Current CNN has lost their special standing as the honest news broker. What appeal do they have over the masses of news content providers/commentariat at this stage?
Paywalls work when you offer content not easily available everywhere else. NY Times or WSJ come to mind.
CNN in my opinion has no special content. It's just one of tens of national news sites, full of weird ad spam below the fold. I don't see this working well for them, but I've been wrong before.
That is: what occurred to the newspaper industry since the dot-com and Global Financial Crisis recessions as advertising dried up seems to now be hitting broadcast/streaming services. As with newspapers, I suspect that this will play out over a decade or more, with outlets being snapped up by vulture capitalists stripping carrion for any remaining meat.
CNN's paywall is a sign of the times. It also suggests that other mainstream broadcast and cable news providers (ABC, CBS, NBC, Fox, NewsMax, Sinclair) may also be following suit. In the latter three cases, one would hope....
It'll be interesting to see both what happens to major sources of highly-biased and disinformational content (see those which have lost or settled major lawsuits in recent months) as their advertising feed-hose dries up.
Meantime, I'll be looking to see what happens to CNN's "lite" feed: <https://lite.cnn.com/>.
I suspect that this will not increase their long-term viewership or revenue.
That might be a positive.
I think paywalls have generally increased revenue when tried in the past although I don’t have a citation.
There is no growth opportunities so increasing prices to increase revenue at the expense of market share makes sense.
Current CNN has lost their special standing as the honest news broker. What appeal do they have over the masses of news content providers/commentariat at this stage?
Paywalls work when you offer content not easily available everywhere else. NY Times or WSJ come to mind.
CNN in my opinion has no special content. It's just one of tens of national news sites, full of weird ad spam below the fold. I don't see this working well for them, but I've been wrong before.
As I said three months ago: television (OTA broadcast, networks, and cable) are about to get, or are in the process of getting, newspapered:
<https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=40826253>
That is: what occurred to the newspaper industry since the dot-com and Global Financial Crisis recessions as advertising dried up seems to now be hitting broadcast/streaming services. As with newspapers, I suspect that this will play out over a decade or more, with outlets being snapped up by vulture capitalists stripping carrion for any remaining meat.
CNN's paywall is a sign of the times. It also suggests that other mainstream broadcast and cable news providers (ABC, CBS, NBC, Fox, NewsMax, Sinclair) may also be following suit. In the latter three cases, one would hope....
It'll be interesting to see both what happens to major sources of highly-biased and disinformational content (see those which have lost or settled major lawsuits in recent months) as their advertising feed-hose dries up.
Meantime, I'll be looking to see what happens to CNN's "lite" feed: <https://lite.cnn.com/>.
Update/edit: The Verge too: <https://www.status.news/p/the-verge-paywall-vox-media>.