Friday, February 03, 2006
CNN, MSNBC Outfoxing FNC on the WWW
Source: Business Week "In December, MSNBC and CNN routed Fox News. Of course, MSNBC and CNN had spent recent months fiercely tussling for the top slot, but in December MSNBC nosed ahead to finish first. The Fox News Channel limped to a distant third-place finish, its audience roughly one-third the size of its competitors'.
Did we say we were talking about TV ratings? We are not. All these data reflect U.S. traffic at the channels' Web sites, as tallied by Nielsen//NetRating. They also reflect a complete inversion of how the cable networks perform on their home medium. (MSNBC's daily TV audience sometimes fits comfortably inside two large college football stadiums.) Could this signify that Fox News' style is less translatable to the unbridled Web than that of its straighter competitors?"
and further down in the article:
"In fairness (and balance), Fox started later. CNN was launched in 1980, and it has been on the Web since 1996. "They just got way out ahead. Now we're climbing the ladder," says Bert Solivan, general manager of FoxNews.com. But MSNBC was also launched in 1996, which, portal relationship or no, didn't stop MSNBC.com from racking up impressive numbers. Even at current rates of growth, FoxNews.com has years to go before it will unseat either rival."
Read the full article HERE.
Did we say we were talking about TV ratings? We are not. All these data reflect U.S. traffic at the channels' Web sites, as tallied by Nielsen//NetRating. They also reflect a complete inversion of how the cable networks perform on their home medium. (MSNBC's daily TV audience sometimes fits comfortably inside two large college football stadiums.) Could this signify that Fox News' style is less translatable to the unbridled Web than that of its straighter competitors?"
and further down in the article:
"In fairness (and balance), Fox started later. CNN was launched in 1980, and it has been on the Web since 1996. "They just got way out ahead. Now we're climbing the ladder," says Bert Solivan, general manager of FoxNews.com. But MSNBC was also launched in 1996, which, portal relationship or no, didn't stop MSNBC.com from racking up impressive numbers. Even at current rates of growth, FoxNews.com has years to go before it will unseat either rival."
Read the full article HERE.
# posted by ATN @ 5:45 PM 
CNN Student News Offers ‘Black History Month’ Classroom Resources
Source: CNN Press Release CNN Student News celebrates Black History Month by offering free classroom resources and learning activities available throughout the month of February. In addition to the daily show, resources will include profiles of important personalities as well as a background piece on Carter G. Woodson, considered the father of Black History Month. Educators will also have access to an online quiz about Black History Month.The personality vignettes will air throughout the month and will profile famous African Americans including: Martin Luther King, Jr., Colin Powell, Rosa Parks and Maya Angelou. Additionally, CNN Student News will provide profiles of other historic figures on the Web site, www.CNN.com/Education.
“Educators nationwide know they can regularly turn to CNN Student News when they need accurate, relevant and thorough classroom resources,” said Jerry DeMink, vice president, CNN News Services. “Black History Month and other events allow our staff to present unique, cost-free resources on important topics for classrooms.”
# posted by ATN @ 5:23 PM
CNN.com Film Critic Dead
Source: CNN.com Paul Clinton, CNN.com's longtime movie critic, died Monday morning at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, California. He was 53. The cause of death, according to his nephew, Joe Egan, was natural causes, though Clinton, a smoker most of his life, had struggled with respiratory ailments over the previous couple of years.# posted by ATN @ 12:10 AM
Wednesday, February 01, 2006
Former CNN'er Moves to Bloomberg
This from TV Spy:"RHONDA SCHAFFLER, Senior Business Correspondent at CNNfn, joins Bloomberg Television in New York.# posted by ATN @ 8:01 PM
Must See Video Clip
Alright this has nothing to do with CNN. But yet maybe it does as CNN is mentioned in this piece as having a 'generally good relationship with CNN." Anyway there's a bit of a squabble going on with FNC's Bill O'reilly and MSNBC's Keith Olbermann. In this piece Olbermann stops the 'no spin zone' dead in his tracks by highlighting all the spin that acutally goes on. Click on the story link under the picture to watch the video. You;ll find the link HERE.
# posted by ATN @ 7:56 PM
CNN Gains, FNC Loses SOTU Viewers
> CNN was the only news net to increase in P25-54 during SOTU last night and posted the largest P2+ and P25-54 gains by far.
