CBS Launching New Early Show Format
Affiliates Pressed to Jettison Local Shows for Network’s Fare
By Marisa Guthrie -- Broadcasting & Cable, 1/6/2008 3:00:00 AM
Beginning Monday, CBS’ Early Show will launch a new format with a new anchor, taking the first step in a renewed effort to build a national profile -- and a bigger audience.
, who co-anchored the Saturday Early Show, officially takes over for
, who left the broadcast in early December. Rodriguez came to CBS News in June from CBS owned-and-operated
in Miami. She joins co-anchors Harry Smith and Julie Chen.
The morning news also-ran had been hamstrung by a long-standing affiliate agreement that let stations insert local content into the first hour of the show. That agreement, which encompassed 43 stations, essentially shoe-horned the Early Show into one hour at 8 a.m. in about 23% of the country.
Shelley Ross, the veteran ABC News executive producer who was hired in September to remake the Early Show, has had frank discussions with executives at many of the affiliates who agreed to dump their long-standing morning shows.
"We can never grow as a show until we get over that hurdle," Ross said. "But I think Monday morning, there are going to be people in Las Vegas and Baltimore and Nashville who wake up, and their favorite local anchor who they see in restaurants and bump into at the dry cleaner isn’t going to be there. And we understand that viewers will go through a period of adjustment. But we hope that we have a strong alternative."
Ross already put her stamp on the Early Show, aggressively pursuing newsmaker interviews, which has translated into a new urgency. Season to date, the show is up 9% in women 25-54.
Ross is not expecting an immediate ratings jump. "Our expectations are actually for our ratings to decline," she said. "We will take a step backward before we move forward. It’s a slow build, and that’s all we hope for."
Ross is no stranger to the morning-show wars. She took over as the executive producer of Good Morning America in 1999 with the then-new anchor team of Diane Sawyer and Charles Gibson. Ross turned GMA into a contender, battling NBC’s Today for guests and viewers.
"I don’t think anything was more competitive than when I sat in the control room at ABC and Jeff Zucker sat in the control room at NBC," she said. "That was something. It was exciting."
Not that she misses the pressure: "You miss that like you miss nine-inch nails being pounded into the soles of your feet."
The goal is to make the Early Show newsier. The superficial overhaul -- a new set, new music and graphics to match the set and even a Peter Max triptych graphic -- are part of the wrapping.
"I never knew a television show that grew because you changed the furniture or the music," she said. "But I do think it’s an important layer of a message that says we care about being new and fresh and we’re not your grandmother’s morning show."
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What a mess! The set was nothing special. The lighting was awful--shadows all over the place. Julie was wearing a black dress, standing in the dark. They promised newsmaker interviews, but Britney and Dr. Phil? Come on. The network screwed up the format at least a half-dozen times, screwing the stations. And we gave up an hour of profitable local news for this crap?
Unhappy affiliate employee - 1/7/2008 6:12:00 PM EST -
People cannot just leave a good thing alone. Newsier is NOT what people getting ready for work enjoy.....it was bad enough when Renee Syler left, yet Hannah Storm was such a breath of fresh air.....but of course, gotta fix what isn't broken, yet again......I'm going to jump over to Matt and Meredith.....at least Meredith makes it humorous.
Good job, yet again, CBS.
Unhappy female viewer in NEast - 1/7/2008 10:06:00 AM EST
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