Posted on 11/16/2009 6:44:39 AM PST by abb
After losing its ratings lead and falling to last in primetime, the once-dominant CNN stands to lose the last piece of top-shelf value still attached to its business side: premium pricing.
Time Warner-owned CNN, while getting beaten handily in the ratings race and having fallen to fourth place in rankings, still commands higher ad rates than rivals -- in some cases double those of Fox News and MSNBC.
But perhaps not for long.
While advertisers have been willing to shell out more for CNN's venerable brand, broad audience reach and less-opinionated programming, media buyers said the network's ratings slide is likely to bring down pricing.
"They will maintain a premium, but will it stay this high?" asked one ad buyer. "I think it will probably go down."
And that could cost them millions of dollars in advertising revenue.
In the world of television advertising, a big audience doesn't necessarily translate into the highest ad rates. Media buyers said CNN has the benefit of 30 years in the business and a trusted name that still resonates with advertisers.
"All in all, they have tried to maintain their objectivity and be a force for objective journalism," said Steve Lanzano, executive vice president of MPG, a media-buying firm. "I think that's the reason why advertisers aren't shying away."
Clearly, CNN has decided to double down on straight reporting.
Lou Dobbs, a longtime anchor and one of the original talking heads at the network, announced last week that he was leaving the Atlanta-based company. His strong views on immigration and his dogged pursuit of the Obama "birther" story -- alleging President Obama was not born in the US -- often put him at odds with his network.
snip
(Excerpt) Read more at nypost.com ...
ping
Yeah ;-)
CNN apparently threw caution to the wind(balance sheet-wise)
and paid Dobbs $8,000,000.00 to go away.
Haven’t watched CNN since 94. That is when I blocked their channels from my TV.
Socialist racist pandering propagana trash is all their presstitutes promote.
a trusted name that still resonates with advertisers.
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/11/16/business/media/16newsweek.html?_r=1&ref=media
Glimmers of Progress at a Leaner Newsweek
(note: the headline doesn’t fit the story)
http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/hr/content_display/news/e3i8f2c0287dc37ec6b645a415a6bd5ad9d
Online move tough for old media firms
http://www.variety.com/article/VR1118011256.html?categoryid=2522&cs=1
Industry awaits Oprah’s decision
(Oprah must take pay cut)
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703811604574534272928283340.html
Two-Way Communications
NBC Could Push Comcast Toward Interactive Ads
http://www.observer.com/2009/media/nbcs-adventuresome-foray-re-purposed-multi-platform-synergistic-local-news
NBC’s Adventurous Foray into Repurposed Local News
http://www.mediaweek.com/mw/content_display/news/digital-downloads/broadband/e3i8f2c0287dc37ec6b5270e8008bf01978
Growing Pains at Hulu
http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/chi-sat-tribune-1114-nov14,0,709460.story
Tribune Co. asks bankruptcy court to extend management’s ‘exclusivity’ on reorganization plan
...a while back it was reported that Ted Turner wants back in at CNN...he’s disgusted by what he sees and thinks he can turn it around.
Can somebody refresh my memory? I recall CNN getting caught in a blatant lie. I think it had something to do with Vietnam. Does anybody else remember this?
I guess that they got caught counting all those airline passengers and hotel guests?
They jumped the shark with Peter Arnett and it has been a steep slide into uber-liberal bias and plummeting ratings ever since.
Clearly the solution to turning around CNN is to rebrand it by selling the name rights to the same outfit that bought the rights to Singer and Bell & Howell. Fortune to be made in advertising 19.99 products on off-hours t.v.
Paying Dobbs 8 million to go away. Ha!
That’s called thowing away your life preserver while you and the sharks watch your cruise ship go over the horizon.
They were also interviewing Sesame Street characters last week. They also spent time trying to determine if a spoof of President Obama on Saturday Night Live was factual. Gee, no wonder they’re in fourth.
Couldn't happen to a more deserving bunch of useless eaters.
http://www.johntemple.net/2009/11/watching-media-moguls-like-rupert.html
Watching media moguls like Rupert Murdoch flail agains search engines has become painful
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/11/16/business/media/16paywall.html?ref=media
About Half in U.S. Would Pay for Online News, Study Finds
http://jayrosen.tumblr.com/post/243813457/sources-of-subsidy-in-the-production-of-news-a-list
Sources of subsidy in the production of news: a list
http://adage.com/digital/article?article_id=140537
Why News Corp. and Murdoch Won’t Quit Google
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/11/16/business/media/16carr.html?sq=journalism&st=cse&adxnnl=1&scp=1&adxnnlx=1258383637-4bk6tcb+91zNUlF9uLcT9Q
Taking Aim at Student Muckrakers
I wonder how the shareholders will feel about this?
Maybe it’s time to short the stock(again) ;-)
I suspect CNN’s ratings/revenue will decline even further now that Lou is gone.The only time i’d watch CNN was to catch his show.Maybe they’re counting on a gov bailout?
Uh....maybe their ratings are sliding because they're NOT a broad audienced network and NOT less-opinionated? DUH!
CNN is getting more like Error America every day.
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