> FNC was DOWN in P25-54 and MSNBC was down in BOTH P2+ and P25-54
Below comparison is for the duration of the actual speech vs. speech last year.
CNN P2+ P25-54
2006 2218 804
2005 1118 312
%Change 98% 158%
FNC
2006 6462 1987
2005 5965 2329
% Change 8% -15%
MSNBC
2006 707 311
2005 759 330
% Change -7% -6%
> FNC was DOWN in P25-54 and MSNBC was down in BOTH P2+ and P25-54
Below comparison is for the duration of the actual speech vs. speech last year.
CNN P2+ P25-54
2006 2218 804
2005 1118 312
%Change 98% 158%
FNC
2006 6462 1987
2005 5965 2329
% Change 8% -15%
MSNBC
2006 707 311
2005 759 330
% Change -7% -6%
# posted by ATN @ 5:50 PM
Cable Fuels Time Warner’s 4Q
Source: MultiChannel News Time Warner Inc. reported strong fourth-quarter results Wednesday, giving chairman and CEO Richard Parsons an opportunity to take a jab at one of the media giant’s most outspoken critics, investor Carl Icahn.For the quarter, revenue climbed 7% to $11.9 billion and adjusted operating income before depreciation and amortization rose 18% to $2.9 billion. Driving that growth were its Time Warner Cable operations, which saw revenue rise 13% to $2.5 billion in the period and its AOIBDA increase 11% to $985 million, and its cable networks, which reported a 6% revenue gain to $2.4 billion and a 22% increase in AOIBDA to $811 million. MORE
# posted by ATN @ 5:43 PM
CBS Correspondent Joins CNN
Source: CNN Press Release John Roberts, a veteran broadcaster and award-winning journalist, will join CNN as senior national correspondent, it was announced today by Jon Klein, president of CNN/U.S. Roberts’ new assignment with the cable news network will begin Monday, Feb. 20.Drawing from his years of experience covering the White House, breaking news and international assignments, Roberts will report on a broad range of pressing stories developing in the nation’s capital. He will contribute as a correspondent to programs throughout the network.
“As part of CNN’s commitment to providing viewers with more context on stories that really matter out of Washington, John will go beyond the daily news to deliver in-depth and enterprising reports on a broad range of important topics,” Klein said. “John is one of the most accomplished broadcasters in the business. By giving him the freedom to report beyond the halls of the White House, he will be able to dig deeper into the political stories that have been breaking around the nation’s capital and beyond.”
"I am tremendously energized and excited by the opportunity to join an organization that time and time again has demonstrated an extraordinary commitment to rock-solid journalism, a dedication that has rightly earned CNN recognition as the global leader in news coverage,” Roberts said.
Roberts joins CNN after more than six years as CBS News’ chief White House correspondent. He has also served as anchor for the Sunday edition of CBS Evening News since March 1995 and substitute anchor for Face the Nation. Prior to 1995, Roberts was a New York-based correspondent primarily for the CBS Evening News with Dan Rather contributing reports on medical and health issues as well as on a variety of other subjects. In addition, he served as anchor of the Saturday edition of CBS Evening News from February 1999 until his assignment with the White House unit.
Roberts first worked with CBS News as co-anchor of the CBS Morning News from 1992 to 1994 and as news anchor for CBS This Morning. During his tenure with CBS News, Roberts reported on-site for many breaking news stories and traveled extensively, including covering the war in Iraq from Kuwait and Iraq as well the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina from New Orleans.
Between his two CBS News assignments, Roberts was co-anchor for the 5 p.m. and 11 p.m. newscasts on WCBS-TV in New York, where he earned an Emmy and a New York Press Club award. Prior to joining CBS News, Roberts had been co-anchor of Canada A.M., CTV’s top-rated morning news program from 1990 to 1992. From 1989 to 1990, Roberts was an anchor/correspondent for WCIX-TV in Miami. A native of Canada, Roberts spent the first 10 years of his career as an anchor and correspondent for several broadcasts of City TV in Toronto.
# posted by ATN @ 11:44 AM
Tuesday, January 31, 2006
More January Ratings Analysis
This from Media Week on numbers from January:
"On the cable news front, Fox News Channel continues to lead the pack in total viewers and in the key 25-54 demo. FNC averaged 1.48 million total viewers during prime, a drop of 7 percent versus January 2005. CNN took second with an average 724,000 viewers, for a decline of 17 percent year-over-year.
