• Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
TVNewsCheck, The Business of BroadcastingTVNewsCheck, The Business of Broadcasting
  • 
  • 
  • 
  • 
  • 
  • Advertise
  • Contact
  • Jobs
  • Help
  • Programming
  • Technology
  • Business/Revenue
  • Journalism
  • Digital
  • Regulation
  • Market Share
Back to Market Share HomeBack to TVNewsCheck Home

PAUL GREELEY 817-578-6324 | PAUL@NEWSCHECKMEDIA.COM | @TVMarketShare

WTVO’s High School Quiz Show Wins By Every Measure

WTVO in Rockford, Ill., just completed the seventh season of its high school quiz show, Bergstrom Stateline Quiz Bowl. The station has aired 230 episodes so far. “It has been just hugely successful,” says David Rydell, chairman of the Bergstrom Manufacturing company, the show’s title sponsor.

by Paul Greeley June 7, 2021 6:58 EDT

WTVO in Rockford, Ill., the ABC-MyNetworkTV affiliate owned by Mission Broadcasting, and operated under a shared services agreements by Nexstar, just completed the seventh season of its high school quiz show, The Bergstrom Stateline Quiz Bowl. The station has aired 230 episodes over the years.

Eric Wilson, center, WTVO anchor and host of Quiz Bowl, in front of production team, following the Bergstrom Stateline Quiz Bowl Season Seven finale on May 20.

The series has been a success any way you measure a locally produced TV program — good ratings, recognition for the sponsor, all while introducing a segment of the population seldom seen by a television audience.

The Bergstrom Stateline Quiz Bowl airs Saturdays at 6:30 p.m. on WTVO, Sundays at 8:30 a.m. on Rockford’s MyNetworkTV, and Sundays at 9:30 p.m. on WQRF, Rockford’s Fox affiliate owned by Nexstar.

Dave Rydell

“To me, the measure of success is the number of viewers in the area that are tuning into it,” says David Rydell, chairman of the Bergstrom Manufacturing company, the quiz bowl’s title sponsor. “It has been just hugely successful.”

Rydell says the show is entertaining and some people “are very religious about it. They either tape it or they watch it every week.”

Shawn Anderson

The seventh season’s finale aired May 27 from 6:30 to 8 p.m., “and that 7 to 8 o’clock hour did just about as good as what NBC and CBS were putting on Thursday nights,” says Shawn Anderson, WTVO’s creative services director and the executive producer of the Quiz Bowl.

But high viewership, although important to WTVO and Bergstrom, is not their only measure of the show’s success.

Rydell says although a lot of recognition is given to students participating in high school sports, one of the reasons why Bergstrom has been the title sponsor since the Quiz Bowl began in 2015 is the show’s acknowledgement of high school scholars.

“Some people tune in to see if the kids can answer the questions, and so seeing these young people able to answer these questions is really something,” Rydell says.

As I wrote in a 2016 column about quiz bowls, the questions can be hard for rocket scientists, Rhodes scholars and Mensa members, let alone high school students.

What country was the birthplace of the Nobel Prize-winning author Nadine Gortimer?
Expo 1929 was held in what capital of Catalonia, the second most populous city in Spain?

And those are the easy ones.

Anderson echoes the point about how Quiz Bowl shines a light on high school students, an audience not represented much on local TV.

“We don’t hear about these kids unless they do something bad or they are the winning quarterback on Friday night,” Anderson says. “This is our way to showcase smart kids doing smart kid things.”

One of the benefits producing the bowl for WTVO is the entrée it gives into the schools and the students. Due to COVID curtailing the production of some games, the station aired stories about the students themselves to fill the time.

“We are now showing you a little glimpse into their life,” Anderson says.

To fill one of the holes in its Quiz Bowl programs, the station produced a celebrity game, the Badge Battle, where member of the Rockford police and fire departments went head-to-head for charity.

