6News Goes Live Around The World
I was sitting in the office today, licking my wounds from the slings and arrows sent my way in response to my last blog on the ABC News Special on the President’s health care proposals. I was pondering my next subject. Struggling to stay relevant, the next subject landed on my desk in the form of an e-mail from a long time reader and commenter on this space – 6News’ newly-launch newscast streaming.
In addition to the broadcasts on WRTV, all 6News programming is now simultaneously streamed on theIndyChannel.com. Users can watch the same content weekdays from 5-7AM, at noon, 5, 6, 7 and 11PM and on weekends at 6PM and 11PM both days. (Disclaimer: weekend times may vary due to live sporting events and prime time runovers).
Due to copyright issues, there are no commercials, just black holes in those slots (for now).
And, to answer his query, this wasn’t done in reaction to a competitor. It’s being done as a response to understanding that viewers are consuming media differently these days, on their terms. This is just another outlet to reach and serve them.
My correspondent did offer a couple of interesting ideas. We may have viewers around the world either interested in Indiana or originially from here or lived here at one time who want to watch a local newscast. He’s definitely a capitalist, noting that, eventually, we may be able to stream commercials in these shows and, as he suggests, sell products to the sheiks of Dubai who happen to catch the 7PM news. Imagine a Watson’s pool or Andy Mohr Chevy in the deserts of the Arabian peninsula.
Interesting thoughts, full of possibilities. I’d be interested in your take. Take a look and let me know what you think.
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I think it’s interesting that right now I can watch the segment Dave is recording for the morning news after the 11pm news ended.
Cameron: the viewed stream gets counted as a video page view. I suppose if we were able to stream commercials in those black holes between news segments, we might get advertisers to count them as people watching the news. But there are all kinds of rights and performance issues that, while cleared for broadcast, are not paid for on webcasts.
And the data might be (I’m being nice because I know it really would be) more accurate a representation of viewing than the “estimates” we now get from Nielsen.
Irony! Don,I’m in the Chicago Market right now as I am during most summers; But just last night I was on “www.abc7news.com” your San Fran affiliate KGO-TV ABC7’s website, watching the online stream of their 6:00 news. They also do the dead air thing for commercial breaks. Buring that commercial breaks I said to myself “I wish RTV6 would stream the news on “TheIndyChannel.com”. And Bam! The next morning I read your blog and there it is “6News Goes Live Around The World”! I think that is awsome! But one question, Where do the ratings count at? If I watch online does it count at a Nielson TV rating as well as a Web Hit?
-Cam
One More Thing! Can you tell the web department to make that link on the homepage bigger? I didn’t see when I first logged on to TheIndyChannel.com; but noticed after I read your blog! Okay two things… Are you guys going to add a 6.3 channel for ABC News Now or “The LiveWell Network HD”? as WLS-TV does?
-Cam
I’ll pass that suggestion along. As for the remainder of the digital spectrum, there are no immediate plans. For a while there was discussion with ABC News about a joint venture. ABC pulled out a few months ago. Nothing brewing at this point.
This is great, but we still need to be able to listen to channel 6 on the radio. Are there any plans to re-establish the radio outlet?
Good Morning Don,
I am confused about when you show the Brickyard 400 live. Last year, I could watch it on wrtv I believe, the year before that, no live coverage of the race, or even a rebroadcast like you do for the Indianapolis 500. I haven’t found anyplace that says you will be showing the Brickyard 400 this year. What determines when you can simulcast the race with ESPN? Thanks so much.
Let’s see if I can cut through the confusion.
For the last two years, the race has been exclusively on ESPN. Before that it was on NBC.
It was not on WRTV.
If you want to see the Brickyard 400, you have to subscribe to ESPN, that is, you have to pay a cable or satellite company to see it.
We have sought the rights to simulcast the Brickyard 400 in Indianapolis but there’s little interest in providing the NASCAR race for free.
And, ESPN has no interest in allowing NASCAR to put the race on free, over-the-air, television considering the amount of rights fees they pay to NASCAR.
Look for this trend to continue. We’ve been told by ABC that next January is the last Rose Bowl that will be seen on free television. It’s moving exclusively to ESPN.
So, if you want to watch the top sporting events, get ready to pay…and watch more commercials.
Thanks for your reply, Don. It was very insightful. I do think it is sad that free tv is losing things to cable, and people are forced to subscribe to pay services if they want to see certain sporting events, or leave home and go to a bar or something to watch.It stings a little more in this economy.Do you have any further thoughts on this trend, or do you just see it as the broadcasting business evolving? Thank you.
I’m worried about the trend of migration to pay services of events like the Brickyard 400 and the Rose Bowl and those becoming available only to those who are able to pay for them.
I believe in the free market but worry that the lure of bigger license fees will drive organizations such as the NCAA to sell to the highest bidder. That’s a move in a different direction from amateur (sic) athletics, which are to some extent, paid for with tax dollars. The prospect that those same taxpayers might not be able to see them should have some folks thinking.
I just realized I had not answered Jean’s question from July 9. As you know, the reason one could hear RTV6 on the radio was that the frequency on which we were broadcasting, analog channel 6, has audio at 87.7Mhz, which, coincidentally, is at the lower end of the FM radio band. So, it could be heard there. We weren’t broadcasting on radio. Just TV. You could, however, pick the audio up on your radio.
As to your question. We have approached several radio stations about carrying the local news, but have no takers. I think it would be a natural for one in particular and help double or triple their daily audiences. But, what do I know about radio?
You may be thinking, what about the other programs. Sorry, we have no license rights for anything from ABC or the Hollywood syndicators to broadcast on radio. We would be limited to local news and the content in those shows that allowed broadcast on radio.