"CNN Digital Network": Movin' On Up

Take a look at the May NetRatings numbers and you see the ascendance of CNN to #2, with 29,094,000 uniques and who spent 30 minutes and 30 seconds (for the month) online on average. CNN has passed MSNBC on the list and widened its lead on AOL and the New York Times. It's even within striking distance of leader Yahoo.

Peruse the new list and a little further and you see a player missing, Internet Broadcasting. Internet Broadcasting had placed sixth as late as April, with 13,909,000 uniques who spent 10 minutes, 15 seconds monthly on the site.

That's because the two are now rolled up into one number, owing to a content-and-ad-sales partnership, announced recently. CNN provides national content to IB's 77 local broadcast sites and IB powers a local news channel for CNN.com. And the two share some ad inventory, giving greater flexibility and reach to ad buyers.

That's a smart move.

I first ran across IB (when it was more formally IBS) in the mid-'90s in the Twin Cities.

My paper, the Pioneer Press worked with IBS' first initiative, trying to get those troublesome transcripts of TV news online. It was like reading teletype. But founder Reid Johnson stuck with it, over 11 up-and-down-and-up years. Yesterday, he formally turned over the reins to a new CEO, David Lebow who leaves AOL Media Networks, where he served as executive vice president and general manager. (And he's moving to the Çities in July -- good timing!). Reid is taking some time off, and letting Lebow settle in.

When I talked with him, he mused about the changes we've seen in the media landscape (and not just the meltdown at the Minneapolis and Saint Paul papers). His perspective is an interesting one. A former WCCO newsman, he values what print journalists do.

IB finally found away to attract stations (and investors) from operations as diverse as Hearst Argyle, Post-Newsweek and McGraw-Hill, drawing them "together" on an "agnostic" platform. That helped broadcasters save lots of money in development costs, and now the idea is beginning to pay off as IB signs broader national partnership deals with Monster, Pluck and CNN. It rues the journalist in Johnson that newspapers haven't been able to pull out similar synergy.

"The problem is they haven't been able to work together on the print side."

He points to the Yahoo newspaper consortium as a first step, but like many of us wonders why it took so long and still doesn't provide whole platform solutions.

While he's on leave, the new CNN Digital Network will be making hay with its new numbers and reach. Broadcasters look to be newly ascendant on the web, with video monetization and usage hot. The time spent online for local broadcast sites is still problematic (the 10 minutes compared to CNN's 36 and NYT's 33 in March for instance) and that will bring that Digital Network, as it has in May to 30. But long-term the national/local tie-up is smart one -- and another warning sign that print publishers have to get their multimedia act together asap.