And while last January's numbers may have been inflated by an unexpectedly busy news cycle, given the aftermath of the Indian Ocean tsunami and the Iraqi elections, perennial also-rans MSNBC, CNBC and Headline News stilll managed to rack up significant increases in prime. MSNBC has emerged as a ratings dark horse, averaging 349,000 prime time viewers, a jump of 16 percent over last January. On average, Headline News took in 343,000 prime time viewers last month––a whopping 43 percent increase––while CNBC scared up 155,000, to bring its numbers up 23 percent.
Meanwhile, in the core 25-54 news demo, FNC averaged 319,000 viewers in prime, dropping 34 pecrent from the first month of 2005, while CNN averaged 202,000, down 26 percent year-over-year. Again, MSNBC, Headline News and CNBC showed increases in the period, with MSNBC averaging 150,000, up 26 percent from last year, Headline News averaging 114,000, up 12 percent from last year, and CNBC taking in 76,000, up 19 percent from January 2005.
Overall, FNC boasted nine of the top 10 most-watched cable news programs last month, with The O'Reilly Factor coming out on top with an average 2.33 million viewers. CNN's lone top-10 program, Larry King Live, came in seventh on the month with 1.04 million viewers."
"On the cable news front, Fox News Channel continues to lead the pack in total viewers and in the key 25-54 demo. FNC averaged 1.48 million total viewers during prime, a drop of 7 percent versus January 2005. CNN took second with an average 724,000 viewers, for a decline of 17 percent year-over-year.
And while last January's numbers may have been inflated by an unexpectedly busy news cycle, given the aftermath of the Indian Ocean tsunami and the Iraqi elections, perennial also-rans MSNBC, CNBC and Headline News stilll managed to rack up significant increases in prime. MSNBC has emerged as a ratings dark horse, averaging 349,000 prime time viewers, a jump of 16 percent over last January. On average, Headline News took in 343,000 prime time viewers last month––a whopping 43 percent increase––while CNBC scared up 155,000, to bring its numbers up 23 percent.
Meanwhile, in the core 25-54 news demo, FNC averaged 319,000 viewers in prime, dropping 34 pecrent from the first month of 2005, while CNN averaged 202,000, down 26 percent year-over-year. Again, MSNBC, Headline News and CNBC showed increases in the period, with MSNBC averaging 150,000, up 26 percent from last year, Headline News averaging 114,000, up 12 percent from last year, and CNBC taking in 76,000, up 19 percent from January 2005.
Overall, FNC boasted nine of the top 10 most-watched cable news programs last month, with The O'Reilly Factor coming out on top with an average 2.33 million viewers. CNN's lone top-10 program, Larry King Live, came in seventh on the month with 1.04 million viewers."
# posted by ATN @ 9:44 PM
CNN/I Makeover Preview
Digital Spy has a preview of what the new CNN/International graphics will look with they changeover:
You'll find more HERE.
You'll find more HERE.
# posted by ATN @ 9:09 PM
Ludwig Now LKL Sub
This from TV Spy: "DR. ROBI LUDWIG has gone from guest to substitute host on CNN's Larry King Live, discussing addiction to plastic surgery. Robi is a regular guest on Monday's edition of Nancy Grace on CNN Headline News. She also appears on NBC's Today, Oprah, and Court TV. "# posted by ATN @ 6:24 PM
Additional SOTU Coverage Plans
Source: CNN Press Release As part of CNN Worldwide’s special coverage of tonight's State of the Union address, CNN Pipeline, CNN en Español and CNNRadio Noticias will offer live and excerpted coverage of Los Angeles Mayor Antonio R. Villaraigosa’s address in response to President George W. Bush's address. Coverage of Villaraigosa’s remarks, which are to be delivered in Spanish, will be part of CNN’s comprehensive reports surrounding the State of the Union address and the Democratic response.
The entire speech will be available live on CNN Pipeline, CNN.com’s on-demand broadband video news service. In addition, both CNN en Español, CNN’s first independently produced 24/7 network in a language other than English, and CNN en Español Radio, a full-service Spanish-language network, plan to air the speech live in its entirety.
