The Newsroom

NBC News, MSNBC, CNBC, NBC affiliates and TODAY

NBC launches new Washington D.C. bureau and studios (February 2018)

This site closed in March 2021 and is now a read-only archive
RK
Rkolsen
👆
I can never get my head around American local TV.
I’ve tried to understand it all. Very difficult from a simple UK perspective.

Surely now the major networks could just go straight to home 24/7 via cable and satellite.
Leave the local news stations to do their thing.


Presumably, they don't for the same reason that ITV PLC don't just hand back the channel 3 licence patchwork in the UK - afterall, ITV own their own national multiplex, SDN, and could easily set up a single national ITV channel there, if they wanted to.

But, for what they'd gain in no longer having to provide regional programmes, deal with STV and no longer having to stick to quotas on UK-made shows, news or other public service programming commitments, they'd lose access to their favourable EPG position, universal carriage, etc. They'd also be risking having Ofcom readvertising the licences for a new channel 3 network to compete with the new ITV.

In the US one of the networks could decide to become fully cable/IPTV/satellite, but would would equally lose that universal access, the eyes of anyone unwilling or unable to pay for subscription television. It's also likely that there are other companies who would dive straight into any OTA broadcast spectrum that the current crop of networks decided to turn their backs on..

It's worth pointing out that one of the biggest networks is owned by a major player in cable TV, Comcast - if they don't want to bin off the Network/Affiliate model in favour of wholly in-house distribution, then it's clear that something still works very well for them there.


In some markets going straight to consumer could work, possibly Boston they have a high cable penetration rate. I think that was NBCU’s option of last resort if they couldn’t find anything for WBTS.

However the networks get prime ad dollars for being universal carriage and significant amount of money for reverse compensation. Local affiliates pay significant amounts of money back to the network to just: carry it (reverse compensation), retransmission consent fees (in addition to taking money for the affiliate they get a cut of the fees cable/satellite pays), provide their news sharing access, sports fees and for NBC the affiliates pay a a decent chunk of money for the Olympics (I am not sure what portion of the broadcast contract of the IOC rights contract affiliates pay).

If they went straight to MVPDS (cable / satellite / IP) they wouldn’t have near universal carriage in every market, they wouldn’t be making any where near the amount they would by having MVPDS compared to the affiliate model. Additionally they’d have to negotiate carriage with thousands of small cable companies, something that’s much easier delegating to the affiliates which know the area.

Additionally if they went straight to cable a significant portion of the industry would fall apart and tens of thousands if not hundreds of thousands of people who work at the affiliates local and corporate level. And who knows how would be lost in revenue for the affiliate, the network and in taxes.

Also this whole reverse compensation thing is relatively new. One of the first major cases of reverse compensation was in 1999/2000 with KRON in San Francisco where NBC (who wanted to buy the station but lost) threatened the new owners if NBC did not win the bid they’d have pay $10 million a year for programming where as up to then KRON was paid $7.5 million a year. Needless to say KRON which was purchased for $820 million at closing, didn’t keep the affiliation for long until 2002. Then NBC found a station in San Jose KNTV which was offering $37 million/year to carry programming and on January 1, 2002 NBC bought KNTV for $250 million and San Jose became part of the San Francisco DMA.

140 days later

RK
Rkolsen
Lester Holt has been homecasting Nightly News from his New York City home and last night on Nightly News during an intro to a report you could hear Lester's dog Lucy Barking. I posted a video on YouTube of it. It was cute to hear.



Lucy Doodle has her own Instagram account which can be found here.

28 days later

FC
FrancesC
Lester Holt is back to 30 Rock tonight for the Democratic National Convention coverage…
FT
FranceTV
CNBC London coming from a temporary set on the other side of the studio area today. There was some reference to changes to be unveiled soon, so possibly we’ve seen the last of the weirdest-shaped desk in television.
FT
FranceTV
CNBC London coming from a temporary set on the other side of the studio area today. There was some reference to changes to be unveiled soon, so possibly we’ve seen the last of the weirdest-shaped desk in television.


Here is said temporary set.

*
VA
valley
CNBC London coming from a temporary set on the other side of the studio area today. There was some reference to changes to be unveiled soon, so possibly we’ve seen the last of the weirdest-shaped desk in television.

Here is said temporary set.

I think they might need to level their camera...
FC
FrancesC
Watching the Democratic National Convention coverage… NBC News Now did not take the network coverage until now…
OM
Omnipresent
"The News with Shepard Smith" launches on CNBC on 30 September:

https://www.cnbc.com/the-news-with-shepard-smith/

https://www.cnbc.com/2020/08/24/cnbcs-the-news-with-shepard-smith-to-premiere-wednesday-september-30-at-7pm-et.html

Quote:
CNBC, First in Business Worldwide, today announced The News with Shepard Smith will premiere on Wednesday, September 30th at 7pm ET. The live, one-hour program will broadcast each weeknight from CNBC’s Global Headquarters in Englewood Cliffs, N.J. with encore presentations of the newscast airing at 12am ET and 4am ET. Sanford Cannold will serve as Senior Executive Producer and Sally Ramirez will join the network as Executive Producer.

The News with Shepard Smith is CNBC’s nightly newscast providing deep, non-partisan coverage and perspective on the day’s most important stories. Featuring on-the-ground reporting from around the globe, The News with Shepard Smith will go beyond the headlines to give its viewers sharp context into the world around them in real-time. The program will be punctuated by compelling images and expert guests – all pulled together by Shepard Smith’s trademark devotion to speed, accuracy and the trust of his audience.
BB
BBI45
"The News with Shepard Smith" launches on CNBC on 30 September:

https://www.cnbc.com/the-news-with-shepard-smith/

https://www.cnbc.com/2020/08/24/cnbcs-the-news-with-shepard-smith-to-premiere-wednesday-september-30-at-7pm-et.html

Quote:
CNBC, First in Business Worldwide, today announced The News with Shepard Smith will premiere on Wednesday, September 30th at 7pm ET. The live, one-hour program will broadcast each weeknight from CNBC’s Global Headquarters in Englewood Cliffs, N.J. with encore presentations of the newscast airing at 12am ET and 4am ET. Sanford Cannold will serve as Senior Executive Producer and Sally Ramirez will join the network as Executive Producer.

The News with Shepard Smith is CNBC’s nightly newscast providing deep, non-partisan coverage and perspective on the day’s most important stories. Featuring on-the-ground reporting from around the globe, The News with Shepard Smith will go beyond the headlines to give its viewers sharp context into the world around them in real-time. The program will be punctuated by compelling images and expert guests – all pulled together by Shepard Smith’s trademark devotion to speed, accuracy and the trust of his audience.

Not the first time CNBC has aired a programme with the name "The News With...":

AM
Alfie Mulcahy
Where is there London studio. I remember hearing somewhere that it was at Gray's Inn Road but that may have been CNN
VA
valley
Where is there London studio. I remember hearing somewhere that it was at Gray's Inn Road but that may have been CNN

CNBC's London base is 10 Fleet Place - with some of the studio space shared with Sky News for Ian King Live .
AM
Alfie Mulcahy
Where is there London studio. I remember hearing somewhere that it was at Gray's Inn Road but that may have been CNN

CNBC's London base is 10 Fleet Place - with some of the studio space shared with Sky News for Ian King Live .


Ah cool. I never knew they shared with Sky.

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