As more folks “cut the cord,” traditional networks are being ditched to favor streaming. The broadcast networks are also failing in real-time, and the lack of creative, fresh programming has led many to seek riskier, better programming on streaming apps. Even some of the old-school cable networks are suffering. ESPN has reportedly been on the block, and the sports network has slashed jobs and cut salaries in recent years.
As consumer trust erodes, networks like CNN have also struggled to stay relevant. Since President Trump essentially broke the network in 2016, more folks have turned away from the leftist outlet in search of more fair and balanced reporting. Now, CNN boss Mark Thompson, in a quest to prop up the digital side of the struggling network, is reportedly seeking to slash salaries to keep the news network afloat.
The network counts more than $50 million towards the salaries of Wolf Blitzer, Jake Tapper, Chris Wallace, and others, and Thompson, the former head of the BBC and the New York Times, has indicated in internal memos that those production costs “look difficult to support.” Some of the stars have contracts that don’t expire until 2025 and 2026, possibly making it complicated to trim the fat at the network.
Rich Greenfield, a media and tech analyst at LightShed Partners, said: “The first thing they need to do is dramatically reduce costs. If you work at CNN your compensation is going to go down dramatically over the next…five years, there’s just no other way around it.” Thompson is seeking to streamline the failing network, which trails Fox and MSNBC despite the big salaries they are paying to primetime talent.
Thompson announced recently that the network would be removing Poppy Harlow and Phil Mattingly from “This Morning” and moved “CNN News Central” from 7 a.m. to 10 a.m. The company has also decided to move all morning show production from New York City to Atlanta to cut production costs.
Greenfield, for his part, has a different suggestion for the network, claiming it should be sold while it still has value, “But they don’t seem like they want to. The most likely scenario is they cut a lot of cost out of it.” Thompson is looking to tailor the salaries at CNN more closely to what the BBC and NYT features. Both outlets feature salaries that are a fraction of what is being paid at failing CNN.
Considering most networks don’t pay near the bloated salaries of CNN, cutting costs may not necessarily cost the network talent. Greenfield said: “It’s not like CNN will lose their talent, there’s nowhere to go that would pay that much.” Indeed, it could be an easy decision for an anchor: take a pay cut or work for even less elsewhere. For his part, Thompson wrote in a memo his intentions: “We need to recapture some of the swagger and innovation of the early CNN. It’s time for a revolution.”
Perhaps a return to honest reporting and less political partisanship would help the failing network. Unfortunately for CNN, it may be too late. With the election approaching and former President Trump set to be the GOP nominee, many folks won’t tune in to CNN because of the bad taste the network has left in their collective mouths since 2016. If that’s the case, expect more cuts and more misery from the former leader in cable news.
As an example of the nonsense on CNN, watch AOC freak out about Trump here:
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