CNN, which stands for Cable News Network, is an American 24 hour news-based TV channel owned by AT&T’s WarnerMedia. It was founded in 1980 by popular American media proprietor, producer, and philanthropist Ted Turner in 1980. The channel holds the distinction of being the first TV channel for bringing news 24*7 in the U.S.
CNN’s headquarter is at the Atlanta which is only used for weekend programming while most broadcasts take place from 30 Hudson Yards in New York City, and the other studios that are located in Washington, D.C. and Los Angeles. It also has an International sister channel called CNN International.
In the year 2019, it was ranked at the number 3 position in viewership among cable networks only behind Fox News and MSNBC, and it drew 972,000 viewers on an average. CNN programming is available in 212 countries.
Inception
On 1st June 1980, the Cable News Network was launched at 5:00 p.m. Eastern Time. They had their headquarters in Atlanta while the bureaus were located in Chicago, Dallas, Los Angeles, New York City, San Francisco, and Washington, D.C. The first broadcast that took place on the channel was an introduction by Ted Turner.
After the introduction, the first newscast took place for which the anchors were the husband and wife duo of David Walker and Lois Hart. Burt Reinhardt served as the executive vice president of CNN at its launch, and he had hired most of the channel’s first 200 employees. The channel’s first news anchor was Bernard Shaw.
Evolution
Since the channel’s inception, it has been able to reach various cable and satellite television providers, websites, and closed-circuit channels such as CNN Airport. The company has 42 bureaus, of which 31 are international bureaus. CNN has upwards of 900 affiliated local stations along with several regional and foreign-language networks around the world.
On the 1st of January 1982, CNN2 was launched, which had 30-minute news broadcasts all day. CNN2’s name was later changed to CNN Headline News and, at present, is known as HLN. Both channels have been greatly successful. In 1996, Time Warner was able to acquire the Turner Broadcasting System. On the 14th of June 2018, AT&T acquired Time Warner, and it renamed the company to WarnerMedia.
Awards & Achievements
CNN has been showered with various Awards & Achievements over the years. Here is a list covering some of those Awards and Achievements:
- CNN was the recipient of the Four Freedom Award for the Freedom of Speech in 1998
- CNN was the recipient of the Prince Rainier III Special Prize in 2017 at Monte Carlo TV Festival for the documentary, “Midway: A Plastic Island about sea pollution.”
- CNN was the recipient of the Overseas Press Club of America David Kaplan Award in 2018 for best TV or video spot news reporting from abroad for reporting on the fall of ISIS. The reporting of the incident was done by CNN’s Nick Paton Walsh and Arwa Damon.
- CNN was the recipient of the George Polk Award in 2018 for Foreign Television Reporting for uncovering a hidden modern-day slave auction of African refugees in Libya. The reporting of the incident was done by Nima Elbagir and Raja Razek.
Net Worth of CNN in 2024
As of December 2024, The Net Worth of CNN is $6 Billion. Apart from CNN programming is available in 212 countries, CNN has also formed a film division called CNN Films, formed with the purpose of distributing and producing made-for-TV and feature documentaries. Also, it has been able to launch several spin-off networks in the U.S. and other countries, including CNN Airport, CNN Chile, CNN-News18, and more.