CNN International & Domestic

I would have thought with Biden taking over, US politics might not be as dramatic as it was during the Trump era, which would have created space for more international news, so I don't really know what they are thinking in terms of direction. I wouldn't mind the domestic shows as much if they even tried to cover world news, but they don't.

While the PR mentions TSR as going international, remember that The Lead is already international. So if that includes the second hour of The Lead, that's a 3 hour chunk. If Erin Burnett remains on International, then from The Lead to Tonight is an 8 hour stretch.

With the investment that went into CNN London, I see additional output out of there. It makes sense to bring back Hala Gorani Tonight, and the you'd want at least one other show out of London. Would it be feasible for CTW to move from Abu Dhabi to London? Or could some of the 5 hour Atlanta news block come from London?

I really hope that what is announced is good news for CNNI, but be prepared for US simulcasts to remain a key part of the schedule for quite some time.

I agree with "Newsroom" - post-Biden's inauguration would be a good time for any International changes to come into effect.

Domestic hasn't covered world news properly in decades, so don't expect it to happen during Biden era either. They will find something to obsess about that's sensational enough for their audience.

We should also consider how domestic names have now become household names the world over, and especially so since the marathon election. King, Tapper, Bash, Phillip, Blitzer etc all received huge praise from media across the world, Zucker would surely want those faces seen as much as possible which could be to the detriment of CNNI’s faces.

Am sure those ‘further announcements’ will usher in this week.

With CNN moving back to its old Techwood home, which is much smaller than the existing Atlanta bureau, I can definitely see CNNI being more London-centric than it already is. I wouldn't put it past management to have the chief of CNNI (Maddox?) have his 'main' office in the London operation.

Also, don't forget that the current POTUS will likely have a belated impeachment trial at some point in the early days of the Biden presidency so expect CNN to coerce CNNI to carry the trial.

I understand I am in the minority who prefers CNNUS on CNNI given that it is one of the reasonable outlets available for US politics so one worry I have is that CNNI gets taken off the free-to-air UK market (by virtue of the online stream made available and Freesat) if domestic content becomes more prominent. If CNN thinks Blitzer, Tapper, etc are worldwide names, why not monetise them further from their international audience by increasing the number of fee-paying outlets and reducing the FTA opportunities?



One of Zucker's legacies (given his previous stint as NBC chief) has been to bridge the gap between general entertainment and 'news' channel genres. I think he has been one of the reasons for Domestic content shown on CNNI. As Zucker is standing down this year, whether we see a dramatic scale down of Domestic content on CNNI will likely depend more on who his successor is.

Oh, you're not alone. I lived in the US for 5-6 years and had access to both channels preferring Domestic over International. Even when travelling, which I did extensively pre pandemic, there never seem enough news output from CNNI, it was always other programming. Even at the weekend, at the 6am ET junction, the anchor will announce it's New Day for the US and Canada and some random show for International viewers, rather than a couple of hours of international news.

Is he really stepping down? Still speculation as far as I know. If he really is going, then all these promotions should be seen as Zucker's New Year's honours list.

Who doesn't want to watch endless editions of "Business traveller" and "African Voices" when there's important news stories going on?

I agree. There has been a lack of global news on International for a few years now, unfortunately.
But these Africa programmes and golf, etc, are all sponsored and advertising is important to CNN. It's a big business.

If they are moving studios in Atlanta, could it be a sign that the European Newsroom blocks in the morning will move back to London? YWT could become a morning show.
I wouldn't mind that as long as Rosemary Church and Michael Holmes got some other gig from ATL.

Well since Euro morning Newsroom blocks are also a US overnight service, I doubt that CNN management would want that to come from London.

I'm not sure if it is an overnight service as Domestic simulcasts with CNNI beyond the 4.00 hour only if the story warrants. Now Domestic is back to overnight replays of primetime shows. Understandable, to avoid leaving the west coast in the dark.

Looking at the future schedules for domestic CNN, it appears Wolf's last shows doing the weekend versions of The Situation Room is this Saturday and Sunday as the following weekend has generic CNN Newsroom shows listed. That might be when Pamala Brown starts her new slot between 6pm-9pm ET or it could be just Wolf taking the weekend off. Also Monday 25th January has the weekday Inside Politics listed to return.

In what has become a week of announcements from CNN, CNN has today announced that US-based CNN Airport Network is closing down end of March due to reduction in travellers from Covid, and changing ways that people access news. Jeff Zucker made the announcement to staff in the last 1-2 hours.

Jeff Zucker has notified CNN staff that "the CNN Airport Network will end operations as of March 31."

"The steep decline in airport traffic because of COVID-19, coupled with all the new ways that people are consuming content on their personal devices, has lessened the need..." pic.twitter.com/9se3oCw1gr

— Oliver Darcy (@oliverdarcy) January 12, 2021

https://www.adweek.com/tvnewser/cnn-airport-network-to-shut-down-on-march-31/467813/