There’s good reason for TV stations to be focused on free ad-supported television (FAST) channels and other digital platforms — they have become a rapidly growing business.

“In the aggregate, FAST channels have generated $7.3 billion this year and that’s projected to grow to $34 billion in 2027 amidst a rising tide of consumer usage and a rising tide of monetization that’s complementary to local,” said Greg Morrow, GM of ViewNexa by BitCentral.

“The numbers for FAST for news content are off the charts,” said Rick Young, SVP, head of global products, LTN. “The numbers show that half the FAST channels out there are news and half of the viewing time [on those channels] is news. That’s massive. And the more real-time, the more live the content is on those channels, the more demographics that you want will find them, whether they are male or younger.”

While CBS started implementing FAST and digital streaming in 2014, it’s only been within the last three-to-five years that most local station groups have gotten their live-streaming operations off the ground with services such as Fox’s LiveNow, Gray’s Local News Live and CBS’ local news apps. The relative newness of these services means that they are still in experimental and iterative phases.

“We look at the minute-by-minute concurrence when we’re evaluating the success of the streams,” said Sahand Sepehrina, SVP, streaming, CBS News & Stations. “We see that the local audience comes in about one to one half hours earlier than the national audience. Because of that, we have invested heavily in mornings. Now we have nearly 100 hours of live newscasts that are streaming exclusively in the mornings. We’ve seen that drive new audiences so as we’re starting to look at other day parts, we’re getting a lot smarter about what content we invest in.”

Viewers tend to turn to live streaming news when big events are happening. The longer the events go on, the more viewers tune in and stick around, stations are finding.

“We have found that live events really start to pick up an audience after the first hour. When we invested in live events that ran an hour to two hours, the ROI wasn’t nearly as strong as live events that were much longer,” Sepehrina said.

Gray launched its Local News Live product out of Omaha, Neb., in 2020 and then moved it to Washington, D.C. The group quickly realized that it needed to be live and streaming as much as possible and that there’s an appetite for local news coverage, even for people who don’t live in that market.

“We always want to be live. Our research and traffic have shown that engagement was so high when we were live that we really never want to go dark,” said Mike Braun, SVP, digital media, Gray Television.

In addition, viewers are more interested in watching stories from other markets than Gray expected: “It’s not only where you are, it’s where you’ve been and where you are going,” Braun said.

Three live-streaming strategies that BitCentral’s Morrow has found to be successful for local stations are first, to put up weather and traffic cameras that viewers return to often.

Second, stations are seeing success programming “hyperlocal” sports, such as high school, junior college and local second-tier professional leagues.

“The most successful thing we’ve seen on that front is working with the state associations on state championships, which are concentrated tournaments that take place over a period of days in sports like hockey and football,” Morrow said. “These get huge amounts of traffic and there are sponsorship opportunities. We are talking live content with huge tune-in times. People tune in all day long to watch, and it draws audiences outside of the local community.”

Third is programming a host-driven, vlogging style of content, like viewers find on TikTok or YouTube Shorts, which is something the Fox Television Stations have done both on their local-news streams and on their streaming news service, LiveNow. LiveNow has digital journalists, or DJs, who create their own content on the fly, although they are supported by producers.

“They choose the shots, they talk about the content as it’s happening, they are just constantly just managing everything,” said Jeff Zellmer, SVP, digital operations, Fox Television Stations. “They have to have that passion, they have to have that stamina, but they also feel really empowered.”

Allowing talent to stay in constant touch with the audience creates a relationship that keeps viewers coming back.

“This is about having a dialogue with the audience about local issues,” Morrow said. “We saw when a station added that component to their local broadcast, they saw lift, engagement and recurring tune-in.”

That tune-in extends past the typical local news audience of older adults to younger millennial and Gen-Z consumers.

“What we are finding in the digital or FAST world is that the audience is younger and more male-skewing than we might have imagined,” said LTN’s Young.

Another advantage of live streaming is that journalists can spend as much or as little time as they want on certain topics.

“There’s the freedom to talk for 10 minutes if there’s a reason to do that. Journalists are eager to talk about things they didn’t cover in a one-minute package,” Zellmer said. “We are watching the data constantly. We absolutely pay attention to the viewer. We wouldn’t be doing what we are doing if we didn’t see that it was growing over time.”

Fox is not only watching the data closely — it’s allowing viewers to watch closely as well. LiveNow includes a graphic in the left corner that tracks how many people are watching at any given time. “It gives the DJ immediate feedback of whether people are interested in what he or she is doing,” Zellmer said.

It’s all leading to a time in the not-too-distant future, where TV stations’ linear and digital offerings are all just one part of a larger content offering and aren’t considered to be distinct products, Young said.

“It’s no longer a world of traditional versus digital,” he added. “The audience is everywhere. The numbers are equal in terms of engagement and new opportunities on old and new platforms. It’s a ‘yes and’ strategy for everybody now going forward.”

Read more coverage of NewsTECHForum 2023 here.

Watch this session and all the NewsTECHForum 2023 videos here.

The post Stations’ Streaming News Strategies Are Literally Evolving By The Minute appeared first on TV News Check.

Emily Barr

How can we ensure the health and vitality of our communities? While there are many different ways to support what makes any society function, providing access to information is an essential element of democracy.

Without a steady and reliable flow of local news, most communities suffer, be it from rising taxes, diminished social services or corruption brought on by greed, desperation and the proverbial “more for me, less for you” attitude that spreads like wildfire when we forget we are all in this together. If “a rising tide lifts all boats,” then surely, we need to remind ourselves that taking on too much water could be the death knell for us all.

Much has been studied and written about the alarming decline of local news coverage, especially among legacy newspapers. According to a recent study by Northwestern University, in 2023 alone, an average of two-and-a-half newspapers closed each week compared to two per week in 2022. Many were the last remaining weeklies in their markets creating news deserts with no reliable source of information for the people living there.

Local television and radio stations, especially those situated in smaller markets, have made some noble efforts to pick up the slack, but the nature of broadcasting limits what one or two stations might be able to cover in often geographically complex regions. Television and radio stations are not immune from a challenging economy and the tendency to cut staff has made it harder than ever for broadcast journalists to research and uncover some of the more pressing stories in their respective markets. When it comes to local journalism, no medium is immune from potential extinction.

So, what to do? Across the country in communities large and small, efforts are underway to try to reverse this decline and get individuals within communities reconnected. Despite the challenges, individuals, foundations and local business leaders are attempting to reinvigorate and reinvent local media. Some have created digital start-ups or podcasts. In some cases, they have leaned on the institutional knowledge of writers and reporters formerly employed by legacy media. Others, with no formal journalism training at all, are attempting to rewrite the ending to what might otherwise be called an American tragedy.

