, CNN Press Room)
RECAP
Warner Bros. Discovery Sports Rebrands To TNT Sports
For a long time, the sports arm of Warner Bros. Discovery used to be known as Turner Sports. This name lived through previous mergers involving the Turner brands, including AOL and AT&T. Unfortunately, it met its demise under the current WBD regime, which opted to go with the rather cumbersome Warner Bros. Discovery Sports moniker. One must wonder why erasing the Turner name from WBD properties is such a big deal. Anyway, WBD Sports, as the overarching name for the sports properties held by the media conglomerate, was short-lived as this past week, the new name for the sports division is TNT Sports. The TNT Sports rebrand started in Europe, with BT Sports converting to that name in the summer of 2023, followed by South America. Now it has washed ashore in the U.S. Bleacher Sports, Golf Digest, and other WBD sports properties will fall under the TNT Sports banner, and programming that is seen on TNT, TBS, TruTV, or Max will also be branded and presented as TNT Sports. (Sports Business Journal)
ESPN Is Looking To Find A Strategic Partner
A tussle may be brewing between major sports leagues as the NFL and the NBA have indicated that they are considering acquiring a stake at ESPN. Disney, ESPN’s parent company, announced last year that it was looking for a partner to help bring down the network’s operational expenditure rather than sell its sports outfit. Enter the NFL, which, in the previous week, was reported to be in “advance talks” with the House of Mickey to acquire a stake in ESPN. If the deal were to go through, then ESPN would also take control of the NFL’s broadcast arm, NFL Media. The NBA seems interested in setting up a similar structure with ESPN, and the league has also put its name in the hat in being a strategic partner. The network would greatly benefit from its partnership with ESPN as its regular season is definitely longer than the NFL, so the chance to build its exposure is much higher. With the NBA’s media rights deal due to be renegotiated soon, dangling the NBA’s media properties with a renewed rights agreement could be the advantage the NBA needs over the NFL in partnering with ESPN. (Front Office Sports)
Diamond Sports Finds A Home With Amazon
A temporary lifeline has been thrown to the beleaguered sports property Diamond Sports Group by Amazon with an investment of $100 million. Amazon Prime Video will now become the primary streaming partner of the regional sports network Bally Sports. Bally Sport’s digital rights to the NBA, NHL, and MLB will now be accessed by Amazon for the remainder of the season. The deal is part of a restructuring agreement involving Diamond’s parent company, Sinclair. Diamond and Sinclair are in litigation with each other, with Diamond accusing Sinclair of shedding assets, bringing it one step closer to bankruptcy. Diamond’s NBA and NHL properties will be accessed on Amazon Prime Video, while five of the 11 MLB teams will be accessible. For Amazon, this deal with Diamond gives it additional visibility in the streaming wars, deepening its association with sports outside of just the NFL. (Sports Media Watch)
QUICK RECAP
Israel-Gaza War: The challenges faced by journalists covering that war in Gaza. (The New Yorker)
Out: Could NFL insider reporter Ian Rapoport be on the way out of the NFL Network? (New York Post)
Newsmax: The network has renewed carriage deals with major distributors and shuts down its free streaming simulcast. (Brian Steinberg/X)
ESPN: The network’s talent is having more sway in how things are run. (Front Office Sports)
Streaming: Did the NFL and NBC Sports fumble the Peacock Wild Card game? (Wall Street Journal)
CNN: First Move returns to CNN International with a primary focus on Asia. (CNN Press Room)
CNN: Jake Tapper gets a limited CNN Original Series. (CNN Press Room)
Style: What was the look for MSNBC’s new weekend show The Weekend? (Newscast Studio)
Style: How the networks covered the Iowa Caucus on Monday night. (Newscast Studio)
Programming: NewsNation joins the Sunday public affairs jostle with a new show hosted by Chris Stirewalt. (TVNewser)
Programming: Bloomberg changes programming lineup in Americas, EMEA, and APAC and debuts a new studio. (TVNewser)
Sports: Inside the NFL will also air on Netflix in addition to The CW. (Ryan Clark/X, Joe Flint/X)
Sports: Who were the top NFL broadcasters of the regular season? (Awful Announcing)
Sports: ESPN’s Monday Night Football makes a strong comeback thanks to Joe Buck and Troy Aikman. (Front Office Sports)
In: Former MLB player Adam Wainwright joins Fox Sports as a full-time analyst. (Front Office Sports/X)
In: Aly Raisman joins ESPN for its SEC gymnastic coverage. (Awful Announcing)
In: Paul Allen named permanent executive editor at the BBC News Channel. (PressGazette)
In: CBS News promotes communications executives Christa Robinson and Lance Frank. (Variety)
Politics: News networks criticized for their early Iowa Caucus calls. (TVNewser)
Politics: Campaign advertising still favors TV. (Los Angeles Times)
Politics: MSNBC doesn’t carry Trump’s victory speech in Iowa. (Forbes)
Politics: CNN and ABC News cancel their New Hampshire GOP debates.
(TVNewser)
Politics: Ron DeSantis’ relationship with Fox News turns sour. (New York Times)
Profile: Fox News Saturday Night’s Jimmy Fallia on his plans as the new host. (TVNewser)
Profile: CNN’s Kaitlan Collins on her unusual and rapid rise. (Elle)
Profile: Keyshawn Johnson on his move to Fox Sports and his new podcast. (Front Office Sports)
Profile: MSNBC’s Kat Tur on how the network will tackle the disinformation during its 2024 election coverage (The Wrap)
Profile: ESPN’s Lisa Salters on how she does her job. (The Athletic)
Ratings: 40.2 Million viewers watched Fox Sports’ NFL Wild-Card match-up between the Green Bay Packers and Dallas Cowboys. (Fox Sports PR/X)
Ratings: 36 million viewers across all platforms watched NBC Sports’ NFL Wild-Card match between the Los Angeles Rams and the Detroit Lions. (NBC Sports Group Press Box)
Ratings: 31 million viewers watched CBS Sports’ NFL Wild-Card match-up between the Pittsburgh Steelers and Buffalo Bills. (CBS Sports PR/X)
Ratings: 23 million viewers watched NBC Sports’ NFL Wild-Card telecast on Peacock. (TVLine)
Ratings: NBCUniversal News Group ends 2023 as the number one digital news organization. (NBC News PR)
Ratings: ESPN’s studio shows rake in big viewership numbers after the Dallas Cowboys’ exit. (Front Office Sports)
Ratings: Fox News wins the ratings battle during the Iowa Caucus. (TVNewser)
Ratings: Iowa Caucus numbers drop across all three cable networks. (Deadline)
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A MarkHenry Media LLC publication - Issue #139 - 2024