CNN Checkout Channel
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

CNN Checkout Channel was a
satellite A satellite or artificial satellite is an object intentionally placed into orbit in outer space. Except for passive satellites, most satellites have an electricity generation system for equipment on board, such as solar panels or radioi ...
television network A television network or television broadcaster is a telecommunications network for distribution of television program content, where a central operation provides programming to many television stations or pay television providers. Until the mid- ...
operated by ActMedia and
Turner Broadcasting System Turner Broadcasting System, Inc. (alternatively known as Turner Entertainment Networks from 2019 until 2022) was an American television and media conglomerate. Founded by Ted Turner and based in Atlanta, Georgia, it merged with Time Warner (lat ...
through its
CNN CNN (Cable News Network) is a multinational cable news channel headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, U.S. Founded in 1980 by American media proprietor Ted Turner and Reese Schonfeld as a 24-hour cable news channel, and presently owned by ...
and Turner Private Networks subsidiaries. The network was a place-based out-of-home advertising service, fed via
television Television, sometimes shortened to TV, is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. The term can refer to a television set, or the medium of television transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertisin ...
s installed in the checkout lines of participating supermarkets. The service carried a mixture of news programming provided by CNN, accompanied by national advertising sold by the network. Costs of installing the service's equipment were covered by Turner, and stores received a share of national advertising revenue. By 1993, CNN Checkout Channel was carried in 840 stores. Reception to the service was mixed; some were neutral to the concept, while cashiers at its participating stores found the in-store televisions broadcasting its programming to be distracting. After believing that it would be too difficult to make the service profitable, Turner discontinued CNN Checkout Channel in March 1993, and took a
write-down A write-off is a reduction of the recognized value of something. In accounting, this is a recognition of the reduced or zero value of an asset. In income tax statements, this is a reduction of taxable income, as a recognition of certain expenses ...
of $16 million.


Background

CNN Checkout Channel was first announced in September 1990 as a joint venture between the marketing firm ActMedia, who provided a startup cost of nearly $70 million, and CNN, who provided content for the service.
Turner Broadcasting System Turner Broadcasting System, Inc. (alternatively known as Turner Entertainment Networks from 2019 until 2022) was an American television and media conglomerate. Founded by Ted Turner and based in Atlanta, Georgia, it merged with Time Warner (lat ...
would have an option to acquire an equity stake. Turner operated Checkout Channel through its Turner Private Networks subsidiary, which also operated
CNN Airport Network CNN Airport was an American out-of-home television network owned and operated by AT&T's WarnerMedia through CNN, hence its name. The service broadcast general news, weather, stock market updates, entertainment, and travel content to airports ...
. The service was conceptualized by Richard Larsen, an
MIT The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a private land-grant research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Established in 1861, MIT has played a key role in the development of modern technology and science, and is one of the m ...
professor of
queueing theory Queueing theory is the mathematical study of waiting lines, or queues. A queueing model is constructed so that queue lengths and waiting time can be predicted. Queueing theory is generally considered a branch of operations research because the ...
; he explained that "waiting in a supermarket checkout line is something we all experience daily. We're hassled by high levels of stress and frustration. It's a subtle form of imprisonment, but the Checkout Channel changes empty time to informative and productive time." CNN Checkout Channel was initially trialed at a
Kroger The Kroger Company, or simply Kroger, is an American retail company that operates (either directly or through its subsidiaries) supermarkets and multi-department stores throughout the United States. Founded by Bernard Kroger in 1883 in Cinci ...
location in
Detroit Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at t ...
. For its wider roll-out, it was introduced at stores in markets such as
Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...
,
Charlotte Charlotte ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of North Carolina. Located in the Piedmont region, it is the county seat of Mecklenburg County. The population was 874,579 at the 2020 census, making Charlotte the 16th-most populo ...
,
Columbus Columbus is a Latinized version of the Italian surname "''Colombo''". It most commonly refers to: * Christopher Columbus (1451-1506), the Italian explorer * Columbus, Ohio, capital of the U.S. state of Ohio Columbus may also refer to: Places ...
,
Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, largest city in the U.S. state, state of California and the List of United States cities by population, sec ...
,
New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...
,
Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, largest city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the List of United States cities by population, sixth-largest city i ...
,
Providence Providence often refers to: * Providentia, the divine personification of foresight in ancient Roman religion * Divine providence, divinely ordained events and outcomes in Christianity * Providence, Rhode Island, the capital of Rhode Island in the ...
, and San Jose.
Acme Markets Acme Markets Inc. is a supermarket chain operating 161 stores throughout Connecticut, Delaware, Maryland, New Jersey, the Hudson Valley of New York, and Pennsylvania and, as of 1999, is a subsidiary of Albertsons, and part of its presence in t ...
, A&P,
Finast Finast was a retail supermarket brand that started in the northeastern United States, with headquarters in Somerville, Massachusetts. Finast was an acronym for FIrst NAtional STores. Commonly referred to as "The First National", the stores ope ...
, and Kroger served as partner chains for the service. The CNN Checkout Channel broadcast blocks of news programming, interspersed with commercial advertising. National advertising packages with exclusivity in certain product segments were sold in quarterly and yearly packages. ActMedia president Wayne LoCurto explained that advertising rates for CNN Checkout Channel were comparable to those of traditional
daytime television Daytime is a block of television programming taking place during the late-morning and afternoon on weekdays. Daytime programming is typically scheduled to air between the hours of 9:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m., following the early morning da ...
. Among the launch advertisers were
Coca-Cola Coca-Cola, or Coke, is a carbonated soft drink manufactured by the Coca-Cola Company. Originally marketed as a temperance drink and intended as a patent medicine, it was invented in the late 19th century by John Stith Pemberton in Atlant ...
,
Campbell's Campbell Soup Company, doing business as Campbell's, is an American processed food and snack company. The company is most closely associated with its flagship canned soup products; however, through mergers and acquisitions, it has grown to become ...
,
Ford Motor Company Ford Motor Company (commonly known as Ford) is an American multinational automobile manufacturer headquartered in Dearborn, Michigan, United States. It was founded by Henry Ford and incorporated on June 16, 1903. The company sells automobi ...
, Kraft,
Kimberly Clark Kimberly-Clark Corporation is an American multinational personal care corporation that produces mostly paper-based consumer products. The company manufactures sanitary paper products and surgical & medical instruments. Kimberly-Clark brand na ...
, and
Walt Disney World The Walt Disney World Resort, also called Walt Disney World or Disney World, is an entertainment resort complex in Bay Lake and Lake Buena Vista, Florida, United States, near the cities of Orlando and Kissimmee. Opened on October 1, 1971, ...
. The service also covered the costs of installation and equipment (such as televisions and the satellite system), and participating stores received a cut of advertising revenue. The launch of CNN Checkout Channel was meant to provide another platform for CNN content besides television at home; Turner Private Networks vice president Scott Weiss explained that "I think we are reacting to what we believe is an insatiable appetite in our generation for information. They want it live. They want it now, on an instant basis." ActMedia had predicted that CNN Checkout Channel would operate in at least 5,000 stores by 1992, offering at least 60 million impressions per-week. However, by 1993, CNN Checkout Channel was only available at a total of 840 stores covering 17 markets.


