Jupitermedia CEO Alan Meckler
CNN Gets The Web
The previous few years have not been good for CNN in the cable TV wars. CNN was once dominant in cable TV news, but no longer as FOX has become the new dominator in cable news.
In the Internet news arena, CNN.com is the leader with 22.4 million unique visitors per month. And where is FOX news online? FOX comes in with a mere 5.5 million users a month.
Much of this information was in the financial press on Monday. My reason in writing about this topic is that the one area that Rupert Murdoch has not mastered in the media world is the Internet realm.
I can remember back to 1994 when Murdoch had an online community called Delphi ---if anyone else remembers Delphi let us know?
In those days I predicted that there were would be three or four dominant community sites including AOL and of course Murdoch's Delphi.
Within a few months of that prediction, Murdoch pulled out of Delphi and to a degree abandoned the Internet. The next time the Murdoch name appeared in the Internet arena was during Spring Internet World 1997 when it was rumored that the Murdoch interests were going to buy Pointcast. Pointcast was into a gimmick called "push" technology and the Pointcast owners (the brothers Hassett(?) turned down a Murdoch cash offer of about $450 million. "Push" soon died and so too Pointcast.
Fast forward to now: FOX is a dominant in cable TV news, but a laggard in the Internet space. And CNN has lost its cable TV position, but dominates in Internet news. I love the irony. And I still wonder when and if the Murdoch interests will ever figure out the Internet?
I certainly remember the UK division of Delphi from 94-95. I was then on the online community Cix and was invited to be one of the first UK Delphi members to keep conversations going as Delphi formed its own community. I got free net access for my mono 286 and talked to the small number of subscribers via the BBS.
As I recall, they had a major problem about making the leap to providing Web access and started losing out to other ISPs (the BBC and Demon) who were supplying a browser with their set-up disks.
Murdoch's operations are so entrenched in the pay-for-premium-content worldview that it's very hard for them to snap out of it, even when they try.
For FOX News to compete against CNN, they need to leverage their TV strength and assets online. CNN is going to live broadcast online, FOX should do the same sooner and better to compete. Now if someone can lower cost of live online streaming broadcast significantly to make that model to work, will FOX have a chance?
I remember delphi, it was one of that generation's Four Horseman (along with AOL, Compuserve, & Prodigy). The reason why Murdoch does not "get" the Internet is because I believe he doesn't trust a platform where anybody can use it for their own purposes like blogging and instead feels more comfortable in an arena he can control (satellite TV, broadcast + cable networks).