Is Local Television News Going the Way of SportsCenter?

[LanceyHoward]

I started this as a new thread in order to not thread jack the ESPN thread. I do not watch SportsCenter anymore because I just check the internet. And I no longer watch local news or national news because I can pick and choose my story selection on the internet.

I just checked the ratings of the four network affiliates who program 10:00 P.M. news in Denver. The four stations have about a 20 share of the 25-54 audience. I would guess that the share of the overall audience is much higher because the average age of the audience is in the late 50's but that is a precipitous decline.

The multi-decade local ratings leader, Channel 9, is experimenting with a new 6:00 P.M. broadcast that the Denver Post describes as "long on personality and commentary". At the same station the anchor woman who has dominated Denver news ratings for over 20 years announced she was retiring. And the long-time sports anchor just disappeared.

Is this happening in places other than Denver? Is this the future of local news going to be more commentary such as ESPN?

 

[Shropshire Slasher]

With the weather, here's Screamin' Jim Cantore!

 

[justgladtobehere]

In Boston, if anything, it's been the opposite. The Fox affiliate used to be an O&O and was very opinion orientated with live interviews and discussions among the hosts. Cox got it and changed the style to a strict traffic and weather on the 10s format. All the other stations have increased news, but maintain the same style.

It's absurd. There are two stations that have about 11 hours of news programming a day.

 

[steveu]

In our market, there's one clear station ahead of everyone else. The problem is, and hopefully the new ownership takes care of it, is they are resorting to the old "I'm going to ask you a question so I can prove how much smarter I am at the anchor desk" format. That went out the window with the 1980s, guys.

Otherwise, for a market like GR-Kalamazoo-Battle Creek, there's a crapload of news programming.

 

[exmediahack]

Depends on the market and who your owner is.

I work at a number one in a swing state. We print money. So does the number two. The number three station loses so much money.

Let's say each newsroom has the same labor costs. If the top station gets $650 for a spot and the dog gets $120, you see the difference.

As awful as the Trump campaign treats local media, I swear, he is a godsend for us. People hate him. They'll buy ads. Republicans have to defend their seats. They'll buy ads.

Watch the ownership groups as they gobble up stations. The slashers are buying. The better groups seem to be fine with slower growth and only plucking top stations.

If I was in San Diego or Miami, I can't imagine people watching more than 10 years ago.

Denver, as LH writes in, is a market where I don't see substantial growth. It's a market with active people and lots of young professionals. People there like the outdoors.

The combo for growth is markets that are cold and old. Smart markets but not too smart. Still need lots of manufacturing workers who watch TV news and aren't NPR types.

 

[Michael_ Gee]

In Boston, if anything, it's been the opposite. The Fox affiliate used to be an O&O and was very opinion orientated with live interviews and discussions among the hosts. Cox got it and changed the style to a strict traffic and weather on the 10s format. All the other stations have increased news, but maintain the same style.

It's absurd. There are two stations that have about 11 hours of news programming a day.

That's because of Comcast dropping Channel 7 as an affiliate and starting their own station of the base of NECN, which they also own. All both those stations have to offer right now are news and game shows. Ratings for both stations are miniscule. They have to pay the talent. Might as well work 'em to the bone.

 

[justgladtobehere]

Ex, how does morning news make money? In Boston each station has two hosts, a weather person, and a bunch of reporters, some of whom aren't full time, I understand. At best, a station gets 130,000 viewers. How does as station pay for all those people?

 

[Rhody31]

Rhode Island has one station that understands what to do. They're still not No. 1 in overall viewers because the old Rhode Islanders don't like change, but they've taken the No. 1 spot in the key demo. They've also developed the best online presence in the state - print or news - and with the ProJo going thru another round of buyouts, they're becoming the place to go for in-state news.
The other big station relies on the same stuff they've been doing forever and have the most viewers because everyone 50+ watches them because it's all they've been watching their whole lives. Nobody watches the No. 3 station, but they've turned into a terrific first stop for some young reporters who have gone on to bigger and better things.

