Jay Leno is "graded" by NBC affils...

[only1moore]

...and the results are mixed:

http://www.broadcastingcable.com/ar...lagging.php?nid=2228&source=title&rid=5458374

 

[landtuna]

I'm always amazed at stories such as this.

The major shortcoming of Leno's new show, according to affiliates, is not capturing an audience and maintaining them into the local news. Yet when interviewing viewers as to their preferences in local news most people seem to be very definitive; that is, they greatly prefer one station over another. This seems to fly in the face of objections to Leno.

I mean, virtually every TV these days has a remote. Are the pollsters saying the American fist is not strong or motivated enough to push a button to change from Leno to their preferred local news?

 

[BRNout]

I'm always amazed at stories such as this.

The major shortcoming of Leno's new show, according to affiliates, is not capturing an audience and maintaining them into the local news. Yet when interviewing viewers as to their preferences in local news most people seem to be very definitive; that is, they greatly prefer one station over another. This seems to fly in the face of objections to Leno.

I mean, virtually every TV these days has a remote. Are the pollsters saying the American fist is not strong or motivated enough to push a button to change from Leno to their preferred local news?

Actually, it's amazing just how many people seem to lack the manual dexterity to use that remote! Either that, or broadcasters are counting on getting ratings from TVs left on the same channel after viewers have jumped into the shower, left to walk the dog or fallen asleep...

 

[dave73]

I didn't watch much of The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, and don't care to watch The Jay Leno Show either. Even if I did care to watch Jay Leno, I would immediately switch it to the ABC7 news in Chicago. I haven't watched NBC5 news that much since Carol Marin & Ron Magers resigned over Jerry Springer's controversial commentaries (was on NBC5 news twice outside of his talk show). Carol Marin has since returned to the station, but I don't care for the NBC5 news as much, and Ron Magers is still at ABC7 news today. The people who report the news on NBC5 don't have the spark needed for me to watch their station. Don't get me started on CBS2 news. Their news is a complete joke. All of this from the Chicago market.

 

[stdjsb25]

When Leno left, I watched Conan nightly for the first three months, then went back to what I was watching.

When Leno started in Primetime, I gave up after two nights.....it's just not the same.

 

[Toledo Eleven]

The stations always promote their news in prime time (stay tuned for...coming up at 11) and if no one sees the promos, no one stays tuned.

 

[firepoint525]

...broadcasters are counting on getting ratings from TVs left on the same channel after viewers have jumped into the shower, left to walk the dog or fallen asleep...

And what I've always wondered is, how do you sell that to advertisers? ???

 

[mjlarochelle]

The irony in the article is that the CEO of Post-Newsweek doesn't think NBC's experiment is working, and yet one of Post-Newsweek's two NBC affiliates is WDIV, which hasn't seen much of any impact on ratings at 11.

Someone said that many viewers are firmly committed to a particular station for local news, but I think that might be less true today than in the past. Years ago viewers wanted to see certain personalities deliver their news, weather, or sports - well-known and well-liked names such as Bill Kurtis, Dick Goddard, Bill Bonds, Roger Grimsby, Irv Weinstein, Jack Hines, and so forth - and as newscasts become less distinct from their competitors in content, and key personalities retire or otherwise move on, I would say there will be less loyalty to stations.

 

[landtuna]

The stations always promote their news in prime time (stay tuned for...coming up at 11) and if no one sees the promos, no one stays tuned.

Your stations must be a lot different than mine. Here in Phoenix the stations selling 'news' promote virtually all day long. And most stories appear on each and all of them no matter what the teasers say.

 

[Markxxx]

Are the pollsters saying the American fist is not strong or motivated enough to push a button to change from Leno to their preferred local news?

I think this is exactly what they're saying. News is pretty much interchangeable. In terms of content, if I watch the local news on CBS, NBC, or ABC, I get the same stories, with the order varied, but the same stories. So why bother changing stations unless I truly hate the anchor people.

 

[nathannah]

The irony in the article is that the CEO of Post-Newsweek doesn't think NBC's experiment is working, and yet one of Post-Newsweek's two NBC affiliates is WDIV, which hasn't seen much of any impact on ratings at 11.

Note however that in Detroit, the choice at 11 is between WXYZ/ABC and WDIV/NBC, and to a much lower extent WJBK/Fox. Detroit is a bad market to compare because you have two strong news departments and one average one, while the CBS/CW duopoly stations sit it out and WMYD/MyNet is basically running rent-a-news out of the Quad Cities at 10 with a minimal local presence. So basically WDIV's fine with Leno because they have no one to compete with outside of 7, but they would probably want a better lead-in to have a chance to consistently win at 11.

