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Why has a 10 PM newscast never truly taken hold in Rochester?

R

Rochwatcher

I was wondering if you guys might be able to share some thoughts on why a 10 PM newscast in Rochester has never truly dominated? It seems for many people 11 PM is just too late anymore to watch news, but here in Rochester viewers still seem to tune in.

My theory is this: a 10 PM newscast here has never been very good--primarily because it was never well funded, staffed, etc. The high note was about a year before 31 went to Newscentral in my estimation. After that, and even now with the partnership with 8 it is not great.

I think if 10 or 13 were to put their finances and know-how behind a 10 PM newscast, it could be dominant...thoughts?
 
You are quite wrong.

FOX is doing quite well and ratings have gone up ever since they had Doran doing it. They have more viewers than 8 does at 6, I think.
 
Zoning In

Do you think that it has something to do with prime time programming still running in the Eastern time zone at 10PM?

In the midwest, the 10PM news is the primary newscast because prime time ends at 10PM.

If you're not a TV watcher, you probably get your news from the web anyway.
 
rocktv said:
You are quite wrong.

FOX is doing quite well and ratings have gone up ever since they had Doran doing it. They have more viewers than 8 does at 6, I think.
Click to expand...

So you are saying that 8's 10 PM newscast on 31 is DOMINANT? Not sure I am the one who is wrong.
 
My take on the question being pondered here is the following:

1.Fewer people watch local news anymore.
2.People are creatures of habit and will stay tuned to 11pm to see their favorite anchors.
3.Channel 31’s news isn’t that good to begin with.
4.With the advent of cable and satellite TV, more people are watching other stations.

Also remember that while Doran might be doing a good job, as one poster seems to think so, FOX 31 news has undergone so many changes over the years that it went from a promising concept, with Donna Dedee and other anchors, to News Central, which I think most of us agree is a total disaster.
 
31's 10PM newscast did indeed do very well in the most recent Feb. Nielsen book. It did in fact beat channel 8's 6PM newscast for A25-54 viewers.

However, not to throw cold water on 31, but remember, there was a writer's strike that decimated prime time viewership as a whole. People were not staying to watch another rerun of their favorite 10PM network show.

This fact, coupled with the incomprehensible phenomenon known as American Idol on FOX, greatly added to 31's 10PM newscast numbers. While the numbers may stick in May somewhat, I wouldn't be too surprised if they didn't come back down a bit.

I do like 31's news, but as one post mentioned, it just isn't the same quality as some of the other station's in town.
 
Rochwatcher said:
I was wondering if you guys might be able to share some thoughts on why a 10 PM newscast in Rochester has never truly dominated? It seems for many people 11 PM is just too late anymore to watch news, but here in Rochester viewers still seem to tune in.

My theory is this: a 10 PM newscast here has never been very good--primarily because it was never well funded, staffed, etc. The high note was about a year before 31 went to Newscentral in my estimation. After that, and even now with the partnership with 8 it is not great.

I think if 10 or 13 were to put their finances and know-how behind a 10 PM newscast, it could be dominant...thoughts?
Click to expand...

It's because our favorite network shows are on at 10. Simple as that.
 
I think it's worth noting that 10PM news has long been successful in major markets like New York City, Boston and so forth. But that's only because those ARE major markets with millions upon millions of potential viewers. With so many people in the viewing area, it's easy to find "enough" people who don't care for prime-time network offerings, and would prefer to watch the news instead... especially when you consider these major market 10pm shows all started decades ago, when there was no such thing as cable TV, and when these stations didn't even HAVE a Fox, CW or MyTV to be affiliated with.

Even if the ratings pale in comparison to "the big three" at 11pm, a so-so rating in NYC is still a lot of eyeballs, compared to a so-so rating in Rochester.

In major markets, most 10pm news operations are also fully-staffed, completely independent of another newsroom. WPIX does what it wants, when it wants, how it wants. Their reporters are focused only on the WPIX product. It's not like WPIX is going on at 10pm with reporters fronting only vo/sots to "preview" bigger packages coming up on WCBS at 11pm, for example. Even in Albany, Fox affiliate WXXA is independent. Their reporters aren't being asked to turn a vo/sot for 10 while working on a package for 11. They're focused only on WXXA and nobody else.

But in Rochester, Syracuse, and most other medium/small markets, the 10pm newscasts are produced by a bigger station, where management and everyone in the newsroom KNOWS 10pm has never been, and never will be, a bigger priority than the 11pm newscast. A reporter working on a story for both shows will always see the 10pm version as a burden that needs to be quick and dirty so they can get back to putting put their heart and soul into the 11pm version. Why? Because they know more people are watching at 11. Making a better effort for the 10pm newscast won't bring more people into the 10pm show, but putting the lesser material on at 11 will certainly damage you at 11.

Some "experts" say the national trend shows more and more people are watching morning news. If there's enough viewers up early enough to make it worthwhile for newscasts to start at 5AM, that means these people are already in bed by 9-ish -- and therefore not watching ANY late newscast at 10 or 11.
 
Rochester's size in TV land is way down on the list...there is very little room for a 10PM newscast in that small of a market. They might get more viewers off of CANCOM than they do locally in Rotfester.
 
Another thing to consider - how many FOX stations launched a 10pm news only because FOX required most affiliates to do so back in the mid/late 90s?

Since then, we've seen FOX 10pm newscasts come and go in Syracuse and Utica. Many markets gave up as soon as Fox lifted the requirement. Despite anyone's opinions on WUHF's product, talent, market size or otherwise... they must be making some sort of profit. FOX is no longer mandating local news, yet they continue to produce a 10pm newscast.
 
I believe Fox's 10 pm is doing just as well if not better than Channel 8's 11.
 
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