Jun 13, 2017 - Economy & Business

Cable news goes to war

Vormingplus Gent-Eeklo / Flickr cc

Variety's soon-to-be published cover story, by Brian Steinberg and Cynthia Littleton: "Unprecedented audience interest post-election has ratcheted up the competition between the biggest stars in cable news, with CNN, MSNBC and Fox News pulling out all the stops to claim victory."

  • "The ratings growth for news programming ... comes at a time when the largest broadcast and cable networks are struggling with ratings erosion for primetime entertainment programming. Media buyers ... recognize that it's hard to beat real-world politics for intrigue and suspense."
  • "The notion of taking a summer vacation right now seems unrealistic for most newsies."
  • CNN's Erin Burnett: "It's like you're running a marathon ... at a sprint's pace."
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