Mississippi Today, a seven-year-old digital nonprofit news organization with a mix of funding from local and national foundations, subscribers and advertising revenue, has doggedly been uncovering corruption in state politics. Earlier this year, it was awarded a Pulitzer for its thorough investigation into a state welfare scandal. Beyond its daily coverage, it has also realized that connecting with Mississippians in person is part and parcel to serving its community, and the organization regularly hosts free events encouraging dialogue, discussion and connection. Good for them. Who knew that in 2023, the concept of live events would be back in vogue?

Along with renewed and revitalized local news coverage, in-person, open forums may be the key to reigniting our sense of community. Today, any gathering can easily be recorded and made available online for anyone to watch. A few hundred individuals may make the effort to attend in person, but thousands could be engaged on-line. And that is where local television could step up and provide an enormous shot in the arm to communities.

The entire two-hour discussion surrounding clean drinking water does not need to be broadcast in prime time, but it could air on a station’s website and/or a digital subchannel. Stations could certainly stream events on their FAST channels or YouTube. They could — and should — consider collaborating with local digital start-ups or struggling newspapers if the resulting story helps uncover corruption, hold elected officials accountable and generally makes the community safer. And guess what broadcast television knows how to do really well? Live television.

Stations could and should participate in podcasts that tend to reach younger individuals who may never watch broadcast television but who might be willing to download an app if they believed the station had their interests at heart.

And before you ask, “who is going to pay for this?” remember that plenty of local advertisers and small businesses might be willing to engage with broadcasters if it could mean reaching potential buyers of their products. Study after study confirms that local broadcasting is still the most trusted source of news for many Americans. Why not enhance that bond by partnering with the larger local media community struggling to be heard? If we are going to stem the tidal wave of misinformation that is already slamming into us, we need to act now.

In short, we need to regularly and authentically connect to one another and perhaps this simple act of engagement will help us chart a path forward that could lead to a safer, more informed citizenry. One that values its diversity, interconnectedness and common challenges would be something beautiful to see.

Emily Barr is the retired CEO of Graham Media Group and is currently serving on the board of The Maine Monitor, an independent, nonpartisan investigative and explanatory journalism digital outlet focusing on public interest issues that impact Maine.

The post As News Media Work To Connect With Citizens Anew, TV Can Play A Big Part appeared first on TV News Check.

Fox Weather, by contrast, opened its virtual doors without a cable address, instead reaching viewers via its app, website, streaming channel and select programming insertions into Fox cable real estate including Fox Business and Fox News.

In this Talking TV conversation, Britta Merwin, one of the network’s meteorologists and co-host of its morning block, shares her vantage point on the network’s growth since launch. She says its distribution strategy has been its biggest strength, that the network has kept pace with the dramatic uptick of extreme weather and that discussing climate change — often a factual sore spot for its Fox News cousin — is a key part of its ongoing weather narrative.

Episode transcript below, edited for clarity.

Michael Depp: I’m Michael Depp, editor of TVNewsCheck, and this is Talking TV, our weekly video podcast.

Fox Weather recently celebrated its second anniversary and has continued to widen its distribution since its initial launch.

Britta Merwin is one of Fox Weather’s meteorologists. She’s with me today to talk about how the network has evolved, what it’s doing to keep a competitive edge in the highly competitive weather market, and how the endless torrent of extreme weather that we experience continues to change her job. We’ll be right back with that conversation.

Welcome, Britta Merwin, to Talking TV.

Britta Merwin: Thank you. Thank you for having me.

Thanks for being here. Fox Weather is now two years old — terrible twos. What are some of the things that you’ve seen change since you’ve come on board?

Really how you find us is what’s really changed the most. I think the mission is very similar. You know, the cool thing about working for a startup is that you get to make it what you want it to be. And we’ve really had these strong pillars going into the beginning of Fox Weather. We wanted to help people, provide people with information, but do it in a way that brought it down to the kitchen table, really connected with people one to one.

And I think that that’s something that we’ve been successful at, we’ve continued to keep in our hearts. But you can find us everywhere now. I mean, really, in the beginning it was all about finding us on the app. And I think all of us on day one when we launched, we realized how big this was going to get. I mean, to see so many people download the app just within the first 24 hours was remarkable. And now two years [on], I think all my family has a different way of finding us. So, it’s amazing how many different sources there are for finding Fox Weather. I have one family member that gets it on Roku, another one on Samsung TV Plus and then you know, locally, you can just turn on the TV. It’s right there.

When you talk to people anecdotally outside your immediate family, how do you find most people are connecting with it and watching you now? Or is it not one predominant way?

You know, I hear it from all sorts of different avenues, especially people that are tied to their cell phone, which most people are, especially younger people. I still hear a lot of people that enjoy the app because the interface is so easy, to watch it live, it’s so smooth and it works so well, that I think a lot of people have that initial connection there. But it’s interesting to see the numbers. I mean, really there’s people that are taking advantage of multiple ways of finding us.

The network launched against some pretty entrenched competition. I mean, The Weather Channel, for instance, has been around for over 40 years now. What are some of the things that you and your colleagues have been doing to stand out, to define your own brand in this landscape?

You know, I think the way you access us makes it very unique. Streaming weather was not really accessible before Fox Weather showed up. And so, I think providing that really made it crucial.

My time in Houston during [Hurricane] Harvey, I think is really one of the first times in my career that I noticed how important a cell phone truly was. You know, power goes off, but many people have power on their phone. You know, they have backup power pods that they can charge up their phone. And it was amazing to see how many people were relying on that to watch our live streaming channel.

And when Fox Weather came around, they provided that on a national level, which was very unique and a new way to be able to get information that you really need. And so, I think that’s something that really sets us apart.

Also, our connection to Fox News, I think that that makes it very unique. We’re not just Fox Weather, we’re the Fox family. For instance, during Idalia, we actually simulcasted the landfall of Idalia on Fox News. So, you know, everybody had an easier way to stay up to date to know what was going on and also provided America with a unique opportunity to really see what was going on in Florida at the time. Because many times during natural disasters, it’s not just who’s going through, a lot of times it’s everybody else on the outside, right? People are interested and intrigued by what’s going on. They either have family members that are in the path of the storm, or they just have an interest in what’s happening because it is at such a notable level like Hurricane Ian.

Is Fox News, do you find, the biggest driver for audience development? Are you picking up most of your new viewers via your exposure on Fox News?

I believe it’s from multiple avenues. I definitely think that that’s a strong suit that we have. Obviously, we have a lot of experience launching new platforms. We’ve done it in various different ways within our company. So, I do think that that’s a strength and a strong suit that we have. But I do think it’s about diversifying the deck, so to speak.

