Building Viewership With News Topicals, Pt. 1
News topicals, those ubiquitous promos embedded in programming enticing viewers to watch the next newscast, have been a staple of local TV news since forever. Effective topical news promotion can lead to sampling, and during sweeps, possibly into ratings. This week, in a five-part series, Market Share focuses on TV stations’ news topicals. You’ll hear from veteran creative services directors and writer/producers from across the country.
This article was originally posted on tvnewscheck.com
alicia farmer
Welcome to 1987. Most viewers have figured out that “news topicals” and “investigations” are promotional drivel.
Snead Hearn
Please tell me you have more than a news topical. Viewers have moved on from the hype that never delivers or the constant promoting “coming up next after the break”. Heavy news promotion and topicals during rating periods that can only been seen on your station sure brings back memories.
Kaylor Blakley
I cannot believe these guys still believe in topicals. With time shifted viewing, they are irrelevant. It’s time and resources better spent elsewhere.
Howard Winer
Topicals have never been very effective, and in today’s media environment even less so. It is simply a numbers game: a topical does not generate enough reach and frequency to matter. Viewers watch news on the station they trust most. It is as simple as that. The time spent promoting individual news stories is much better invested trying to build the bond of trust.