The entire speech will be available live on CNN Pipeline, CNN.com’s on-demand broadband video news service. In addition, both CNN en Español, CNN’s first independently produced 24/7 network in a language other than English, and CNN en Español Radio, a full-service Spanish-language network, plan to air the speech live in its entirety.
In addition to CNN en Español, CNNRadio Noticias and CNN Pipeline's live coverage of Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa's response to tonight's State of the Union, CNN.com also will make the Mayor's remarks available in its Free Video section for the public to view on-demand after his remarks are delivered. This will not have an English translation overlayed; but will be available just as it will be spoken -- in Spanish.
# posted by ATN @ 5:24 PM
January 2006 Ratings Highlights
> FNC is down DOUBLE DIGITS in P25-54 in every hour starting at 3pm through midnight.
> Headline News overtook MSNBC for the month in P25-54 for the first time since August 2005.
Jan. Total Day P25-54
CNN 145k
FNC 235k
HLN 96k
MSNBC 91k
CNBC 45k
> Anderson Cooper 360 grew +63% in P18-34, +28% in P18-49 and +17% in P25-54 over last year while FXNC programs On The Record and O’Reilly Factor lost -35% in P18-34, -23% in P18-49 and -26% in P25-54 in the month of Jan. (FXNC’s only gains were in the oldest P55+ demo.) Anderson Cooper 360 also increased P2+ audience the most, up 9% while FXNC On The Record/O’Reilly Factor increased 8%.
> CNN Continues to Draw More Viewers of any Cable News Net:
Monthly Reach (based on a four-week comparison):
CNN: 62,870,000 unduplicated viewers; FXNC: 56,093,000; HLN: 48,904,000; MSNBC: 44,721,000
> American Morning, in its new timeslot 6-10am, is up +8% in P2+ and up+12% in P25-54 while FXNC Fox and Friends (6-9am) is down -1 in P2+ and -5% in P25-54 (6-9am), MSNBC’s program combination of Imus in the Morning and MSNBC Live (6-9am) is down -23% in P2+ and -27% in P25-54.
> Headline News overtook MSNBC for the month in P25-54 for the first time since August 2005.
Jan. Total Day P25-54
CNN 145k
FNC 235k
HLN 96k
MSNBC 91k
CNBC 45k
> Anderson Cooper 360 grew +63% in P18-34, +28% in P18-49 and +17% in P25-54 over last year while FXNC programs On The Record and O’Reilly Factor lost -35% in P18-34, -23% in P18-49 and -26% in P25-54 in the month of Jan. (FXNC’s only gains were in the oldest P55+ demo.) Anderson Cooper 360 also increased P2+ audience the most, up 9% while FXNC On The Record/O’Reilly Factor increased 8%.
> CNN Continues to Draw More Viewers of any Cable News Net:
Monthly Reach (based on a four-week comparison):
CNN: 62,870,000 unduplicated viewers; FXNC: 56,093,000; HLN: 48,904,000; MSNBC: 44,721,000
> American Morning, in its new timeslot 6-10am, is up +8% in P2+ and up+12% in P25-54 while FXNC Fox and Friends (6-9am) is down -1 in P2+ and -5% in P25-54 (6-9am), MSNBC’s program combination of Imus in the Morning and MSNBC Live (6-9am) is down -23% in P2+ and -27% in P25-54.
# posted by ATN @ 3:35 PM
CNN International Gets a Makeover
Source: Broadcasting and Cable CNN International is revamping its on-air look Feb. 5, ditching its ticker, changing its fonts and bumping its logo to the top of the screen to make its appearance less cluttered, the network says.The redesign, the network’s biggest in more than five years, includes a new logo, news graphics, title sequences, network IDs, on-air promotions and music.
“The uncluttered screen and enhanced concise graphics will now allow our video and journalism to breathe fully,” said CNN International Senior VP Rena Golden.
The changes, which go into effect at 6 p.m. ET on the 5th, are being made to help viewers navigate through the network’s programming. Headline fonts will be changed to block lettering, which the network says is easier to read, covers less of the screen and is more understandable to viewers whose primary language is not English. Fonts will be color-coded: Breaking news alerts will be black font on a yellow background, news is black and white, business is blue, and sports will be green.
