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Ambitious About Autism

CNN’s Freeview stream: don’t sell hours to others!

When CNN started on Freeview, they ran from 9pm to 1am.  Not a lot of time for a 24 hour news channel.  Then it got extended to 7pm to 2am, but then they sold on their last two hours to SuperCasino, then to Challenge Jackpot, and now to Rocks & Co. 

Last night, after the best of the Sitaution Room, we got treated to a lesson for broadcasters in why it is not a good idea to sell hours on to other broadcasters, when you already have the programming available to fill it.

Rocks and Co, who are currently timesharing the 7 hour CNNI stream on Freeview, have spent the whole time since midnight showing a very boring loop, stating that Live Auctions will begin at 8am.  Now that’s as well may be, but that’s of no use to us watching on Freeview Channel 84, which will switch off at 2am, 6 hours before the next set of live auctions is due to begin.

If this is going to keep happening then maybe CNN should forget about selling on the 2 hours from Midnight to 2am.  CNBC has all but given up on their 3 hour “Poker Channel Europe” slot, restricting it now to Saturdays and Sundays, whilst Asian market coverage gets aired the rest of the week.  Now, CNN should take a leaf out of the CNBC book, and forget completely about selling the two hours after Midnight.  Just air CNN Today on Freeview, and you’ll not only fill the hours, but when the US President speaks to the US, usually at 8pm ET, you’ll be on air in the UK for people to watch, instead of tuning to Sky or Cable.

Tonight’s after midnight debacle should be a lesson to all those who think broadcasting is about making money.  Nobody will have stayed tuned in during these two hours.  They will have tuned away almost immediately, because there was nothing to show.  Content is still king, and like it or not, will forever be king.  That’s why so many people are watching internet shows and podcasts, reading blogs and tweets, because that’s where the content is.

Tim Russert: 1950-2008

My first media encounter with Tim Russert was when NBC Super Channel arrived onto Astra 1 in 1995.  At the time, I knew nothing about what an American television network did.  So, NBC Super Channel was my first introduction to the world of American television networks. 

Meet The Press was something new to me.  A Sunday morning "Public Affairs" programme.  We had had Sunday morning political shows in the UK, but the term "Public Affairs" was new and confusing.  And whilst that confusion has lifted, I gained a respect for Tim and his love of politics.

For me, it has always been Meet The Press with Tim Russert, from NBC Super Channel to CNBC Europe, and then later to a downloadable podcast.  Meet The Press with Tim Russert was always a regular appointment.

The news of his death, is, quite understandably, a shock.  He was a consumate professional, a brilliant interviewer, and a wealth of knowledge and experience, almost encyclopedic, of the Washington political scene.

But more than that, Tim Russert shared his roots, his background with all of us, and you saw and felt just where he came from.  He was an "everyman" with the razor sharp lawyer's intellect. and the insights of someone who worked inside the Washington political machine, but never lost his grounding in what was real, what mattered outside the bubble of Washington politics.

As a journalist, he's an inspiration.  As a person, he couldn't have been more balanced.  Journalism has lost a real pro, and humanity has lost an everyman.  Tim Russert was just 58.

Open Thread: Wednesday 21st November 2007

NBC has made the first hour of the Today show (7am ET) available to download as a podcast,in both audio only and video forms. Is there a show that is currently not available as a podcast that you would like to see made available as a podcast?