The days of the lead-in are gone
The unremarkable ratings of the Jay Leno show prove what I’ve been writing for a long time – that local affiliates need to stop thinking about their 10 pm lead in, and focus on self-reliance. WHDH-TV is suffering a decline in its audience because of Leno, reports the Boston Globe. (Disclosure: I’m quoted in this article, so I’m being a bit shameless here.)
(The Jay) Leno show has.. dropped off from an average of 275,700 total viewers in the premiere week to 154,700 by the end of the four-week period on Oct. 15… The ratings crash also has hurt the 11 p.m. newscast that follows the Leno show: In the coveted demographic of viewers ages 25-54 for the first month of Leno’s show, viewership of WHDH’s newscast was cut almost by half, from 81,200 adults to 49,100.
As we rethink Boston media, we need to rethink everything. That includes old notions of relying on the network to deliver an audience. When we think about Native News (a term Charlie Kravetz has coined), I argue we need to think about how it stands on its own as a locally-focused, high quality product. This is not to take away from 7’s work — it’s just a reminder of how the network cares less about the affiliates’ needs.
Why are these pieces not signed?
Good catch, Francine. I’ve been testing out themes (this one’s new today) and it appears this theme doesn’t support the names field. I’ll change the theme to one that does. Thanks for pointing that out. Shame – I like the “boxes” theme.