The House that Ted Turner built is looking to make some serious cuts…
According to a report from The Wrap, CNN is planning on cutting $50 million dollars from its budget, and big-name talent from its on-air roster is not safe from the axe.
CNN boss Mark Thompson is looking to fund his digital-first transformation with the cuts.
From The Wrap:
Top CNN earners include prime-time anchor Anderson Cooper, who makes an estimated $20 million a year; Wolf Blitzer, who earns about $15 million; Jake Tapper, who pulls in more than $8.5 million; and Chris Wallace, who makes about $8 million, two insiders said. Other co-anchors, including John Berman, Kate Bolduan and Sara Sidner, make in the $1 million to $2 million range, a third executive with knowledge of salaries told TheWrap.
Thompson has indicated in a staff memo he is looking to trim production costs“that now look difficult to support,” which media experts and former staffers say is likely to mean cuts to at least some of those big salaries. But contracts for some of the biggest stars, including Cooper and Tapper, are not due to expire until after the presidential election — at the end of 2025 or 2026, according to two people familiar with the situation.
“We must abandon our preconceptions of the limits of what CNN can be and follow the audience to where they are now and where they will be in the years to come,” Thompson wrote. “We will still stand for the same things — video-led breaking news, delivered as it happens with honesty and insight — but with greater flexibility about the how and multiple new forms of monetization to complement existing revenues.”
“The first thing they need to do is dramatically reduce costs,” Rich Greenfield, a partner and media and tech analyst at LightShed Partners, told The Wrap. “If you work at CNN your compensation is going to go down dramatically over the next…five years, there’s just no other way around it.”
CNN has faced one failure after another, the biggest of which may be its foray into digital streaming services with CNN+. The network killed off CNN+ in April 2022, just a month after its launch.
More over at The Wrap:
CNN Looks to Slash Budgets, Star Salaries as Mark Thompson Digs In
As the cable network suffers ongoing dismal ratings, Thompson needs to cut costs — including $50 million in on-air talent…https://t.co/1ZE37AGzxL— johnny dollar (@johnnydollar01) February 15, 2024
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