CNN International - Wikipedia

Early years

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CNN International began broadcasting on September 1, 1985, at first primarily broadcasting to American business travelers in hotels. The first studio for CNNI was at CNN's original studio building known as Techwood, home at that time to all of Turner Broadcasting System's channels. Today, it is home to the Techwood Studios complex that houses the entertainment channels. Other early studios in Atlanta were tucked away in various corners of the CNN Center, and the newsroom lacked even a digital clock. The vast majority of the network's programming originally consisted of simulcasts of the two domestic CNN channels (CNN/US and Headline News). In the United Kingdom, the channel began broadcasting on September 17, 1987, the office was located at 25/28 Old Burlington Street, London.[4] In 1990, however, the amount of news programming produced by CNNI especially for international viewers increased significantly.

Paul Vessey, an executive of CNN International, said in 1992 that CNN will go international style and get "less and less American".[5]

A new newsroom and studio complex was built in 1994, as CNN decided to compete against BBC World Service Television's news programming. CNNI emerged as an internationally oriented news channel, with staff members of various national backgrounds, even though some accusations of a pro-U.S. editorial bias persist. CNN International was awarded the Liberty Medal on July 4, 1997. Ted Turner, in accepting the medal on behalf of the network, said: "My idea was, we're just going to give people the facts... We didn't have to show liberty and democracy as good and show socialism or totalitarianism as bad. If we just showed them both the way they were ... everybody's going to choose liberty and democracy."[6]

New international era (1995–2005)

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In 1995, creative director Morgan Almeida defined a progressive rebranding strategy, to target CNNI's diverse global market, making the on-air look less overtly American and with a cleaner, simpler "international" aesthetic going forward. The word "International" in the channel's logo was replaced with a globe, and the new branding featured numerous international locations filmed in time-lapse, channel idents created in CGI with Velvet Design in Munich, and a news brand designed with The Attik in New York.[7]

The regionalization of CNN International was through the efforts of Chris Cramer, joining CNN in 1996. CNN International was split into three feeds – Asia, Europe/Africa/Middle East and Latin America. By 1998, CNN International produced 90% of its content, up from 50% in 1996. The rest of the percentage is for domestic CNN broadcasts from the United States.[8] According to an annual PAX survey, in 1998 and 1999 CNN International was the leading cable and satellite network in Asia in terms of viewership among affluent households and among business decision-makers.[9] CNN International planned to air shows in 1999 including World Beat, its popular weekly international music segment, and the global arts round-up Art Club.[8] The channel was banned in China in June 1999, on the tenth anniversary of the Tianamnen Square massacre.[10]

2006–2009 revamp

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The network undertook another major rebranding effort in 2006 overseen by Mark Wright and London agency Kemistry. The ticker was replaced by a flipper, on-screen graphics were more unified and from October 2007 until August 2008, new studios were progressively rolled out. However, on January 1, 2009, CNN International adopted the "lower-thirds" that CNN/US had introduced a month earlier which was inspired by the clean modern design of the CNNI rebrand efforts.

In the U.S., CNNI North America was distributed overnight and on weekends over the CNNfn financial channel, until that channel's demise in December 2004. It is now available as a standalone, full-time channel, usually as part of high-tier packages of subscription providers including Time Warner Cable, AT&T U-Verse, Verizon FiOS and Cox Communications.

Going beyond borders (2009–2013)

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From January until September 2009, CNN International adopted more programs that became geared towards a primetime European audience with a few titled after CNN International personalities, most notably the interview program Amanpour. On September 21, 2009, the channel launched a new tagline "Go Beyond Borders", along with a new logo, and consolidated its general newscasts (World News, CNN Today, World News Asia, World News Europe and Your World Today) into a single newscast entitled World Report.

The slogan "Go Beyond Borders" emphasizes the international perspective that gives the information in this string and the plurality of the audiences. With this tagline, CNN also refers to the various platforms to disseminate their content. The new image was created by the creativity and marketing department, and agency CNN Tooth & Nail. An important element of the rebrand was a new evening program that added the broadcast of programs Amanpour and World One. The makeover of CNN International has been subject to a lot of criticism on both the new prime-time lineup and the redesigned graphics.

On January 11, 2009, in a bid to compete directly with Al Jazeera English, the network launched a new production center: CNN Abu Dhabi, based in the United Arab Emirates. Then, CNN International adapted half-hour shows in its schedule with a new evening prime program for the Middle East viewers, Prism.

 

In 2010, CNN International launched new programs for its evening lineup to improve its schedule. In 2011, programs from CNN U.S. were added to the CNN International schedule, including the talk program Piers Morgan Live which was later canceled and replaced with CNN Tonight hosted by Don Lemon.

This is CNN (2013–present)

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"This is CNN" represents CNN International's rebrand with new sets and output in full 16:9 high definition. The "This is CNN" slogan is also used on its sister network CNN in the United States. The managing director of CNN International from 2003 to May 2019 was Tony Maddox.[11]

In 2019, CNN International announced it was reducing its programming and staff based in London to reduce costs, with CNNI losing $10 million per year.[12] Later that year, CNNI cancelled its Asia-Pacific Primetime Show, News Stream, anchored by Kristie Lu Stout, effectively ending production output from its Hong Kong Studios.[13]

In 2022, WarnerMedia closed CNN International in Russia due to Russia's invasion of Ukraine.[14]