For the last couple years, we have covered the disruption of the movie and television industry and how we are watching things collapse.
Since the strikes in 2023, things have accelerated. This became obvious during the United States Presidential election. We saw a major shift in where the focus was, with legacy media (news) enduring the loss.
Nowhere was this more true than election night where the rating dropped from 2020, which was down from the election prior.
We are to the point where the fallout is starting. Some were expecting it to start after the new year.
Things are heating up alrady.
Legacy News Fallout Starts
The world of cable news is coming to an end. This is a Baby Boomer haven so it will still be standing to some degree for a while. However, the future is clear: people are turning to other sources for their information.
This is catastrophic for MSNBC, CNN, and FoxNews. The first two have seen their rating collapse since the election. At the same time, Fox is experiencing a massive run with regards to their numbers.
It is a trend that will be short lived. After Trump gets inauguarated, it is likely that Fox's numbers will return to their previous levels.
As for the other two, they are done. MSNBC is being spun out (along with other properties by Warner Bros). CNN is reportedly up for sale.
Where these end up is still up in the air. What is not is the fallout to the on air personalities.
Heads Are Starting To Roll
The heads are already starting to roll.
Not long after the eleciton, Chris Wallace announced he was leaving CNN. This was the first of what is going to be the theme for 2025.
Rachel Maddow, the highest paid MSNBC personality, received a pay cut. Another one from that network, Joy Reid, is reported to be deciding between a massive pay cut or being fired.
Fox (and Fox Business) anchor, Neal Cavuto announced this week that he did his final broadcast. He said he was leaving the network after near 30 eyars, but not broadcasting. This tells me he was forced out.
A day later, Tyler Mathisen did his last show for financial network CNBC.
This is the moves that were already taken.
Then we have the rumor mill. This is exptending outside the cable news arena.
The View, ABC's highly populat show, is looking at some changes. speculation is running that at least two of the on air hosts are going to be out. So far this is just rumors but, like cable news, the ratings are dropping like a rock.
George Stephanopoulos is writing a check for $1 million to pay Trump's legal fees. His employer, Disney, is shelling out $15 million to the Trump library. This was a settlement for a defamation suit Trump filed.
It is reported that George got himself a new contract. That might not protect him since some surmise Disney might axe him anyway.
Anderson Cooper and Wolf Blitzer are facing uncertainty at CNN. With the ratings that network has, all outside of Collins should be worried.
Executives Will Go Also
It is likely we see a lot of unknown names shown the door in 2025. While on air talent is going to get crushed, executives within these different news divisions (companies) will be fired. We are going to see this starting at the top and working its way down.
Of course, none of this will help. These companies are walking dead. It is why the patent corporations already wrote down billions. These properties are simply worthless.
The most recent events proved that.
If we are using elections are a timestamp, by the midterms in the US (2026), these news entities will be vastly smaller than they are today. While it is probable they are still on the air, we will see less expensive talent and operations that match the declining revenue. Advertisers are pulling back especially as the key demographic is shifting to online sources.
Over that same period, we will see more Internet based channels filling the void. The fragmentation of media is well underway. The impact of this will continue to streamroll the traditional networks.
It is simply how disruption occurs.