Job losses, falling ratings, consolidation: What’s behind the decline in local TV news

[davideduardo]

But I'm arguing that reaching a mass audience, many of whose members could care less about the advertiser and buying the product(s) being sold, is no longer the goal of many advertisers, especially national advertisers.

All advertisers have a target. It may be based lifestyle, culture, ethnicity, age, gender and more, but advertisers know who does and does not use their service or product.

Usually, advertisers decide where the sweet spot is. That means where every dollar in advertising produces greater income than expense. Even if they sell in other areas, the profit is not enough to merit targeting there.

Even very broadly consumed products, like Coca Cola, know where the most important segments are and they target them more intensely.

 

[CTListener]

There are actually several answers to the question. There IS a mass audience for Spotify or Sirius as a thing. Just not for the individual channels.

One of the first things I do every Friday is check out the "All New Country" playlist on Spotify. Spotify says that channel has "386,525 saves," which is a decent number -- but what do the "saves" represent? People who subscribe to the channel/playlist? People who click the "plus" symbol on individual songs to indicate they like them?

 

[ted chittenden]

Chicken-or-the-egg…which came first, people seeking an alternate reality or outlets catering to it?

People seeking an alternate reality came first. See

https://medium.com/mother-jones/the-science-of-why-we-dont-believe-science-adfa0d026a7e

(The article was written in 2010 but I haven't seen anything since to disprove the assertions made in it. And, yes, you do not need to create an account with Mother Jones to read it.)

 

[vchimpanzee]

Do we really need the local weather repeated 3 times in 30 minutes?

Yes. People getting ready in the morning have to tune in when they can.

In the case of Spectrum, I think they have different information each time.

 

[vchimpanzee]

they've also trained people to believe OTA TV no longer exists or is some kind of illegal hack, they never mention antennas during carriage disputes

I've seen antennas mentioned. What they almost never say is how many problems people will have with the signal, especially if it is VHF. Not everyone lives close enough to the tower.

 

[CTListener]

I've seen antennas mentioned. What they almost never say is how many problems people will have with the signal, especially if it is VHF. Not everyone lives close enough to the tower.

Because cable and advertisers consider OTA viewers undesirable demographically -- either technophobic, elderly, poor, or all three.

 

[EricStein]

Interesting article. This paragraph sums it up:



So what's behind the decline? Viewers moving to streaming. Sound familiar? It's the same thing that's killing broadcast radio.

Meanwhile, the FCC thinks that granting a merger between two big TV companies will help local TV news. So far, that hasn't happened.

Meanwhile, what's the future of local TV news?



The former TV journalists are taking matters into their own hands and starting their own podcasts to fill the void.

Broadcast radio is dying? The last I read, Nielsen, Edison Research, and Katz Radio Group says the medium is as healthy as ever.

 

[EricStein]

There is a big difference between radio and TV. What killed radio was the advent of on-demand service. There is a long-standing opinion that FM radio doesn't play enough of my favorite bands, and with streaming I can listen to as much Vince Gill as I want.

What killed TV was price. They had sort of solved the on-demand problem by creating a bunch of niche channels, like the varieties of MTV and VH1. The media companies saw the cable bundle as a goose laying golden eggs, offering something for everyone, and resisting ala carte offerings.
They did that as the average US household demographics changed, reducing the value of a bundle which offered both Nickelodeon to Jeffy and Hallmark to Granny. And Netflix and YouTube were offering entertainment at much lower prices.

Media companies and cable companies coming up with ways to serve entertainment at cheaper prices might have saved them. But they didn't, so we'll never know.

And since a lot of people can't live without watching live sports (or "cable news" channels), no one fights back. They just suck it up as the price to pay for access to their content.

 

[vchimpanzee]

Because cable and advertisers consider OTA viewers undesirable demographically -- either technophobic, elderly, poor, or all three.

I don't think so. Too many people think cable costs too much.

 

[AbrahamJSimpson]

People seeking an alternate reality came first. See

https://medium.com/mother-jones/the-science-of-why-we-dont-believe-science-adfa0d026a7e

(The article was written in 2010 but I haven't seen anything since to disprove the assertions made in it. And, yes, you do not need to create an account with Mother Jones to read it.)

We’re talking critical mass, not fringe-case loons.

 

[landtuna]

Yes. People getting ready in the morning have to tune in when they can.

In the case of Spectrum, I think they have different information each time.

I can understand the morning show repeating the weather. What I am talking about is repeating THE SAME INFORMATION multiple times in 30 minutes during other dayparts.

 

[landtuna]

What they almost never say is how many problems people will have with the signal, especially if it is VHF.

The problem isn't, and wasn't, VHF/UHF. The problem is digital. It's crap (but nice picture if you can get it).

 

[davideduardo]

Broadcast radio is dying? The last I read, Nielsen, Edison Research, and Katz Radio Group says the medium is as healthy as ever.

Using the Edison "Infinite Dial" series as an example, they do not say that broadcast radio is as healthy as ever. Edison's ongoing studies show that people are, more and more, using other sources for audio than AM and FM radio. That means steams and podcasts and the like.

