CBS News forms partnership with BBC, replacing Sky

[DonViejo]

Source: Reuters




JULY 13, 2017 / 8:29 AM / 41 MINUTES AGO

Jessica Toonkel

NEW YORK (Reuters) - CBS Corp's (CBS.N) CBS News division said on Thursday it has signed a new editorial and newsgathering partnership with BBC News to share video, editorial content and other resources across the globe.

For CBS, the BBC deal replaces a previous arrangement it had with Sky, which is being acquired by 21st Century Fox, pending regulatory approval. For BBC News, CBS replaces a deal it had with Walt Disney Co's (DIS.N) ABC.

The partnership will enable both news organizations to strengthen coverage of complex international situations such as the crisis in Syria and Iraq, said David Rhodes, president of CBS News. The deal also gives BBC more resources to cover the United States, particularly the Donald Trump presidency, in which there was a lot of international interest, he said.

Jonathan Munro, head of newsgathering at BBC News, said his organization began working with CBS more closely during the U.S. Presidential campaign "as it became clear they could offer unrivalled logistical support to our teams in the field."

Read more: http://www.reuters.com/article/us-cbs-corp-partnership-bbc-idUSKBN19Y1F1?il=0

[pangaia]

1. Knowing nothing else, that sure seems like a big step up for CBS.

I have the BBC in my favorites on my browser, certainly not CBS.

[FakeNoose]

2. Could be a good move for CBS

I have to confess that I don't watch CBS news very often, because NBS is always my go-to network.

CBS has fallen in ratings and viewership in the last 30 years or so, they really need to catch up somehow.

[mwooldri]

3. So where does ABC go to?

Since BBC is replacing ABC with CBS as its US news partner... would ABC go to Sky? Or ITN (though more people are familiar with the brand ITV News these days)?

Fixed News has a deal with Sky (for obvious reasons). I don't know who NBC goes with. CNN I know has borrowed from ITN in the past.

Interestingly, BBC and Al Jazeera have a news-gathering partnership too. It's common for news organizations to partner with each other these days... cost is part of the issue.

[mitch96]

4. Amazing which news company is sleeping with who... or is it whom?

BBC is on PBS....Charlie Rose is on CBS and PBS... BBC is now with CBS....
Strange times we are living with.. I must admit I like BBC,PBS and CBS so it's a win for me...
m

[BigmanPigman]

5. I am not familiar with this but didn't Murdoch/Fox have Sky?

I seem to recall Murdoch's sons wanted Sky and that's why they let Bill O'Reilly go. Are Fox and Sky related companies?

[mwooldri]

6. Sky is Murdoch's baby.

He bought Sky Channel back in the 80s, saw opportunity to launch a set of UK channels on a pan-European satellite, but had competition with BSB (British Satellite Broadcasting). Both lost money hand over fist, a merger of Sky and BSB was seen as inevitable. BSkyB was the resulting company. Later on, Murdoch's share got diluted when it became a publicly traded company.

BSkyB became Sky again after the News International phone hacking scandal... Murdoch's sold it's stake in Sky Deutschland and Sky Italia to BSkyB as part of the News Corporation restructuring.

Murdoch's bid to buy the rest of Sky hinges on the Murdoch's being seen as fit and proper to hold a broadcast license - something they failed to do the last time (since the phone hacking scandal was blowing up at the same time). Given a less than functional Tory government with Brexit on its hands I don't think it will get fast tracked.