 

[exmediahack]

Rhode Island has one station that understands what to do. They're still not No. 1 in overall viewers because the old Rhode Islanders don't like change, but they've taken the No. 1 spot in the key demo. They've also developed the best online presence in the state - print or news - and with the ProJo going thru another round of buyouts, they're becoming the place to go for in-state news.
The other big station relies on the same stuff they've been doing forever and have the most viewers because everyone 50+ watches them because it's all they've been watching their whole lives. Nobody watches the No. 3 station, but they've turned into a terrific first stop for some young reporters who have gone on to bigger and better things.

Providence will be an interesting market for the next five years. The NBC has the second-worst ownership group in the business. Now the CBS has THE worst in the industry. The ABC is the distant three and they pay garbage. Four years ago they called me to anchor mornings. Asked if I would do it for 55k. Uh... no. I said it would take 125k to get me there. Slight difference.

 

[exmediahack]

Ex, how does morning news make money? In Boston each station has two hosts, a weather person, and a bunch of reporters, some of whom aren't full time, I understand. At best, a station gets 130,000 viewers. How does as station pay for all those people?

I bet some stations get more viewers. That's still a lot of eyeballs.

Think of morning news like MLB. It is a volume sport. In Boston, two anchors and a weather person who make 200-275k each. Traffic person for 90. A bunch of reporters, photographers and producers who make 60-100.

Editors (the people who edit the video) probably around 70. They're likely union so I think they make good money.

Let's say you have 4:30 to 7 am each weekday for morning news. Local keeps ALL the money in a newscast. You have 40 to 45 minutes of ad time to sell.

I'm pulling numbers from the Boston market out of thin air. Let's say a top rated station or solid second place newsroom.

4:30-5:00. $200 for :30
5:00-6:00. $500
6:00-6:30. $1200
6:40 ad block. $1500
6:50. $2200

Add in some $2000 spots during the 7:23, 7:53 breaks and some $1000 spots during the 8:23 and 8:53.

That's how you make money as a station. That's easily 50k a MORNING if it's all sold out. Even at 50 percent clearance (factoring in unsold spots and discounts for buys), that's $25k before you hit 9 am. $125k a week for weekdays before 9 am.

Evenings may have slightly higher ratings but there is only 90 minute of news. 24 minutes of commercials (maybe 45-50 spots) between 5/6/10 or 5/6/11. We have 100-120 spots in the morning.

You really make money off good stations in smallish medium markets. Few unions. Anchors make $60-$90k. Reporters make $35. Two producers $35. One photographer $30. Behind the scenes crew makes $11-13 an hour, part time.

That's where the profit margin is. Especially in swing states.

Also why stations will add a 4 pm, 6:30 pm or 7 pm or 9/10 pm on a sub channel. They keep all the money and it's cheap to produce. Just rerack the earlier newscasts.

 

[justgladtobehere]

Boston does get a bump because southern New Hampshire is considered part of the market. I developed a crush on Kelly Ayotte last fall after all her ads in Boston.

 

[cjericho]

With the weather, here's Screamin' Jim Cantore!

Not exactly a new idea

lloyd lindsey young - - Yahoo Video Search Results

 

[PCLoadLetter]

Providence will be an interesting market for the next five years. The NBC has the second-worst ownership group in the business. Now the CBS has THE worst in the industry. The ABC is the distant three and they pay garbage. Four years ago they called me to anchor mornings. Asked if I would do it for 55k. Uh... no. I said it would take 125k to get me there. Slight difference.

Not as familiar with Nexstar as I could be... but saying there's someone worse than Sinclair is a damn bold statement.

 

[Alma]

Denver's not the best example. In both my times being there and knowing those who transplanted there, nobody gives a **** about anyone else in Denver. I've had four friends move there over the years. The only one who's still there has a spouse with a dental practice, and that helped them plug in. The rest all reported it was one of the loneliest places they'd ever been. It's spread out, it's ultra-wealthy, and everybody's always gone.

