US TV
The Los Angeles Times is reporting that top executives at Disney, parent company of the ABC Television Network, and AOL Time Warner, parent of CNN, are discussing whether to merge their news operations into a massive stand-alone operation.
Both Disney and AOL admit to talking to other networks to find a partnership, possibly for a spin-off along the lines of that being reported. CNN has seen its dominance of the cable news market eroded by the current number one cable news channel, FOX, while ABC's ratings are flagging. Additional pressure, which was not present until fairly recently, is coming from the parent companies to cut costs to boost their own balance sheets.
It is understood that previous talks between CNN and CBS broke down over control issues - this might not however be the case with ABC News. It is generally acknowledged that relations between Disney and its ABC News division aren't great - the possible cancellation of Nightline in favour of a David Letterman show highlighted that issue - thus, it seems less likely Disney would fret to such a large extent about losing control of the news operation.
The current talks, according to the LA Times, would result in ABC News' and CNN's operations being pooled into a new operation with around $1.6bn of revenue, with CNN accounting for around $1bn of that. AOLTW, parent of CNN, would own around two-thirds of the new entity, with Disney the remainder. The question of operational control remains up for speculation however, with the newspaper's sources indicating a 50:50 split.
Both Disney and AOL admit to talking to other networks to find a partnership, possibly for a spin-off along the lines of that being reported. CNN has seen its dominance of the cable news market eroded by the current number one cable news channel, FOX, while ABC's ratings are flagging. Additional pressure, which was not present until fairly recently, is coming from the parent companies to cut costs to boost their own balance sheets.
It is understood that previous talks between CNN and CBS broke down over control issues - this might not however be the case with ABC News. It is generally acknowledged that relations between Disney and its ABC News division aren't great - the possible cancellation of Nightline in favour of a David Letterman show highlighted that issue - thus, it seems less likely Disney would fret to such a large extent about losing control of the news operation.
The current talks, according to the LA Times, would result in ABC News' and CNN's operations being pooled into a new operation with around $1.6bn of revenue, with CNN accounting for around $1bn of that. AOLTW, parent of CNN, would own around two-thirds of the new entity, with Disney the remainder. The question of operational control remains up for speculation however, with the newspaper's sources indicating a 50:50 split.
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