NBC Considering Giving 10pm/9pm Back To Affiliates

[MediaZone4K 2158]

All in all If Sports will fill this gap as others say then cutting the third hour is unnecessary.

 

But all three networks should consider this in the future as they continue to struggle to fill programming.

Edited May 25, 2024 by MediaZone4K

[TheRolyPoly 2358]

On 5/22/2024 at 9:00 AM, mer764KCTV5 said:

Locally in Kansas City, if any and I will repeat this literally ANY Television station tries to put an 9pm newscast on thier main channel or if they are in a duopoly, the secondary channel, it WILL get defeated by WDAF-TV (A FOX AFFILIATE) because Channel 4 just have the experience with an 9pm newscast SINCE 1994. It doesn't even care if it's Channel 9, 5, or 41, it will lose against Channel 4.

 

That's an local, but important example why the Plan B wouldn't be an More News situation.

 

Well, what's also important with this particular point is that... WDAF is #1 in most timeslots. They're not running away with it but they're pretty good.

 

KSHB got rid of their 9pm news on KMCI 20+ years ago because of WDAF's success at 9pm. KCTV used to have 9pm news on KSMO at one point too but got rid of that because of WDAF's success at 9pm.

 

The only real challenger here is KMBC's 9pm news on KCWE which does well because of the KMBC branding and reputation but I think WDAF is still #1 there and by a good bit. If this did happen, KSHB would be destroyed at that timeslot as its been proven 20+ years ago at KMCI.

[bpatrick 73]

Kansas City wouldn't be the only place where the NBC affiliate would have tough sledding against an established Fox station's newscast at 10/9.  In my neck of the woods WXII would find it rough going against WGHP; in Atlanta WAGA would crucify WXIA, which can't beat WAGA anytime it seems like; Birmimgham: WBRC would easily beat WVTM, what with its shares consistently hovering around 60; Tampa: WFLA does well against WTVT but that's on an equal footing like 5 and 6 PM; WTVT has an established 10 PM newscast.  And I don't feel confident about some of the o&o cities: WNBC would go in as an underdog against WNYW, just as WRC would against WTTG.  New York and Washington are two cities where the Fox (formerly Metromedia) stations have had 10 PM newscasts for decades.  In short, this is risky business because if the NBC stations do get the time back they are going to start 10 PM newscasts and the odds are not good in a number of markets.

[GodfreyGR 650]

3 hours ago, bpatrick said:

Kansas City wouldn't be the only place where the NBC affiliate would have tough sledding against an established Fox station's newscast at 10/9.  In my neck of the woods WXII would find it rough going against WGHP; in Atlanta WAGA would crucify WXIA, which can't beat WAGA anytime it seems like; Birmimgham: WBRC would easily beat WVTM, what with its shares consistently hovering around 60; Tampa: WFLA does well against WTVT but that's on an equal footing like 5 and 6 PM; WTVT has an established 10 PM newscast.  And I don't feel confident about some of the o&o cities: WNBC would go in as an underdog against WNYW, just as WRC would against WTTG.  New York and Washington are two cities where the Fox (formerly Metromedia) stations have had 10 PM newscasts for decades.  In short, this is risky business because if the NBC stations do get the time back they are going to start 10 PM newscasts and the odds are not good in a number of markets.

Let's save some time here- Most markets have an established newscast in that timeslot that would likely beat the NBC affiliate's fledgling entry. WGN>WMAQ, KTLA>KNBC, WITI>WTMJ, WVUE>WDSU, the list goes on.

Is it set in stone anywhere that it has to be a newscast in the timeslot, or could smaller markets opt to run a true crime/Dateline syndication? Does a larger owner like Gray produce more InvestigateTV pieces for their affiliates to differentiate their newscasts in that timeslot?

[bpatrick 73]

Not necessarily, but I suspect that a newscast would be what most stations would opt for.  I don't have a Gray station where I live so I can't answer your second question.

[Rusty Muck 4366]

It always never fails to see certain people in this fandom bleat the age old cry that mOaR lOcAl nEwS is what the marketplace needs. Sure, let's divvy up a shrinking pie of TV viewers even further while overstretching existing personnel to do more work for less pay and merely rehashing the same content with the same McStation graphics and same unimaginative cuts from another generic Stephen Arnold music package. YAWN.

