From Jim Metrock:
The recent acquisition of Channel One by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt may mean all these on-air personalities will be back next year.
Houghton Mifflin has given Channel One a big boost. Channel One’s advertising revenue had to have taken a big hit this past year – there were so few full-paying spots on the shows that I saw. HMH can turn that around by spending more on attracting new and former advertisers.
Owning Channel One will have benefits for Houghton Mifflin, however, I doubt if those benefits will outweigh the damage done to Houghton Mifflin’s reputation among educators.
Channel One remains a pariah among U.S. educators. It’s brand is stone cold dead. Schools continue to drop the program. Channel One is not profitable.
Funny that the very reasons ZelnickMedia dumped Channel One are the same reasons Houghton Mifflin shouldn”t have acquired the company.