Your own career in TV meteorology has taken you on an interesting trajectory so far. You started out in NBC Weather Plus was it, I think, where you did the weather for Squawk Box?

Yeah, NBC Weather Plus was the first stop.

And then you were on News 12 Long Island, KCRA in Sacramento, KPRC in Houston. How did all these jobs prepare you for what you’re doing now, co-anchoring the Fox Weather morning block?

You know, I think it really armed me with a great diverse outlook of what goes on across our country. And I find myself very blessed to be part of a big military family. So, I’ve lived many places and I have family members in many places. And I think that that has really prepared me for this time in my career because I started as a national meteorologist.

You know, when I was on Squawk Box with CNBC, I was more focused on travel weather. And now as I’m coming back to the network level, it’s a lot deeper than that. We’re really connecting with people and focusing on the weather for the entire nation at such a magnitude, right? You know, we’re covering massive natural disasters, but also going down to the things that are daily life, like hopping on a plane, getting your kid to school. So, I think being able to be blessed with the opportunity to move across the country and see different types of weather, it’s armed me with the opportunity to be able to forecast in many spots.

And that’s really another strong suit that I love about Fox Weather. You know, when you add it all up, we have 120 meteorologists and each one of us has a unique pathway just like myself. So, it’s really neat if one person, you know, might not have had experience in the Pacific Northwest, you can find somebody that has and I always say forecasting, it’s a team sport. It comes down to working as a team, looking at scientific data, as a team and figuring it out together. The more creative minds and strong scientific thinking that you have, the better your product is going to be.

The thing about TV meteorology, which you will be well aware of, is that in individual markets people form very strong attachments to their local meteorologist and their personality is a big part of their delivery. The relationship with the audience that they cultivate is extremely important.

If you have so many meteorologists in your ear in a national-facing network—and you’ve been very emphatic about the technology and the multiplatform distribution is kind of key to the brand—what about the development of, you know, what about you as a person and your individuality? Is that less important in this context? It sounds like it’s you know, it’s the tech, it’s the distribution points. Is the personality side of this a little bit less significant at Fox Weather?

I don’t believe so. I mean, especially with the surge of AI, which I think in many ways we’re still unlocking the potential there, either the potential drawbacks or also the potential strengths when it comes to that in so many different avenues of how we function in life. But when you boil it down, people are always going to want to connect with a person, and whether it’s on a local level or national level, when you are going through a natural disaster or you have a family member that is… or if you go to the macro level, for instance, Hawaii, with the Lahaina wildfires, there’s many Americans that have never been to Hawaii. They’ve never even seen the Hawaiian Islands. They have no connection to it. But that was the deadliest wildfire in modern U.S. history.

And when you have natural disasters that are hitting that level, Americans feel it. It, unfortunately, sometimes is the darkest things in reality that bring out the brightest light in humanity. And when something like that is going on, you’re always going to want to be drawn to an actual human being. So, to a person, to a face, to a feeling, to a connection that you built with somebody by watching them. And so, I think the connection that people get on the local level is exactly the same on a national level, but you might be tuning in for a different reason.

I do think a lot of our viewers are people that have a large interest in what’s going on, have family members that are being impacted that really want to understand why something is happening, the latest information of what’s going on. So, they’re up to date because they know their loved ones in it, you know, and they might not be able to get that information, but they can tune on Fox Weather and they’re going to have the latest information of exactly what’s going on in an area where they have family members, where they have friends, where they have people that they want to know what’s going on.

Now, talking of extreme weather, I mean, at this point, extreme weather has thrown away the script and there’s no longer any sense of, you know, something’s going to happen in a particular time or season or place, for that matter. How have you adjusted as a newsroom in your two years to deal with the velocity of what’s happening now in terms of extreme weather events across the country?

You know, I think a lot of the shift really has happened over the last 10 years. I think it’s sort of been a gradual increase, but definitely since we’ve launched, I feel like it’s kind of like, you know, putting the gas pedal all the way down to the floor. And so, I think it’s provided us with a unique opportunity to grow with the need, if that makes sense, because we’re happening at the same time as that accelerating, we can grow with the pace instead of playing catch up.

It’s like we’re right in line with it. And I think just the sheer number of people that we have that have the weather knowledge and have all of that scientific back up. I think it arms us in a unique position to stay up to pace, because I do think that when you look at the occurrence of natural disasters in our country, you’re going to run into more people that have been impacted by natural disaster.

If you go back 15 years ago, there’s a lot of people that might not, have never, you know encountered a flood or a blizzard, and now almost everybody has lived through some type of natural disaster. Maybe on a different level, but you’ve at least been touched by the ferocity of Mother Nature.

And I think that we have a unique position because we’re sort of growing up in these times, so to speak, that we can kind of go with it instead of playing catch up. Because I do think that for some Americans, they’re having to play a little bit of catch up. They’re not used to living with these conditions. They’re being uncomfortable because of weather for one of the first times in their life. And they’re having to be reactive instead of proactive. I think Fox Weather is in a very unique position where we’re able to be proactive. We’re not having to play catch up because we’re right there already.

Many people were skeptical at Fox Weather’s launch that the network would acknowledge the reality of climate change in its reporting. And around that time I had Sharri Berg, who runs the network, in an interview onstage, and at the time she vowed that the issue was a nonstarter — that there would be no climate change denial at all at Fox Weather. Now, you came out of NBC’s stations where there’s a lot of talking about climate change now and how it impacts meteorology. So, how are you at Fox Weather talking about climate change right now? Where does it fit into the narrative of your weather reporting?

I think we really stick to the facts and that’s how we go about it, because that’s how it should be done. It’s a science. Meteorology is a science, and so you have to stick to the facts. And you know, there is a much larger occurrence of dramatic weather because our earth is warming up and there’s no way to get around it. I mean, a big example is what we’ve seen with this hurricane season, the Pacific Ocean and the Atlantic Ocean were very warm this year. And the interesting thing is it’s an El Nino year. We should have had a very underplayed Atlantic hurricane season. And we have two names left on the list. And the season ends Nov. 30. So, we’ve gotten very lucky. We’ve only had two real impacts for the U.S., for the Atlantic. Of course, we had Hilary off the Pacific. But to have so many storms, we got really lucky this year. We really, really did. But it’s an example of how, you know, we stick to the fact of what it is.

You know, the water temperatures are insanely warm. And when you look at heat over the globe, you know, there’s, of course, natural oscillations that are part of the Earth. El Nino and La Nina. Those are transfers of water temperatures across the Pacific that are natural part of how the earth works. But then there’s other parts where we are warmer and it’s because of the impact of our life on the globe.

