Walk into any bar or restaurant when there isn't a major sports event on, and what's playing on the TVs? Potentially the millionth rerun of a crime show. More likely, cable news.
But no one has ever watched a talking head on mute and thought, "This is awesome." Why? That kind of content doesn't make sense when you only watch it out of the corner of your eye; with the sound off, it becomes meaningless and distracting. Cable news simply wasn't designed to play in busy environments like bars and restaurants.
Cable news is broken, and it's detracting from the customer experience.
Roughly three in five Americans surveyed by Gallup and Knights Foundation say that it's harder to stay informed because of the sheer amount of news sources available.1 While cable news is one of the more trusted sources, the public perceives leading media outlets across partisan lines as less credible since 2020.2
With networks increasingly relying on opinion-heavy commentary delivered by hosts, a majority of viewers surveyed say that they cannot name a single news source that reports the news objectively.3 In fact, 65% of the individuals surveyed consider it a "major problem" that there is "too much" bias in reporting stories that should be objective.4
This shift has a tangible impact on viewers. In one study, a third of Americans say that the divisiveness exhibited through news has affected them personally, leading to feelings of depression, sadness, or anxiety.5
That's not the experience people want when they go out for dinner. Customers go to a bar or restaurant for a good time, and the ambience shouldn't take away from that. Too many establishments, however, detract from that experience when they play divisive cable news on the TV behind the bar. When they don't think about what's on the screen—often the primary entertainment option in house—they risk ruining the mood. Consider that studies have shown a one-star increase in customer reviews on a site like Yelp can increase revenue by up to 9%.6 It’s essential that TV entertainment improves the customer experience instead of detracting from it—that's the way to ensure that customers keep coming back.
Bars and restaurants need a news option that doesn’t divide half the room, and doesn't rely on closed captions to deliver important information. It's time to elevate cable news.
Introducing: Atmosphere News, a facts-only, easy-to-understand TV news solution
We're Atmosphere, the world’s leading streaming service designed exclusively for businesses. And this month, we launched Atmosphere News, a specially curated channel that engages viewers with family-friendly content that never relies on audio.
We built Atmosphere News with one goal in mind: inform audiences without any of the spin.
This channel delivers a TV news experience that is optimized to watch outside of the home — it avoids talking heads, subtitles, and voiceover narration. With stories updated hourly and displayed in a short-form narrative format, viewers can easily stay in-the-know.
"With Atmosphere News we're introducing a presentation format that, unlike traditional news, is optimized for viewing in public spaces and that venue owners can screen without creating division among their clientele. Once business owners see just how effective Atmosphere News is at delivering today's stories without any larger agenda, they won't be returning to cable," Leo Resig, co-founder and CEO of Atmosphere.
Atmosphere News is completely free of the analysis and opinion-heavy approach that has become a mainstay of traditional cable TV news, providing venues with a facts-only, easy-to-understand TV news solution that serves all audiences.
Restaurants should be able to play the news without dividing the dining room, just as they should be able to entertain their guests without taking away from the dining experience. Ready to say goodbye to divisive cable news? We'd love to hear from you.
1. https://www.politico.com/f/?id=00000160-fbcc-dcd4-a96b-ffeddf140001
2. https://morningconsult.com/2020/04/22/media-credibility-cable-news-poll/
3. and 4. https://www.politico.com/f/?id=00000160-fbcc-dcd4-a96b-ffeddf140001
5. https://www.publicagenda.org/reports/divisiveness-and-collaboration-in-american-public-life-a-hidden-common-ground-report/
6. https://www.hbs.edu/faculty/Pages/item.aspx?num=41233