Anderson says the cops started out “talking a lot of smack. All it took was the firefighters getting a run of questions and that shut the cops up. But it was definitely fun and we are going to do it again.”

Rydell says Bergstrom’s association with the Quiz Bowl has given the company name recognition.

“Our employees say any place they go with a jacket on that has the Bergstrom name and logo, invariably somebody will say something to them about the Quiz Bowl.”

But since Bergstrom doesn’t sell its products in Rockford, Rydell says the Bergstrom Stateline Quiz Bowl, “is just our gift to the community.”

NOTE: WTVO’s Bergstrom Stateline Quiz Bowl brings together three of my favorite subjects: schools and education; hyper-local, unique programming; and a successful local TV sales idea that’s a win for everybody involved. Perhaps that’s why I sang its praises in columns over the years.
WTVO’s Teen Quiz Show’s All The Rage
Hands On Buzzers! WTVO’s Quiz Show Is A Hit
WTVO’s High School Quiz Show Still The Rage
WTVO Tests Students’ Knowledge In Local Program
Hands On Buzzers, Quiz Show Comes To KASW
WTVO’s High School Quiz Show Goes Illinois-Wide
WTVO’s Teen Quiz Show Continues To Deliver
Illinois Governor Praises WTVO’s High School Quiz Show


Nexstar Broadcasting, Inc. has an immediate opening for the position of Senior Vice President & Regional Manager. This position will have direct oversight of several markets and will report directly to the President of Nexstar Broadcasting, Inc. The ideal candidate will have a Bachelor’s degree in communications and a minimum of 10 years’ progressive experience in television management and sales, with demonstrated proficiency in various leadership roles. Prior experience as a television station General Manager is essential. Along with a proven track record of success in growing revenues, controlling expenses and developing local television viewership through local news and programming, the successful candidate should be able to bring an innovative approach to established and proven television and digital business models, resulting in improved efficiencies and business unit growth. Click here for more specifics and how to apply.

Tags: ABC, creative services, David Rydell, Facebook, Illinois, journalism, local news, Market Share, Market Share Monday, marketing, Mission Broadcasting, MyNetworkTV, Nexstar, Paul Greeley, Rockford, Shawn Anderson, The Bergstrom Stateline Quiz Bowl., TVNewsCheck, WTVO

Comments (0)

Reader Interactions

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

You must be logged in to post a comment.

Primary Sidebar

RSS Classifieds

  • Transactional Sales Manager, Evening Meteorologist And Multimedia Journalist
  • Morning News Anchor/Reporter, Late Night News Anchor/Reporter And News Reporter
  • Investigative Reporter
  • Senior Sales Executive – TV Systems
Tweets by paulgreeley
TIP PAUL
Send breaking news to
Paul@NewsCheckMedia.com
Or call him at 817-578-6324
  • TV News Check
  • Media Job Center
  • The Tech Zone
  • Market Share Marketing and Promotions Blog
  • TV Station Directory
  • Advertise
  • Jobs
  • Become a Member
  • Join TVN Plus
  • Free Email Newsletters & Alerts

TVN Events

  • Women in Technology
  • OTT News Summit
  • NewsTECHFutures Retreat
  • Cybersecurity for Broadcasters
  • NewsTECHForum
  • TV2020: Monetizing the Future
  • Disrupt the News Challenge

Reader Services

  • Log in/Subscribe
  • My Account
  • Update password
  • Update Email Address
  • Newsletters & Alerts
  • RSS
  • Join TVN Plus
  • Help

Connect

  • 
  • 
  • 
  • 
  • 
  • About
  • Contact
  • Member Help
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms and Conditions
© Copyright 2023 NewsCheckMedia LLC, 24 West Lancaster Ave., Suite 205 Ardmore, PA 19003 | 484-412-8287
TVNewsCheck, The Business of Broadcasting
  • Programming
  • Technology
  • Business/Revenue
  • Journalism
  • Digital
  • Regulation
  • Market Share