And so, I think it’s important to cover both things and even last week we had a great scientist on that was talking about that specific thing and about how that could impact the winter season. Because the truth is we’re going into winter with a strong El Nino pattern, but our water is hot. I mean, even water temperatures in Canada and the lakes are warmer than they have ever been. And so, we’re kind of in uncharted territory, so to speak.

How is that going to impact things? And that’s what I love about science, is that you’re always curious, you’re always wanting to find the answer, pushing for more information. And that’s what I love about being a meteorologist and an atmospheric scientist is that you’re always pushing the envelope to unearth the truth on earth, the facts and deliver it.

But, you know, Fox Weather, we give you the facts, we’re going to stick to it. We’re all scientists. I mean, my degree is in atmospheric sciences. I didn’t go to school to be on TV. I actually found my way into that avenue through internships, but my degree is in atmospheric science, and that’s what drives me and that’s what I’m passionate about.

How do viewers react when you talk about climate change? I mean, you know, the facts are the facts with regards to that phenomenon. But you know especially those coming from Fox News are not so friendly to that idea as an empirical truth. Do you run against any friction there when you talk about it?

I haven’t personally run into any friction, so it’s not something that I’ve encountered.

Now, I know the network has a pretty serious arsenal of weather tech. What do you find are the most important tools doing your job?

I find the most important tool is our people force. It is the meteorologists in this building. Do we have fancy tools? Absolutely. Do we have a network of awesome radars? Absolutely. And that is an important part. But if you don’t have the minds that can read that, that can use the tools, then those fancy tools are useless. You have to have the science behind the technology to make that marriage and make it work. And that’s what we have at Fox Weather. It’s the perfect setup.

That said, are you really not going to tell me your favorite toy at work?

Well, I have to say my favorite toy, it might sound a little silly to some people because I am a hardcore atmospheric scientist, but it really draws back to a very human element. We have an event planner on our app where you can put in your vacation. It can be a week-long … so right now I actually have a family vacation that we’re planning for in June in Florida, and I have the whole week laid out for the location that we’re meeting up, and it’s my parents, it’s my siblings.

We have been looking forward to it. And it’s showing me the weather leading up to that. And that’s really, I have to say, just from a personal standpoint, that’s one of my favorite things. Although we have fancier things, our 3D radar on the app is really great. But I have to say that’s probably my favorite feature on the app, is the planning feature. Just because it’s fun to pull it out with my kids and count down and know what the trends are and where we’re going and what we could be looking forward to.

An endeavor like this network is always about continued expansion and iteration. So, what can we expect for the third year of Fox Weather?

I think distribution will continue to grow. I mean, we’ve had such an accelerated rate just in the last two years, but I think that that is something that will continue to move forward. And I think you’re going to see more people come on board. Always when there’s something new, you know, it takes a while for people to latch on and just seeing how much has been embraced in two years. It makes me excited for the future because I think that piece is just going to continue to grow and more people kind of coming into the family.

Britta Merwin, meteorologist and morning co-host of Fox Weather, congratulations on Fox Weather’s second anniversary and thank you for coming.

Thank you, Michael. I appreciate you having me.

Thanks to all of you for watching and listening. Talking TV is back most Fridays with a new episode. You can watch all of our past episodes on TVNewsCheck.com and on our YouTube channel. See you next time.

The post Talking TV: Fox Weather Marks A Second Anniversary appeared first on TV News Check.

Hosted by meteorologists Janice Dean and Britta Merwin, the special will spotlight stories of strength and service from first responders across the country who have helped their communities. Notably, these stories have special meaning for both Dean and Merwin who are married to members of the New York City Fire Department and U.S. Coast Guard, respectively.

The honorees:

Tracy Harden (Rolling Fork, Miss.) – Harden managed to save dozens of lives at her restaurant Chuck’s Dairy Bar in Rolling Fork as an EF-4 tornado rolled through the town. Hardin and nearly a dozen others sheltered in a freezer as the tornado came through, and she’ll share her story with Dean and Merwin. Harden was also awarded at last month’s Fox Nation Patriot Awards where she received the Fox Weather Courage Award.

Tracy McMillion (Fort Myers, Fla.) – McMillion, who serves as the Fort Myers fire chief, will recount the magnitude of Hurricane Ian, which severely damaged the area in 2022 and discuss preparations and takeaways the city took in recovering from the Category 5 storm.

Krya Dykeman (Lahaina, Hawaii) – Dykeman, a 16-year U.S. Coast Guard veteran, responded to the devastating fires in Lahaina this past summer. Dean and Merwin will highlight her acts of bravery and how she’s still managing fire outbreaks every week since the origin of the disaster. Fox Weather correspondent Max Gorden, who covered the storm from Maui, will also join the episode to discuss his experience reporting on the ground as well.

Stacy Chiarolanza (Fairfield, N.J.) – Chiarolanza, a Fairfield police officer, was put to the test when severe flooding caused a state of emergency this past September. She joins Dean and Merwin to reflect on the events and spotlights her colleague, Corporal Steven D’Aregnio, who rescued a man from his car as it was engulfed in water.

Art De La Cruz – De La Cruz, who serves as Team Rubicon’s CEO, joins Dean and Merwin to discuss their efforts in relieving communities with help from natural disasters. The veteran-led nonprofit travels to areas devastated by hurricanes tornadoes and more to help citizens rebuild after disaster strikes.

Jillian Crane – Crane, who is president and CEO of The First Responders’ Children’s Foundation, joins Dean and Merwin to discuss their foundation which provides financial support to children who have lost a parent in the line of duty, as well as families enduring significant financial hardships due to tragic circumstances. Last month, Fox teamed up with the foundation to donate more than 1,000 gifts for children this holiday season.

The post Fox Weather To Present ‘Into The Storm: Fox Weather Honors The First Responders Of 2023’ On Dec. 9 appeared first on TV News Check.

The premise is straightforward — the reporter develops a closer relationship to the area, building trust and delivering more relevant, useful stories. The community, for its part, sees a station invested in its future.

At WCBS in New York, President and GM Johnny Green and VP/News Director Sarah Burke say the community reporters are gaining traction with viewers, as are the beat-focused reporters the station is increasingly turning to as well. They say the effort is an investment in trust, especially in a media hostile climate on the cusp of a deeply fraught election year.

In this Talking TV conversation, Green and Burke also discuss the momentum WCBS has built as a first mover in the local news streaming and how they’re readying their staff for safety in a rough year ahead.

Michael Depp: I’m Michael Depp, editor of TVNewsCheck, and this is Talking TV, our weekly video podcast.

