It takes quite a bit to stand out in the ever-polarized world of what loosely qualifies as news these days, and that’s all the more true in the non-linear realm. Hence the launch earlier this week of yet another platform hoping to glean a few more pennies a day out of addicts like moi couldn’t have been more underwhelming, and suffice to say even if I somehow get to a point where such otherwise trivial finances are no longer an issue this newbie won’t be getting me as a subscriber any time soon. Here’s what I’m taking a hard pass, as yawningly and anonymously described on MEDIAITE earlier this week:
CNN’s latest subscription service officially launched on Tuesday with the release of its new “All Access” service that offers viewers live content, new shows, on-demand content, and CNN’s slate of original series and documentaries. All Access will cost $6.99 per month or $69.99 per year. Its launch comes a year after CNN introduced its “basic” subscriber tier that provides unlimited access to CNN articles. “This new streaming offering is unique in the news space — nothing like it exists in the marketplace,” Alex MacCallum, CNN’s executive vice president of digital products and services, said in a statement.
Well, Alex, I’d beg to differ on your choice of “unique” because this list of highlights would strongly suggest otherwise:
New programs exclusive to All Access include a video version of Anderson Cooper’s All There Is podcast, aptly dubbed All There Is Live, which will debut on Oct. 30. Two other new shows include The Enten Scale, which will feature CNN Chief Data Analyst Harry Enten sharing insights on the biggest news stories of the day, and Devoted, which will have senior correspondent Donie O’Sullivan joining “people on their spiritual journeys as they question societal norms and search for new sources of meaning,” according to a CNN press release. CNN anchor Kate Bolduan will also host a daily morning show called 5 Things With Kate Bolduan, which, as the name suggests, will attempt to give viewers a quick update on the biggest stories of the day.
In other words, more of what and who are familiar to the folks who already have been watching CNN, at the moment a third-place linear news network with a median age of 67. A demographic that much more likely to already subscribe to cable and/or satellite and therefore not exactly clamoring to cord-cut–especially since there’s not exactly compelling additive content that’s reflected in the schedule that their own website advertises.
Which makes MacCullum’s word salad seem all the more disingenous–all the more disappointing when one considers her pedigree and that of her boss. DEADLINE’s Dade Hayes reminded us yesterday of the latter’s CV:
The new initiative is being spearheaded by Mark Thompson, chairman and CEO of CNN, who gained fame in U.S. media and business circles during his stint as CEO of the New York Times. Taking the helm there in 2012, at a pre-Substack time when digital publishers were navigating the delicate process of balancing subscriptions with advertising, he created a number of subscription drivers that succeeded in offsetting pressure on the company’s core news offerings.
We’ve, of course, mused about Thompson before, marveling at his ability to reinvent what was one endearing nicknamed the Old Gray Lady with a plethora of original audio initiatives that have made household names out of the likes of The Daily and Michael Barbaro and, more recently, was part of a risky gambit that gutted the vaunted veterans who manned (and womaned) the sports department and turned the entire shebang over to the enthusiastic and informed folks at THE ATHLETIC. My mornings are inundated with the likes of Robert Mays and Dave Dufor who respectively oversee daily recaps of the NFL and NBA with depth, passion and more than a few instances of snarky, educated humor. None of these millennials had any prior history with the print Times, yet they spoke to me with a siren’s song that has made me as ardent a fan of theirs as any bearded, man-bunned, Birkenstock-wearing hipster hamster that I stand in line behind when I can have enough Starbucks points to afford a protein-infused iced matcha latte.
Moreover, Thompson’s team also built out the app with features that expanded upon the breadth of non-news content that historicallu drove print subscriptions to the ladies-who-lunch crowd as well as appealing to my far younger zealots. FAST COMPANY’s Mark Wilson reminded us of how impactful they’ve been when he wrote of the TIMES’ digital redesign a year ago:
With 10.8 million subscribers globally, generating $625.1 million in annual revenue, the New York Times is among the largest and most successful publications in the world. The new app features a ribbon on top, which breaks the entire experience into sections, ranging from “news” sections including Lifestyle, Opinion, and a new Election 2024 tab. Alongside…news sections, the ribbon will also be home to the company’s properties including Cooking, Wirecutter, Games, and The Athletic…For the past several years, NYT has used these sections to bolster revenue, offering them as add-ons to the core news product. Now, NYT is focusing on “All Access” subscriptions which include everything bundled in.