Nielsen showed that the average listening (Persons Using Radio) in 2000 was between 18% and 21% of all persons 12+, depending on the market. Today, the renamed Persons Using Mass Media is around 5% to 6% in every rated PPM market on persons 6+.

The Nielsen data shows listening levels that are about 60% to 70% lower than they were 25 years ago. That is not "as healthy as ever".

 

[Larry]

I can understand the morning show repeating the weather. What I am talking about is repeating THE SAME INFORMATION multiple times in 30 minutes during other dayparts.

I think (similar to all news radio) they know not everyone is watching or listening to the entire newscast and if they make someone wait too long for the information they are looking for (in this case weather) they will change channels. All news radio provides brief weather forecasts every 10 minutes 24/7.

 

[davideduardo]

Because cable and advertisers consider OTA viewers undesirable demographically -- either technophobic, elderly, poor, or all three.

Hispanics have about the highest level of OTA viewing in the U.S.

Some of the lesser usage of paid services is due to the high... and increasingly higher... cost of cable. Some is due to the lack of a variety of good content in Spanish on paid services.

And many do not want to pay "extra" for all the "gringo sports" on the paid services. They can get lots of the soccer they want on OTA television.

So in many households where there is not interest in American sports and Spanish language entertainment is preferred, OTA TV is adequate.

If you look at a few hours of prime time TV on Univision or Telemundo, you will see a much higher caliber of advertisers than on the average CBS, NBC or ABC shows. That is because advertisers know that those networks reach active consumers in the right ages. And much of that viewing is OTA usage, not cable and not paid services.

 

[PTBoardOp93]

Because cable and advertisers consider OTA viewers undesirable demographically -- either technophobic, elderly, poor, or all three.

Elderly is the most likely one today. The median CBS prime-time viewer in the 2024 season was almost 70. That's why so many of the ads you see are for heart medication and chemotherapy -- and of course Oh-oh-ozempic.

From the Hollywood Reporter:

The median age for a network primetime viewer long has been above 50 — this year, it comes in at 64.6 for the five English-language broadcast networks.

THR also points out that CBS had 12 prime-time shows that year with median audiences of 70 or over.

TV Viewers Are Aging. These Shows Bring In the Oldest Audiences

CBS has the grayest primetime audience (and the largest one), while Fox’s five animated series helped age down that broadcaster during the 2023-24 season.

www.hollywoodreporter.com

As David points out, Telemundo and Univision feature much younger audiences.

 

[yeoldeschool]

Because cable and advertisers consider OTA viewers undesirable demographically -- either technophobic, elderly, poor, or all three.

You forgot dataminingophobic and payingtowatchcommercialsophobic.

 

[Y2kTheNewOldies]

Elderly is the most likely one today. The median CBS prime-time viewer in the 2024 season was almost 70. That's why so many of the ads you see are for heart medication and chemotherapy -- and of course Oh-oh-ozempic.

From the Hollywood Reporter:

THR also points out that CBS had 12 prime-time shows that year with median audiences of 70 or over.

TV Viewers Are Aging. These Shows Bring In the Oldest Audiences

CBS has the grayest primetime audience (and the largest one), while Fox’s five animated series helped age down that broadcaster during the 2023-24 season.

www.hollywoodreporter.com

As David points out, Telemundo and Univision feature much younger audiences.

True and also we mentioned at one point we mentioned that the cable news talk channels at one time had a median age of 67-71. Note that study came out prior to MS Now going to Versant Media.

A wild year for cable news: Shakeups, firings and ratings challenges

Fox News and CNN saw declines from last year while MSNBC saw a slight gain. The networks still face an existential threat from cable cord-cutting.

www.latimes.com

The trend poses a challenge for the networks that depend on pay TV subscriber fees for the bulk of their revenue. They are also contending with a growing number of competitors as more video news sources are being discovered by consumers via streaming.

The decline in younger consumers using pay TV has cut into one of the strengths of CNN, which has long boasted an audience with the lowest median age in cable news. CNN’s median age was 67 this year, up from 60 in 2017.

That figure is still lower than the median age of the Fox News (68) and MSNBC (71) audiences. But CNN long benefited from being the destination for younger viewers who were not habitual cable news viewers. They could be counted on to tune in during major breaking news events. Not so much anymore.

 

[landtuna]

I think (similar to all news radio) they know not everyone is watching or listening to the entire newscast and if they make someone wait too long for the information they are looking for (in this case weather) they will change channels. All news radio provides brief weather forecasts every 10 minutes 24/7.

Weather is a one button push on everyone's cell phone. No longer needed on TV at all (unless heavy weather is expected or underway).

 

[KeithE4]

Weather is a one button push on everyone's cell phone. No longer needed on TV at all (unless heavy weather is expected or underway).

WHAT?!?!?!? A (name of station or marketing slogan) First Alert really isn't necessary, and doesn't need to be repeated every 10 minutes on every newscast? Surely you can't be serious! 😱

(Yes, I'm talking about Gray's Arizona's Family stations in Phoenix, but they're not anywhere close to the only ones.)