Long, long ago in a reality far, far happier, there were things called newspapers and something called radio and something else called television. Each of these was part of mass communication. And each had its own mode of operation. One of the most important considerations in all these media companies was the business model. In other words, how did the newspaper or radio station or television network earn enough money to pay for all of the costs incurred in publishing a newspaper or running a radio or television station and also produce a profit.
And for the most part, advertising was the principal source of income. For the most part, businesses paid money for ads in the newspaper or commercials during the air time of broadcasts. And this system worked remarkably well to keep these media businesses profitable and stable.
But in the 1990s the internet started growing from humble beginnings to its present ubiquitous position. And one thing its existence did was divert all of the advertising revenue that the newspapers and other media companies formerly collected, into the hands of a few large internet companies. Specifically, Google, Microsoft, Amazon, Facebook and X currently capture the lion’s share of this revenue. And the result of this shift has been the impoverishment of most of the newspapers in the United States. Even the ones that aren’t teetering on the verge of bankruptcy are just pale ghosts of their former selves. The network television companies, ABC, NBC and CBS are slightly better off but aren’t looking very healthy either.
And the second way that the internet is endangering these media companies (including the cable television stations) is by providing competition for their viewers. Netflix and Amazon and others provide streaming services that compete with both the news and entertainment programming that these stations provide. And with respect to the news programming, the dishonesty and bias of the media news shows over the last few decades has alienated about half of the viewing public.
Throw this loss of audience due to distrust on top of the loss of advertising revenues due to the internet and what you get are companies like CNN and MSNBC that no longer have a viable business model. When customers cut the cable because they don’t want the cable revenues going to people they hate, then the paying audience shrinks. And if the shrinking audience scares off the little advertising they have left, then what you’re looking at is a death spiral for these cable news companies.
They’ve tried to mimic the streaming services and fill the gap with subscriptions. But even delusional cable news executives have learned that no one is paying a monthly fee to see more Joy Reid and Andrea Mitchell. That’s just not in the cards. So, if you are Comcast or Warner Brothers-Discover what would you do with these dying companies? Currently they say they are looking for buyers to unload them on. To me that seems far-fetched. Only an idiot would look at MSNBC and say, “Yes, I want to own this. I know I can make lots of money by putting these people on tv.”
So, what they will do is set up a subsidiary that is made up entirely of these unwatchable channels. And then they’ll let them sink or swim on their own revenue. And they will sink. And that will be the end of it. The big question is will there be any cable news channels left at all. Even though Fox News is doing better than their leftist competition they’re not as healthy as they once were. It may be that cable news is no longer a viable product. And we’ll find that out too. Personally, I’d prefer to pay for subscriptions to sources that I like; whether they’re individuals or companies. And it seems that the shake-out will soon clarify who and what will survive the current media meltdown. One thing is for sure. The next presidential election will have to happen without the help of Joy Reid and Dana Bash. They’ll be working in the retail food industry and too busy at the fryolator to opine on politics.