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NewsChannel 8 Washington’s local cable news channel has surged ahead of its national counterparts in the ratings race. It scored some of the highest numbers in its 10-year history this summer, when it attracted 22 percent more viewers than competitors like CNN.
The channel still trails local broadcast network affiliates like NBC-owned WRC-TV Channel 4 in the ratings, but it is beginning to close the gap with those stations. Overall, NewsChannel 8 is growing at a time when low ratings and weak cash flow are pushing other 24-hour local news operations out of business, including two California channels that went off the air this summer.
Allbritton Communications Co., NewsChannel 8’s privately held owner, won’t disclose its revenue, but says the channel has been profitable since 1997. Last month, Allbritton renewed an agreement with Comcast Cable Communications Inc. the Washington area’s largest cable operator that will keep NewsChannel 8 on its systems for at least another 10 years.
Making the news convenient for busy viewers has been key to the network’s success, says John Hillis, NewsChannel 8’s president and general manager since its October 1991 debut.
He cites “The Rush Hour Report,” the network’s fast-paced morning newscast, as an example. The 3*-hour show is geared toward commuters who flip on their TV sets while they get ready for work.
“Some people have accused it of being radio on TV,” Mr. Hillis says.
“If you watch for five minutes, you’ll get some headlines, the weather, the traffic. If you watch for 15 minutes, you’ll get all that plus last night’s sports scores. If you watch for a full half hour, you will get very bored.”
The channel, based in Springfield, is one of 32 all-local-news cable channels in the country. The success of the channels vary greatly, according to Dan Trigoboff, senior editor of Broadcasting & Cable, a trade magazine.
NewsChannel 8 is one of the most successful, Mr. Trigoboff says. Other ratings champions include News 1 in New York, one of several local cable news operations owned by media giant AOL Time Warner Inc.
“When these things succeed, it has more to do with how they are run and how they are financed. A lot depends on how well they are managed,” Mr. Trigoboff says. Allbritton, a $205 million company, is one of the larger television groups in the country.
NewsChannel 8 has taken advantage of changing tastes among news viewers, says Mark Thalhimer, project director for the Radio-Television News Directors Foundation, an industry research group.
In general, viewers prefer local newscasts to national news shows, he says. Since the Cold War ended, the national shows have lost their ability to hold the country’s attention, Mr. Thalhimer says.
“We’ve moved away from the Walter Cronkite, one-size-fits-all model of, ‘Tonight, we’re going to tell you what’s important in the world,’ ” he says.
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