News & Press

Clients keep telling me about the new newscasts they’re launching and so, anecdotally, I know local news is doing well. But last week, Stephen forwarded to me a recent study from the Pew Research Center. Their research concluded that local television’s average viewership grew in 2014. And those gains were predominately made in nontraditional timeslots – namely the very early, midday, and 7pm. Although these newscasts still account for a small percentage of total viewers, they are showing solid growth. The 7pm time slot has grown by 8% over the last five years. And last year, that same time slot saw an 11% increase from 2013.

Pew didn’t dive into who these viewers are or why they’re tuning into local news at these nontraditional hours, but the steady viewership gains is a good reason for stations to seriously consider these timeslots and how they’re approaching them – both their content and their creative. It’s important to connect with these viewers by making your presentation appropriate for the time of day, the mood they’re in, what they’re doing, and the news they are absorbing.

Music is a great way to connect with viewers and drive the pace of the show with daypart-appropriate tracks. All of our news music packages have a plethora of themes written to connect with the audience during every daypart. If, for example, you’re using the same one or two tracks for every open, you’re missing out on an inexpensive and easy-to-implement way to set the tone of your show. And if you’re too short on time to carefully comb through your music package to find the right tracks for all of your shows, well… I happen to know some great creative guys that would be happy to take that on for you.

 

Vocal-driven image campaigns are a great way to engage viewers.
Give us a call and we’ll arrange for a complete review of your newscasts. The SAM creative team will make sure all of your newscasts are utilizing the perfect tracks for the audience and daypart to keep your ratings growth on track.