Commentary
'Premium' Live TV News Content: Streaming Bound?
- by Wayne Friedman , Staff Writer, February 10, 2025
Live TV news programming has been viewed -- in tandem with that of sports -- as being of “premium” value when it comes to live, linear TV.
News and sports continue to dominate linear TV channels. But the former looks like it will increasingly experience trouble going forward.
CNN, MSNBC and Fox News Channel all have experienced issues -- financial, structural and otherwise. Efforts seem to be increasing to move part or all of that content to streaming platforms.
Fox News still has a dominant position above all cable TV networks -- not just news channels -- pulling in around $1.6 billion in revenue with around $1 billion coming from national TV advertising revenue.
But succession trust issues for Rupert Murdoch’s kids could upset the apple cart a bit -- with two of his kids leaning to more moderate political positions for Fox News Channel should they get control of his empire.
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The trouble -- which is both good and bad for TV news networks -- arises from the average age of its viewers for TV news content. All are much older than on other linear TV networks. According to one recent estimate, the median age of audiences for CNN, Fox and MSNBC is 67, 68 and 71, respectively.
CNN -- a major worldwide brand -- is still profitable, pulling around $400 million in operating profit, according to one estimate. Revenues have dropped to $1.8 billion from $2.2 billion.
MSNBC is in a much tougher position. It is not a worldwide brand. It will now be spun off to a new smaller company with other cable networks.
CNN and MSNBC continue to look to make cuts -- especially with high salaries given to talent. That said, Fox News Channel has parted ways with Neil Cavuto.
Recently Fox said that it will create a big streaming platform, but one that will include just sports and news -- content from Fox News Channel, Fox Television Network, and FoX Sports.
Fox Corp. has been making the right moves for a while. In 2017, it sold half of its cable TV networks and legacy production assets to Disney, which also included regional sports networks for $71 billion.
Still, is Fox late to the party -- especially in a more mature streaming marketplace? Maybe it is dreaming up a new way around things.
Wayne Friedman is West Coast Editor of MediaPost. You can reach Wayne at wayne@mediapost.com.
Wayne, I'm a bit surprised by your Fox News Channel revenue figures. They seem very low compared to what we hear from various sources. These indicate a total revenue figure per year of about $3.0-3.3 billion and ad revenues of about $1.0-1.2 billion. $1.8 billion in total revenue for CNN seems about right and MSNBC trails well behind with only $.9 billion in total revenue---which may decline at a fast pace unless they figure how to win back many of their disappointed, left leaning, viewers who have reduced their consumption dramatically after the recent POTUS election.