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February 03, 2006
Downloading Local TV Newscasts
Brooks Barnes wrote an article in the Wall Street Journal on February 1, titled "As TV Networks Use Web, Affiliates Seek Piece of the Action." In the article Barnes reports that, "Stations such as WRAL (in Raleigh, N.C.) are upset because of the flood of deals their affiliated networks have negotiated in recent months to distribute new episodes of hit shows online. Stations, which for decades have enjoyed exclusive access to new episodes, worry that making shows available on Apple Computer Inc.'s iTunes and on Google Inc.'s new video service will erode ratings, and thus ad rates. Owners of local stations also see the distribution of shows online as a potentially lucrative business and want to be part of it." And further on Barnes writes, "Jim Goodmon, president of Capitol Broadcasting, says WRAL will kick off its on-demand service today with local news and entertainment programming."
Sure. Can you imagine someone paying $1.99 to download a local television station newscast? Why do you think people download movies or TV shows, such as "Desperate Housewives," to their iPods? Because they can watch them on the go and watch many times to catch hot clinches with several of the hottest chicks on TV. So, people have a choice between downloading "Desperate Housewives" for $1.99 or a local television station's newscast for the same price that features anchorpeople who couldn't make it to the big time and who big city people would shoot because they're so ugly or air-headed or both. What kind of a moron is going to watch a stale local newscast over and over? The anchorpeople's parents, period.
ABC's "Desperate Housewives" and "Lost" are among the top ten network television programs for advertisers' most desired demographic--18-49 year old adults. Certainly the 18-34 portion of that audience understands how to download these shows to their iPods. On the other hand there is absolutely no one under the age of 55 who watches either network or local newscasts and probably 85 percent of the viewers are over 65. To confirm this assumption, just watch one of three network's early newscasts, if you can bear it, and pay close attention to the commercials--stuff to either stop you or help you take a dump, to keep your false teeth in place, or dangerous drugs that keep you erect in more ways than one. In other words aimed at people who probably never heard of an iPod or if they have, think it's some kind of irradiated bean, let alone know how to use one.
I guess it shows you that local television stations are more desperate to catch the rising star of the Internet than the desperate housewives on television. But if they want anyone to download their local newscasts they'd better replace their anchors with Pam Anderson or Jessica Simpson clones and have seminars on how to use an iPod in nursing homes.
Posted by Charles Warner at February 3, 2006 12:39 AM
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