KSL TV decline

[searadiofreak]

http://www.sltrib.com/sltrib/money/55853177-79/ksl-news-kutv-willes.html.csp

Interesting, just watched the market FRI/SAT and while KUTV does a nice job, KSL still seems the most professional. What are they doing wrong? KXTV is a contender, but they seem to be an afterthought right now. What can they do to get back in the game?

 

[Ryan Williams]

KXTV is a contender, but they seem to be an afterthought right now. What can they do to get back in the game?

You must mean KTVX.

 

[benwolf]

I expected this...KUTV has been doing a superb job for years...hopefully that won't end with the new owners. KSL is saddled with NBC, the 5th-rated network, and their morning news has long been a weak link. KTVX (still Clear Channel?) has been the number 3 for as long as I can remember.

 

[searadiofreak]

I expected this...KUTV has been doing a superb job for years...hopefully that won't end with the new owners. KSL is saddled with NBC, the 5th-rated network, and their morning news has long been a weak link. KTVX (still Clear Channel?) has been the number 3 for as long as I can remember.

Sorry, I got my K, T, V's, and X's mixed up. I believe KTVX is now NextStar, and Salt Lake is their largest market. Though there are rumors swirling they are looking to acquire stations in even larger markets.

My take from the SL Trib article is KSL had softened in recent years, and was not covering hard news, and leaning on family value news. Never works...even in SLC.

 

[Paul_Warren]

What are they doing wrong?What can they do to get back in the game?

I know this is an old thread, but KUTV is still winning.

Personal opinion: KSL lost audience in the Leno/Conan fiasco that moved Leno to 9pm, and KUTV does a much better job than KSL in sports. The replacement of Leno with Jimmy Fallon next year won't be nearly as painful, to KSL or NBC, since it won't affect the news lead-in.

KSL replaced some veterans with new and younger people, invested heavily in its set, and repositioned as "the news specialists." They must have research which confirms that their news was seen as too soft. For my taste, there's still too much "filler" that has good production values but doesn't tell me much. There's also some weak writing.

It's hard to get viewers to change their nightly habits, and Mark and Shauna on KUTV are more likeable than the team on KSL.

KSL News Radio is also declining rapidly in the ratings, now in 9th place among Persons 6+. That puts it well behind KNRS, despite the fact that KNRS has little local content. Has Bonneville/Deseret forgotten how to do news?

 

[searadiofreak]

What are they doing wrong?What can they do to get back in the game?

I know this is an old thread, but KUTV is still winning.

Personal opinion: KSL lost audience in the Leno/Conan fiasco that moved Leno to 9pm, and KUTV does a much better job than KSL in sports. The replacement of Leno with Jimmy Fallon next year won't be nearly as painful, to KSL or NBC, since it won't affect the news lead-in.

KSL replaced some veterans with new and younger people, invested heavily in its set, and repositioned as "the news specialists." They must have research which confirms that their news was seen as too soft. For my taste, there's still too much "filler" that has good production values but doesn't tell me much. There's also some weak writing.

It's hard to get viewers to change their nightly habits, and Mark and Shauna on KUTV are more likeable than the team on KSL.

KSL News Radio is also declining rapidly in the ratings, now in 9th place among Persons 6+. That puts it well behind KNRS, despite the fact that KNRS has little local content. Has Bonneville/Deseret forgotten how to do news?

KSL didn't really replace old vets with younger people, as these old vets simply retired. In the big scheme of things, it is better to replace retiring vets with younger anchors/reporters, so you can build these younger folk into stars, hopefully.

 

[benwolf]

What are they doing wrong?What can they do to get back in the game?

I know this is an old thread, but KUTV is still winning.

Personal opinion: KSL lost audience in the Leno/Conan fiasco that moved Leno to 9pm, and KUTV does a much better job than KSL in sports. The replacement of Leno with Jimmy Fallon next year won't be nearly as painful, to KSL or NBC, since it won't affect the news lead-in.

KSL replaced some veterans with new and younger people, invested heavily in its set, and repositioned as "the news specialists." They must have research which confirms that their news was seen as too soft. For my taste, there's still too much "filler" that has good production values but doesn't tell me much. There's also some weak writing.

It's hard to get viewers to change their nightly habits, and Mark and Shauna on KUTV are more likeable than the team on KSL.

KSL News Radio is also declining rapidly in the ratings, now in 9th place among Persons 6+. That puts it well behind KNRS, despite the fact that KNRS has little local content. Has Bonneville/Deseret forgotten how to do news?

KSL Radio was a long time favorite of mine and a market dominator. So what did they do? What a market leader should never do...change everything. The talk shows outside of the news blocks and Doug Wright are new and obscure (Bloomberg radio in the early morning?) they even dumped CBS network news, which they had for 50+ years...I think its Fox now.

KSL TV does have the news experience image. Being stuck with NBC has really hurt them though.