New CNN CEO Mark Thompson spelled out his plan for the struggling news network during parent company Warner Bros. Discovery’s upfront presentation Wednesday.
“First we’re going to double down on news,“ Thompson told the advertisers in the audience. “In a world full of noisy opinions, CNN should stand for the facts, the judgment, the expertise. And yes for being first when the really big stories happen.”
In an election year, CNN will obviously be covering politics. But Thompson said that news on CNN will be about more than politics, an often polarizing topic that many advertisers want no part of.
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“Business and tech are news. Climate and weather are news, big news in fact. Health, wellness and living longer are news. Sports is news. Entertainment and popular culture are news,” he said.
“Expect to see us build new branded verticals in all these areas on TV, our apps and across our other platforms with new sponsorship opportunities delivered consistently and regularly both for our audiences and also for our advertising partners,” Thompson said.
He noted that when Ted Turner created CNN, cable TV was the way to get news to the public on a 24-hour basis. Now, CNN has to deliver reliable news wherever and whenever people need it. That includes TV, plus digital, plus audio.
As an example, Thompson pointed to CNN’s 5 Things franchise. It has spawned a newsletter, three podcasts and a daily streaming show on Max.
“Wherever you are, whatever device you have in hand, we want 5 Things to be an essential tool telling you what’s going on right now,” Thompson said.
Similarly, Thompson said CNN is taking the “magic wall” that chief national correspondent John King uses to analyze election trends and putting it in an app that will enable users to explore election results at the local, state and national levels.
CNN also wants to expand the video it distributes via social media to broaden its demographics and offer advertisers a chance to reach audiences “where they are throughout the day,” Thompson said.
CNN will be investing in audio as well, with additional podcasts.
“On our main domestic cable channel, you can expect to see a lot more than straight news,” Thompson said.
“This year on Saturdays, we're experimenting with topical entertainment and comedy,” he said. CNN is already running repeats of HBO’s Real Time with Bill Maher on Saturdays.
That show soon will be joined by a U.S. edition of the U.K. satiric program Have I Got News for You.
“Yes, ladies and gentlemen, it's finally time for some proper British television,” he said.
CNN originals will also be making a comeback. CNN announced that it was reviving its “Searching for” franchise, starting with Eva Longoria: Searching for Spain.
The news network will also aim to maximize its reach in Spanish with CNN en Español.
Thompson told advertisers the story of how he came to join Warner Bros. Discovery and CNN.
“I was relaxing on holiday last summer when the call came through. I fished out my phone and saw the name David Zaslav,” the former BBC and The New York Times exec said. Zaslav is CEO of Warner Bros. Discovery.
“I’d certainly heard of him. And I swear to God in the second or so it took to get the phone to my ear, I pretty much figured it out,“ he said. “Not just that this was likely to be a call about CNN, but it was one I should take very seriously indeed.”
Added Thompson: “To me, it’s obvious. The world needs the truth now more than ever. It needs honest reporting. It needs journalists it knows and trusts. And no news brand on Earth is better placed to deliver all of those things than CNN.”
Thompson told the upfront audience that he had breaking news. He’d invited President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump to debate in Atlanta on June 27, and during the event, both camps had accepted.
The lesson, he said: “When people have something important to say, they say it on CNN. I hope all of you will do the same.”
