Now we know why CNN’s president Jeff Zucker is considering resigning to take a top job at ESPN.
10 years ago, Zucker, 52, famously warned television companies that they were in danger of “trading analog dollars for digital pennies” by turning to digital media.
He changed his mind in 2017 when his son Andrew, then 16, convinced him that social media star Casey Neistat (pictured left) was a modern day Pied Piper who would lead millions of youth to the floundering network.
Zucker listened to the 16-year-old and doled out $25 million for Neistat, 35, and his 11-person Tribeca-based company in March. Zucker outbid other drooling media outlets who believed Neistat’s millions of Youtube followers would translate to growth and increased revenue.
Neistat recalls Zucker telling him, “my son says that you’re the only person who matters in media.'”
Less than a year later, the social media experiment is a colossal failure and Neistat was given his walking papers by CNN.
Most of his 22-person staff has been told they will be let go too.
This comes as no surprise. Studies have shown that millions of social media followers don’t translate to growth or sales.
Kim Kardashian and her sisters have a combined social media presence of over 100 million followers. Yet their family reality show, Keeping Up With the Kardashians, averages just 800,000 viewers in the coveted 18-49 demographic.
You read that right: 800,000 viewers a night. That’s less viewers a night than VH1’s latest series Love & Hip-Hop: Miami.
When Atman Tea Company paid social media “stars” with high follow counts to promote their tea, the resulting sales were a disaster, according to Absdigitalwebmarketing.com.
CNN’s Zucker is scratching his head wondering how he lost the network’s $25 million so quickly when his own teenage son gave Neistat the stamp of approval.
