CNN's Major Troubles: The Challenges Facing Cable News

Table of Contents

1. Introduction
2. The History of CNN
3. The Current State of Cable News
4. The Challenges Facing CNN
5. The Leadership of CNN
6. The Turnaround Plan for CNN
7. The Failure of Chris Licht
8. The Future of CNN
9. The Decline of Cable News
10. The Rise of Digital News
11. The Importance of Independent Journalism
12. Conclusion

The Troubled State of CNN: A Look at the Challenges Facing Cable News

CNN, one of the world's most recognizable news brands, is facing some major challenges. The cable news industry as a whole is struggling, and CNN is no exception. In this article, we'll take a closer look at the history of CNN, the current state of cable news, and the challenges facing CNN in particular. We'll also examine the leadership of CNN, the turnaround plan for the network, and the failure of Chris Licht, the former CEO of CNN. Finally, we'll explore the future of CNN, the decline of cable news, the rise of digital news, and the importance of independent journalism.

The History of CNN

CNN was founded in 1980 by Turner Broadcasting System. It was the first news Channel to produce 24-hour rolling news anywhere in the world. CNN was a hit, and in 1996, Time Warner merged with Turner to acquire CNN and its other brands. Following the involvement of AOL, the purchase of a bunch of brands, and an attempted buyout from Murdoch in 2018, communications giant AT&T bought Time Warner, which was then rebranded as Warner Media. In April 2020, AT&T entered Talks with Discovery Inc about spinning Warner Media off and merging it with Discovery, and that's exactly what ended up happening.

The Current State of Cable News

CNN is just one element in a much larger cable news problem. Cable TV is in structural decline, and CNN might be struggling, but they're not alone. In 2016, when cable news networks were high on the profits of Trumpian outrage, some 70% of households had cable subscriptions. Today, that's just 40%, and it's not likely to slow down anytime soon. The first quarter of this year saw 7% of cable subscribers canceling, some 2.3 million customers.

The Challenges Facing CNN

CNN was in the hands of the newly founded Warner Brothers Discovery when it entered into a new arrangement. CNN already had a handful of pretty major issues. Firstly, despite being a brand new business, Warner Brothers Discovery already owed AT&T $43 billion for the purchase of Warner Media, as well as taking on Discovery's $13.5 billion worth of debt, leaving them with a total gross debt of around $56.5 billion. Secondly, following the peaks of the Trump Administration, 2020 election, and COVID outbreak, CNN was also seeing their viewership fall, and with it, their revenue. Finally, at the time of the acquisition, CNN had just lost their long-term CEO, Jeff Zucker, after evidence emerged that he'd been in an undisclosed relationship with one of CNN's VPs.

The Leadership of CNN

Chris Licht was new to CNN, but despite his relatively young age, he wasn't new to the world of media. Licht was well known in the circles, however, his entry into CNN wasn't the smoothest. Licht's tenure began essentially as soon as the merger took place, which coincided with the new ownership's decision to can CNN Plus, the company's much-lauded new streaming service, less than a month after its launch. Licht was not the most popular man, but he was the new CEO of CNN.

The Turnaround Plan for CNN

Licht and Warner Brothers Discovery CEO David Zaslav had a clear vision for CNN. They wanted to drag the company back towards the center, focusing less on opinion and instead bringing journalism back to the Core of the business. Licht began by trying to clean up CNN's reputation with Republicans. This involved firing a bunch of more anti-Trump CNN anchors and reporters, including Brian Stelter, John Berman, Brianna Keilar, and Jim Acosta. He also went on a widely discussed trip to Capitol Hill, where he met with GOP officials to try and smooth things out and bring GOP politicians and representatives back to CNN.

The Failure of Chris Licht

Licht's big bet on Jake Tapper failed to fully pay off, and his morning Show project also flailed, leading him to fairly unceremoniously cut the show's lead anchor, Don Lemon. These internal and external struggles arguably came to a head during the now infamous Donald Trump town hall held on May 10th of this year. CNN's town hall with former President Donald Trump was seemingly the biggest test that Licht had faced so far. After all, this was the culmination of months of hard work cultivating GOP support that helped CNN become so in line with the party that their front runner for the 2024 presidential election was willing to sit down with the network for a live TV event.

The Future of CNN

The real problem here is that CNN is a big, expensive cable news giant. Not only that, it's a declining force in a shrinking market as more and more people cut the cords or choose to Consume their news elsewhere. This cold cutting issue is hard to underestimate too and will have ripple effects well beyond just CNN. Ultimately, that leaves cable news trying to navigate this difficult switch away from cable, attempting to maintain audience Attention in an increasingly hectic and difficult to monetize environment.

The Decline of Cable News

The decline of cable news is a significant issue for the industry as a whole. People might be pushing towards digital, but making money online is considerably more difficult. Even the giants like Fox aren't safe of all of this. They might have the eyeballs right now, but people are tuning out of cable fast. Remember when the economics are broken down like this, even if older viewers do keep tuning in and thus advertising dollars remain stable, if younger and even middle-aged people tune out of cable altogether, then the size of that light license fee pie begins to shrink.

The Rise of Digital News

The rise of digital news is a potential solution to the decline of cable news. CNN did hope that their move to digital in the form of CNN Plus could solve this issue by bringing in a much-needed source of revenue and helping them maintain relevance in people's habits and lives. However, after Warner Brothers Discovery canceled the project, hope has become a little harder to find.

The Importance of Independent Journalism

The importance of independent journalism cannot be overstated. We here at TLDR News believe in truly independent and apolitical news. We have a whole network of channels covering everything from business to geopolitics, the war in Ukraine, and more. All of our coverage is as neutral as we can make it, and as we have no investors or outside owners, we're totally independent to do so.

Conclusion

CNN is facing some significant challenges, but they're not alone. The cable news industry as a whole is struggling, and the decline of cable news is a significant issue for the industry. The rise of digital news is a potential solution, but making money online is considerably more difficult. Ultimately, the importance of independent journalism cannot be overstated, and we here at TLDR News believe in truly independent and apolitical news.