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can bring in crowds
Four even outdraw those of local newspapers
By Jeremy Schlosberg
Newspapers were by and large the first old media companies in local markets to try to do something with the web and the first to attract significant numbers of local users.
But their days of domination may be over, as local TV stations appear finally willing and able to attract web visitors.
There are now, in fact, at least four local TV stations that have web sites that are more popular with users than their local newspaper competitors’ sites, according to new data from Media Audit.
Web sites for WCPO in Cincinnati, KUSA in Denver, KCCI in Des Moines and WTNH in New Haven are now attracting more visitors than the daily newspaper’s web site in each of these markets, according to Media Audit.
And two other network affiliates—WRAL in Raleigh/Durham and WTVF in Nashville—have web sites that are just barely behind the local newspapers in online popularity.
In Denver, NBC affiliate KUSA’s web site beat out not only two daily newspaper web sites but six other network affiliate sites and a dozen radio stations.
But local TV stations with well-visited web sites are still the exception rather than the rule around the country.
Of the 345 local TV web sites examined by Media Audit, representing 81 markets nationwide, more than half are attracting less than 4 percent of the adults in the market as visitors.
Only 10 have attracted as many as 10 percent of the market’s adults to their sites (see chart).
CBS appears to be lagging somewhat behind in the popularity of its affiliates’ web sites. Media Audit found that ABC affiliates have the most popular local TV station web sites in 31 markets and NBC affiliates are tops in 30 markets. Only 17 CBS affiliates have the most popular local TV web sites.
And yet six of the 12 most-visited local TV station web sites are CBS affiliates.
Media Audit cites three main reasons for the increasing popularity of at least some local TV web sites.
The first is aggressive marketing. Successful local TV stations are actively promoting their sites during the evening news and actively promoting their newscasts on the web.
Another is the fact that local stations have begun to take their web sites seriously enough to outsource their web operations. Media Audit reports that more than 150 of the local affiliates it examined now outsource site development, management and marketing.
The third is their ability to exploit synergy and immediacy. Successful local TV web sites use the combined forces of TV and web to produce content, whether with webcasts on breaking stories or with in-depth web coverage of stories covered in less detail on TV. It also seems that local TV stations are inherently more disposed to keep their web sites continuously updated than local newspaper sites.
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TOP 10 MOST
SUCCESSFUL |
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Local station, market and (affiliation) |
Percentage of adults |
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1. WRAL – Raleigh-Durham (CBS) |
19.4 |
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2. WCPO – Cincinnati (ABC) |
15.8 |
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3. KUSA – Denver (NBC) |
12.8 |
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4. WTVF – Nashville (CBS) |
12.8 |
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5. WCCO - Minneapolis-St. Paul (CBS) |
11.5 |
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6. WIS - Columbia, SC (NBC) |
10.9 |
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7. KWTV - Oklahoma City (CBS) |
10.9 |
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8. KTVB – Boise (NBC) |
10.7 |
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9. KCCI - Des Moines (CBS) |
10.5 |
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10. KVUE – Austin (ABC) |
9.9 |
| Source:
Media Audit
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-Jeremy Schlosberg is the senior editor for new media.
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