NBC Stations Shift Strategy
'Content centers' to replace traditional newsrooms, news channel to launch
By Michael Malone -- Broadcasting & Cable, 5/11/2008 8:00:00 PM
In this story:
'TREMENDOUS CHANGE'
NBC Universal is overhauling its operations to recast its stations as 24/7, multi-platform news outlets, not simply TV stations airing newscasts at set times of the day.
NBC is reengineering WNBC New York's 30 Rock digs into a “content center” that will allow the station to distribute programming to traditional newscasts, the Web, and the 24-hour cable news channel it plans to launch on its digital tier in November.
“We're moving from a show-based culture to a more story-based culture,” says NBC Local Media President John Wallace. “We're focusing on the story running across our various platforms.”
Starting at NBC as a page 20 years ago, Wallace has been hard at work remaking NBC's 10 stations. In November, he renamed the NBC Owned-and-Operated Stations Group the NBC Local Media Division. It seemed to some to be window dressing at the time, but the rebranding presaged Wallace's plans to remake the TV station model into one where stations serve their communities as round-the-clock, multimedia content providers.
'TREMENDOUS CHANGE'
“Our business is going through a period of tremendous change,” Wallace told staffers in an internal memo when NBC put WTVJ Miami and WVIT Hartford on the block in March. “We're in the process of re-engineering the way we think, shifting our focus from a traditional stations business to becoming full-service local media production centers.”
Indeed, it's a difficult time for the broadcast business as stations struggle to find their role on the Web. The CBS-owned stations laid off around 200 in late March, Young Broadcasting announced it was dismissing 11% of its work force earlier this year, and Barrington Broadcasting is laying off 8% in the coming months.
NBC is neither the first nor the largest broadcaster to rethink and rebrand its TV stations. Gannett, for one, began transforming stations into “information centers” last summer, and will eventually have the model in place for all 23 outlets. “The idea is to stop thinking of the 6 and 11 p.m. news as the thrust of our newsroom's day,” says a Gannett spokesperson. “We have to be more nimble and think of ourselves as a 24/7 source of local news in our communities.”
News is major business in New York, where stations brought in more than $1.5 billion last year, according to BIA Financial. WNBC led the pack with $340 million. The tri-state area has a variety of hyper-local news options on cable, including Time Warner Cable's NY1 News in New York City and Cablevision's News 12 channels in the suburbs. WNBC's as-yet-untitled news channel, which will be headed up by former WRC Washington VP of News Vickie Burns, will focus on the entire DMA.
NY1 Regional VP/General Manager Steve Paulus says it will have an uphill battle. “WNBC is a formidable news organization, but they'll find that [24/7 news] is a little trickier than they thought,” he says, pointing to NY1's channel location (it's on channel 1) and 15-year-plus head start.
Once WNBC's content center and news channel are up and running, Wallace will look to implement similar models in other markets where NBC has a station—and get the next batch of newsroom staffers on board. He says the attitude seemed mostly positive after announcing what he calls the “shift in philosophy” to WNBC staff last week. “They were seemingly optimistic,” he says. “It's a major culture change, so obviously there's going to be some nervousness, but we're committed to this.”
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I think Fiona is absolutely spot on. Thre is no doubt in my mind that is where we are headed. And thanks for the link to viewmy.
Terrence Allgood - 5/13/2008 9:52:00 PM EDT -
I believe that this internet video phenomenon is simply a bi-product of web 2.0. The real future is in internet TV and this is live TV, not just clips or short films with ads that supply income rather than subscriptions. This surely must be the next step in creating video on the internet. I use a site daily, viewmy.tv that allows you to access global TV, wherever you are in the world for free and with no download. This is an innovative site as it also provides the user with the opportunity to get involved in the social network they have developed around the global TV. The site is really great and I believe it is this type of thing that should get recognition not just the big players
Fiona Biggley - 5/12/2008 6:28:00 AM EDT
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