Home Media Headlines NBC Changing WNBC in a Big Way

NBC Changing WNBC in a Big Way

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Someone alerted me to this article in Variety about NBC re-tooling their flagship station in New York City, WNBC.

If this works look for other stations to begin copying it en mass just like WSVN was copied in the early/mid 90s when they made fast pace and flashy graphics work.

NBC announced the changes earlier this year but now everything is beginning to take shape.

A lot of the high priced anchors and reporters will be gone soon replaced by cheaper … “content producers”. Yes, there apparently is no such thing as reporter, photojournalist etc at WNBC anymore. Most everyone who worked there and is lucky to still have a job will be shooting video, writing, editing, and reporting stories.

Basically NBC is retooling the whole station to try and help the sagging ratings and all else that ails the TV news biz. Or so they hope.

Last month they launched a new studio (video below) that looks a lot like MSNBC and NBC Nightly News sets. If you watch it you’ll notice how the on-air talent refers to it as “content center” and not news room.

Feels kind of gimmicky with these new buzz words. But I suppose WNBC can afford to take the chance seeing as how their station isn’t exactly at the peak of the ratings. Seriosly, 17,000 viewers for a 5pm newscast in a city with population bigger than some countries?

11 COMMENTS

  1. At least WNBC is using Bill Ratner for its VO. You know, I feel they should’ve when they used the Pyburn 2003 gfx. Speaking of Bill Ratner, would he make a great vo on WPVI 6-ABC action news?

  2. Can we please get the sweep numbers for November? I mean the orlando market one is been up for days. Why does it seem like we can never find out how the stations are doing down here?????

  3. The answer to your question, Diego, is this: when swimming in a pool of crap, what different does it make how deep the pool is?

  4. FWIW (considering the source), I just read on WPTV’s website that “WPTV remained the top-rated station in all of Florida among markets metered by Nielsen. WINK in Ft Myers was second, followed by WFTV in Orlando.”

  5. Diego, we’re really trying to get them. We’ve shot off e-mails to Nielsen, and insiders.. but it’s as if they’re locked in a safe.. we’re working on it.

  6. It looks like WNBC went a bit over the top with their new news set and graphics.

    I notice that WNBC’s graphics are sort of different from the other NBC O&O’s… the other O&O’s debuted graphics similar to that of KNTV, which was 1st to debut the new NBC O&O style graphics back in July. Hmmm.

    I give WNBC’s new look a 2 thumbs up.

  7. Alex,

    Thanks

    Hopefully they will produce them soon for us all to see. If not maybe I need to go to Nielsen’s headquearters with my hammer.

    LOL
    LOL

  8. I recently moved from Ft. Lauderdale to NYC and all of the changes that they made to WNBC are absolutely GREAT. I still prefer to watch CBS2 because of the on-air talent (like Miami’s own Lonnie Quinn and Megan Glaros) but I’m still extremely impressed with NBC New York’s new graphics and website. (Check it out at nbcnewyork.com, it doesn’t even feel like a TV station’s website!)

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