Fishing for Future Ratings: Can a New Documentary Initiative Save CNN?

Abstract

After the ratings success of the documentary film, Blackfish, CNN launched a new documentary initiative branded as CNN Films. Looking back at the history of the documentary genre on broadcast and cable/satellite television, one can see that the medium has had a troubled past in terms of ratings generation, although there have been notable exceptions. Unfortunately for documentary enthusiasts, a number of channels that once embraced documentary programming have since abandoned the genre and replaced it with nonfiction reality shows. Incorporating expectancy-value theory, one can assess that in order for a documentary initiative to be a successful ratings generator, the content must build a high amount of expectation among viewers and deliver a high amount of value. But it has been quite difficult for programming executives to successfully predict which documentaries will generate the solid ratings they seek. Given these factors, this article argues that the CNN Films push is a risky move by CNN President Jeff Zucker, and it is doubtful that the strategy can deliver the ratings surge the embattled network needs to beat its competition.

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Notes on contributors

Ginger E. Blackstone

Ginger E. Blackstone, PhD (University of Florida, 2016) is an Assistant Professor at Harding University. She also serves as News Director for the university's live weekday student news broadcast. In addition to her lifelong interest in documentaries, her areas of research include cultivation effects, partisan bias and misinformation in news programming, and news acceptance/belief patterns of the public. E-mail: [email protected]

Special thanks to Churchill Roberts, PhD, professor in the Department of Telecommunications and codirector of The Documentary Institute at the University of Florida College of Journalism and Mass Communications.

Disclosure: The author was an employee of CNN from 1996 to 2009.