Document text
TV money picture dims a bit Mail Tribune / Drew Fleming Camera operator Stacey Anderson trains her camera on KOBI-TV Channel 5's 6 o'clock news anchors Connie Meier and Chris Corcoran on Tuesday. Ad-free days this month hurt bottom line By GREG STILES The revenue pie shared by Medford's four commercial television stations was $17.3 million in 2000. That figure may be hard to top in 2001, partly because it's not an election year, partly because of regional economics and now because of nearly a week's worth of lost advertising revenue following the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks in New York and Washington. "When the advertising minutes go by, they're gone," said KTVL general manager Susan Kelley. While network affiliation and ratings go a long way in determining a small-market station's profitability, its news team provides its persona. The seven-county market area in which they compete includes Klamath Falls and Grants Pass. But any way it's cut, the largest slice of viewership for the local ABC, CBS, NBC and Fox affiliates is right here in Jackson County, which 180,000 people call home. "It's one of the most competitive markets in the nation and it's increasingly more challenging," said KOBI owner Patsy Smullin, president of California Oregon Broadcasting Inc. Despite a relatively small population, there are several local news options. KOBI (NBC) and KTVL (CBS) had the market to themselves until KDRV (ABC) entered the picture in 1985. KMVU (Fox), the only affiliate station without a local news staff, joined the fray in 1994. KDRV has established itself king of Southern Oregon's news hill. Nielsen ratings in July showed Channel 12 owning a 15 rating and a 48 share for its 5 o'clock newscast and a 13 rating with a 37 share for its 6 o'clock show. (Ratings represent the percentage of all potential TV viewers watching a particular program, and the share represents the percentage of actual TV viewers watching a particular program.) KOBI and KTVL trailed with a combined 6 rating and 19 share at 5 o'clock and a combined 8 rating with 20 share at 6 o'clock. Last week, KOBI dropped its 5 o'clock newscast, replacing it with the syndicated program "Real TV." Earlier this month, KOBI's sister station, KOTI in Klamath Falls, merged its local news into KOBI's newscast. Previously, KOTI cut away for its local news. One employee was laid off because of the recent news cutbacks, Smullin said. "A lot of people aren't home from work at 5 p.m.," Smullin said. "We decided to put our resources into our morning, 6 to 7 and 11 o'clock news. It was part of the long-term planning for our new fall schedule. "We just didn't expect for it to happen in the midst of major upheaval," she said, referring to the East Coast terrorist attacks. For now, the 36 percent of local viewers without cable television will have to choose between syndicated shows and two newscasts at 5 p.m. "From a competitive standpoint, it's beneficial to KTVL and KDRV that there are fewer choices for 5 o'clock news," KDRV general manager Renard Maiuri said. "From a philosophical standpoint, I hate to see local news programming diminished. When there's less competition, you can grow complacent." Maiuri was KDRV's news director until becoming general manager in 1997. When the station first began broadcasting news, it had a formidable obstacle in highly popular anchor Mark Bradshaw at KTVL. "Mark Bradshaw was probably the most recognized personality in the market area," Maiuri said. "He and (meteorologist) Leon Hunsaker were major obstacles." But while its competitors have had turnover in key management spots, KDRV has been able to capitalize on its consistency. "We think we look better and do a better job than the other guys," Maiuri said. "We've been consistent in how we look and present ourselves. In hiring, we've been able to recognize strong and talented people." July's Nielsen figures showed women between 25 and 54 were more than three times as likely to watch KDRV's 6 o'clock news than KOBI and seven times as likely to watch KDRV than KTVL at 6 p.m. When the traumatic events of Sept. 11 hit, the local stations all went into continuous coverage without advertising. "It had a significant impact on revenues for the month of September," Maiuri said. "We had a limited number of days to do that in September and we're not going to be able to get it all in." That was true of most stations, but the plus side, said KTVL's Kelley, was that fourth quarter revenue will be improved because so many commercials were rescheduled. "The fourth-quarter (commercial) inventory is going to be very tight," she said. "A lot of people think the fourth quarter will pick up, and I'm one of them." Reach reporter Greg Stiles at 776-4463 or e-mail [email protected] Mail Tribune Home | Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. | Dow Jones & Co., Inc. | Privacy | Contact Us Copyright � 2001 Mail Tribune, Inc.