The far-reaching and unrelenting nature of the news cycle in 2026 so far – from conflicts and geopolitics, to major market movements, technology breakthroughs and AI developments – has created a major spike in the appetite amongst audiences to understand what’s happening in the world and what it means for them.
People are consuming more news, sharing it with friends and followers, and, in an age of increasing AI-generated content and misinformation, choosing to turn to credible, established sources for verified information. Against this backdrop, the news industry itself is creating headlines as the sector undergoes significant change in all areas of production, formats and distribution.
Meeting the audience
Driving the transformation taking place in the news industry is a commitment to meet the audience where they are. For news organisations, this means being present across all major platforms where people consume news – TV, digital, mobile, social media, audio, newsletters, connected televisions and of course streaming, which CNN launched in the US last year.
Subsequently, a multi-platform approach to engage broader and more diverse audiences, connecting with people in different ways is also a path to grow greater scale through a powerful combination of platforms. In CNN’s case this means having our TV channels in 379 million households and hotel rooms, a monthly digital audience of 122 million, and over 295 million social media followers. These numbers are spiking during the current news cycle – in line with findings from a recent survey conducted by research company Differentology of international news consumers in 20 markets which found that 6 out of 10 people are concerned about the credibility of information sources and are looking for platforms that can verify facts, offer in-depth coverage, and provide clear context for understanding global issues
Expanding Platforms and Formats
We continue to invest in new platforms and distribution strategies, including in Free Ad-Supported Streaming TV (FAST), one of the fastest growing platforms in terms of audience consumption and investment from brands. Our FAST channel CNN Headlines is already widely available globally and can be accessed in most of Africa on the homepage of CNN.com.
In a completely different field, we are engaging with audiences through live events with our franchise, Global Perspectives. The inaugural event that took place in November 2025 was about big ideas, bold leadership and dynamic economies shaping the African continent. I had the pleasure of being one of 300 attendees from across the globe in the room for sessions moderated by leading CNN journalists with high calibre speakers such as World Trade Organization Director-General Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, celebrated author Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, award-winning actress and activist Uzo Aduba, and Prime Minister of the Democratic Republic of the Congo Judith Suminwa Tuluka. Leveraging this important moment for live journalism about Africa, we attracted brands such as Afreximbank and MTN as sponsors for both the event itself and advertising alignment with content across CNN platforms.
Global Perspectives: On Africa was followed by a smaller edition at the World Economic Forum in partnership with Uber, and we have more events planned for later in 2026 and beyond. We have developed Global Perspectives as a forum for dignitaries, political and business leaders, and visionaries from around the world to discuss pressing issues around global and regional geopolitics, technology, media and culture. In an ever-increasingly digital world, events such as Global Perspectives present an important moment for human connection centred around compelling live journalism.
News on social platforms
Whilst our primary focus is engaging with audiences on our owned and operated platforms, we are also serving news consumers on social media platforms. Being present on these platforms enables news organisations to engage news consumers who might not come to us directly and also serves a public purpose in providing these audiences with verified facts and information. . This is reflected in the research from Differentology, which found that 89% of respondents from Africa said that CNN is a trusted source on social media and 86% believe that CNN offers engaging short-form video content on social. Overall, the research all found that those news consumers who access user-generated news content say UGC from global news organisation is over 2 times more credible than content from non-news creators.
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Adopting new technology with trust at the core
Powering the innovation and platform expansion in media is the greater use of advanced technology, in particular AI. However, when it comes to news organisations, we recognise that we must adopt new technology in a particularly careful and transparent way so that we can be certain of accuracy. At CNN, any use of AI – whether for commercial, editorial or product development – must adhere to our standards and practices and strict AI guidelines to ensure our audiences and brand partners can always trust our work in this area. This transparent approach is vital because trust is so important to the way that news organisations operate and are perceived. The saying goes that trust is hard won and easily lost.
Within these guidelines we are investing in new roles to drive AI innovation in the company, AI-powered product development, increased work with some platform partners and usage in some areas of editorial such as AI-driven fact-checking and misinformation detection tools. In my area of CNN International Commercial, we have used automation and machine learning in our commercial solutions for many years. Specifically, commercial operations within media companies can use AI to power audience targeting and personalisation tools, to automate time-consuming tasks in brand studios and to understand large data sets for audience insight and campaign evaluation.
In an age where change in the media industry is moving almost as fast as the news cycle itself, it’s imperative for news organisations to be committed to continual innovation, exploring new formats and growing our presence on more platforms. 46 years ago, the entire concept of 24/7 cable news was borne out of innovation. It’s easy to argue that we’re at a similar moment of opportunity now where news organisations can undertake transformational steps to be essential to an even wider range of audiences in new, different ways.
Cathy Ibal, Senior Vice President, CNN International Commercial