To keep viewers focused on the on-screen story, the network’s scrolling news ticker will be replaced by a rotating news “flipper,” which will display one complete sentence or story at a time. Navigational graphics will tell viewers which programs are coming next and in the hours ahead. The network’s logo, the “CNN” graphic next to a globe, has been moved from the bottom right part of the screen to the top left. Its globe has been updated from a full sphere to a quarter sphere shadow within a box. The word “live” will appear over the shadowed globe for live stories.
# posted by ATN @ 2:56 PM
Monday, January 30, 2006
Cable News Execs on Covering Iraq
With the recent wounding of ABC's Bob Woodruff and Doug Vogt, cable news execs speak out on covering Iraq in THIS article from Rueters:
"Woodruff and Vogt "did take a lot of precautions but war is very dangerous, and if you're in the line of fire all the protective gear isn't going to protect you 100%," said John Stack, vp newsgathering at Fox News Channel.
"It's an extremely unpleasant reminder of the fact that very few of our colleagues remain there in Iraq and they're constantly at risk," said Chris Cramer, managing director of CNN International. CNN, Fox and other networks have a constant presence in Iraq, but other outlets have pulled out because of the enormous safety concerns.
None of the networks require their crews to go to Iraq; all are volunteers. CNN, for instance, requires that anyone sent to Iraq already have been there for them to understand the risks.
"Strategies for securities keep us all up at night," Stack said.
"There are risks at a variety of different levels, and safety is always, always uppermost in our mind," Cramer said. "It comes before anything else.""
"Woodruff and Vogt "did take a lot of precautions but war is very dangerous, and if you're in the line of fire all the protective gear isn't going to protect you 100%," said John Stack, vp newsgathering at Fox News Channel.
"It's an extremely unpleasant reminder of the fact that very few of our colleagues remain there in Iraq and they're constantly at risk," said Chris Cramer, managing director of CNN International. CNN, Fox and other networks have a constant presence in Iraq, but other outlets have pulled out because of the enormous safety concerns.
None of the networks require their crews to go to Iraq; all are volunteers. CNN, for instance, requires that anyone sent to Iraq already have been there for them to understand the risks.
"Strategies for securities keep us all up at night," Stack said.
"There are risks at a variety of different levels, and safety is always, always uppermost in our mind," Cramer said. "It comes before anything else.""
# posted by ATN @ 10:23 PM
Beck Says His HLN Program Won’t Just be Politics
Source: Los Angeles Times After reaching its highest ratings ever last year with a new lineup of topical, personality-driven prime-time programs, CNN Headline News has declared the experiment a success and is adding another provocative talk show host to the mix: Glenn Beck, a syndicated radio personality with a decidedly rightward bent.Beginning in April, Beck — whose popular radio show, “The Glenn Beck Program,” is broadcast on more than 200 U.S. stations — will host an hourlong program for the CNN sister channel on “water-cooler” topics. The Philadelphia-based broadcaster recently moved his radio show to New York to be able to do the daily cable program.
Although Beck is best known as a conservative talk show host, network executives said the show would not be devoted to politics, but rather would cover a range of issues, including world events and pop culture.
“We did not set out to do a political show or a show from any political point of view or ideology,” said Ken Jautz, executive vice president of CNN Worldwide, who runs the channel. “We set out to find an entertaining, engaging talk show host, and his brand of humor and lighthearted approach was one we liked.
“We like to think of this as Glenn conducting a conversation, not a confrontation,” Jautz added. “We want a cordial atmosphere. It’s not hot; it’s not aggressive.” MORE
# posted by ATN @ 10:13 PM
Could CW Lead to a CBS, CNN Union?
This article from MediaChannel opens up again the CNN/CBS marriage that has yet to materialize after discussions over the years.
This from the article:"“It’s a good fit, but there’s still a lot of pride at stake,” said media analyst and author Jeff Alan. “CBS is going to give it one more go to make the news division profitable again…but in the long run, a news share is a better fix than simply putting Katie [Couric] or Diane [Sawyer] in the anchor chair.”"
This from the article:"“It’s a good fit, but there’s still a lot of pride at stake,” said media analyst and author Jeff Alan. “CBS is going to give it one more go to make the news division profitable again…but in the long run, a news share is a better fix than simply putting Katie [Couric] or Diane [Sawyer] in the anchor chair.”"
# posted by ATN @ 10:07 PM
