• by Wayne Friedman , Staff Writer, December 8, 2023

Do we need more news coverage -- possibly on TV screens -- through any and all possible distribution systems?

Right now, much of this seems targeted to the print/digital media world. But does this also mean a TV-video centric network style version? We don’t know yet. 

But Jeff Zucker -- who was a senior executive running NBC News and NBCUniversal as well -- has strengths when it comes to TV-video content.

Could these new ventures gain some kind of foothold in the U.S. and then move to the next step?

This comes as scripted/unscripted entertainment on cable TV isn’t much of a growth business these days -- with much of that content shifting or begin highlights on their mostly sister streaming platform operations. That means there might be room for more news content on cable TV distribution channel shelves.

Ib a broader view, consider those mid-to-small networks may no longer get carriage by the major pay TV distributors -- a la Charter Communication’s now landmark deal with Walt Disney.

If linear TV continues to have a life going forward, its airwaves will be largely devoted to live TV programming -- sports, news and perhaps some selective key, unscripted/reality-show episodes.

But let's say those legacy pay TV cable, satellite, telco, virtual distributors don’t even have room for those channels. So.. go to streaming directly?

Sure.. And remember that's what Zucker tried to do with CNN (as streamer CNN+) before his demise. 

For example, CNN has its "CNN Max" brand now on Warner Bros. Discovery premium streamer Max.

NBC News Group is betting on NBC News NOW (a sister of operation MSNBC).

Fox Corp. has Fox Nation -- a mostly weekly news magazine streaming service which down the road might evolve into more of a real-time news operation. 

This is in addition to growing live, linear TV channels -- Newsmax, NewsNation  -- still looking to compete with the big three: Fox News Channel, MSNBC and CNN.

And then, of course, there are a bunch of linear, TV-based networks airing on virtual streaming providers -- like Hulu with Live TV -- which has CNBC, CNN, Bloomberg, CBSN, ABC News Live, Fox News, MSNBC, and NewsNation.

Philo, for example, offers BBC World News, Bloomberg, Newsy, and Vice. 

All this is to say is there is enough room for even more news content. Perhaps in another news niche -- on TV? Or on a world news basis which is something BBC and all its operations handle. 

Buying two stalwart U.K. news publications, Zucker could attempt to do that. He sees squeezing into a niche between Fox News Channel and perhaps Newsmax. Zucker told the Financial Times: "We believe there is real potential to … establish The Telegraph as a much more global media brand. We’ve thought for a long time that the real gap in the U.S. marketplace was a very strong center-right media brand.”

Are there other news channel or streaming variations to come?