Programming

''
The Philadelphia Inquirer ''The Philadelphia Inquirer'' is a daily newspaper headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The newspaper's circulation is the largest in both the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the Delaware Valley metropolitan region of Southeastern Pennsy ...
'' likened CNN Checkout Channel to a "cut-down" version of CNN Headline News; its news programming consisted of summaries of headlines and short feature segments. Commercials, which last 15 to 30 seconds, took 40 percent of the airtime. The service's news content was tailored to different
demographics Demography () is the statistical study of populations, especially human beings. Demographic analysis examines and measures the dimensions and dynamics of populations; it can cover whole societies or groups defined by criteria such as ed ...
based on two dayparts; the stories focused more on women by day and men by night. CNN held full editorial control over the content broadcast by the CNN Checkout Channel, and had a staff of 30 employees dedicated to the service. The service broadcast programming in 8- to 10-minute blocks, with advertisements broadcast in between; 8 minutes was calculated as the average waiting time in a supermarket checkout line. News programming would be updated throughout the day, and the network would also be able to present "live in short form" coverage of breaking news events when warranted. Michael Rourke, then-vice president of A&P, explained that the televisions could also be used to display in-store content.


Reception and demise

CNN Checkout Channel received mixed reviews; a representative of Acme Market reported that the service had received varying responses from its customers, stating that "some people love it, some people are oblivious to it, some people hate it. The predominant number don't respond to it at all." Similar responses to the service were also gauged in interviews of shoppers by the ''Philadelphia Inquirer'' at an Acme location. Cashiers working at stores that had installed the CNN Checkout Channel found the service to be distracting; in an
Associated Press The Associated Press (AP) is an American non-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association. It produces news reports that are distributed to its members, U.S. ne ...
report of CNN Checkout Channel's launch, a cashier told a reporter that the repeating commercials played by the television was "driving ercrazy". In response to similar complaints, some stores turned down the volume on the televisions to nearly inaudible levels—which at the same time, defeated the purpose of the service by hindering the ability for customers to hear its commercials. Martin Sloane of ''
The Daily Gazette ''The Daily Gazette'' is an independent, family-owned daily newspaper published in Schenectady Schenectady () is a city in Schenectady County, New York, United States, of which it is the county seat. As of the 2020 census, the city's popu ...
'' felt that the concept of airing commercials in the checkout line was flawed, as CNN Checkout Channel programming "did not preempt the anxiety of waiting in the checkout line" and that "by the time shoppers glanced at the Checkout Channel, they had already decided what they were going to buy. And they weren't about to lose their place in line to make some last-minute impulse purchases." In February 1993, Turner announced the discontinuation of the CNN Checkout Channel, taking a $16 million
write-down A write-off is a reduction of the recognized value of something. In accounting, this is a recognition of the reduced or zero value of an asset. In income tax statements, this is a reduction of taxable income, as a recognition of certain expenses ...
. Turner cited difficulties in making the service profitable as justification for the shutdown. A further expansion, which would have added "several thousand" locations to the network at a cost of $35 million, was aborted by the shutdown. Stores that wished to keep the televisions were offered a feed of CNN Headline News as a replacement.


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cnn Checkout CNN Defunct television networks in the United States Television channels and stations established in 1992 Television channels and stations disestablished in 1993