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7:30 PM Local News

W

William_Yeager

WAVE/Louisville (NBC) began a 7:30 PM local newscast today, which immediately follows their 7:00 PM Newscast. Extra previously ran in that timeslot. Are any other stations across the country doing this?
 
WTMJ in Milwaukee did a 6:30pm newscast for a couple of years, which did nothing at all against ET on ABC, Seinfeld reruns on Fox, and Wheel of Fortune on CBS. They got Access Hollywood in February and killed the 6:30 immediately to fit it in.

There seems to be one sole aim with these pre-primetime shows; if they can get a good syndicated program, they'll put it before primetime. WTMJ also had Extra before programming the 6:30pm newscast, which of course is the red-headed stepchild of the infotainment shows. So basically WAVE is doing much more than they ever could with Extra's non-news and it doesn't cost much more to have their 6pm/11pm team doing a newscast in the middle.
 
KPHO/Phoenix (CBS) is the only Big 4 + 1 major independent that does "7:30 PM" news. Rather it's 6:30 with prime time schedule starting at 7:00.

KPHO has an hour of local news at 5:00 PM, CBS Evening News at 6:00, and local at 6:30. Interestingly, ABC/NBC air World News/Nightly News at 5:30.
 
Likewise KTRK/13 Houston, and I assume KCNC/4 Denver and
KSTP/5 St. Paul-Minneapolis are also running local news at
6:30 (CT, except MT in Denver).

I wonder how much more news the Louisville stations can
squeeze in; WHAS has started a 4 PM newscast to replace
Oprah.
 
brian4 said:
KPHO/Phoenix (CBS) is the only Big 4 + 1 major independent that does "7:30 PM" news. Rather it's 6:30 with prime time schedule starting at 7:00.

KPHO has an hour of local news at 5:00 PM, CBS Evening News at 6:00, and local at 6:30. Interestingly, ABC/NBC air World News/Nightly News at 5:30.
Click to expand...

If you want to flip channels, Phoenix has local news from 4 to 7 PM.
 
This is one case where comparing newscasts in the Eastern/Pacific time zones to the Central/Mountain time zones is not really valid. Central/Mountain are much more likely to have newscasts at 6:30pm than Eastern/Pacific are to have newscasts at 7:30pm. Now, I must mention that then-independent KTVT in Dallas tried an hour-long newscast at 7pm for a while in the early 90's.
 
In the San Francisco Bay Area, the 7:30 is the only half hour between 4:00 PM and 11:35 PM without a newscast. With that exception, news is on continually on one station or another between those hours.
 
WSFA in Montgomery Alabama does a 4 P.M. and 4:30 P.M. Newscast too.  It started yesterday, when Oprah came an end.

This TV station does local news at these times now:

5:30 to 7:00 A.M. (Main Channel)
8:00 to 9:00 A.M. (Digital Subchannel) (A repeat of the 5:30 A.M. Newscast from their main Channel) (Not sure if they will keep this on when they premiere Bounce TV later on this Month)
11:00 A.M. to 12:00 P.M. (Main Channel)
4:00 to 5:30 P.M. (Main Channel)
6:00 to 6:30 P.M. (Main Channel)
6:30 to 7:30 P.M. (Digital Subchannel) (A repeat of the 11:00 A.M. Newscast from their main channel) (Not sure if they will keep this on when they premier Bounce TV later on this month)
7:30 to 8:00 P.M. (Digital Subchannel) (A repeat of the 6:00 P.M. Newscast from their main channel) (Not sure if they will keep this on when they premiere Bounce TV later on this month)
9:00 to 9:30 P.M. (Digital subchannel) (Not sure if they will keep this on when they premiere Bounce TV later on this Month)
10:00 to 10:30 P.M. (Main Channel)
6 and 10 (Main Channel) (Saturday Nights)
9 P.M. (Digital Subchannel) (Saturday and Sunday nights) (Not too sure if they will keep this on when they premiere Bounce TV later on this month)
5 and 10 (Main Channel) (Sunday nights)

Whew that was a mouthful wasn't it?

