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Channel 10 Starting a 7PM Newscast?

T

The Voice of Reason

Jack Allen broke the story on his website that WHEC TV plans on doing a local newscast at 7pm. Anyone like to comment on this decision?
Some of my own thoughts on the subject.
I don't see the other two TV stations following suit. 13 will continue to run their "Entertainment Tonight/Gossip shows" after ABC news at 7. As for Channel 8, they just don't have the staff for such a venture. Besides they have their 10 o'clock news on FOX to prepare for.
As for 10's venture into a 7 pm newscast; its too early to say what ratings and revenues it will generate for WHEC. I do have to give 10 credit for trying something different.
 
WNBC has been doing something similar for nearly a year. I still think it's weird, but for NYC, it fits because that's a town where many people truly do have a 2-hour commute. Kinda hard to catch viewers at 5, 5:30 or 6:00 when they're still on the train!

Rochester's a different story... the only time it might take 2-hours to get home is when you're stuck in a backup behind a major accident in a blizzard.

The plus side: doing local news means it's another 1/2 hour where a station can keep all the revenue for itself.. as opposed to splitting half of it with a syndicated program. Not a bad move if they've got crappy shows in that slot. You'll never see a station with Wheel/Jeopardy ditch that combo to put on news at 7pm. (I assume WROC has it, since neither WHAM or WHEC do -- but I couldn't find WROC's program schedule on their AWFUL website.)
 
What does 10 currently air at 7pm ?

Because of their affiliation with a major network (NBC) it would have been next to impossible for WHEC to run a local newscast say at 10 pm, like Channel 31 does.
 
First, a quick side note -- I don't think there was ever a mention of channel 10 doing a 10pm newscast. Though, if they ever got a secondary digital channel (like WHAM had with CW-WHAM), nothing's stopping them from making it happen.

Answering your question, right now, WHEC is airing back to back episodes of "Everybody Loves Raymond" at 7 and 7:30. Kind of odd, since sitcom reruns usually wind up on Fox, CW or MyTV affiliates. Then again, I don't know what WHEC had in these slots before the current TV season started. If they were carrying something more along the lines of Insider, Access H'Wood, ET, Millionaire, etc. (stuff that's more "typical" for a big-3 affiliate in the 7pm hour), they probably dropped it this fall, knowing they'd be launching a 10pm show. I assume the contract for reruns (which already made their money the first time around) is more flexible when it comes to dropping or moving the show mid-season, than it would be for a show that's producing new episodes every day.

It'll be interesting to see how well a 7pm newscast does, compared not only to the other 7pm programming, but also compared to the 5/5:30/6 newscasts. If WHEC is only willing to dip its toes in the water to see how cold it is, they probably won't do so well. But if they're determined and committed enough to run up to the pool and do a cannonball into the water... it could work well. That is, assuming people aren't "newsed out" by the time 7:00 rolls around.

Again, in the NYC market, you have the demographic of people in the suburbs who are just getting home from work at 7. They haven't seen ANY evening news yet. Rochesterarians (?) who might only have a 20-30 minute commute could get out of work at 5 and still be home in time to turn on the TV by 5:30. After seeing a full hour of local news and 30 minutes of network, do you really want to sit through another 30 (or 60?) minutes of local news?

Sure, you have the folks who might go to the supermarket after work... or run errands, chauffeur the kids around, and so forth. They might not be getting back home until 7. But are there really enough people on that schedule every single day to make a 7pm newscast worth it? I'd certainly be interested to know what led WHEC to believe the answer to that question is yes.
 
Of course if you're a regular listener to the WHAM Five O'Clock Newshour and to WYSL's siimulcast of NBC 10 like I am sometimes you can be "newsed out" by the time you reach home. ;)

But yes, I am curious as to how WHEC will do with the 7PM newscast. I know besides WNBC stations in Atlanta and DC are now doing newscasts at 7 too. The smallest market right now I know of with a 7PM newscast is in Scranton Pennsylvania with WNEP's 7PM news. However since WNEP could run a test pattern and still get more viewers than WBRE and WYOU I suppose their 7PM newscast works although I understand with the tower collapse they've really taken a hit.

They could do what some stations like what WCAX in Burlington, Vermont does; air a full hour of news at six and run network news on delay at 7. Or perhaps invest in a 4PM newscast instead of risking a 7PM one. Though the 7PM sounds nice, it sounds like they are trying to be fancy. To paraphase a former vice-presidential candidate, "You're no WNBC!" :D
 
Channel 10 Parent Company Hubbard Broadcasting should Buy out Low Power WBGT - TV My Network Tv Affiliation From Vision Communications, Run 7 Pm and 10 pm Newscast on WBGT -TV
 
For as long as I can remember, the 7:00 and 7:30 time slots have been used for syndicated comedy programming. Before Raymond was run back-to-back, they had Frasier and Drew Carey. Back in the early-to-mid '90s it was Cheers and Married with Children. So, this type of programming is nothing new to the station in these slots.
 
Well, if it's just another rehash of the 5 and 6, what's the point really (to vewiers, I mean)? I don't know if they have the crew or not, but if they're going to bother with another slot of local "news," why not make it a more feature oriented show...i.e. something like PM Magazine or some in depth investigative reports...something that viewers might actually sit down and watch for an entire show, not a bunch of VOs and 90 second packages.
 
Mr. Kite! said:
Well, if it's just another rehash of the 5 and 6, what's the point really (to vewiers, I mean)? I don't know if they have the crew or not, but if they're going to bother with another slot of local "news," why not make it a more feature oriented show...i.e. something like PM Magazine or some in depth investigative reports...something that viewers might actually sit down and watch for an entire show, not a bunch of VOs and 90 second packages.
Click to expand...

PM Magazine? It's not 1977 anymore...if people want fluffy, friendly news, they can tune into Channel 13 at any time... word is that 10 is very close to 13 in almost all of their shows... can anyone else confirm this?
 
I don't know if they have the crew or not, but if they're going to bother with another slot of local "news," why not make it a more feature oriented show...i.e. something like PM Magazine or some in depth investigative reports...something that viewers might actually sit down and watch for an entire show, not a bunch of VOs and 90 second packages.
Click to expand...

That would take alot more people than I bet they are willing to add. Typically, when a 1/2 hour is added, you get another producer and another editor, and that's it. Sometimes, just the producer.
 
oldschooler1 said:
That would take alot more people than I bet they are willing to add. Typically, when a 1/2 hour is added, you get another producer and another editor, and that's it. Sometimes, just the producer.
Click to expand...
Well if they are right on 13's heels, then I guess another 1/2 hour could be a good money maker. I'd like to see the numbers.
 
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