CEO's Corner®-By K.L.P Entertainment™-"March 18th Edition"

CEO’S CORNER

Prime-Time for CNN?

The Prime-Time Experiment by CNN Is Starting Slowly

While CNN seeks to reinvent itself, viewership is declining in the early going of its new 9 p.m. programming plan. In an effort to boost his network's dwindling prime-time ratings, Chris Licht, the new chairman of CNN, launched a novel experiment last month. He hoped that viewers would tune in for a mix of exclusive interviews and specials devoted to contentious issues like fentanyl abuse and the conflict in Ukraine.

Some viewers' ideas differed.

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The number of viewers for Mr. Licht's 9 p.m. experiment, "CNN Primetime," has decreased since it started running multiple times a week on February 22. This is lower than what the network was attracting in this time slot only a few months earlier.

On March 8, more people in America viewed "Homicide Hunter: than CNN's exclusive interview with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in "The Man With No Face" on the Investigation Discovery cable network. Two days before, a History Channel afternoon show of "Ancient Aliens" attracted more viewers than a 9 p.m. interview with Jill Biden, the

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The interviews with Biden and Zelensky last week, as well as a town hall with Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin, resulted in CNN's fourth-lowest 9 p.m. weekly ratings in 24 years. Since Mr. Licht, a longtime producer of morning shows and late-night programming, assumed his position roughly a year ago, CNN has had troubled times. The network fired a new streaming channel, reduced the amount of its workforce, and dealt with criticism for sexist comments made by Don Lemon, the newsman. David Zaslav, the chief executive of Warner Bros. Discovery, which last year acquired CNN, has continued to give Mr. Licht his full backing. Tuesday, during a visit to CNN's Manhattan offices, Mr. Zaslav gave a rousing endorsement of Mr. Licht's plan for the network, exhorting the crew to experiment "ratings be damned."

"We're trying to figure out what is the ideal CNN," Mr. Zaslav said, according to a transcript of his remarks acquired by The New York Times. What are the tales we ought to be narrating? What strikes the proper balance?

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Let's make a lot of

launched a marketing campaign to promote

these 9 p.m. specials, it's feasible the network may attract viewers to the time slot as more viewers get familiar with the novel idea. Nonetheless, news of CNN's declining viewership has spread beyond the cable executives who obsess over Nielsen data reports: Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken singled out the network in his humorous keynote address at the Gridiron Club's black-tie dinner last weekend in Washington.

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"According to the guest list, there are 600 people here tonight," Mr. Blinken told the giggling throng. "CNN would kill for such a viewership.”

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takes the place of the a........

Those who are accustomed to doing things a certain way, with a median age in the high 60s, tune in expecting to see the same anchor every night. There was always a risk to allocate 9 p.m. to a changing lineup of hosts and themes rather than a dedicated anchor with a prominent on-air persona. Mr. Licht proposed "CNN Primetime" as a chance to bring "fresh and unusual viewpoints to the news," and his proposal came as certain prime-time news programs began to lag behind daytime fare. Charles Barkley, a former basketball player, and Gayle King, the anchor of "CBS Mornings," are just two of the hosts he has hired.

Nevertheless, absent a regular Specials for "CNN Primetime" are frequently revealed just days or even hours before they show. Recent episodes have covered the Alex Murdaugh murder trial, a town hall discussion with East Palestine, Ohio residents about the recent train tragedy, and, on Wednesday, a look at "the status of banking in America" in light of the Silicon Valley Bank failure.

Beginning last week, the long-running 8 p.m. program hosted by Anderson Cooper has had an average audience of 584,000 viewers. The average for the 9 p.m. specials was only 407,000, a 30% difference. On some occasions, the new evening programming outperformed CNN's stiff-upper-lip daytime programs, which aired at odd times like noon and 1 p.m. One and only "CNN Primetime" special had more viewers than its An interview with comedian Bill Maher was the lead-in at 8 o'clock.

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“Write quickly and you will never

According to Mr. Licht and Mr. Zaslav, CNN is an important institution in American life that lost some of its direction under the leadership of encouraged his anchors to take a combative Trump administration. In orts to remake promoted the kind of straightforward reporting that, in his opinion, was downplayed in favor of more partisan punditry.

"We could have decided as an organization to become an advocacy network," Mr. Zaslav said in his speech on Tuesday. "And I think we could earn more money doing it. And, you know, there was a time when this place used part of that method.

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Whether it's still unclear whether there is a market for the novel strategy, or at least one large enough to support the enormous profits Mr. Zucker enjoyed while running CNN. This is especially true in this highly divisive moment.

Mr. Zaslav claims that he is unafraid. He continued, "Chris and I spend a lot of time together, and I'm quite encouraged by where we're at.

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