Now@9 and Smart Family launch on ABC 15

By on August 24th, 2010 In Media

Many stations have been beefing up their local news programming in the mornings. FOX 10 begins at 4:30 a.m. and runs until 10 a.m. Channel 3′s “Good Morning Arizona” expanded to 10 a.m., probably to compete with FOX 10′s popular hour. Lifestyle show, “Sonoran Living” on ABC 15 moved from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. earlier this year.

And now there will be more new programming and changes on ABC 15 in the coming weeks. Beginning August 30th, Now@9, an interactive news program will air weekdays at 9 a.m. and will not only air on ABC 15, but also streamed live at www.abc15.com. Viewers can follow Now@9 on Twitter using the hashtag #now15 and on Facebook. Get a feel for how the newscast will look this week during real-time show rehearsals via a live stream at abc15.com, over the air on ABC15 digital channel 15.2 and Cox cable digital channel 95, starting at 9 a.m.

“Smart Family“ seems to have branched out from the popular “Smart Shopper“ segments hosted by Daphne Munro. This new show will air at 3:30 p.m starting Monday, September 6th on ABC 15. Producer Quita Jackson asks,

“Do you live your life Smart and Simple? Meaning are you a saver? How do you manage your families life without feeling overwhelmed? How do you keep it all together? If you have an answer I’d love to hear from you. Email me… smartfamily@abc15.com.”

It will be interesting to see how these shows do. Valley Dish, hosted by Tram Mai will move to the 3:30 p.m. time slot on Ch 12 starting the week of September 12th. Who will win out?

I watched the Now@9 show online yesterday. It definitely is different from what we see at 9 a.m. currently in news. I enjoyed the fast-paced aspect of it and how it went from asking about a topic to showing viewer’s answers on Facebook and Twitter. These concepts were first seen on the 9 p.m. news with Beverly Kidd on 3TV more than a year ago. Now all the channels have jumped on the social media interaction bus and integrate viewer opinions into newscasts.

What do you think of all these changes? Are we starting to see more opportunities again for PR professionals to pitch story ideas, or will the content come from the viewers?

Comments

Charlotte Shaff Says:
August 24th, 2010 at 9:29 am

According to Joe Cockrell’s blog post on the new show Now@9, he says to send pitches to assignment desk. http://joeprguy.com/2010/08/24/abc15-gets-social-now9-debuts-aug-30/#now15

Marketing Sociologist Says:
August 24th, 2010 at 1:57 pm

Seriously. This is the 21st Century’s second decade. I’m a boomer. My television broke. Have not missed it for six months. I have a 17″ screen, just like I did as a little boy. It plays all the network shows, YouTube, radio from throughout the world.

Seriously, who is still watching broadcast television, especially local stations?

This must be what PR means, press release. That’s why I’m a Marketing Sociologist.

I know it isn’t moms, they’re too busy with children. Are there that THAT many unemployed that are still watching local television news in the morning? Maybe they should turn it off and go find a gym or a job.

Marketing Sociologist Says:
August 24th, 2010 at 7:05 pm

Found out via Twitter search AZ Family Channel 3 has a live stream. Any other local television news using 21st Century marketing tools(streaming, Ustream, Justin.TV)?

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