 

[Bronco77]

If I was in San Diego or Miami, I can't imagine people watching more than 10 years ago.

Don't know what the viewership numbers are these days, but the stations in Miami-Fort Lauderdale actually have beefed up their offerings in the past 10 years. The ABC, NBC and CBS affiliates are solid news from 5 p.m. through 6:30 p.m., and the Fox affiliate (the longtime ratings leader) runs local newscasts from 4-7 p.m. Wasn't that long ago that the NBC affiliate had the likes of People's Court and Dr. Phil on until 5:30, but no more.

It's a good market if you like crime news. The Fox affiliate moved to the top of the ratings in the '90s with a sensational approach to covering crime, and the other stations have followed suit over the years, though the emphasis isn't quite as over-the-top. Weather coverage, with the frequent thunderstorms and occasional hurricane threats, is top-notch and gets a lot of air time. Sadly, the sports broadcasts aren't good for much of anything other than catching the scores of the local teams, although the sportscasters themselves are fine -- when they get air time. Occasionally, one of the news anchor people does the sportscasts because they aren't much of a priority.

 

[exmediahack]

Not as familiar with Nexstar as I could be... but saying there's someone worse than Sinclair is a damn bold statement.

Nexstar is worse than Sinclair.

There are also some good size ownership groups that aren't extravagant but aren't cheap. They have no desire to be in large markets because you have to pay anchors 400k, fewer people per 100,000 watch and it's a higher tax/higher cost to operate. They're happy to chug out Midwest/SE US newscasts where more people watch per capita and the labor costs are lower with lower paid anchors and few unions.

 

[exmediahack]

Don't know what the viewership numbers are these days, but the stations in Miami-Fort Lauderdale actually have beefed up their offerings in the past 10 years. The ABC, NBC and CBS affiliates are solid news from 5 p.m. through 6:30 p.m., and the Fox affiliate (the longtime ratings leader) runs local newscasts from 4-7 p.m. Wasn't that long ago that the NBC affiliate had the likes of People's Court and Dr. Phil on until 5:30, but no more.

It's a good market if you like crime news. The Fox affiliate moved to the top of the ratings in the '90s with a sensational approach to covering crime, and the other stations have followed suit over the years, though not quite as over-the-top. Weather coverage, with the frequent thunderstorms and occasional hurricane threats, is top-notch and gets a lot of air time. Sadly, the sports broadcasts aren't good for much of anything other than catching the scores of the local teams, although the sportscasters themselves are fine -- when they get air time. Occasionally, one of the news anchor people do the sportscasts because they aren't much of a priority.

It's not the quality is better. It's that the SFLA stations can make more muffins with the same amount of batter.

Newspapers could only put out one edition daily. TV can pump out 7 hours of news a day. 8 or 9 if you add other sub channels.

Run and gun crime newscasts are cheap and easy. Fox changed the Miami market forever twenty years ago with it but people are used to that now.

 

[Bamadog]

I think in some markets in the South, anything football related gets eyeballs. A lot of the stations here in central Mississippi do high school highlight shows on Friday nights and blow out SEC football coverage.

Also being we're in Dixie Alley, which is the second worst place in terms of tornado activity, weather is another part of the newscast that will always have huge viewership. This weekend, we had a small tornado outbreak with four tornadoes and all of the local stations went wall to wall.

Birmingham, Alabama's TV market is another one of these, with ABC 33/40's meteorologist James Spann having more name recognition than the governor in the market.

I agree with the other posters that a divided political area means big money for local stations. The question is how do you make money when it isn't campaign season?

 

[exmediahack]

You can make money but it isn't easy. Car dealers. HVAC. Local banks. National is really soft right now.

Starting in November of this year, just turn on the faucet in swing states and 11-12 months of endless ads.

 

[Michael_ Gee]

You can make money but it isn't easy. Car dealers. HVAC. Local banks. National is really soft right now.

Starting in November of this year, just turn on the faucet in swing states and 11-12 months of endless ads.

One reason Boston has five local news operations is that Massachusetts is next to New Hampshire.