Today, I’m joined by Johnny Green, president and GM of WCBS in New York, and Sarah Burke, the VP and news director at the station. There are always a million things going on at an O&O station in the country’s biggest news market, but our conversation is going to zero in on a few of them: The community reporting model being implemented across the CBS stations, growth in CBS’s local streaming channel there and how they’re bolstering for a tumultuous news year ahead of the enormous pressures that everyone in the industry—but perhaps especially the New York stations—are under. We’ll be right back with that conversation.

Johnny Green and Sarah Burke, you are very welcome to Talking TV.

Sarah Burke: Thank you. Good to be here.

Johnny Green: Thanks for having us.

To a greater or lesser extent, CBS-owned stations have been creating the position of community reporters in their markets, essentially to be covering a neighborhood with the idea of building trust, building relationships in the community and ultimately giving better, more relevant coverage. How widely are you doing this in New York?

Johnny Green: I can start from a broader sense from a station perspective. We assign journalists to geographical areas and beats. And what I can tell you is since we made that commitment, it’s kind of energized the entire station to be almost journalists across departments because everybody takes pride in where they live and share news from that beat. Being involved, community activities from that beat. I can toss it to Sarah, who can go deeper into how we do it specifically with our reporters here in the newsroom.

Sarah Burke: Thanks, Johnny. Our community reporting kind of takes several different forms at this point. So, we have the reporters who live and work in community. I have a reporter in the Bronx, I have a reporter in Brooklyn, Queens, someone who specializes in Harlem. Those are the investments we’ve made to date with other investments in the future.

We’d love to have someone on Staten Island. We have folks who are in New Jersey, two reporters there. And what we feel like that investment gets us is really hyperlocal reporting, but not just hyperlocal, as in, you know, we’re finding out about this story or that story, but the follow up is, I think, a little bit more authentic and automatic.

We are building real relationships with the people who, you know, Jessi Mitchell in Harlem or Elle McLogan in Queens, Hannah Kliger, who was born and raised in Coney Island and is getting good tips, is following up on stories and building a lot of trust in the community. Like you said, Michael, that’s one of the community reporter investments we’re making.

But the entire station is investing in community through our Better Together campaign, which is really active all year round, but particularly around the holidays. We’re doing our season of giving campaign and that I think has helped the whole organization understand the importance of investing in community for all of us, not just reporters who are working a beat. And we’ll be out on Saturday at several grocery store locations talking about food insecurity and things of that nature. We also just generally do internal efforts to kind of bring the station together, too, which I think has been really meaningful.

Johnny Green: One quick thing I would add is, the one thing that I think the newsroom’s commitment which spreads to the station — what I love about it is we’re there to cover stories that we have to cover that are not always fortunate, but we’re also there to celebrate when things go well and to be partners, you know, when things don’t go well. I think that is the biggest payoff from what I see from this seat.

You’re kind of actually getting to what I want to just follow up on with the community reporters. How are the communities that are being covered responding, and how are viewers more broadly responding to this structure? Is it something where you’ve had some concrete feedback so far to build from?

Sarah Burke: We’ve gotten really positive feedback in the form of emails. I forget the story last year that we covered, I think it was a domestic violence kind of survivor event. We went there, I think it was in the Bronx, we spent the day, we covered the story, we talked to folks and one of my news managers… her title is executive producer impacting community, and that’s a role that was new to the station group when [CBS News & Stations President] Wendy [McMahon] first came, came aboard… and it’s been just such a valuable role to have in our newsrooms. She works with our community reporters to just kind of keep track of what they’re working on and also engaging in some of these bigger station events.

But anyway, she was the one who received this email from somebody who said, I can’t believe you showed up. You’re never here to cover us for something good. I’m not doing the email justice because it was really just a beautiful sentiment that meant a lot to the newsroom, and I think it has that reinforcing effect. We want more of that. We want to be there for positive stories and make sure that we’re shining a light on good things, things that are helping community as much as we’re there for the things that certainly become news coverage and are unfortunate stories.

I’m just curious about the implementation of this idea in New York, particularly because it’s such a massive city and you have such giant populations even within neighborhoods. I mean, you could have a community reporter just in Astoria, Queens or in Hell’s Kitchen or, you know, you could divide it up in an even more granular way. You just have people covering essentially boroughs, it seems at the moment, or Harlem. Do you foresee kind of any allocation shift of more reporting resources into this model significantly than you have now?

Sarah Burke: That’s a good question. I think we’ll continue to invest, like I mentioned, we don’t have someone on Staten Island just yet, but we do have two reporters on Long Island, and we have somebody in Westchester County. We’ve deployed in a geographic way already, in addition to the people who are identified specifically as community reporters.

But we’ve also, Michael, talked a lot about specializing in a topic and developing more expertise in that way as well. So, we have the geographic community, but then we also have an education community. We have people who are focusing on congestion pricing, which is such a huge issue here in the tri-state area. So, we’re also specializing reporters in a kind of a hybrid beat way that we think will really help our audience more deeply understand important issues to the viewers we’re trying to serve.

Let’s talk about streaming. CBS had one of the earlier and more robust local streaming channels, piggybacking initially off of CBS All Access. Flash forward a few years and you’ve got these relatively mature streaming operations that I understand are quite successful – their digital performance in all your markets, including New York. I know also that you’re morning blocks are particularly strong with traffic. But what can you tell me about the growth that you’ve had there and how you’re how you’re maturing that operation on streaming?

Johnny Green: Yeah. Michael, thank you for that question. You know, as you pointed out, we had the luxury to bring in the first local streaming channel, local station in the country, and we did get a jump start as far as being out there. People know where we are. And what we’ve seen by the research is those morning hours were heavily viewed.

So, in the last year plus we launched a 7 a.m. That was streaming-only to start. We recently, two months ago, launched an 8 a.m. now both a simulcast also on WLNY ch. 55, which is our sister station.  You know for example, the 7 a.m., the month of October got 7.5 million minutes watched. And it has certainly been a success, I think, post COVID, you see viewing habits changed, so the commute might be different, so we’re going through that 4:30 through later in the morning. We’ve seen some success there. Sarah, anything you want to add about kind of the content and what you guys would produce news-wise?

Sarah Burke: Thanks, Johnny. It’s been really heartening to see just that we’re creating something that there is a big demand for, and to have some of the most successful streaming shows in the station group has been, I think, really rewarding for us. And so, we’re trying to build on that success with the 7 a.m. and we’ve launched the 8 a.m., as Johnny mentioned, come December, it will be a full hour. And so, we’ll have a sizable morning block that starts at 4:30 in the morning on linear. Of course, we’re simulcasting everything on stream, so we’ll be on from 4:30 all the way till 10 a.m. with, I think, newscasts that not only serve our audience with weather and news, but we’re really trying to create an experience for the viewer that allows them to stay as long as they want. You’re not going to get something that feels like a wheel in the morning. You’re going to get news, you’re going to get weather. But we’re also trying to incorporate newsmakers, especially into the 8 a.m. hour, which is hosted by Chris Wragge, who’s an excellent interviewer, and we’re planning on having him lean into that when the show expands to the full hour.