Personally I just don't see the 4 and 4:30 newscasts doing too well for WSFA.  They might be shooting themselves in the foot for doing it.  Although they say these two newscasts won't repeat the same stories, I don't see how they will avoid it, being that Montgomery is a small market anyway.

Just my two cents>

R.D.P. <><

P.S. And yes WCFT/WBMA/WJSU ABC simulcast in Tusacaloosa, Birmingham and Anniston/Jacksonville is also doing a 4 P.M. Newscast too.  That one might work out, since that area of Alabama is in a bigger market and has more stuff to happen.
 
One other thing,

The other local channels in Montgomery carry local news too. Not as much as WSFA and its subchannel but still too many to count and/or list here.

R.D.P. <><

P.S. it looks like Montgomery is becoming a mecca for all things local news. It wouldn't surprise me if Montgomery were to soon get an all local news channel. (WSFA's Main Channel might be the one to go that route.)
 
The only reason why WSFA added a 4pm news is because it is a mandate for most, if not all of the stations in the Raycom group. Huntsville has it, and almost all of their markets in the Carolinas and Georgia have one. CBS in Charleston and NBC Columbia are only half-hours, but most are an hour-long.

All of their stations even have basically the exact same graphics.

WNCN Raleigh used to have one in an hour-long 7pm news, but it was low-rated and now it has been replaced by Extra.
 
Look at Los Angeles, between 4:30am and 11:35pm, there are 2 half hours (barring any preemptions) without local newscasts on air. If you include late night repeats (between midnight and 2am), there are 4 hours a day over the air without local news...

Here's the coverage:
4:30-10:30am KTTV (plus others at times)
11am-12n KABC
12n-1pm KCAL
1pm-2pm KTLA
2-3:30pm KCAL
4-6pm KABC
6-7pm KTLA or KSCI
7-8pm KNBC.2 (Non-stop LA)
8-10pm KCAL
10-11pm KTLA
11-11:35pm KCBS
12m-1am KWHY (Spanish repeat)
1-2am KTTV (repeat)

J
 
formeraa said:
This is one case where comparing newscasts in the Eastern/Pacific time zones to the Central/Mountain time zones is not really valid. Central/Mountain are much more likely to have newscasts at 6:30pm than Eastern/Pacific are to have newscasts at 7:30pm. Now, I must mention that then-independent KTVT in Dallas tried an hour-long newscast at 7pm for a while in the early 90's.
Click to expand...

I partially agree; it's more likely that a local newscast will appear at 6:30 CT/MT. But don't forget that for years that was the beginning of primetime; after the access rule went into effect most stations used that time for entertainment programs (the most common news setup was local at 5, network at 5:30, local at 6, then into network or syndicated programming), so there is some parallel with 7:30 ET/PT. And I can think of at least one station, WLS Chicago, that chucked the 6:30-7 PM portion of its "Eyewitness News" in order to carry "Wheel Of Fortune."
 
KMBC/KCWE doesn't do a Midday but is doing a 9pm on Weeknds know.
KMCI only repeat at Noon of 11am on KSHB. Starting tonight on 38 the Spot, catch our new show Right This Minute! Tell us what you think here on the wall, and look for more changes on 38 the Spot!
 
Ironically, WDRB/Louisville (Fox) recently started at 6:30 PM Newscast to compete with national newscasts on WAVE, WLKY (CBS), and WHAS (ABC). WDRB has no 6:00 News.
 
bpatrick said:
Likewise KTRK/13 Houston, and I assume KCNC/4 Denver and
KSTP/5 St. Paul-Minneapolis are also running local news at
6:30 (CT, except MT in Denver).
Click to expand...
You're correct about KCNC 4

Also, KUSA 9 has a 6:00 PM newscast

All three run network newscasts at 5:30

KDVR 31 (Fox) has news from 5:00 PM to 6:00 PM & sister station KWGN 2 (CW) delays CW primetime by an hour for a 7:00 PM newscast (Though hardly anyone watches it)

Cheers & 73 :D
 
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