KPIX's duopoly station, KBCW, (KPIX sister outlet on the CW Network), launches a new newscast on Monday Night at 10 PM. The program will be anchored by Veronica De La Cruz, who also co-anchors KPIX 6 PM newscast. De La Cruz has been anchoring only the 6 PM news this week as station officials have been dialing down the set and finalizing programming chits on the new show.
PIX has a simple strategy with this new venture: they acknowledge KTVU is still king at that time slot with its signature, ratings-dominant "Ten O'clock News". They're not going to challenge 2 for overall viewers --simply impossible.
What they are trying to do is to capture a younger audience; the 18-49 demo coveted by advertisers as a prime buying entity. How successful, (or not), the venture becomes is anyone's guess but PIX is devoting a lot of manpower and analytics to the newscast, with more stories catered to the younger crowd, a quicker, shorter pace with an emphasis on health, sports, pop culture and the like. I'm guessing you're going to see a lot of music videos and entertainment features. Lite faire with some heady mixture-- something interesting to grab 10 seconds from an Amy in Pleasanton or Jack in Mill Valley.
Of course the usual top news of the day, breaking news, and sports and weather will be a part of the program but both the look and feel of the show will be readily different from the other "traditional" newscasts.
Experiments like this do not create winners overnight and I'm sure the powers-that-be over at 855 Battery are aware of that. Word is that this is not a short-term project and that KPIX is in it for the long haul. They'll be helped by the CW Network's younger audience as a lead-in and hope, with an emerging presence like De La Cruz that their 10 PM missive can ultimately carve a small, but loyal and younger viewership --or at least a whole of lot folks not glued to the Internet watching a Netflix offering.
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Folks in that demo aren't named "Amy" and "Jack". They're named "Ashley" and "Brandon"
ReplyDeleteAwwww, got's my gourmet popcorn purchase made today and by "dialing in that CW set" and "finalizing programming chits," why, Ashley (age 24) and I (age 26) cannot wait till Monday night at 10!
DeleteThis of course depends on if I am playing with the X-Box and Ashley is not on her smartphone texting to her circle of friends who don't watch ANY Tee-Wee news outside of Jon Stewart. We're too busy to care about the nooze. The CW is so ... non-rated and late to the picnic.
I like VDLC on the real tee-wee channel 5, but I'm afraid it's a lost case on the CW. Gotta run. Harvesting the "plants" time and Ashley wants to do "fondue" for dinner and then go clubbing and dancing. We won't be home on Friday nites to see the CW nor will hundreds of thousands of others, but, hey, not our problem.
Sincerely - Ashley and Brandon
> Experiments like this do not create winners overnight and I'm sure the powers-
ReplyDelete> that-be over at 855 Battery are aware of that. Word is that this is not a short-term
> project and that KPIX is in it for the long haul.
My experience has been that they always say this but when things get a little dicey they will suddenly panic and we'll see lots of firings and finger-pointings, the birth of gimmicks ("News in the Nude!") and an even further erosion of standards before they ditch the project. I've never seen TV suits actually swallow the it-takes-time mantra. Ever.
God, just what we need. Shorter stories, higher story count aimed at young people living with their parents and have no money. Pix should know young people don't sit down for a hour or even a half hour for there news. They have it in five minutes on the pad.
ReplyDeleteWill 'PIX hire the additional photogs/reports/editors/writers/producers needed to pull this off? Or will 'PIX simply add to the workload of the existing staff??
ReplyDeleteNo, they add to the workload by adding more middle management to the already cut down and beat up staff.
Delete10:40, sounds about right. Actually workers? What would they want with those?
DeleteOr maybe they could share workers with KTVU's already stellar group of technicians.
That is not unique to KPIX. When a newscast is added at a station, you will get another producer and maybe another writer. The production and technical staff levels are never increased and their personnel are stretched ever thinner.
DeleteGee, are they going to hire high school students to do the crawls on the screen too? This way, we'll know it's them by the misspellings and text talk that they'll use. They'll also save a lot of money.
ReplyDeleteIn all seriousness, is there any original programming anymore? Are we in China? Russia? Hell, we might as well have one station running shows the way this is going. No originality. No individuality. KOFY runs KGO news. KRON has a partnership with KGO. KICU and KTVU are in cahoots. As the Muppets say on the Toyota commercials, "BORING!"
"Hi, I'm Ashley." "And I'm Jonah." "And like, here's what's happenin'...Lesse..." [scrolls on iPhone] "...Well, our cool president Obama said something today at the White House; it had something to do with relations with Russia. They're like, misbehaving and stuff, and Barry is dissed, LOL! Oh, and locally some people in suits sitting around a big table had a council meeting tonight. We'll bring you coverage of that as soon as Brittany gets back from her Rihanna concert. But first, here's the BIG STORY: Justin Bieber is NOT, repeat, is NOT in trouble for egging a neighbor's house. He, like, just has to do community service. And they won't be deporting him back to Canada, LOL!" The KBCW 'News For Morons' Show will be back after this break..."
ReplyDeleteSaw Veronica tonight at 5 with Allen; good chemistry, good team.
ReplyDeleteI'm thinking, if LIz were to wait till October or so to move to B'field she'll miss the heat, but then again, she'd encounter the tule fog. (Stay off Hwy 99, sweetheart)
Or there's always the Snow White job at DisneyLand.
Decisions, decisions.
"They're not going to challenge 2 for overall viewers --simply impossible." Now see, here's where I disagree.
ReplyDeleteChannel 2 doesn't have the Dennis Richmond/Elaine Corral charisma now. I, being somewhat older than the upto49 demo, turn on 2 at 10 because it's the only game in town.
A solid and serious newscast on another channel at that time could certainly pull me away from 2.
From what I've noticed in the last ten years, younger viewers would respond better to a phone, instagram, twitter or what have you app.
Unless 5 invents a miraculous interactive TV situation, IMHO they are unlikely to draw this new demographic they are seeking. People in that age range are glued to their phones and tablets, not the TV.
Now if they could introduce a Daily Show format at that hour, they would draw from all age groups!
Radio is dying and so is TV. Even at the advanced age of 61, I have become a Netflixer. I have no patience for regular TV--SO many commercials! I get most news online and watch local news on "normal" TV when I have nothing better to do.
I am not expressing this well, but it all seems like a bunch of old fogies trying to put a very square into a round hole that they don't understand. I predict: FAIL.
Okay, I've watched the Veronica show multiple times this week and I don't get the hype. She's not any better than most of our mediocre homegrown talent. I'm not sure why anybody would care other than the fact that she's from another area and the curiosity factor will get people like me to tune in. And tune out as quickly. If this keeps some viewers then I guess it's a win. I'm beginning to think the delay of her debut was a deliberate marketing stunt. She's not even attractive.
ReplyDeleteTV is trapped in the past. They profess to want to reach viewers, yet they clutter the screen with graphics and text... shorten stories.. speed read and ping pong between anchors so that 2 minutes after the first story you don't remember a thing. News skews older yet they want to go after a younger demo.. ok.. then think different to quote Steve Jobs... try something really new...young people don't watch tv news, they watch video on mobile devices... Hello... anyone home?
ReplyDelete