Fox And NBC To Share In DC
WTTG and WRC in talks to pool video, share chopper.
By Michael Malone -- Broadcasting & Cable, 1/14/2009 12:02:00 PM
On the heels of Fox and NBC O&Os sharing video in Chicago, which came on the heels of Fox and NBC O&Os sharing video in Philadelphia, Fox and NBC O&Os in Washington are in talks to share content as well.
“We have plans to do something with Fox,” says WRC Washington President/General Manager Michael Jack. “I don’t know the details, but it’s similar (to the Philadelphia share), with pooling of video and some chopper sharing.”
Jack says the partnership has not advanced to trial mode yet.
At the start of 2009, WFLD and WMAQ began sharing helicopter footage (and costs) in Chicago, and Fox Senior V.P. of News Sharri Berg said a larger video sharing agreement was likely to follow. The beginning of the year also marked the official launch of the Local News Service video share between WTXF and WCAU in Philadelphia, which began testing the partnership last spring. The plan is to join forces on static stories like news conferences, thus freeing up resources for more enterprising stories.
When the latter was announced, NBC and Fox executives said they’d look to share in markets where both own a station, while also aiming to sell video to other stations.
WRC’s Jack did not have a time frame for the Washington partnership. “It’s going to happen,” he says. “We just haven’t figured out the depth of it yet.”