 

[raptusregaliter]

I like the quote from the GM who is waiting for another "signature" Leno bit like The Dancing Itos. That happened what, 15 years ago? Maybe he's also hoping for a return of Cheers.

 

[pabsungenis]

Yes, it was 15 years ago, but it gave Leno something to hang his hat on when he was floundering. Yes, it was the Hugh Grant interview that finally lured audiences away from Letterman, but bits like the Itos kept them there.

Leno at 10 is just the same, boring show he'd been doing at 11:30, just with less-slick packaging. He needs something big and new to stand out.

 

[imhomerjay]

Just wondering how many of those affiliates were praising the lead-in shows as the main reason for their success back in the days when they had higher-rated dramas in the 10 pm slot. Oh, wait, back then the success was due to the quality of the newscasts themselves and people choosing them vs. the competitors, while the struggles now are the sole responsibility of Leno.

 

[LKellerIII]

Are the pollsters saying the American fist is not strong or motivated enough to push a button to change from Leno to their preferred local news?

I think this is exactly what they're saying. News is pretty much interchangeable. In terms of content, if I watch the local news on CBS, NBC, or ABC, I get the same stories, with the order varied, but the same stories. So why bother changing stations unless I truly hate the anchor people.

True. It seems to me that 25, or even 15 years ago, the affiliates were more differentiated. In the San Francisco Bay Area, KGO-TV (ABC) was the sensationalistic "if it bleeds, it leads" station. Naturally, they were #1 by a long margin. KRON (NBC) was into local news coverage, and more political, while KPIX (CBS) featured Dave McElhatton as anchor, who was a folksy and rumpled local favorite of many years -originally in radio.

Now - the 3 affiliates are more or less the same, and the ratings for all 3 are close. That's not a criticism - these days, they all produce competent and informative news programming. But really, when I even bother to watch late local news, I don't care which one I have on.

So these days, a well placed teaser in the 10:00 hour has a chance of keeping me tuned in. But if I'm not watching Leno (which I normally don't), I'm not likely to watch late news on the NBC affiliate.

 

[JeeperOne]

Someone said that many viewers are firmly committed to a particular station for local news, but I think that might be less true today than in the past. Years ago viewers wanted to see certain personalities deliver their news, weather, or sports - well-known and well-liked names such as Bill Kurtis, Dick Goddard, Bill Bonds, Roger Grimsby, Irv Weinstein, Jack Hines, and so forth - and as newscasts become less distinct from their competitors in content, and key personalities retire or otherwise move on, I would say there will be less loyalty to stations.

Not here in Denver (At least not as much)

With only a few exceptions, the local TV anchors, weather people & sportscasters tend to stay around awhile. An example is Ernie Bjorkman. Before he (Apparently) left Denver, he was bouncing between KWGN 2 & KMGH 7 since the late 1980s or so.

There's also other examples.....

Jim Benemann He's been bouncing between KCNC 4 & KUSA 9 since the early 1990s (He's currently at KCNC 4 now).

Mike Landess He was a longtime anchor at KUSA 9 before being relieved of his duties shortly after The Pope's visit to Denver in 1993. After a stint in (From what I heard) Washington DC, he returned to Denver, this time working for KMGH 7, where he still works today.

Mike Nelson After arriving at KUSA 9 back in the late 1980s or so & spending several years there, he next moved on to KMGH 7 in the 1990s where he still works today.

And then there's perhaps the most bizarre (If not mother) of them all.....

Ron Zappolo After arriving at then-KOA 4 (Now KCNC 4) in the late 1970s as a sportscaster, he bounced a few times between from KCNC 4 & KUSA 9 (As a sportscaster each time) before moving to KDVR 31 back when it was just a startup news operation. (BTW as a sidenote, since being purchased by Local Media as part of a duopoly with KWGN 2, most of the newscasts on the two stations are broadcast on KDVR 31).

As for which station I prefer to watch for news, that station would be KMGH 7 with either KUSA 9 or KDVR 31 as alternatives. Why? Well if you ever saw their style of delivering news, Mike Nelson's unique style of bringing you the weather & Lionel Bienvenu does sports - TRUST ME you'd wanna watch the too.

That's the report from Denver.....

Cheers