27 Cable Channels. How Many Survivors?

27 Cable Channels. How Many Survivors?

From Ankler Agenda by TheAnkler.com

March 19, 2026 · 41 min

About this episode

The episode discusses the future of aging cable networks in the context of media mergers and streaming.

Here’s the irony: Even in the age of streaming, about 85 percent of profits from a merged Paramount Skydance–Warner Bros. Discovery still would come from linear TV, as Sean McNulty points out. So what do you do with more than two dozen aging cable networks? Spin them off, reinvent them as digital brands or send them to TV’s great dead-brand graveyard in the sky — all while Wall Street watches with a serious stink eye? Enter March Sadness. Sean, Elaine Low and Natalie Jarvey build a bracket to crown the most valuable Warnermount cable asset, with CNN, HGTV, Nickelodeon, BET and more going head-to-head. Which properties are the No. 1 seeds, and which networks are… MTV2? The answers (and the ratings) might surprise you. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

People in this episode

Hosts: Sean McNulty, Elaine Low

Topics covered

  • cable networks
  • streaming
  • media profits
  • TV ratings
  • entertainment industry
  • media mergers

Keywords

  • cable channels
  • streaming
  • media profits
  • TV networks
  • entertainment
  • Warner Bros.
  • Paramount

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Paramount Skydance, Warner Bros. Discovery, CNN, HGTV, Nickelodeon, BET, MTV2

More episodes of Ankler Agenda

Explore listener stats, chart rankings, contacts and more on the Ankler Agenda podcast page.