Sarah Burke: And then 9 a.m. is one of my — you can’t say one of my favorite shows, but I have a soft spot for it because it’s so much of what we’re doing in the community. And that’s another kind of leg of the stool of our community engagement is to have this platform where we are celebrating community in such an intentional way. Cindy Hsu is the perfect anchor for that show, joined by John Elliott, who does weather for us. But all of our community partners have a home in the 9 a.m. and it’s just got an excellent warmth to it. And so that’s the streaming block that we’re talking about when we talk about the shows that are really, I think, performing strongly for us.

And elsewhere, Sarah, do you find it’s breaking news that’s driving peak performance on the streaming channel or are there other drivers?

Sarah Burke: Breaking news is a huge driver, absolutely, and that has been a learning curve for us. Not to say that we didn’t anticipate that breaking news would drive people, but just how much it does. And we know that if we’re not standing up excellent coverage during breaking news, we are missing a huge opportunity to serve our audience. They find us during breaking news. We’ve seen it with a crane collapse in Midtown, with the unrest in Union Square when Kai Cenat gave out the video games. It’s millions and millions of minutes streamed and, you know, I’m kind of constantly amazed that people are so available to just start streaming us. And it’s a real opportunity that energizes the whole newsroom.

And Johnny, what about advertisers there? Is it still largely, I mean, generally across the industry, it’s largely programmatic advertising, but are you doing a lot more direct sold into this?

Johnny Green: Yeah, it’s a combo. You’re right. It is more programmatic buys in the OTT space. But as we have these added live hours that we can point people to, and as we see the minutes watched grow, we’re certainly looking to kind of match the model that has worked for linear for many years.

How does that translate to OTT? So, that’s certainly something that our sellers are out in the marketplace marketing when we see this growth. You know, and what I’m happy about, what Sarah mentioned, is when we have those big breaking news events that translate to give us a little bit more regular viewers. Which is kind of the challenge in the sales space, but where we’ve seen some growth after being there, when people need us to be there, they’ll come back perhaps when there wasn’t a big break or so. We’ve definitely seen some success and some growth there.

How’s the learning curve with advertisers on streaming? Do they get it? Some markets I’ve heard are harder than others to kind of explain it to people. Some advertisers get it right away. They see it’s just like TV. They’re very savvy to it. Others, it’s harder.

Johnny Green: Yeah, it’s hit or miss. And you know, in New York is different to where, you know, some agencies are used to it, and they buy network. So, being in New York that works, some agencies are not as used to it and it’s the explanation, it’s calling out these positive stories that we see in our numbers and our growth. You know, reinforcing what we were bringing to the community, and just the convenience of it.

You know, we’re a big commuters place, so a commuter city, so people taking the train into the city, like we literally carry a story that way to advertisers. So, they know that, you know, there’s not appointment we’re constantly on, we’re 24/7. When it’s breaking, we’re there, and you know, slowly but surely, we see that they’re coming around.

Sarah, in terms of creating the programing that is bespoke or original to streaming, how difficult has that been to work it into the workflows of the newsroom? You know, it’s another thing you have to do. I don’t know how much you’ve staffed up to handle these additional streaming only hours or units, but has that been difficult to reconcile?

Sarah Burke: Well, I think yes and no. I have to give the newsroom a lot of credit because I’ve worked in several. They’re all fantastic places, but this is a group of such driven, professional, probably type-A people that you create a new mission, and they’ll achieve it, and frankly, usually in ways that I have not even imagined.

We have just a great team here who has really embraced the challenge of streaming, and more than just in a thing I’ve got to do, kind of like you’re saying, you know, you add another show, it’s another thing, it’s another drain on the newsroom. But that’s not how streaming has been perceived, I don’t think, by the newsroom. I think it’s viewed as the opportunity that it really is. And so, there’s a lot of excitement about it and a lot of people who are willing to pitch in. What I was talking about previously with the breaking news, we use the acronym, S.O.S. — stay on streaming. It helps us remember that, you know, even if we’re stopping down because we’re cutting in on linear, we got to stay on streaming, we’ve got to super serve our audience, and that’s a rallying cry for us, to just make sure that we’re thinking about serving the audience, whether it’s with a chopper picture or a live reporter or information driven from the anchor desk. And I think it’s a challenge that the newsroom has embraced, and we all understand that it’s important for our future to knock it out of the park.

And I should mention to viewers of this right now, if you want to learn more about CBS’s streaming news strategy and how it’s evolving, we have Sahand Sepehrnia, who is the group’s SVP of streaming, on a panel on this very subject at our NewsTECHForum conference in New York on Dec. 12. So, register for that.

Now, speaking of that conference, the overall theme of it this year is adapting to a culture of continuous crisis, which the industry finds itself needing to do now more than ever. And I wonder how you both are adapting yourselves. You know, you’re running one of the country’s biggest local newsrooms in a city that doesn’t ever have a moment of downtime on the best day. So, let me put a finer point on that. Sarah, I’m wondering specifically here, how are you prepping for coverage in an upcoming election year that’s going to see perhaps the most sharply divided electorate since the Civil War and where the prospect of violence against your journalists, you know, just as one baseline concern is perhaps higher than ever?

Sarah Burke: Thank you for that question. It’s certainly something that Johnny and I talk a lot about, and our senior leadership talks a lot about, because the concern that we have for our newsgatherers in the field, it’s real. And I will say that the safety concern is nonstop. Certainly, the election coming up will intensify those conversations and those concerns. But it’s always a concern.

Things are different out in the public now, even if it’s not covering a very controversial story. We face aggressive people when we’re newsgathering. And it’s difficult because I have a lot of veteran reporters and veteran photographers who tell me that, “you know, I was out, somebody flipped me the bird for no reason.” So, there’s a lot of animosity just generally toward the media, which is really unfortunate. I’m sure your point about the upcoming election, it will escalate, and we have lots of conversations about providing security for our teams and deciding if we really need to be live on a story, and any other thing we need to talk about is on the table for discussion. But what we’re not going to do is stop covering the news. That is our commitment to our audience and to do so with the same kind of integrity, accuracy and context that we want to provide. But it can be really tough.

Johnny, let me follow up on that with you, because you’re looking after the overall station, too, and the building itself. And, you know there’s a threat of people coming in there with maybe bad intentions. What are you having to put in place for contingencies now that maybe you didn’t even have to think of a couple of years ago?

