WBRC

When a deadly tornado touched down in Birmingham, Ala., during the late news, WBRC’s coverage led the market in household viewers. Station management says strong First Alert branding and an all-hands approach made the difference.

WVUE, Gray’s Fox affiliate in New Orleans, took a tongue in cheek approach to its Super Bowl Sunday strategy with a series of promos for its 10 o’clock news. “We went hyper local,” said Blaine Strawn, WVUE’s marketing director. “Granted, most viewers outside of New Orleans won’t understand, but we knew our viewers would.”

“Rather than just one promo,” said Scott Brady, WDRB’s creative services VP, “we launched a whole new news campaign. This was a half-day of tremendous viewing sampling with much of our competitors’ audience tuning in as well! The Strategy was Super Bowl Sunday rather than just the Big Game Ad.”

As you would imagine with the home town team Kansas City Chiefs playing in the Super Bowl, viewership on the Fox affiliate, WDAF, would be high. And the creative services team at Nexstar’s WDAF was ready.

At KOKH, Sinclair’s Fox affiliate in Oklahoma City, the station wanted to “rock the idea of what news promotion can be,” said Ethan Edwards, KOKH’s creative services director, talking about the spot his team put together for the Super Bowl.

KPTV, Meredith’s Fox affiliate in Portland, Ore., used Lego art to create a highly visible and totally original campaign for its morning news program, Good Day Oregon.

Over the next couple days, we’ll share what some Fox affiliates aired on their stations during the Super Bowl, starting with these spots from WBRC, Gray’s Fox affiliate in Birmingham, Ala. (DMA 44).

Three Gray Broadcasting TV stations in Alabama and Georgia collaborated on a 12-minute video to show what their stations did before, during and after the tornadoes on March 3. Collin Gaston, WBRC’s general manager, said it’s “a compelling story for Washington on how to handle broadcasters going forward, that there’s good value in local TV and they should be on our side.”

This past week on TVNewsCheck’s Media Job Center, Tegna, Cox, Hearst, Gray and Quincy have posted job openings at stations in Biringham, Orlando, Phoenix and Waterloo, Iowa.

Yesterday, TV and radio stations across the state held a tornado relief telethon, Together for Alabama, that was coordinated by the Alabama Broadcasting Association. “Broadcasters are always there for the communities they serve and at times like these, we bring everyone together in a way like no other,” said Sharon M. Tinsley, Alabama Broadcasters Association’s president.