Television news is one of the most important means of obtaining information about the world and your country. See TV News Over the Countries.
While the people are the major news providers, the private ones are dominated by media groups. These media groups control the landscape of the television channels in the countries where they operate.
Public and private broadcasters dominate the news channel landscapes.
Network television news has undergone several significant changes in recent years. One of the most notable changes is the shift from live breaking news coverage to interviews. A rise in the amount of commentary accompanies this change.
The emergence of news channels has increased competition for information in global markets. However, expanding news channels has also exacerbated the diversity problem. In some countries, only two or three networks can provide a wide range of information.
Some news outlets still manage to cover a broader range of topics. For instance, in the US, foreign stories account for 25% of MSNBC’s news holes. On the other hand, foreign news accounts for only 15% of Fox’s.
Other cable news channels that have changed how they do business include CNN, NBC, and MSNBC. These three broadcasters have made significant shifts in their primetime and daytime programming. They have all shifted from coverage of live events to more reliance on interviews and packages.
While the focus has shifted, the most important news stories have remained the same. These are politics, government, and crime.
The most significant news hole in 2007 was the presidential campaign. It accounted for 41% of the time allotted to cable news in the year’s first half.
Another noteworthy trend was a jump in the number of interviews. Interviews were as prevalent in the daytime as they were in primetime. Those that appeared on the morning show were shorter and contained fewer features. Compared to five years ago, the average interview lasted 137 seconds.
Coverage of government stayed steady at 6% at both CBS and NBC. Although MSNBC saw the heaviest emphasis on political coverage, the airtime allotted to live staff reports decreased from 17% in 2007 to only 6% in 2012.
Regarding cable news, the critical news story was the inauguration of President Barack Obama. Among the other news stories was the Trayvon Martin killing, the second biggest story in 2012.
Several major private broadcast stations are considering adding live streaming to TVer. As a result, there is an increased focus on quality content.
Focus on regional European news
In Europe, public broadcasters launch national TV news channels to provide viewers with the latest information on politics, business, and social affairs. The public sector is mainly represented by RT, DW, France 24, and BBC.
However, there are also standalone TV news channels that address a regional European audience. Several private and publicly owned channels are available in the region. The most popular include Fox News, Sky News, CNN, and Al Jazeera Media Networks.
The competition for the news channel genre in the European market is fierce. While many of these broadcasters operate nationally, several international news providers target non-European markets. These are grouped into two categories: single-market groups and multi-market groups.
As a rule of thumb, full-service media groups are most common in the European TV news channel market. This is because they usually target a single audience and do not require synergies between media segments.
However, there are exceptions to this. For example, UA TV and CGTN English are news channels that focus on a global audience while adapting to the core audience. And the country-centric NDTV 24×7 is one of the few channels dedicated to the local agenda.
Moreover, the news channel offer is relatively wealthy at the market level. Most news channels are available in the country’s official language, while some broadcasters have linguistic video feeds that reach audiences in other countries.
The type of news channel a country is interested in depends on its population, culture, and political economy. Countries with high levels of language circulation at a global level benefit from the availability of neighboring TV news channels. But countries with fewer languages can benefit from fewer news channels.
Almost three-quarters of the news channels on the market are national. Different market players control two-thirds. Those with a single-market strategy typically invest heavily in developing their brand and infrastructure. If the process involves a multi-market approach, it will require teams based in each of the markets the channel serves.
Focus on a specific territory outside Europe
The European TV news channel landscape is a highly diversified one. In addition to the numerous international TV news channels broadcasting in Europe, many national TV news channels are also active. These channels provide current information and official public information to their audiences.
These channels operate on a 24-hour basis. They deliver news in a variety of sub-genres and genres. Some popular news channels include CNN, BBC News, DW-Deutsche Welle, and Sky News.
These channels are distributed in free-to-air platforms and can be found in various countries. The total number of available all-news channels in Europe is 140. A significant number of these channels are standalone, with a national or regional agenda. Many all-news networks are part of a more comprehensive media portfolio.
The TV news channel typology relies on two factors: the focus of editorial content and the size of the target audience. The analysis of these factors reveals the scope of the channels’ portfolio. Moreover, the report identifies the concentration level and specialization level of the extended media portfolio.
According to the study, the most crucial trend in the all-news channel market in Europe is the constant diversification of the offer. A few more noteworthy exceptions to the news channel focus include NDTV 24X7, UA TV, and CGTN English. Nevertheless, the majority of all-news channels are focused on national audiences.
The TV news channel business is highly competitive. This makes it difficult to establish a presence in the international market. However, achieving a company in a single national market is possible. Usually, the best approach is to have a single-channel TV news portfolio. To do this, the group must invest a lot in the initial stage and have local incarnations.
However, converting from a generalist single-market group to a generalist multi-market group is challenging. Generalist multi-market groups have assets targeted at national markets but rarely have a robust presence in the international markets. Moreover, the multi-market strategy requires dedicated teams and investment in the future.
Media groups controlling the news channels
In the current TV news channel landscape, the typology of news channels reflects the different business models and strategies. The typology is influenced by the nature of the controlling entities, their status as a multi-market or a single-market group, and the legal and financial resources.
This report seeks to understand the typology of news channels by analyzing their structure, concentration, relevance, and supply of supply in 39 European markets.
Multi-country media groups are gradually gaining a presence in the different national markets through acquisitions and establishments. They generally hold a high market share in the countries where they operate.
However, the multi-market strategy involves a significant initial investment and high future operating costs. These factors make the conversion from a generalist single-market to a multi-market approach unfeasible in the TV news business.
In Europe, 80 media groups control TV news channels. Of these, ten have at least two news channels. Two of these groups are DW-Deutsche Welle and 21st Century Fox. Others include Televiza Evropa, Altice, Bertelsmann and Media Globe Networks.
Most of these groups operate a single news channel and target a local or regional audience. They may also have other news media assets.
One-third of the media groups are specialized single-market groups. These are usually domestic public-service broadcasting companies. Their news channels generally address the same market. Moreover, these groups rarely have other news media assets in the same market. Despite this, private generalist groups have acquired some of these channels.
Multi-channel news networks champion diverse perspectives of the global news agenda. They have developed market-oriented formats and have launched at least one national TV news channel. While these channels are technically available to the European audience, the availability is limited due to a lack of common linguistic video feeds.
On the other hand, a significant portion of the private news channels is included in the commercial packages of the leading distribution platforms in Europe. Most of these channels are national or regional, although some are international. Many of them endorse a particular political and ideological vision.
