That’s what John Oliver has been asking lately on his HBO show, Last Week Tonight with John Oliver. He’s been asking the question by showing a compilation video of some of the New York CBS O&O’s 11 p.m. news topicals end page animations with titles like Viagra for Kids, High Heel Self Defense, Inside a Dog’s […]
That’s what John Oliver has been asking lately on his HBO show, Last Week Tonight with John Oliver.
He’s been asking the question by showing a compilation video of some of the New York CBS O&O’s 11 p.m. news topicals end page animations with titles like Viagra for Kids, High Heel Self Defense, Inside a Dog’s Mind, Are Beards Bad, and Secret Lives of Suburban Wives.
And while it’s clear Oliver is using the end graphics and titles to spoof the station for laughs, WCBS doesn’t care.
Because if you were to ask WCBS what in God’s name is happening over there, they would say, winning the 11 o’clock news ratings, that’s what.
WCBS’ 11 p.m. newscasts were rated No. 1 in both households and adults 25-54 in the February sweep.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0tk0hNfJ8TI
So why is WCBS coming in first?
“It’s because of the design of those end pages,” said Bruce Brauer, WCBS creative services director.
“We’re just trying to make the stories stand out. And those end pages get attention, positive and negative, they’re getting attention.”
Brauer says John Oliver does his show in the same building that houses WCBS, so his staff was able to get access to the WCBS servers where the stations 11 p.m. topicals and IDs are stored to create the montage.
Was anyone at WCBS upset about it?
“No, we know it’s tongue in cheek,” said Brauer.
“You’re being recognized whether they’re poking a little fun at the story or rolling their eyes at the topics.”
News topicals and five-second IDs promoting the late news are a staple of every local TV news operation every day.
And the success of those topicals holding the audience into the late news from the network’s last entertainment program leading into the news is critical. Especially if you’re a CBS affiliate since their late network entertainment shows draw such a huge viewership.
NCIS, NCIS: New Orleans, NCIS: Los Angeles, Blue Bloods, Criminal Minds, all are CBS programs leading into the affiliates’ late news and all are some of the highest rated shows on TV.
And you can bet that CBS affiliates currently not holding their news lead-in audience are looking at the success here and wanting to duplicate it in their market, especially the CBS O&O’s.
If you’re a CBS affiliate and you can hold the news lead-in audience into the late news, you’ll likely be the top-rated latenight newscast in your market.
So don’t be surprised if you see tease titles like Ghosts Rest Stops, Big Bucks in Bags, Digital Dentistry and Dry Drowning coming soon from your favorite CBS affiliate.
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