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October 10, 2008
Networks Fight Back
I had lunch on Wednesday with Jessica Guff, executive producer of ABC News Now and a veteran of ABC News. She made several important observations about the broadcast news business:
1) ABCNewsNow.com, one of the digital platforms for the news division, reaches 48 million homes today, 30 million of which are broadband. “This is the network for thinking women; all others tend to be male oriented,” Guff said. It can be reached directly or via ABCNews.com.
2) PR people must pitch stories differently. Specifically, she said we need to offer fully formed four minute segments, with visuals, spokespeople and news hook all conceived. “Don’t just send me a pitch letter or a book which requires me to put together the piece. Economic pressures mean we are short staffed so we will respond better to something that is fully formed."
3) Networks still offer large number of viewers, about eight million for the ABC Evening News and four million for the Good Morning America show. The morning show audience ebbs in the second hour to about two million. ABC News Now does offer exclusively a third hour of Good Morning America. Content from the major shows, such as Nightline and Evening News, is repurposed onto ABC News Now.
4) Among the shows on ABC News Now are the Money Show, Popcorn (reviews movies), Homework (alternative work styles), Politics Live (with Sam Donaldson, long-time political pundit), Parenting (with Anne Pleshette Murphy of former editor of Parents Magazine), and What’s the Buzz (celebrity news at noon, which gives particular ratings spike as those at work tune in during lunch break—in fact ratings are highest at noon, peak broadband viewing time). The shows tend to be 15-30 minutes long, may not have notable anchors but do feature celebrities and newsmakers.
5) ABC is trying to reach beyond the PC into cell phones and PDAs. “We are now accessible to 10 million users via Verizon VCAST and Sprint,” Guff noted. “This explains our focus on the shorter form content.”
6) ABC News Now does get audience spikes when there is a live event (Obama or McCain rally). “We do breaking news all of the time now.”
The challenge for the networks is to remain relevant as news-hungry consumers go first either to cable or to the digital offerings of newspapers (NYTimes.com as example). What Guff has achieved is a differentiated offer, a digital TV version of woman’s magazine, with necessary information for a better life. As PR people, we will have to be more agile in story creation and to be satisfied with smaller audiences around niche topics. Jessica's comment reinforces the requirement for all PR people to become content creators. We, in essence, must grasp opportunities to create broadcast packages, complete with video and robust storytelling. Use your HD cameras and your writing skills, and make it easy for these news professionals to say "yes." To achieve the same audience reach as a decade ago will require many more placements and more specificity of topics; this is the age of “narrow-casting.” I would appreciate your views as always.
Posted by Edelman at October 10, 2008 12:48 PM |
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