Massive staff cuts at CBS’ and ABC’s news divisions have sparked speculation about how networks can win back viewers who are flocking to cable news. As Fox News surges to the top
of ratings lists and networks struggle to cope with a slump in
advertising, observers are looking to NBC News as a business model for the
future.
NBC News has been able to fall back on the revenues of
its cable arm, MSNBC, and continue to turn a profit. The network also
downsized significantly in 2006, reducing its news staff by 5 percent.
Is this combination of streamlined newsgathering and cable partnership
a solution for beleaguered networks?
Possibly, though handing
out severance packages isn’t going to cut it. Networks need to rethink
the way they use newsgatherers and begin retraining staff to work
across formats and media. They should mimic the BBC, whose reporters
work in small production teams and often file online, radio, and TV
versions of the same piece. With 61 percent of Americans reading news online and 54 percent
listening to radio news, networks would also be smart to invest in a
three-legged approach to news dissemination. CNN’s and Fox News’
websites are among the most trafficked news sites in the world, a factor that has become vital to their brand value.
partner with cable, they’re going to have to figure out what value they
can add. Obviously, money-losing broadcast networks want to shrug off
expenses onto profitable cable teams, like CNN and Fox News; but what’s
in it for the cable guys? Perhaps the audience. At 22 million in 2009,
the broadcast audience has steadily decreased over the years but still
makes cable audiences look small. Whether such numbers will be enough
to convince thriving cable networks to throw a life raft to their
broadcast competitors remains to be seen, but an anonymous Times source
suggests that new cable/broadcast partnerships could emerge in just a
few years.
