CNN’s parent company, Warner Bros. Discovery, has announced an extremely new operating structure as the news network’s ratings collapse.
Under their bold new model, Warner Bros. Discovery will split into “two distinct operating divisions,” according to a Thursday press release.
One of the divisions – Global Linear Networks – will focus on television activities. The second, called Streaming & Studios, will focus on streaming platforms and creating “strategic opportunities” for the future.
The media company described the Global Linear Network as “a leading linear television company that operates some of the most renowned networks offering compelling news, sports, scripted and unscripted programming.”
Its entertainment-based counterpart will be “a globally scaled streaming platform and legendary film and entertainment studios with a portfolio of the world’s most beloved intellectual property.”
David Zaslav, president and CEO of Warner Bros. Discovery, said: “Since the combination that formed Warner Bros. Discovery, we have transformed our business and improved our financial position while delivering world-class entertainment to a global audience.
“We continue to prioritize ensuring that our Global Linear Networks business is well positioned to continue driving free cash flow, while our Streaming & Studios business focuses on driving growth by telling the world’s most compelling stories.”
This new plan will be implemented in mid-2025, the company announced. Currently, the company is split into sections: networks, studios and direct-to-consumer streaming.
CNN’s ratings have been declining, especially since the November 2024 election
David Zaslav, president and CEO of Warner Bros. Discovery, said the media company has split into two operating divisions
Following the announcement, which said the company will “execute its strategy and drive future value creation for shareholders,” shares rose about 15 percent in early trading Thursday. CNBC reported.
The decision comes at a turbulent time for CNN, as the networks’ ratings are in a slump and several staffers have been laid off.
Despite a hectic news cycle, CNN’s top shows — Anderson Cooper 360, The Source with Kaitlan Collins and CNN News Night with Abby Phillip — averaged just 367,000 viewers this week, according to Fox News.
By comparison, Fox News Channel averaged about 2.5 million primetime viewers.
CNN’s audience was also smaller than TNT, Food Network, Discovery, Hallmark Mysteries, TLC, TBS, History, HGTV, USA, MSNBC, Hallmark Channel and ESPN.
Just a week after the presidential election, CNN averaged 61,000 viewers aged 25 to 54. This is the smallest viewership in that demographic since June 27, 2000, when Bill Clinton was in the White House.
It also got poor marks for its daytime programming – shows that run between 9am and 5pm – with an average of 60,000 viewers in the Tuesday demographic.
This was the worst for a non-holiday week since 2014, Fox News reported.
Anderson Cooper’s primetime show, along with several others, averaged just 376,000 viewers this week, Fox News reported
Warner Bros. Discovery announced a new operating structure Thursday amid CNN’s plummeting ratings
CNN’s teetering state has reportedly caused tension among the network’s stars, as reporters like Cooper, Don Lemon and Mark Preston were called out in revealed Facebook posts.
The infighting at the beleaguered CNN has reached a fever pitch as employees – both past and present – play the blame game over how far the network has fallen.
DailyMail.com reviewed weeks of correspondence from CNN alumni who used a Facebook message board to talk about the network.
And the reports reflect deep anger as the network’s struggles have worsened in the weeks since Donald Trump won the election.
Former cameraman Ron Helm lambasted the network and outlined how he believed they mishandled the election, claiming CNN spent too much time in DC and not enough time in Central or smaller America.
Helm also criticized the whole approach that CNN is now using with talking heads instead of live news footage.
He claimed, “CNN used to be the eyes of the world, and if they got rid of every anchor with their name in the title, they could probably hire twenty to thirty full field crews (camera, reporter, producer) to make that global again. are. ‘