WAFB-TV has expanded its weekday 6 p.m. broadcast from 30 minutes to one hour, a decision made partially in response to the uptick in viewership the newcast has seen throughout the pandemic.
It’s the same reason WAFB added a 30-minute 4 p.m. newscast in April, says station manager Joe Sciortino. As more people have been working from home over the past five months, he says the station’s 6 p.m. show saw a 9% to 10% year-over-year increase in viewership over June and July.
“People who might’ve watched more in the morning could shift a little later,” Sciortino says.
Viewership has also risen across the entire Baton Rouge market. For weekday 6 p.m. newscasts, the average combined audience for local stations WAFB, WBRZ and WVLA increased nearly 20% in June 2020 compared to June 2019, according to ratings service Comscore, which defines “average audience” as the average number of TVs tuned in at any one point.
The move—which replaces the syndicated Family Feud in the back half of the hour-long time slot—opens up 50% to 60% more local advertising space, enhancing the station’s ability to sell ads.
The expanded 6 p.m. newscast allows more advertisers into the traditionally coveted time slot, says Sciortino, unlike syndicated shows, where the type of advertising allowed comes down to the specific marketing plans of the advertisers.
“Nationally, you can see that advertising is down,” says Sciortino, who can’t comment on the financial specifics of advertising at WAFB but says they’re in line with national trends. “Local businesses are our customers, along with our viewers. We want to see these businesses come out the other side of this pandemic stronger.”
Some additional costs came with the decision to expand the 6 p.m. broadcast, including hiring another producer to help the existing team create double its usual amount of content. It’s among four new hires the station has added over the past six months, with the other three going to the 4 p.m. newscast.
