CNN Set to Make Desperate Move as Viewership Plunges: Report
CNN appears set to make a business move that would address its ratings struggles.
The parent company of the corporate media network is planning to place live CNN news content on its streaming service Max, according to Bloomberg.
The move by the parent company, Warner Bros. Discovery Inc., could change the cable news landscape.
The services of cable providers could be bypassed entirely under the agreement — with viewers of CNN able to watch the network’s content on the streaming service Max.
CNN’s first foray into a streaming service ended in disaster — with the network’s executives canning its CNN+ component just a month after its launch.
The move to offer the liberal network to Max subscribers comes as CNN incurs a decline in its audiences, according to Bloomberg.
Warner Bros. Discovery May Bring Live CNN to Its Max Streaming Platform
Would be a radical shift. Instead of millions not watching CNN on cable, they’d have to not watch it as a stream. https://t.co/BAybwlaEja @gizmodo
— Work from home: “Spooky Action at a Distance” (@w_mccan) June 29, 2023
Corporate executives are eyeing several formats in which CNN content would be broadcast on the service. Discovery could face legal challenges from cable providers in doing so.
Cable subscribers who access CNN have numbered 70 million this year — a marked decline from the 85 million subscribers CNN had in 2020, Bloomberg reported, citing S&P Global Market Intelligence figures.
The CEO of the company, Chris Licht — installed at the behest of parent company Discovery — was fired from his position earlier this month.
Licht had sought to rebrand CNN away from its association with the Democratic Party, going so far as to schedule a town hall event with former President Donald Trump that roused the ire of many of the channel’s left-wing employees.
CNN’s ratings have under-performed its cable news competitors in the aftermath of Trump’s presidency — even falling behind progressive news channel MSNBC.
CNN’s audience in the crucial 25-54 age demographic fell below that of its liberal rival in the second quarter of 2023, according to a release from MSNBC.
MSNBC BEATS CNN IN A25-54 TOTAL DAY VIEWERSHIP IN 2Q23 – FIRST QUARTERLY DEMO WIN IN 9 YEARS
Thank you to our loyal @MSNBC viewers! pic.twitter.com/vUSdt05TN6
— Jesse Rodriguez (@JesseRodriguez) June 27, 2023
The network’s troubles have even spurred rumors that it could be sold.
Former CEO Jeff Zucker is interested in purchasing the entity if the speculation is correct, according to the New York Post.
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