KTHV Launches 6 A.M. Saturday 'Cast
Stations’ local news expansion continues, as KTHV Little Rock will debut a two-hour 6 a.m. Saturday news April 3. KTHV is a Gannett-owned CBS affiliate.
Today’s THV This Morning Saturday will be anchored by Mark Edwards, Pam Baccam and Meredith Mitchell.
“Today’s THV This Morning Saturday will be fresh, lively, and all about the weekend,” says President/General Manager Larry Audas.
Adds News Director Chuck Maulden: “Everything that is news, outdoors, informative and entertaining will be our focus. THV This Morning Saturday will be a guide to weekends in Arkansas.”
It was a year ago that KTHV launched a 6:30 p.m. news.
I’ve got a story out Monday about stations adding news again as local TV continues to climb out of the Dark Ages that was the last few years. There are definitely more stations adding news these days than those who are reducing local content.
Among other motivators, with that mammoth political season around the corner, it’s nice to have the local avails.
Mario500 commented:
More news, especially local news, is not necessarily a good idea for a local TV station. The Saturday morning newscast from KTHV-TV in addition to "The Saturday Early Show" (airs pre-recorded between 8:00 AM and 10:00 AM on KTHV-TV) from CBS are too much for viewers and they may eventually get tired of the news, especially it's it old news from the previous night's newscast. Many viewers would rather relax on Saturday mornings and enjoy other types of programs they may not get to see Monday through Friday due to their jobs.
The Saturday morning newscast from KTHV-TV also takes away other programming opportunities. Once the Children's Television Act of 1990 is repealed by the Congress of the United States, networks and stations will have the chance to add variety to their Saturday morning programming and not use the hours to fulfill the current rules regarding educational and informative programming. Stations currently with two-hour newscasts (including commercial time) or one-hour newscasts on Saturday mornings take away from future possibilities.
The local newscasts may mean more advertising revenue, but once the advertisers see the ratings go down due to a lack interest from viewers, the stations will realize Saturday morning newscasts are not helpful either for business, viewers, or future programming.