THE CHANNEL
|
ISSUE 2 2015
|
27
n the white board
in my office there
is a single word I
think is key to our
industry’s success:
Relevance. How
do you hold on to
it? How do you grow it? Too often,
broadcasters and publishers fall
into habits, and find users have
simply moved on.
Relevance requires an audience-
first approach and an active
reinterpretation of the core values
of an editorial business to suit
changing needs. Without it, the
band plays on – the ship is liable to
hit an iceberg…or worse.
RELEVANCEINTIMESOFCHANGE
Since CNN International launched
in 1985, technology has changed
the way audiences connect with us
and what we can bring them. Yet
our core promise of being fast,
unbiased, relevant and essential has
not. Of course we have innovated
in many ways, but these principles
drive our relevance across
everything we do – from breaking
exclusives on-air to commissioning
a series for Instagram.
When I joined CNN to lead
content sales and partnerships, I
inherited an extensive affiliate
network and strong content partner-
ships. The first question was: this may
be a powerful 30 year old network,
but how is it relevant today? This
was quickly followed by: how can it
be reinterpreted for a world where
every news publisher and broad-
caster is focused on engaging with
younger, more mobile audiences?
PUBLISHING FORMULTIPLE
PLATFORMS
The last 30 years has seen an
explosion in news consumption – it
follows us, it’s tailored to us, and
we (as in the viewers) can easily
become a part of it.
When CNN International
launched it was a natural addition
to the innovation of CNN’s US
network which literally created the
concept of 24 hour news when it
launched in 1980. Fast forward to
2015 and we’re publishing content
to wherever the users are – from
Snapchat Discover, to wearable
tech, to our own second screen
experience CNNgo – along with
multiple sites in multiple languages.
Relevance isn’t easy – in a busy
news day it's still a struggle to
define who our audiences are, what
they are expecting, and where they
want to see it. A commercial team
has to work hard to get the best
data and, in its own way, tell the
best story to its content creators –
all in the name of relevance.
Case in point – our new
refreshed International Newsource
platform which serves our 1,100
affiliates. We have a new look and
feel for the site, but also a new
philosophy of bringing our affiliate
partners unique, exclusive content
available nowhere else. My
colleague Samson Desta, an
experienced field producer in his
own right, asks his teams to think
about relevance every day. What
exclusive content can CNN provide
to help an affiliate partner stand
out and win? His team works 24/7
with our award-winning teams in
the field to ask: – what does CNN
have that no one else does?
SHARINGKNOWLEDGEAND
EXPERTISE
There’s an adage that a problem
shared is a problem halved. Well, I
take the approach that sharing
solutions is better than problems.
A relationship with CNN is
about more than content. We see
our partnerships as ways to create a
sustainable industry. As audiences
turn to new formats and new
brands, sharing our knowledge is
crucial. As the largest video news
publisher in the world, indeed the
largest publisher of digital news
outright, we are getting better at
monetising our content every day.
To that end, last year we started
our digital leadership programme,
inviting digital executives from
around the world to Atlanta and
Silicon Valley to come learn how
we do it. Together we also meet the
top platforms and innovators in
digital publishing to ask questions
and press for answers. Can they
help our relevance with younger
audiences? Or are they just stealing
our viewers?
We are even exploring ways to
help our partners monetise through
their relationship with CNN – such
as digital ad networks and content
partnerships. CNN International
Commercial has invested in
expertise and technology around
programmatic trading and data
solutions; but, importantly, we
haven’t done this in isolation –
we’ve also formed an alliance with
other premium publishers
GLoBAL CHANNELS
|
THE CHANNEL
O
t
CNN is an
early supporter
of AppleWatch
t
“
We are
exploring
ways to
help our
partners
monetise
through
their
relationship
with CNN
”
Richard Quest
on an open top
London bus for
CNN’s coverage
of the UK General
Election inMay
t
