election hangover : it may be hard to fathom what the news cycle is going to look like after tomorrow<u+2019>s election, but tv and digital outlets are soon going to have to try. as cmo today reports, networks are bracing themselves for ratings declines , and web publishers expect to see traffic dip. for cable news, the election has provided a historic ratings boon: cnn recently completed its most-watched quarter in eight years, for example. <u+201c>there<u+2019>s no expectation that the ratings in 2017 will be what they were in 2016,<u+201d> said allison gollust, executive vice president and chief marketing officer of cnn worldwide. still, ms. gollust said the network won<u+2019>t be pulling back resources. <u+201c>politics doesn<u+2019>t go away on nov. the 9th,<u+201d> she said. digital media outlets such as espn<u+2019>s fivethirtyeight and politico also have enjoyed huge spikes in traffic. <u+201c>politics is a great way to introduce people to your brand,<u+201d> said fivethirtyeight editor in chief nate silver. <u+201c>how we transition that audience is something we have to think about.<u+201d> catch and kill : it appears there was time for one more media plot twist this election season. as the wall street journal reports, the national enquirer agreed to pay $150,000 to a former playboy centerfold model for her story of an affair with donald trump, but the paper hasn<u+2019>t published anything about the alleged romantic relationship. in tabloid parlance, buying up juicy exclusives only to quash them is known as <u+201c>catch and kill.<u+201d> there<u+2019>s reason to believe this is such a case. david j. pecker, chief executive of national enquirer owner american media, is a longtime friend of mr. trump<u+2019>s, and the paper has endorsed him and published negative stories about some of his opponents throughout the campaign. the trump campaign said claims about the affair, which the model, karen mcdougal, told friends lasted for 10 months beginning in 2006, are <u+201c>totally untrue.<u+201d> at the time of the alleged affair, mr. trump was married to his current wife, melania. for its part, the national enquirer said the $150,000 was for two years<u+2019> worth of fitness columns and exclusive life rights and that the paper <u+201c>has not paid people to kill damaging stories about mr. trump.<u+201d> still, ms. mcdougal (who didn<u+2019>t comment for the article) was said to be expecting the story about mr. trump to be published, and now, in a way, it has. as politico reports, a top clinton donor with a major stake in the national enquirer has helped kill potentially unfavorable stories about the clintons in the past, too. mdc you later? : mdc partners is exploring a potential sale , as the ad holding company, which owns agencies such as crispin porter + bogusky and 72andsunny, embarks on a broader strategic review, cmo today reports. the move follows a strange turn of events in the wake of the company<u+2019>s weak third-quarter earnings that missed analysts<u+2019> expectations. mdc announced that it had hired investment banking adviser liontree , which sparked a testy earnings call where hedge fund investor leon cooperman pressed mdc chief executive scott kauffman to broaden liontree<u+2019>s mandate, which mr. kauffman said was simply to evaluate the company<u+2019>s <u+201c>financial and capital structure strategy.<u+201d> indeed, people familiar with the situation say mdc is exploring a sale. potential buyers could include private equity firms, which would remove the company from the limelight of the public markets as it deals with a current sec investigation. the sec<u+2019>s probing, which resulted in the exit of the firm<u+2019>s founder, is one reason the giant ad holding company competitors might steer clear of an acquisition. rolling stone gathers a loss : rolling stone has been found liable in a defamation trial over its infamous and since-retracted 2014 article about an alleged fraternity gang rape at the university of virginia, wsj reports. the 10-person federal jury ruled that the magazine and reporter sabrina rubin erdely defamed then-uva associate dean of students nicole eramo. ms. eramo is seeking $7.5 million, and rolling stone also faces a suit brought by the fraternity ms. erdely focused on in the article. <u+201c>we deeply regret these missteps and sincerely apologize to anyone hurt by them, including ms. eramo,<u+201d> the magazine said in a statement. the article sparked one of the bigger journalism scandals in recent years, but ms. eramo<u+2019>s lawyers had to convince the jurors rolling stone acted with malice in disregarding the truth. rolling stone had maintained that ms. eramo and her editors thought allegations from the subject of the story, a student identified as <u+201c>jackie,<u+201d> were credible at the time. facebook will begin delivering video ads on set-top box devices such as apple tv and roku through its ad network. the social giant is partnering with a+e and tubi tv to deliver ads to people who watch video on those companies<u+2019> apps. [ recode ] after an internal review, nielsen reaffirmed figures that said espn lost 621,000 subscribers in a month. the network had challenged the accuracy of the numbers. [ cnbc ] snapchat has plans to allow app-install ads in its platform. ads that prompt users to download apps have been a major driver of mobile ad revenue for platforms like facebook. [ ad age ] even writers at the onion are having a hard time satirizing the election. <u+201c>we feel like we<u+2019>ve passed every single stage of despair, hopelessness and rage,<u+201d> the site<u+2019>s editor in chief said. [ nyt ] hbo has canceled bill simmons<u+2019>s sports talk show <u+201c>any given wednesday<u+201d> after a four-month run. the former espn star<u+2019>s program failed to take off in the ratings. [ cmo today ] google capital, the investment arm of alphabet, quietly invested in snapchat owner snap inc. business insider noticed when the unit renamed itself to capitalg and updated its website, adding the snapchat logo to its portfolio page. [ bi ] vanity fair has a deep dive into the gawker saga that explores the relationship between gawker founder nick denton and peter thiel, the billionaire who ultimately financed the web outlet<u+2019>s downfall. [ vanity fair ] politico made a list of the 16 breakout media stars from this election season, including nbc<u+2019>s katy tur and the washington post<u+2019>s david fahrenthold. [ politico ] fox news has created a nearly $30 million election night studio at its new york headquarters. megyn kelly and bret baier will anchor fox<u+2019>s coverage. [ adweek ] follow us on twitter: @wsjcmo , @digitalshields , @vranicawsj , @jackmarshall , @perlberg , @alexbruell , @srabil , @asharma subscribe to our morning newsletter, delivered straight to your inbox, at http://on.wsj.com/cmotodaysignup . write to steven perlberg at steven.perlberg@wsj.com
cmo today: media outlets prepare for postelection audience decline - wsj
steven perlberg