In the US, news and reporting was largely a loss leader for TV stations. It was done because they were required to do so. The likes of 60-minutes long format

In the US, news and reporting was largely a loss leader for TV stations. It was done because they were required to do so. The likes of 60-minutes long format content changed that when it was successful for advertising. This shaped news for the worse imo. I think CNN largely started in a similar way, meant to simply be constant reporting and re-reporting of news, and think the constant display of the Gulf War is likely what changed that for them.