Cable news viewership is down and the forecast for earnings, according to a report released today by the Pew Research Center, is “stagnant.”
“By almost every measure,” Pew reports, “fewer people tuned in to watch cable news in 2014.” Pew cites “total median viewership over a 24-hour period for Fox News Channel, CNN and MSNBC combined dropped 7% in 2014–the first such audience decline by that measure since 2010.
Pew’s analysis of Nielsen data found MSNBC faring the worst, with a 14% decline, Fox down 2%, and CNN up 1%.
Subscriber fees were projected to grow by 7% at Fox News (to $1.2 billion), 2% at CNN (to $710 million), and 3% at MSNBC (to $221 million). But advertising revenue will be mixed:
Of the three main news channels, only Fox News was projected to grow its profits in 2014 (up 10% to $1.2 billion). CNN was projected to experience a 5% decline in profit to $327 million, and MSNBC was projected to decline by 8% to $206 million. Still, all three channels continued to enjoy double-digit profit margins: 61% at Fox, 41% at MSNBC and 29% at CNN.
The report was somewhat more positive about the three financial news networks, projected to have grown in revenue in 2014: Fox Business Network with 17% growth to $205 million; CNBC with 5% growth to $702 million; and Bloomberg TV with 7% growth to $191 million.
Pew described the ratings-challenged Al Jazeera America as projected to see a decline in revenue of 2%, to $93 million.
The report, “The State of the News Media 2015,” projected no cutbacks at any of the cable news networks, with newsroom spending expected to increase by 4%. Of the three networks, CNN–the leader in terms of bureaus around the world (44) is expected to increase spending the most (7% to $805 million), while MSNBC (20 bureaus, including NBC News) up 5% to $296 million and Fox News (16 bureaus) steady at $803 million.
Photo Illustration: Dianna McDougall; Sources: Getty Image