One of my friends from my NBC years spent considerable time selling ads during the news. Yes, they could (and still can) sell ads, but due to demographics, the specific advertisers are typically less than desirable. We’re talking boner pills and reverse mortgages. We’re talking SuperPAC funded propaganda. We’re talking casinos. We’re talking drugs where 90% of the ad is a list of side-effects.
I just watched the segment of celebrity Millionaire featuring Marc Maron and Sarah Silverman. The ads were the same if not worse than the ones that run during the news. I don’t watch any sports outside of cycling, but I’d wager outside of alcohol and fast food, their ads aren’t much better. Nobody’s turning to the networks for substance anymore, and nobody under the age of… well… me watches the news anymore. So, yes, there is money to be made, but outside of a few markets, news anchors and reporters make less than school teachers. Budgets are scaled back to almost nothing. And the rise of so-called “virtual sets” means no more in studio technicians. Kevin M. (RPCV) On Fri, Sep 26, 2025 at 4:03 PM Tom Wolper <[email protected]> wrote: > It was about 15 years ago on this list during the May upfronts when we > noticed that broadcast TV ratings were cratering. It only made sense for > advertisers to spend less but the reports at the end of the meetings was > that they were spending more. Over time, and possibly a new generation of > executives, they finally shifted ad dollars. I guess it was more > incremental than we expected. > > On Fri, Sep 26, 2025 at 3:35 PM David Lynch <[email protected]> wrote: > >> I got to talking to someone who teaches a university course about media >> (albeit as part of a government/public affairs degree program) and >> apparently, live sports and local news are the only things left making >> anybody any money in broadcasting. It's why you're seeing so many reality >> and game shows in prime time these days -- they're cheaper to produce than >> drama and get enough viewers to justify keeping the lights on. >> >> On Fri, Sep 26, 2025 at 2:12 PM Kevin M. <[email protected]> >> wrote: >> >>> There is very little money left in traditional broadcast media, but if >>> they can be locally funded and locally produced, A for effort, I guess. >>> >>> Kevin M. (RPCV) >>> >>> >>> On Fri, Sep 26, 2025 at 12:02 PM Mark Jeffries <[email protected]> >>> wrote: >>> >>>> Our long nati--onal nightmare is partly over, as West Coast Jimmy is >>>> back on Sinclair's ABC stations as of tonight's rerun---however, Nexstar is >>>> hanging in there, as they want the FCC to approve that merger with Tegna >>>> and get the waiver that would have them owning stations in approximately >>>> twice as many cities as anybody else: >>>> >>>> >>>> https://www.thewrap.com/sinclair-jimmy-kimmel-abc-affiliate-stations-restored/ >>>> >>>> Which leads me to something I'd been meaning to post but haven't gotten >>>> around to--in the last six weeks two long-standing network >>>> affiliates--Warren Buffet's WPLG in Miami (67 years with ABC) and Gray's >>>> WANF in Atlanta (30 years with CBS)--dropped their network affiliations for >>>> status as indies with a schedule predominately of local news (WANF's calls >>>> stand for "Atlanta News First"). WPLG came out and said that they made the >>>> move because they did not like having to share ABC shows with streaming >>>> (yet their biggest syndicated shows, "Live!," "Jeopardy!" and "Wheel of >>>> Fortune," are all streaming same-day or next-day) and they are promoting >>>> the world newscast they are running in the time slot where David Muir used >>>> to be "news from people you know without New York bias." ABC and CBS found >>>> replacements in these cities, but I'm wondering if there is going to be >>>> other network affiliates who think they might be able to make more money >>>> and not compete with streaming with mostly local news. >>>> >>>> -- >>>> You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google >>>> Groups "TVorNotTV" group. >>>> To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send >>>> an email to [email protected]. >>>> To view this discussion visit >>>> https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/tvornottv/05143c62-40c6-40b9-93b1-1e7d80465ddbn%40googlegroups.com >>>> <https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/tvornottv/05143c62-40c6-40b9-93b1-1e7d80465ddbn%40googlegroups.com?utm_medium=email&utm_source=footer> >>>> . >>>> >>> -- >>> You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google >>> Groups "TVorNotTV" group. >>> To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send >>> an email to [email protected]. >>> To view this discussion visit >>> https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/tvornottv/CAKgmY4C%3D9dwg3XHDKBpfyPrLkkJvqnAvbM2koeJiL%3DrpNToUeQ%40mail.gmail.com >>> <https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/tvornottv/CAKgmY4C%3D9dwg3XHDKBpfyPrLkkJvqnAvbM2koeJiL%3DrpNToUeQ%40mail.gmail.com?utm_medium=email&utm_source=footer> >>> . >>> >> >> >> -- >> David J. Lynch >> [email protected] >> >> -- >> You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups >> "TVorNotTV" group. >> To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an >> email to [email protected]. >> To view this discussion visit >> https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/tvornottv/CAKNcpKgkCs%3DV-_Sn-68Rg7KE77-8uWa0KBPOPXCmN1tc%3Dwm%2BPA%40mail.gmail.com >> <https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/tvornottv/CAKNcpKgkCs%3DV-_Sn-68Rg7KE77-8uWa0KBPOPXCmN1tc%3Dwm%2BPA%40mail.gmail.com?utm_medium=email&utm_source=footer> >> . >> > -- > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups > "TVorNotTV" group. > To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an > email to [email protected]. > To view this discussion visit > https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/tvornottv/CAJE-FiH2PXXZboOvn6EMWAhx7vt1cu%3DER6OFmPATiqKke04J3g%40mail.gmail.com > <https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/tvornottv/CAJE-FiH2PXXZboOvn6EMWAhx7vt1cu%3DER6OFmPATiqKke04J3g%40mail.gmail.com?utm_medium=email&utm_source=footer> > . > -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "TVorNotTV" group. 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