Ticker: Fox & Friends Warms Up for the Super Bowl

Top of the Ticker: The Fox & Friends road series Breakfast with Friends hit the road to celebrate the teams playing in Sunday’s Super Bowl extravaganza. On Thursday, Kansas City Chiefs fan Steve Doocy was live from Chicken N Pickle in Overland Park, Kan., hanging out alongside patrons. On Friday, Fox Nation host Abby Hornacek was on the scene from Chickie’s & Pete’s in the city of Brotherly Love speaking with Philadelphia Eagles fans. Hornacek was joined by former Eagles cheerleaders of all ages and a New Orleans-style jazz band. 

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Since the Fox media empire is hosting this year’s Super Bowl, Fox News will have a presence at the Big Game. Sean Hannity and Bret Baier headlined a special Super Bowl promo and Baier will interview President Donald Trump as part of the pregame show.

Digital Bet: The Los Angeles wildfires and the Washington, D.C. airplane tragedy underscored CNN’s value when it comes to breaking news coverage. But the network also needs to find ways to remain relevant at other times, as ratings continue to suffer amidst the cord-cutting trend ravaging the cable industry. In a new piece for The Los Angeles Times, media reporter Steve Battaglio explores the tightrope that CNN must navigate as it pivots to a digital strategy without forgetting its roots in cable.

Meanwhile, CNN also announced that it would have a more substantial presence in the Middle East. The network will open a base in Media City Qatar in the second half of 2025, where it will develop multi-platform content with a team of content creators publishing on digital and social platforms and producing a weekly show for CNN International.

CNN is expanding its footprint in the Middle East through the creation of a new operation in Media City Qatar:https://t.co/J0tfp2bRWw pic.twitter.com/v6XdraksYE

— CNN International PR (@cnnipr) February 2, 2025

Other CNN tidbits include the announcement of a second season for United States of Scandal with Jake Tapper. Premiering Sunday, March 9 at 9 p.m. ET, the six-episode season finds Tapper expanding his canvas from politics to some of the most infamous scandals in corporate America, sports, and pop culture.

Join me for a new season of United States of Scandal – Sunday, March 9 on @CNN ! pic.twitter.com/1RKvTfBCRn

— Jake Tapper 🦅 (@jaketapper) February 6, 2025

Finally, Time magazine included CNN News Central co-anchor Sara Sidner on its list of The Closers 2025. The list celebrates the 25 Black leaders that are working to end the racial equity gap. ​​Sidner has specifically used her platform to share details from her recent treatment for breast cancer.

Honored to be one of @Time magazines “Closers” this year.

A reminder as to why it’s so important to advocate for yourself with your doctors and get your yearly mammograms.

People have asked me why do you also make this about race. I don’t. The statistics do.

Black women are… https://t.co/X3xVGWjLKT

— Sara Sidner (@sarasidnerCNN) February 6, 2025

Subscription Success: CNBC+ is succeeding despite limited promotional efforts. According to the online publication A Media Operator, CNBC’s new streaming service is performing better than the business network’s more established direct-to-consumer offerings. CNBC+ has already surpassed its expected revenue and subscriber numbers in the first month of 2025 even though a bigger marketing push won’t commence until the service is available on platforms like Apple TV and Roku, which should happen later this year. 

Weekend Start: ABC Audio’s daily news podcast, Start Here, is expanding with a new weekend edition for ABC News Radio affiliates beginning Feb. 21. Hosted by Brad Mielke, the new hourlong radio show will dive deeper into the stories driving headlines from the week through in-depth conversations with ABC News correspondents, experts, and newsmakers