Games has been one of the leading drivers of adoption and engagement and has gone far beyond the still-revered crossword puzzle and introduced the likes of Wordle, Spelling Bee and, more recently, Connections to give addicts like me a new way to deal with constipation that doesn’t involve getting ink stains on my hands–and a far more productive way to spend that quality toilet time than rage-tweeting.
Not only does Thompson know this successful playbook but so does MacCullum–and she also knows all too well the wrong way to do all of this. As NCS’ Michael P. Hill reminded when was given her current responsibilties last January:
This will be MacCallum’s second tour at the network, having previously worked on digital products including the mega-flop CNN+…Before joining CNN the first time, she spent eight years at The New York Times in various roles, including head of product for standalone products, a NYT portfolio that included Cooking, Games, Wirecutter, Audio and Kids, and as the founding masthead editor for audience in the newsroom. She was the founding product leader on NYT Cooking, leading the creation and growth of the product in partnership with editorial. She also spent time in the newsroom overseeing NYT Video, re-focusing the team on user-oriented formats and experiences.
Which makes the eye-rolling narrative she gave to THE WRAP’s Michael Calderone yesterday all the more suspicious:
Speaking to TheWrap, MacCallum addressed these hurdles and stressed how All Access is a “core offering,” whereas “CNN+ was a complimentary product to CNN,” featuring a slate of shows not on the cable channel. The app will also feature news round-ups and timely videos jumping off trending topics. Anchors, correspondents and editors will answer viewer questions in vertical videos, a way to leverage the network’s talent in a more personality driven way. Jake Tapper’s recent TikTok breakdown of Jimmy Kimmel’s suspension gives an indication of what to expect. MacCallum said that they’ve seen research indicating “there are 18 million people in the United States alone who are not cable customers, who are interested in CNN, and who have indicated a willingness to pay for something from us.”
Except to insist that that “something” is an expanded template from folks who are at best wallpaper to a product largely being rejected that are anything but representative of the cord-cutters and cord-nevers is something I’d truly love to see born out by said research. Needless to say, I’m at best dubious, and admittedly leaning toward disbelieving.
You know who has figured out how to attract younger news-lovers? MacCallum’s one-time and potential future colleague Bari Weiss. And while THE FREE PRESS may only have 155,000 paid subscribers to its site, they have more than 300,000 additional subscriptions via Substack and E-mail, and a total reach of roughly 3.75 million. That might be both a strategically and politically advantageous place to start if I were attempting to avoid a total repeat of a “mega-flop”. And it’s not like MacCullum isn’t aware of the elephant of the room as she further rambled to Calderone:
She said that if there is a change in CNN’s ownership, the process should take at least a year given regulatory reviews. “So we’ll have a chance to have this out in the market and be able to learn and adjust as we go,” she said. “The timing will be different”.
And given how Thompson seems to be treating actual construction projects of late, he likely smells the same elephant himself.
Maybe leaning too heavily on Weiss’ formula might be too much of a shock to anything carrying a CNN brand. All the more reason for those two to maybe revisit what else they know that’s been successful. It’s not like the concepts that worked for the New York Times’ All Access would be alien to CNN’s. WBD does own The Food Network and CNN once housed Anthony Bourdain. They’re already doing a weekly version of the successful British current events quizzer HAVE I GOT NEWS FOR YOU. There are plenty of other such timely formats available for development. Heck, I could throw out three or four off the top of my head, and I haven’t set foot in London in decades.
The clock is already ticking and expectations are exceptionally high. My humble suggestion to MacCullum is to take Thompson’s lead and start embracing a few more out-of-the-box ideas. At least he knows how to play the game.
Until next time…