Johnny Green: You know, I think Sarah spoke to some of it. What we didn’t do a few years ago, as much, I wouldn’t say we never did it, but was the security with news crews specifically. It’s not too many days go by that we don’t consider it, having that available. We’re having to be in a space where we share with our other CBS entities, CBS News, CBS Sports in the same building. We have constant conversations about this very thing and making sure that, you know, this entrance, that exit, that may not have been covered before, that there’s security all there. And I think, you know, Sarah also touched on something that we do is conversations, having the conversations with staff. “How are they doing?” I think in news, in the news department in particular, we do a good job of. “OK, I’ve covered this story, this terrible story for two days. I need a break from that.” Let’s reassign you to something else.

You know, another thing I’ve done station-wide is, working with Sarah, is bringing in experts and people that can talk. Media psychologist Dr. Don Grant we’ve had in several times to talk, have listening sessions, hear people out, where managers are not necessarily in those conversations. So, they can get the necessary tools they need to mentally do the job, and, you know, just having conversations. “How are you feeling out there?”

You know, I’ve had an incident where I wore a CBS hat, and somebody, and I wasn’t covering a story, I was walking down the street and someone, you know, yelled out something to me. So, I know it happens. It is how do we conversate? There are places where me and Sarah aren’t out in the field covering. We want to hear from them. What are they dealing with and making sure they have the proper resources across the board to do their job.

Sarah Burke: I just wanted to add that a little bit of an antidote to this is community reporting. You know, and certainly the trust we’re building by being in in the boroughs, by being in community, it’s really hard to say something mean to somebody who you see at the grocery store and somebody you’ve built a rapport with or somebody who you’ve sent an email to, and they followed up and helped you get your problem solved.

It’s not, of course, a full solution, but we do take hope from that because we see those relationships as a future and as something that can help us kind of on a dark day feel good about what we do because we know we still have a lot of power to help people and shine a light on problems. And so that helps me when we have some of the more negative, you know, issues pop up. I think a lot about community.

When you are sending crews out into stickier situations, are they sort of less branded maybe with CBS, you know, caps or jackets or, you know, your cameras may be smaller? Are you thinking about the crew drawing less attention to itself as one of the safety precautions?

Sarah Burke: That’s certainly part of the kind of toolkit. Yes. We don’t necessarily roll in a marked vehicle.

And just lastly, I mean, so many parts of this question we could get to, but what do you both think are the stakes for local news in this coming year?

Sarah Burke: Johnny?

Johnny Green: Yeah, I’ll take it first., I’ve been at nine TV stations. The stakes couldn’t be higher with, you know, you talked about at the top the war that’s going on right now, the election year coming up. You know, we all read the credibility and the issues that media as a whole has faced in recent times. And I think, you know, local news, not as much as some national outlets, I think is more important now than ever for us to be their voice to report unbiased and be essential to our viewers. You know that we have that information, and as I said earlier, we’re a partner.

When things don’t go well, we want to be there and be a partner and help it be better. When things are going well, we want to be there and help celebrate. And I think this year, you know, and not even mentioning the economy itself, so with all those things happening, it is more important now than ever for us to be an advocate, the voice for our consumers.

Sarah Burke: I couldn’t say that better.

We could get into all sorts of subsets of this question and be here for a long time, but you are both very, very busy people and you need to get back to it. So, I want to thank you, Johnny Green and Sarah Burke, for joining me today.

Sarah Burke: Thank you, Michael.

Thanks to all of you for watching and listening. You can catch past episodes of this podcast at TVNewsCheck.com or on our YouTube channel, and we’re back most Fridays with a new episode. See you next time.

The post Talking TV: WCBS Widens Its Community Reporting Web In NYC appeared first on TV News Check.

A deeper look into the data by language preference reveals that English-oriented Latinx give lower ratings to the news media on how the Hispanic/Latinx and all communities of color are portrayed compared to their bilingual/bicultural and Spanish-dominant counterparts.

News Media Representation Matters

“Representation matters across the spectrum of Latinx audiences” notes Adriana Waterston, EVP and insights and strategy lead for Horowitz Research. “It is not a surprise that Spanish- language TV viewers give higher ratings to the news media on representation because a substantial portion of their news viewership is on Spanish-language news media. The fact that English-oriented Latinx are the most critical of how they are represented in the news media underscore that mainstream news organizations still have work to do when it comes to onscreen inclusion.”

In response to the need to provide news media organizations with the tools to improve the quantity and caliber of their on-air diversity, Horowitz Research developed the JADE Score (Journalism Audit for Diversity and Equity), a proprietary audit tool that provides guidance for local news station managers, news directors and journalists to shape their daily decisions around what stories are told on the news and how they are being told.

Methodology

The full FOCUS Latinx: State of Media, Entertainment & Tech: Consumer Engagement 2023 report explores different segments of Latinx consumers and their attitudes towards hot-button topics to help media companies, advertisers, advertising/marketing agencies, and PR companies make smart decisions about Latinx marketing and outreach.

The survey was published in August among 606 Latinx adults 18+. Data have been weighted to ensure results are representative of the overall U.S. Latinx population. The report is available in total market, FOCUS Latinx, FOCUS Black and FOCUS Asian editions.

In September, Quirk’s Media – an industry provider of content, events and resources for marketing researchers – announced that Horowitz is a finalist for the Marketing Research and Insights Excellence Award in the Nonprofit/Social Enterprise Research category for its JADE Score.

The post Media Perception Gap: Latinx Dissatisfaction With News In The Spotlight appeared first on TV News Check.

In making the announcement, Joe Ruffolo, senior vice president and general manager of The Hill and NewsNation Digital, said: “We’re very excited to welcome Steve as an opinion contributor for The Hill’s growing Opinions section. The state of the media is changing and evolving, so having his analysis will be an excellent addition.”

NewsNation President of News Michael Corn added, “No one understands better than Steve how the media and politics intersect and shape our national conversation. Having worked as a journalist at major broadcast and cable networks, he not only brings a wealth of experience to NewsNation, but a deep understanding of how the media crafts stories and influences public opinion.”

Krakauer currently is the executive producer of SiriusXM’s The Megyn Kelly Show. He is a journalist, media critic and writer and host of the Fourth Watch media newsletter and Fourth Watch Podcast.

In February 2023, he debuted his first book about the media entitled, Uncovered: How the Media Got Cozy With Power, Abandoned Its Principles, and Lost the People, published by Hachette Book Group.

Krakauer has worked at multiple legacy networks including CNN, Fox News and NBC. Prior to that, he served as VP of digital content at The Blaze.

