ABC News’ Will Ganss explains how the world’s most subscribed-to YouTuber teamed up with an ophthalmologist to give 1,000 patients much-needed eye surgery.
TV news has been broadcast on the airwaves for decades. This is not to say that it’s been an unprofitable business. But in recent years, cable news was one-upped by the arrival of streaming networks.
These new streaming services were launched as a way to provide timely, customizable news delivery. They repurposed cable programming, including documentaries, reruns, and news analysis.
As a result, they have been able to attract a broader range of audiences. While commercial-averse viewers may not pay for TV news, they are willing to stream it.
Fox has attracted 1.5 million subscribers to its Fox Nation streaming app. During the 2016 presidential election, Fox News gained an average of 5 million monthly unique visitors. It is estimated that a majority of those viewers are under 45.
Streaming allows viewers to watch news wherever they are. In fact, it’s become so popular that the major news networks have begun investing hundreds of millions of dollars in streaming operations.
Streaming is also a more economical means of building a library of news content. Rather than paying for each individual episode of a news show, viewers simply pay for subscriptions to the network.
Some of the largest streaming operations include ABC, CBS, NBC, Fox, and CNN. Combined, they made $3 billion in profit in 2020.
As the online video industry matures, more overtly political news operations are likely to emerge. The emergence of these news operations will reshape the way we cover politics.