 

Here's a news flash: if either big three network pulls out of programming the 10pm hour, that's nothing but a devastingly dire outlook for the entire industry. It means that local television is in trouble and in an unsustainable path to insolvency unless you implement the Scrippscast model (or even the Rogers CityNews model) across-the-board or utilize AI to do everything for less.

 

But then again, it's not the first time the TV fandom has been so utterly detached from reality.

[bpatrick 73]

Not so much that people feel that the answer to all television's problems is more news;  I'm sure there are people who would like less of it.  And all this news does work a strain on a station's news staff, as well as their thinking they should be paid more since they're working longer hours.  However, that seems to be management's first impulse when a time slot opens up (Gray, for one, would be happy if its stations junked all syndicated programs and devoted the non-network slots to local news and/or public affairs).  And frankly, I don't know where or when it ends.  And that's why I think that if NBC gives back 10/9 you'll see its affiliates take the easy way out and move their news from 11/10 to 10/9...where a bunch will get clobbered by established Fox stations' newscasts.  But stations can control the costs and are not at the mercy of a syndicator.

 

There is one plus to this, and if you live in the Central or Mountain time zones you've known about it for decades.  It's that the 10 PM news is the showpiece newscast, as opposed to the 6 PM one in the Eastern and Pacific time zones.  People do like to get the weather at least before they turn in, which they can do an hour sooner than they would on the two coasts.  That has been one of the appeals of 10 PM newscasts on Fox stations in the Eastern and Pacific time zones, and there's one Fox station in the Central time zone (Birmingham) that has no problem pulling 60 shares at 9 PM.

 

I'm not any more crazy about more news than any of the rest of you but I know that's every station manager's automatic solution.

Edited July 27, 2024 by bpatrick

[mer764KCTV5 148]

3 hours ago, Rusty Muck said:

It always never fails to see certain people in this fandom bleat the age old cry that mOaR lOcAl nEwS is what the marketplace needs. Sure, let's divvy up a shrinking pie of TV viewers even further while overstretching existing personnel to do more work for less pay and merely rehashing the same content with the same McStation graphics and same unimaginative cuts from another generic Stephen Arnold music package. YAWN.

 

Here's a news flash: if either big three network pulls out of programming the 10pm hour, that's nothing but a devastingly dire outlook for the entire industry. It means that local television is in trouble and in an unsustainable path to insolvency unless you implement the Scrippscast model (or even the Rogers CityNews model) across-the-board or utilize AI to do everything for less.

 

But then again, it's not the first time the TV fandom has been so utterly detached from reality.

 

Not only that but also, Fox Stations would just defeat any station which tries to air a 10pm newscast because their network just gave them 10pm to their affiliates.

 

That's why the Early Prime-Time idea failed in San Francisco, (and why ABC didn't allow KGO-TV or any other station to participate in the idea) because they were getting defeated by KTVU (It's bot exactly the same since they still had 3 hours and not 2 hours, but the point's exactly there.) And for WTHR in Indianapolis, Early Prime-Time would be used because of Time-Zone weirdness. 

[Georgie56 3292]

1 hour ago, mer764KCTV5 said:

 

Not only that but also, Fox Stations would just defeat any station which tries to air a 10pm newscast because their network just gave them 10pm to their affiliates.

 

That's why the Early Prime-Time idea failed in San Francisco, (and why ABC didn't allow KGO-TV or any other station to participate in the idea) because they were getting defeated by KTVU (It's bot exactly the same since they still had 3 hours and not 2 hours, but the point's exactly there.) And for WTHR in Indianapolis, Early Prime-Time would be used because of Time-Zone weirdness. 

KOVR right next door in Sacramento still has early prime and a 10pm newscast, with much success.

[mer764KCTV5 148]

26 minutes ago, Georgie56 said:

KOVR right next door in Sacramento still has early prime and a 10pm newscast, with much success.

That's why I mentioned San Francisco because it worked in Sacramento, but it didn't in the Bay Area.

[ATLNewsExpert 453]

22 hours ago, Rusty Muck said:

It always never fails to see certain people in this fandom bleat the age old cry that mOaR lOcAl nEwS is what the marketplace needs. Sure, let's divvy up a shrinking pie of TV viewers even further while overstretching existing personnel to do more work for less pay and merely rehashing the same content with the same McStation graphics and same unimaginative cuts from another generic Stephen Arnold music package. YAWN.

 

Here's a news flash: if either big three network pulls out of programming the 10pm hour, that's nothing but a devastingly dire outlook for the entire industry. It means that local television is in trouble and in an unsustainable path to insolvency unless you implement the Scrippscast model (or even the Rogers CityNews model) across-the-board or utilize AI to do everything for less.

 

But then again, it's not the first time the TV fandom has been so utterly detached from reality.

Don't forget the aging uninspired set that's 13, going on 14!

[Yankees4life 558]

WFOR/WBFS had their 10 pm newscast but it's long gone for a reason. WTVJ tried a 10pm newscast on WSFL (and later Cozi?) and it didn't work. WPLG has a 10pm newscast on WSFL but honestly WSVN has that slot locked down.

 

[Georgie56 3292]

13 hours ago, Yankees4life said:

WFOR/WBFS had their 10 pm newscast but it's long gone for a reason. WTVJ tried a 10pm newscast on WSFL (and later Cozi?) and it didn't work. WPLG has a 10pm newscast on WSFL but honestly WSVN has that slot locked down.

 

 

With Scripps recently acquiring Florida Panthers rights, that WPLG 10pm doesn't have much longer on WSFL, IMHO.

[Megatron81 256]

Which I wonder if NBC did give-up 10PM if Nexstar would air news on both WXSP & CW6 at 10PM or if they would drop it and be only on the main channel Wood TV. Since I don't see NBC giving up 10PM anytime soon not happening. I just don't think there needs to be anymore news to be added in my opinion as nothing happens in West Michigan. 

[TheRolyPoly 2358]

On 7/28/2024 at 10:11 PM, Yankees4life said:

WFOR/WBFS had their 10 pm newscast but it's long gone for a reason. WTVJ tried a 10pm newscast on WSFL (and later Cozi?) and it didn't work. WPLG has a 10pm newscast on WSFL but honestly WSVN has that slot locked down.

 

 

WBFS has now aired a 10pm since 2011 and they now air 9pm news from WFOR since last year.

 

WTVJ did but canceled in 2008 amid the now-aborted WTVJ sale to Post-Newsweek. WPLG has now done so for WSFL since 2021 but just canceled their morning news in favor of Scripps News programming.

 

WTVJ later tried at 9pm on NBC Miami Nonstop (WTVJ 6.2) for a few months but canceled before the Cozi TV launch.

 

Regardless, NOBODY can beat WSVN at their 10pm game. I live in this market so I can speak highly about this (my default pic is why it is what it is). WSVN garners ratings at 10pm makes others jealous.

 

10 hours ago, Georgie56 said:

 

With Scripps recently acquiring Florida Panthers rights, that WPLG 10pm doesn't have much longer on WSFL, IMHO.

 

Yeah, I don't see it surviving much longer since the 10pm news would be frequently preempted most nights by Panthers games, regardless of whether it starts early or late.

[The Frog 429]

Local stations are still pushing to reclaim 10 PM.

 

CBS may be the first to shed 10 PM after Jeff Shell takes over.

[tyrannical bastard 3931]

1 hour ago, The Frog said:

Local stations are still pushing to reclaim 10 PM.

 

CBS may be the first to shed 10 PM after Jeff Shell takes over.

If CBS pulls the trigger, you would have to wonder if the affiliates would end up of 95 minutes to fill, or would they move The Late Show up to 11/10 or even 10:30/9:30? 

 

It could do some damage to late nights, especially if they get moved up by a half hour or an hour.

 

Seeing as to what they did post James Corden, that show is basically a filler and would be even worse to move ahead of Colbert.

[TSSZNews 1051]

Remember when NBC threatened to (and effectively did by way of building WBTS) yank HDH's affiliation when they didn't want the Jay Leno show at 10?

Good times.

[Hometown News 53]

On 7/27/2024 at 6:00 PM, Rusty Muck said:

It always never fails to see certain people in this fandom bleat the age old cry that mOaR lOcAl nEwS is what the marketplace needs. Sure, let's divvy up a shrinking pie of TV viewers even further while overstretching existing personnel to do more work for less pay and merely rehashing the same content with the same McStation graphics and same unimaginative cuts from another generic Stephen Arnold music package. YAWN.

 

Here's a news flash: if either big three network pulls out of programming the 10pm hour, that's nothing but a devastingly dire outlook for the entire industry. It means that local television is in trouble and in an unsustainable path to insolvency unless you implement the Scrippscast model (or even the Rogers CityNews model) across-the-board or utilize AI to do everything for less.

 

But then again, it's not the first time the TV fandom has been so utterly detached from reality.

 

I'm not sure giving up 10pm is such an apocalyptic scenario. Sure, it is a sign of weakness for the Big Three, and it is unfortunate that the timeslot will just be used to stretch local news departments even further when we're already overloaded with news on TV. But FOX and the CW (including its predecessors) have already been doing exactly this for decades and they're still around. I see it more as another step in the slow managed decline of linear TV than an instant disaster for the networks.

Edited October 15, 2024 by Hometown News

[MediaZone4K 2158]

4 hours ago, tyrannical bastard said:

If CBS pulls the trigger, you would have to wonder if the affiliates would end up of 95 minutes to fill, or would they move The Late Show up to 11/10 or even 10:30/9:30? 

 

It could do some damage to late nights, especially if they get moved up by a half hour or an hour.

 

Seeing as to what they did post James Corden, that show is basically a filler and would be even worse to move ahead of Colbert.

Move the local news up to 10-11/9-10c so they can get that full hour of ad revenue. 

 

Put the late shows on 11/10c. I would imagine being seen earlier would help their ratings. Nightline especially would benefit from being earlier. Now, networks now only have to fill 2 hours of lack luster content a night.

 

The solution should not be what some Fox stations do: news at 10 and 11pm ET (a full 90-95 minutes). News departments are stretched thin enough. 

Edited October 15, 2024 by MediaZone4K

[HanSolo 143]

Good clickbait without any real substance. Someone could to this, or might do that. Ok…sure. Wake us when something actually transpires, not idle speculation or breathless reports on ideas that may or may not ever see the light of day.

 

Just having a little good natured fun. 

[GoldenShine_10 92]

Have networks considered having a national newscast in the late evenings as well, such as at 10 pm (9 pm CT)?

[Thor10 14]

3 hours ago, GoldenShine_10 said:

Have networks considered having a national newscast in the late evenings as well, such as at 10 pm (9 pm CT)?

Good point. They already program their streaming channels during that hour, so why not do the same with news on the main network? Let affiliates opt-out, if they prefer to fill with local programming.

 

Look at NBC News Daily, which took over the 1 p.m. hour about two years ago, pushing Days of our Lives to streaming.

 

The 10 p.m. hour is probably easy to fill for duopolies with FOX, CW or My Network TV already in the mix, as many of them already provide news on those affiliates.

 

As the economics of television get difficult, it's a move that makes sense, or should I say cents?

[TVNewsLover 774]

On 10/15/2024 at 1:41 PM, GoldenShine_10 said:

Have networks considered having a national newscast in the late evenings as well, such as at 10 pm (9 pm CT)?

I wonder if it makes sense to have local news on at 10pm, run national news at 10:30pm (perhaps ABC News Live Prime, NBC Top Story, CBS Daily Report), and have the late night talk shows come on at 11pm. 
 

I also think this would be an opportunity for the central and mountain time zones to have the same airing times from 8 to 10 PM, and let them program the 7 PM hour with syndicated fare. 

[Hometown News 53]

On 10/15/2024 at 1:41 PM, GoldenShine_10 said:

Have networks considered having a national newscast in the late evenings as well, such as at 10 pm (9 pm CT)?

 

This is pretty common in other countries, including the UK, Canada, and Australia, so there's precedent for it.