Krakauer started covering the media as a TV writer and editor at TVNewser and Mediaite, where he was a founding editor. He earned a bachelor’s degree in broadcast journalism at the Newhouse School of Public Communications at Syracuse University.

The post The Hill And NewsNation Sign Steve Krakauer As Contributor appeared first on TV News Check.

The Weather Channel en Español is the only channel on ViX dedicated to weather and climate. It provides weather coverage and news across the U.S., the Caribbean and Latin America.

Byron Allen, founder/chairman/CEO of Allen Media Group, said: “The Weather Channel en Español has secured great partnerships with other major streaming platforms, but today’s partnership announcement with TelevisaUnivision is significant because ViX is totally dedicated to serving the Hispanic community with Spanish language content. This is important for the network because it supports our commitment to providing life-saving weather information to Spanish-speaking viewers across the U.S.”

Bilai Joa Silar, SVP, head of programming and AVOD content at ViX, TelevisaUnivision, added: “This strategic partnership with The Weather Channel, the most trusted weather forecaster in the U.S., doubles down on our commitment to providing our audiences with crucial information and daily original, relevant programming in Spanish, supporting our current national and local news offerings.”

ViX offers more than 75,000 hours of on-demand content and over 100 streaming channels, all in Spanish. The app is available with two access tiers, one free with ads and one premium plan with a subscription, in the U.S., Mexico, and most of Spanish-speaking Latin America, across all major mobile platforms, connected TV devices, and via web on vix.com.

The post ViX Streaming Service Adds The Weather Channel en Español appeared first on TV News Check.

Joel Davis

“We went out and hired a group of people,” says Joel Davis, WRAL VP-GM, including anchors and an EP focused solely on WRAL News+ content. “We do weather every 10 minutes, updates at the top and bottom of the hour with the anchors, and then have some of the best-of content scattered in between there,” Davis continues, “but it’s a standalone news product.”

Davis and his colleagues believed it would take three years for WRAL News+ to break even. It took three weeks.

“It saw such usage on streaming, and then we eventually started to think, ‘Well, geez, how would this play on linear?’” Davis says.

Around the same time as the WRAL News+ launch, Capitol had purchased low-power WNGT-CD in the market. Without any other immediate use for it, the WRAL decisionmakers figured they might as well beam the streaming content from WRAL News+ to TVs tuning into it.

Heather Gray

“It was an interesting experiment to see whether that could translate back over to pseudo linear television as well,” says Heather Gray, WRAL’s station manager. “The news post product, in addition to over-the-air carriage, is on some of our FAST channel agreements as well, so it gets a little extension over there.”

After a handful of months, they saw the first quarterly book of Nielsen ratings on WNGT and were taken aback by its success.

“It did terrifically well,” Davis says. “It made us think, ‘We’re kind of on to something here,’ where this … turns [everything] back on its head — where everybody’s thinking about streaming and getting these products onto streaming platforms, they also work on linear TV.”

Davis praises Capitol for its focus on innovation, and he was unsurprised when the company went still another step further in best leveraging its WRAL News+ content.

“Since we own some radio stations in town, [we] put the audio on one of the radio stations,” Davis says. “So, if you’re on your commute, you can listen to the morning news and get the traffic reports and so forth — and same thing when you’re driving home at the end of the day.”

WRAL News+’s audio, then, is also heard on 99.3 FM in Raleigh. That slate of programming replaced what amounted to, as Davis describes it, “a lower-tier sports station.”

Even though WRAL News+ Radio’s audience understands they’re listening to the audio version of content intended for a visual medium, Davis says the station is “very competitive” among other local radio news talk channels. “We think as it grows and we draw attention to it with the promotion we’re doing it will become even more so,” Davis adds. And, according to recent Nielsen TV ratings provided by Davis, WRAL News+’s linear station, WNGT, tops numerous market competitors, including WTVD and WNCN’s morning news programs, as well as Spectrum News, Fox News and other stations across entire days.

On the technical side of the equation, WRAL pulled off this linear programming by making the recently purchased WNGT its ATSC 3.0 lighthouse. In a channel-sharing agreement with themselves, WNGT is also broadcast as part of WRAL’s high-power transmitter stick, which allows WRAL News+ to come across as a high-power 34.1.

The result is a product that Capitol values greatly.

Jimmy Goodmon

“The number of over-the-air homes watching WRAL News+ is strong, at 80%,” says Jimmy Goodmon, Capitol president-COO. “While there have always been OTA news viewers, it’s clear there is demand for continuous local news content. Some viewers may be reacquainting themselves with an OTA experience while a whole new generation is learning about OTA and what it provides as a service: free over-the-air quality TV.”

Meanwhile, WRAL is learning much about the audience of its streamer. According to data sets provided by the station, viewers of WRAL News+ skews female and lower income compared to the rest of the North Carolina GEO. It’s also comparatively more diverse, with a 25% greater likelihood that a WRAL News+ streaming viewer identifies as Black or Hispanic.

All of this information is crucial to ad sales, and Davis reports that WRAL News+ has been successful in that regard, with viewership running at about 17,000 consumers a day, measured with Google Analytics.

“We thought, quite honestly, that number would probably be there four years into the product,” Davis says of the viewership figure. “And it’s there one year into the product.”

All this is at the cost of just five new hires — though Davis says other WRAL news corps personnel, including meteorologists, saw a rejiggering of responsibilities so they could also contribute to the streamer. Davis estimates the investment into WRAL News+ amounted to about $300,000. He credits the anchors and the integration of new technology for making the streaming channel efficient.

“The two anchors have a Tricaster in front of them, so they kind of anchor and direct it live themselves,” Davis says. “I watched this and it’s phenomenal to see how they are able to talk and reference live video coming in while they’re punching everything up at the same time. We’ve got a couple [people] who are just really ambidextrous and really do a great job of that.”

Gray adds: “And it obviously helps, Monday through Friday, when we’re producing 11 hours of news on the primary channels. There’s quite a bit to pick from for that team to place in their wheel.”

Due to existing contractual agreements, the streaming channel runs old sitcom episodes during overnight hours, but outside of that it’s all news — and pretty profitable.

“We didn’t expect much out of this to begin with, we’ve been really surprised with the quick success on it,” Davis says. “So, we’ve redone our revenue plans for next year, substantially, based on the impressions we’re able to deliver.”

“I often talk about, whenever we start a new product — whether that’s podcasting or something else — we need to make sure we focus on the thing that we do best, which here just happens to be local news,” Gray says. “We thought there was likely an appetite with new audiences around local news. We certainly have seen that with some of our other digital products, but it was gratifying to see it across a more traditional platform.”

The post For WRAL, A News Streamer Circles Profitably Back To Linear TV And Radio appeared first on TV News Check.