New CNN CEO Mark Thompson will focus on CNN’s 5-year viability

When former CNN Chief Government Officer Chris Licht began working the information group final 12 months, he had a mission from his boss, Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav: change the community’s programming and tone to emphasise information reasonably than “advocacy” journalism.

With Licht now fired, CNN’s incoming CEO Mark Thompson has a brand new job: every part else.

Thompson, who begins at CNN on Oct. 9, has had preliminary discussions with Zaslav and different members of CNN’s management about strategic concepts and priorities, in accordance with individuals aware of the matter, who declined to talk on the document as a result of the discussions had been non-public. He has made no choices about CNN’s operations and will not till he has had an opportunity to fulfill with staffers and study the enterprise, stated the individuals.

Nonetheless, some areas of emphasis are clear. Thompson will concentrate on constructing digital subscription companies round CNN.com and creating programming for a youthful viewers on CNN Max, the community’s dwell information service on Warner Bros. Discovery’s “Max” streaming service, stated two of the individuals.

Licht’s background was programming, as he launched “Morning Joe” on MSNBC and “CBS This Morning” with Charlie Rose, Norah O’Donnell, and Gayle King. Zaslav employed him as a TV programmer — and in the end fired him after Licht misplaced the arrogance of his workers and did not ship scores winners.

A lot of Licht’s quick reign, which lasted just a little over a 12 months, centered round depoliticizing CNN. Zaslav and Licht agreed that CNN had gotten a status as left-leaning, and tried to refocus the community as a down-the-middle outlet that would attraction to each Democrats and Republicans. Licht and CNN’s management since his firing — a four-person staff of Amy Entelis, Virginia Moseley, Eric Sherling and David Leavy — overhauled CNN’s linear reveals, together with a brand new morning present and a revamped primetime lineup.

Licht struggled to win over CNN workers by purposely taking a hands-off method to distinguish his model from former CNN chief Jeff Zucker, who resigned in February 2022 after failing to reveal a consensual relationship with a coworker. Zaslav felt Licht moved too slowly to make choices and did not appropriately relate to CNN’s expertise, in accordance with individuals aware of the matter. Licht believed he could not be his genuine self given Zaslav’s mandate to be a non-nonsense chief who needed to reform CNN’s picture and lower prices, the individuals stated. Licht needed to lay off a whole bunch of workers as a part of a broader Warner Bros. Discovery headcount discount.

Whereas Licht largely targeted on linear programming, Thompson will focus on making CNN a sustainable enterprise for the following 5 years — a timeline he is already mentioned with some members of CNN management, in accordance with individuals aware of the matter. The work to vary CNN’s status is essentially full, in accordance with individuals aware of Warner Bros. Discovery executives’ pondering.

Easy methods to cowl Donald Trump, a problem which outlined Licht’s tenure, in all probability is not in Thompson’s high 5 priorities as he begins the job, in accordance with an individual aware of the matter. Current CNN executives imagine they have already got the infrastructure in place to appropriately deal with the previous president and present Republican major candidate because the 2024 election ramps up, the particular person stated.

Entelis, Moseley, Sherling and Leavy all plan to remain at CNN as Thompson takes over as CEO, in accordance with individuals aware of the matter. All will report back to Thompson. A CNN spokesperson declined to touch upon hypothesis about Thompson’s eventual strikes and technique.

Thompson’s final job was CEO of the New York Occasions, which he held from 2012 to 2020. He grew the Occasions’ subscription digital enterprise, which launched in 2011, from lower than 1 million subscribers to about 7 million earlier than he left the corporate in September 2020. Throughout his time because the newspaper’s CEO, shares rose from $9 to about $43 — a achieve of greater than 375%.

CNN hasn’t had a transparent digital technique since Zaslav and Licht determined to kill off CNN+ after only a month in 2022. CNN+, on the time, was a little-watched streaming service that launched with out a lot content material. Former CNN chief Jeff Zucker and then-CNN digital chief Andrew Morse hoped it might ultimately grow to be CNN’s model of The New York Occasions — a subscription information product that would characteristic extra than simply video.

Thompson will nonetheless should preside over CNN’s linear community, an entity that has declined together with the erosion of the pay-TV cable bundle. However Zaslav is relying on him to make use of CNN.com and its 149 million month-to-month distinctive guests as a funnel to construct digital subscription companies, stated individuals aware of the matter.

One thought being mentioned is to construct a number of subscription merchandise on particular matters inside CNN.com, which might stay with no paywall, stated the individuals. For purchasers who need all entry, CNN may supply a bundle for a reduction. Paying a month-to-month payment may unlock on-demand or dwell CNN programming on sure topics, give customers entry to specific items of in-depth or targeted journalism and supply different advantages.

Thompson might also discover methods to combine Bleacher Report with CNN.com, simply as The New York Occasions has carried out with The Athletic, the net sports activities media firm it acquired final 12 months for $550 million, in accordance with an individual aware of the matter.

Earlier than becoming a member of The New York Occasions, Thompson was director-general (a mixture of chief government and editor-in-chief) of the British Broadcasting Company. He’ll have an opportunity to develop new reveals at CNN Max, a tab in Warner Bros. Discovery’s bigger Max streaming service.

With CNN Max, Thompson will attempt to program for a youthful viewers. CNN’s linear community largely appeals to older, 60-and-up adults who nonetheless subscribe to conventional pay-TV.

Thompson may have some runway to put money into CNN Max. CNN’s earnings earlier than curiosity, taxes, depreciation, and amortization is anticipated to be nearer to $1 billion in 2023 after dipping to $750 million in 2022 when it had about $200 million in losses tied to CNN+, in accordance with individuals aware of the matter. Consideration from the U.S. presidential election also needs to enhance promoting income in 2024.

To maintain CNN related, Thompson might want to determine information programming that millennials and youthful viewers will watch. Former CNN management feared information content material would get swallowed up by a bigger streaming service, believing it might be tough to persuade viewers to eschew leisure programming when each are on the identical platform. That led Zucker and former WarnerMedia CEO Jason Kilar to push for CNN+, a standalone streaming service.

CNN has already begun contemplating concepts to unravel that drawback, together with probably alerting Max viewers who’re watching on-demand leisure to CNN breaking information.

“It is a sport that’s nonetheless very a lot to be performed,” JB Perrette, president and CEO of Warner Bros. Discovery’s streaming operations, stated of the streaming-news enterprise final month in an interview with Selection. “No one has figured it out but.”

That might be Thompson’s job.

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