The decline in news channel relevancy being felt
I’ve had Jon Stewart’s voice in my head this week.
On his Daily Show episode this week, he ripped into CNN over its shameless coverage of CNN anchor Jake Tapper’s book Original Sin, about the decline of Joe Biden.
Where Stewart has a problem is that this is a book that Tapper was co-writing (along with Axios writer Alex Thompson) while also hosting his daily CNN show. Tapper has been amassing all of this great material for his book, while not sharing any of it with the CNN audience until it was ready to be monetised.
I don’t understand how CNN doesn’t have a problem with that?
There’s an increasing sense that one doesn’t go to the TV news channels for news breaking reports. Instead, it is a constant stream of news reporters talking about the stories they have filed elsewhere and giving analysis, post-game wraps.
Why watch MSNBC/CNN to hear about the story you could have read for yourself a few hours prior on a news website?
Audiences are churning away from the TV news channels.
As per TV Insider (pulling a report off the paywalled Ad Week), the ratings for the week starting May 12:
MSNBC was down a dismal -29% in total viewers and -40% in the demo in primetime. During total day, the network dropped -36% in total viewers and -44% in the key demo.
Meanwhile, CNN decreased by -16% in total viewers and -11% in the demo during primetime and -28% in total viewers and -29% in the demo during total day.
What is up? Fox News.
Fox News was also up on the week prior, averaging 2.499 million total viewers and 282,000 in the demo during primetime for the week of May 12. This was up +2% in total viewers and +10% in the demo compared to the week beginning May 5. In total day, Fox News averaged 1.591 million total viewers (up +1% on last week) and 184,000 in the demo (down -3%).
Fox News ratings have been on the rise since Trump was elected. The irony of Fox News is that despite it being the only news channel with News in the title, the viewers there are tuning in for the opinion. There’s no sense that the hosts there are holding anything back (except maybe truth and integrity).
If TV news channels want news audiences… they need news and not just Jake Tapper’s seconds.
Eyes on Gilead
Back in 2018 when I was working at SBS, I had a hugely productive conversation with my boss and pal Fiona Williams. We were producing content marketing material for the TV channel and had plans to do a podcast promoting SBS acquisition The Handmaid’s Tale.
Regular workflow had gotten in the way and the window to make the podcast happen had probably passed us by the week prior. But, I’m stubborn and Fiona is always good for a challenge, so by the end of that day I scouted talent and we were onto our way to making what would become the hit SBS podcast Eyes on Gilead.
It’s a recap podcast with this great panel of smart and funny women talking about the show. Along with Fiona, you have Sana Qadar, Haidee Ireland, and Natalie Hambly.
The Handmaid’s Tale finishes up next week with its final episode, which means Eyes on Gilead is coming to an end as well. If you are in Sydney, Australia, there is a live recording of the podcast next Saturday (31 May) at the State Library. It will follow a screening of the final episode of the show.
If you are interested, get onto it quickly. I’m told that tickets for it are actually pretty limited at this point. You can order a free ticket at the Humanitix site.
Admittedly, I have fallen a bit behind in my Handmaid’s Tale viewing and am binge-watching my way through the bleak horrors of seasons 5+6 ahead of the live event.
News Desk
Australia’s ABC News and ABC Entertains will be moving to an HD signal from June. ABC’s main channel and ABC Kids will remain broadcasting in SD. Since 2014 all TVs sold in Australia have been made HD compatible, so this shouldn’t impact too many people at this stage. Read: TV Tonight
As Gayle King enters negotiations to continue on at CBS, her $10m salary may be too high to justify. Read: NY Post
The BBC has announced ten titles for its comedy slate, which includes new projects from Diane Morgan, Mackenzie Crook, Michael Palin, and Rob Brydon. Read: Deadline
Eric Kohn has a fun read at THR with a fairly surface consideration of world building in TV shows.
The tributes flowed yesterday for sitcom icon George Wendt. Read: THR
An AI generated voice of Orson Welles is in use in location-based storytelling app Storyrabbit (by way of a partnership with the Orson Welles Estate). I’m not sure I care much about Storyrabbit, but I’d very much like to hear Orson Welles voice in every other app that I use. Get onto it, Silicon Valley vultures. Read: Variety
Speaking of AI, could AI processes help shrink the budget of animated TV shows and movies by 90%? Read: NYT
Nintendo has been developing Mario Kart World for eight years. It introduces a new approach to the gameplay, which has the characters engaging in a more fleshed out world and not just playing one course after the next. That took some time to get right. Read: Polygon
In Mario Kart World, racers can now drive up to a fast food window to buy food and power-ups. It forced Nintendo designers to finally address the question: Does Mario eat the mushrooms that give him power-ups, or just touch them? Read: Polygon
Mr Scorsese is a five-part documentary film portrait of Martin Scorsese for Apple TV+, directed by award-winning filmmaker Rebecca Miller. Read: thefutoncritic
Trailer Park
Chief of War debuts August 1 on Apple TV+.
Starring, written, and EP’d by Jason Momoa, Chief of War is set amidst the beautiful backdrop of the islands of Hawai'i. The nine-episode series, based on true events, follows warrior Ka'iana, portrayed by Momoa, as he tries to unify the islands before Western colonization in the late 18th century.
Rana Naidu returns for season 2 on Netflix June 13.
Football drama 90 Seconds debuts May 22 on Peacock.
When Las Navajas, a once-legendary amateur soccer team, is shaken by a scandalous brawl, their aging owner recruits washed-up local legend "Veneno" Montoya to coach the underdogs through a tournament filled with bitter rivalries, mafia threats, and impossible odds - igniting a wild journey to reclaim their honor and restore their neighborhood's pride.
That’s the newsletter for today.
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