Who’s losing?
Even though it has multiple revenue sources, I was a bit discouraged to discover that CBS Corporation (NYSE:CBS) came in dead last among TV respondents, garnering less than 0.5% of the vote. Despite the poor showing among respondents, CBS Corporation (NYSE:CBS) must be doing something right with its other mediums (i.e., CBS Corporation (NYSE:CBS) Sports Network), because its first-quarter revenue and EBITDA were both records.
The potential for the Internet
Although the Internet was cited as the current-events news destination in just over one in five respondents, it is by far the fastest-growing content medium on the planet. We need only to look at Yahoo! Inc. (NASDAQ:YHOO) and its gigantic front page transformation to get a good sense of how important the Internet is becoming in terms of news dissemination. New CEO Marissa Mayer has made focusing on mobile and driving portal traffic on Yahoo! Inc. (NASDAQ:YHOO)’s home page one of her top priorities. Initial results seem to show that the redesign is paying off.
Perhaps the biggest disappointment in this respect is that the combination of Facebook Inc (NASDAQ:FB) and Twitter garnered just 2% of the total votes. It’s fairly obvious that both social-media networks have their roots in connecting friends and not necessarily on following the latest news stories, but even I suspected the figures for Facebook Inc (NASDAQ:FB) would be higher. Consider this an area where Facebook Inc (NASDAQ:FB) can look to beef up its future viewership.
Is there any hope left for print and radio?
Being honest with the trend that most content is moving to a digital platform and that TV prices are on a steady downslope, I say with some level of confidence that radio is in trouble. This isn’t to say it’ll be disappearing anytime soon, but the allure of radio broadcasting and its pricing power is no longer there in many aspects.
Source: Jon S., Flickr.
Newspapers may be on the decline as well, but the companies that run them still have a shot at transforming themselves through digital expansion and acquisitions. The New York Times Company (NYSE:NYT), for instance, initiated a digital subscription plan in 2011 in an effort to expand its viewership, which had been in decline. Perhaps the most interesting move of late, though, came from Gannett Co., Inc. (NYSE:GCI), owner of USA Today, which announced the purchase of Belo for $1.5 billion to expand its broadcasting presence. We’re seeing that TV still delivers the highest ad prices, which make purchasing mid-tier broadcasting companies a smart move for media giants such as Gannett Co., Inc. (NYSE:GCI).
The article What’s the Most Popular Source for News? The Answer May Surprise You! originally appeared on Fool.com is written by Sean Williams.
Fool contributor Sean Williams has no material interest in any companies mentioned in this article. You can follow him on CAPS under the screen name TMFUltraLong, track every pick he makes under the screen name TrackUltraLong, and check him out on Twitter, where he goes by the handle @TMFUltraLong.The Motley Fool recommends and owns shares of Apple, Facebook, Google, and Netflix.
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