local TV - TVSpy

New Orleans Study: Without Newspaper Residents Choose TV

Kevin Eck — Fri, 05 Oct 2012 16:06:30 +0000

It looks like local TV News will be the big winner when the New Orleans Times-Picayune reduces its daily run to three days a week.

According to a study conducted by the Louisiana State University Public Policy Research Lab, when local residents were asked where they’d get their news fix when there’s no newspaper available, 76 percent chose local TV.

Only 40 percent stuck with the paper as their main source according to the study — our math isn’t bad — the survey allowed multiple responses.

continued…

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Investors Betting on Small Stations in Large Markets

Kevin Eck — Tue, 04 Sep 2012 17:04:17 +0000

While some small TV stations in larger markets are struggling to make a buck off what they broadcast, recently investors have been snatching them up for how they broadcast.

Investors are buying up small stations in anticipation of what the FCC is calling incentive auctions, where broadcasters auction off their airwaves in an effort to free up much needed spectrum for mobile broadband. The speculators are hoping companies, such as wireless phone carriers looking to meet increasing demand for their services, would pay a hefty price for the added airwaves.

The Wall Street Journal says the gamble is not yet a sure thing:

Much about the auction remains uncertain, however, including the timing. The agency plans to publish its proposed rules for the process sometime this fall, and industry observers say the auction could begin as early as 2014. But the FCC has until September 2022 to conduct the sale and license the airwaves to wireless companies.

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KDVR News Director on Decision to Air KUSA Dog Bite Footage: ‘The Other Stations are Wimps’

Andrew Gauthier — Fri, 17 Feb 2012 11:39:40 +0000

Shortly after a dog bit KUSA anchor Kyle Dyer on-air last week, the station’s news director, Patti Dennis, called up every news director in Denver and implored them not to air footage of the bite.

Dennis told TVSpy last week that she urged her fellow news directors to “show respect” because the video was “traumatic to people at KUSA.”

Despite Dennis’s pleading, one news director, KDVR‘s Ed Kosowski, decided to go ahead and air the footage. continued…

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Rebranding as ‘Freedom 43,’ Oklahoma City’s KAUT Targets Conservative Viewers

Andrew Gauthier — Fri, 25 Mar 2011 17:37:57 +0000

Oklahoma City’s KAUT is undergoing an aggressive rebranding effort to appeal to the more than 50,000 active and reserve military personnel in Oklahoma. Next month, KAUT (channel 43), a MyNetworkTV-affiliate which airs a two-hour morning newscast in addition to a half-hour nightly newscast at 9 p.m., will relaunch as “Freedom 43.”

“For the first, a TV station is aiming its news focus not at a particular demographic, age group, or gender,” boasts Jim Boyer, KAUT’s president and general manager, “but at an audience bound by social connections and shared values.”

“Freedom 43 TV is for all Oklahomans who believe in faith, freedom, and patriotism,” Boyer said, in announcing the brand makeover.

KAUT’s new identity appears to be in line with that of Fox News, with programming based on a specific worldview and meant to draw a conservative audience. continued…

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Study Reveals Good News About State of Local TV

Andrew Gauthier — Wed, 16 Mar 2011 17:39:05 +0000

The Project For Excellence in Journalism (PEJ) has released a thorough report on how local TV performed in 2010 and, for a change, it’s filled with plenty of good news. Revenue was up, audience declines slowed (chart above), and, according to the report, local stations “remain Americans’ No.1 television news choice.”

Here are some key findings:

Audience: While local TV viewership has declined in the past several years, the audience numbers remained nearly flat in 2010.
Revenue: Local TV stations saw a 17% increase in ad revenue.
Retrans: The fees brought in from carriage agreements is projected to have topped $1 billion.
News programming: The average number of hours of local news programming that stations provide continues to increase.
Independent stations: News viewership for non-affiliate stations was up 35%.

[Full report here]

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