Tuesday, April 8, 2008

Associated Press and Reuters Beware

Today, TIM ARANGO of New York Times reported that CBS, the home of Edward R. Murrow and Walter Cronkite has been considering partnering with Time Warner on a deal to outsource some of its news-gathering operations to CNN.

This announcement shows that CNN is making a strategic move toward B2B relationships. Less than a year ago, The CNN ended a 27-year relationship with Reuters, to cut costs and invest in its own news gathering operations.

"This is all about us, not Reuters. This is about content ownership," CNN spokesman Nigel Pritchard said. "Everything is changing and content ownership is king."

For CNN, a deal with a broadcast network would mean a new revenue stream without having to add much in costs. For CBS, an arrangement with a cable channel would allow it to cut costs while maintaining the CBS News brand.

If a deal is reached between CNN and CBS it would mark a strategic shift for both companies, and a change in media landscape.

For CNN that deal will be the beginning of repositioning its CNN NewsSource to serve the network.

With the current announcement, it seems like CNN is on its way to compete with wire services, like AP and Reuters for the network business.

No comments:

 
Add to Technorati Favorites Add to Technorati Favorites Add to Technorati Favorites Add to Technorati Favorites