Posted on 11/16/2024 6:43:00 PM PST by TigerClaws
Things might look gloomy at CNN with layoffs, salary cuts and a new digital programming model that may or may not work. But On The Money has learned that private equity firms have been crunching the numbers on a possible acquisition of the ratings-challenged network.
Don’t exactly hold your breath for anything happening soon, my sources both at CNN and in the private equity business tell me. The network’s parent, Warner Bros Discovery, isn’t yet shopping CNN.
Indeed, no firm has made a bid, my sources tell me: the PE people I spoke to don’t really know how to really value the thing because of its troubled business model.
That said, I know of at least one major PE firm (and likely more) that has crunched the numbers. Analysts believe CNN makes what looks like a decent amount of money, around $750 million this year. Sounds good until you realize that’s down from over $1 billion in 2020; cord cutting is taking its toll as people stop watching cable news, meaning declining cable fees. CNN is an international news operation so it has high overhead.
When people cut the cord you can’t charge as much for ads. WBD’s balance sheet says ad revenues are down to $1.5 billion for the third quarter, compared to $1.7 billion for the quarter in 2023.
(Excerpt) Read more at nypost.com ...
Blindfold the bums and head them towards the chopping block.
I crunched the numbers on this using the classic MBA approach—the net present value of future cash flows.
I come up with minus one hundred million dollars.
In other words the current owner needs to pay someone one hundred million dollars to take this dog with fleas off their hands.
Lol.
Paging Mr. Musk.
Should Elon buy it pennies to the dollar? Competition for fox?
Who would advertise on such an ignored forum?
Carriage fees from satellite and cable operators used to bring in $1B a year in revenue to CNN before they sold ad #1. It was the best of times....
Now with streaming and cord-cutting, that revenue is down by 25% and there’s no end in sight. making it what accountants call a “diminishing asset” because it worth less over time.
If it was a machine tool or laptop, they’d just apply standard depreciation schedules, but no one can really predict what CNN’s revenue will be in 1 or 5 years. (Hopefully Trump will break them!)
On top of that, their ad business revenue is based, like all radio and TV stations and newspapers - on the number of people they reach. So they not only lose carriage fee money but as their audience shrinks, so does their revenue from ads. And there’s no easy way around it - this is the entire cable channel business model, and it’s all at risk.
A homeless person should buy it for a dollar.
Then the homeless person can declare bankruptcy and void all contracts with on air personalities.
From Stephen Colbert the night after Election Day. His opening:
"Hey there. How are you doing? If you watch this show regularly, I'm guessing you're not doing great. Yeah, me neither."
An admission that his show is meant specifically for liberals. How does a show survive with such a narrow and unreliable audience?
Musk should buy CNN and give it to Alex Jones.
Different world….
Video
CNN’s first broadcast: June 1, 1980
https://rumble.com/v4gujfh-cnns-first-broadcast-june-1-1980.html
The CNN number crunchers use an interest rate of 0.1% so they will get a higher net present value of cash flows and also assume the business will have positive cash flows for the next 100 years or so.
CNN was already on the auction block David Zaslov tried to sell it last spring and nobody wanted to buy it. It’s unsellable just like MSNBC is.
CNN and MSNBC and the other cable news networks are not worth buying at all everything is now moving to YouTube and podcast. Legacy media is pretty much dead. Why would Elon Musk waste money buying something that he can’t turn around and make profitable the only thing that is gonna happen is it gonna shut these things down because I can’t make any money with anymore and take the write off say goodbye.
Nope.
Story that MSNBC was also for sale.
Normally a business would “pivot” and make changes in how it does business.
How about the old “Crossfire” format when CNN had Pat Buchanan on the network?
These days MSNBC and CNN are far left echo chambers. That isn’t working.
Fox is similar to the old CNN - with a bit of a Republican slant (establishment Republicans) but the staff is 50/50 Dem / Republican because it is based in New York. The Murdoch family are open borders globalists.
CNN could be remade into a more balanced network but leftists can’t debate these days. They have the losing side of any reasoned argument (birth males injuring women trying to play girl sports; open borders driving down wages for working class and flooding us with drugs and crime; etc.)
So they can’t have a point/counterpoint debate because they have losing positions using reason.
They have to rely on emotions and name-calling (”Fascist!”) and that won’t work in a Crossfire-style atmosphere.
So CNN and MSNBC will continue on and losing money.
More people are watching Lefties Losing it (SkyNews out of Australia) than are watching the shows she makes fun of.
...and why would you. Nobody wants it. Tell you what. I'll buy it for $2.35. Deal?
**Why would Elon Musk waste money buying something that he can’t turn around**
He could shut it down.
CNN wants a liberal sugar daddy to buy them. A sugar daddy who will allow their ‘talent’ to continue pushing propaganda to the 15% of the population that identifies as white liberal ‘elite’.
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