Today, BuzzFeed and CNN launched a collaborative YouTube channel aptly called “CNN BuzzFeed.” The channel is an attempt by both media platforms to expand their respective reach and influence into different targeted audiences. By making available CNN’s archival and present content and posting it in BuzzFeed’s signature sarcastic style, CNN will hope to tap into a younger demographic while BuzzFeed will hope to gain more esteem as a respectable media outlet.
BuzzFeed has been trying tirelessly to turn its procrastination-friendly site into a legitimate source of news for 18-34 year olds, having recently launched channels on its own site dedicated to business, politics, and technology. The usual viral images, videos, and gifs are still running rampant on BuzzFeed’s pages, though its important to note that back in November BuzzFeed hired Ben Smith, formerly of Politico, as its editor-in-chief and Steve Kandell, formerly of Spin, to lead a movement geared towards longform journalism.
According to a report by the Wall Street Journal, the content will be designed to be shared over social media networks and the channel will produce approximately three videos per week. Supposedly, the content style will be that of a “mashup” which BuzzFeed has championed since launching in 2006, “with scroll-through photo and text posts on topics ranging from humor to current events and pop culture.”
One of the biggest question marks plaguing the partnership is the almighty dollar. BuzzFeed COO Jon Steinberg told the WSJ that “BuzzFeed plans to invest a low ‘eight-digit sum’ over two years to launch and build the platform.” Like most other sites floating around the internet, the CNN BuzzFeed channel will also take advantage of advertising revenue, though it won’t let ads dictate the content of the site. Currently, BuzzFeed is paid by advertisers to create and host branded content specially crafted to be shared easily and noninvasively over social media sites.
Steinberg noted, “BuzzFeed and CNN will figure out ways to do various ad formats and sponsored content down the road.”
CNN will certainly jump on the chance to take advantage of a younger demographic, and its archival footage could be just stuff to make BuzzFeed’s current content even more entertaining. Its inaugural effort will be an assorted combination of news reels depicting “some of the most amazing rescue moments shown on CNN,” from miners stranded underground to a marooned crane operator.
The partnership will likely help CNN which has just recovered from a 2-year ratings slide and will hope to further bolster its ratings increase amid outcries of poor reporting and botched broadcasting during national events like the tragic Boston Marathon bombings.
This could be just the breakthrough BuzzFeed needs to become an informative, mainstay media outlet. It’s already pioneered the trendy way millennials digest news by creating attention-grabbing graphics and gifs, so implementing additional CNN footage and photographs that once grabbed media headlines and owned the airwaves will only add to BuzzFeed’s already secure wow-factor. What’ll really be interesting to keep an eye on is how much CNN will–or won’t–become more relevant to a younger generation. 24-hour newscasting on television isn’t going to attract anyone who can’t see beyond getting their drivers license, let alone track world news, so tapping into BuzzFeed’s market could be the necessary catalyst for CNN to stay purposeful to a new wave of viewers.
Check out this CNNBuzzFeed YouTube channel video:
