WSMV name change again

[bmasters1 418]

Noticed that WSMV in Nashville (Music City NBC station) is now WSMV 4 News, whereas before it was News 4 Nashville. What would make WSMV change its news name yet again-- was the News 4 Nashville name unpopular?

[nathannah 2536]

It's Gray's station now and they want to get away from most of Meredith's messes over the years, so the rebranding was partly done with that in mind.

[bmasters1 418]

7 minutes ago, mrschimpf said:

It's Gray's station now and they want to get away from most of Meredith's messes over the years, so the rebranding was partly done with that in mind.

 

Ah-- explains it! Never knew that Gray Television wanted that for the Music City NBC station.

[DirtyHarry 745]

5 hours ago, bmasters1 said:

Noticed that WSMV in Nashville (Music City NBC station) is now WSMV 4 News, whereas before it was News 4 Nashville. What would make WSMV change its news name yet again-- was the News 4 Nashville name unpopular?

 

My all-time favorite was Eyewitness Action News from Beavis and Butthead, but this is close enough.

 

[bpatrick 74]

I don't remember whose routine it was, but I remember Eyewitness Action Newscenter.

[RaleighTVBOI1 86]

1 hour ago, DirtyHarry said:

 

My all-time favorite was Eyewitness Action News from Beavis and Butthead, but this is close enough.

 

The best of both worlds with that branding.

[alaskanews 123]

WKRN has been "News 2" or "Nashville's News 2" for decades. WSMV went to "News 4 Nashville" when they were in 3rd place and trying to dig out after firing their star anchor and decided "Channel 4 News" didn't work anymore. What never made sense is why they didn't go to "WSMV-something" immediately. Those are legacy call letters in the market. WSMV 4 News, IMO, is the brand they should have always gone with because it resonates with the audience - old and new.

[bmasters1 418]

21 minutes ago, alaskanews said:

WSMV 4 News, IMO, is the brand they should have always gone with because it resonates with the audience - old and new.

 

Like News 4 New York does in the Big Apple on WNBC, or Eyewitness News does in the Windy City on ABC7 WLS?

[ATLNewsExpert 470]

So what all were the past brands of WSMV? Definitely not as crazy as WANF.....right?

[ABC 7 Denver 1741]

4 hours ago, alaskanews said:

WKRN has been "News 2" or "Nashville's News 2" for decades. WSMV went to "News 4 Nashville" when they were in 3rd place and trying to dig out after firing their star anchor and decided "Channel 4 News" didn't work anymore. What never made sense is why they didn't go to "WSMV-something" immediately. Those are legacy call letters in the market. WSMV 4 News, IMO, is the brand they should have always gone with because it resonates with the audience - old and new.

 

You know, as I do, that Creative Services is controlled by former news producers who have no background in marketing (or marketing execs with no experience in Television creative) and Consultants. Few understand how to convert research to a ratings bump because they were never trained in that.

[DirtyHarry 745]

All I know is one thing: The way to get noticed is to be different. Just rehashing the same thing everybody else does nationwide isn't going to accomplish a thing. You need not only difference in branding, but difference in products.

 

Same four interchangeable people in an interchangeable studio that looks like the bridge of the Starship Enterprise on all four local TV channels does not make for a lot of differentiation. 

 

Maybe if you're in first or second place, you don't want to rock the boat too much. But if you're one of the laggards, why are you beating your head against the wall doing what everybody else is doing?

[bpatrick 74]

That takes me back to Atlanta in 1976.  "11 Alive Newsroom" on WXIA was an attempt to be different; surveys showed that "Pro News" was too much like the newscasts on WSB and WAGA, and people were not going to change from either of them.  WXIA did attract a younger audience for a time but it didn't last, and by 1978 it had begun to resemble Channels 2 and 5 again.  But if you're in third you can take a chance; remember that until the late '60s WCBS was number one in New York and then WABC started "Eyewitness News" and we know how that worked out.

[Rusty Muck 4426]

On 1/12/2023 at 6:52 AM, bmasters1 said:

Noticed that WSMV in Nashville (Music City NBC station) is now WSMV 4 News, whereas before it was News 4 Nashville. What would make WSMV change its news name yet again-- was the News 4 Nashville name unpopular?

It’s also trading on the legacy “WSM” name. After all, Gray has been collaborating with Ryman (owner of WSM) for Circle well before they bought Meredith.

[DirtyHarry 745]

6 hours ago, bpatrick said:

That takes me back to Atlanta in 1976.  "11 Alive Newsroom" on WXIA was an attempt to be different; surveys showed that "Pro News" was too much like the newscasts on WSB and WAGA, and people were not going to change from either of them.  WXIA did attract a younger audience for a time but it didn't last, and by 1978 it had begun to resemble Channels 2 and 5 again.  But if you're in third you can take a chance; remember that until the late '60s WCBS was number one in New York and then WABC started "Eyewitness News" and we know how that worked out.

 

There have been some stupid attempts to be different. At one point WSYX went to all chicks for a brief time. It was a disaster. And it seems like the WKYC efforts have been panned as well. But Action News 19 was different and successful.

 

I don't know what I'd do without a lot of experimentation, but I know the current format of four bozos sitting behind a desk needs to be blown up. It's just boring to see the same thing everywhere.

 

I think what I do is outfit a truck of some kind to be the studio and just go on location every day. People used to love to read their name in the newspaper. I bet they'd love having their little county seat featured on the news..