Fox: local TV has ‘a lot of work to do’
Steve Safran May 16th, 2007
The message could not be more clear: the networks expect the locals to start flying on their own. At Streaming Media East 2007, I asked Ron Berryman, Senior VP, GM Television Stations, Fox Interactive Media where local affiliates fit in the distribution chain as the network sends it content out directly to the consumer. Here, paraphrased, is his candid answer:
Local television stations have a lot of work to do. They’re used to packaging programs. Our challenge is having these people become creative. They need to generate content at the local level that brings people back. If I go to weather.com, I get the forecast and then get out. People go to local news sites, get information and get out. There’s a challenge for the local television stations – we’ve been working very hard at that for the last 18 months. Stations that have been working very hard at that are succeeding. That’s what they’re going to have to do. Look at the advertising value surrounding the (local) automotive industry – how do we keep that customer online? We’ve got to be innovative to keep that customer online and keep the advertising money.
We hear this consistently now from the networks. Affiliates can no longer rely on network programming to generate numbers and lead-in ratings. They need to generate original programming and online content tailored to their audience and ad revenue expectations.
10 Comments Add your own
1. discreet_chaos | May 16th, 2007 at 12:29 pm
Good quote and congrats on the get, but are there more than a half-dozen Fox sattions that do their own news?
I haven’t done an exacty count and I may be mistaken, but don’t pretty much all of them have a contracted “early news/one hour” format that’s produced by one of the other stations in town and for the most part, the two stations either share a newsite or the Fox site simply links to the other?
2. Former MyFox Guy | May 16th, 2007 at 12:44 pm
I left a Fox O&O a bit ago, and I can attest that Berryman is about the last guy that knows anything about what viewers/users want and how to get it to them. The Station Group side of FIM is a charlie foxtrot and the tools they give the stations are woefully inferior, and that’s being generous. FIM is much more adept at buying than building.
Word is that if the redesign/rearchitecture doesn’t produce watershed change, ‘ol Ron might be looking for his next title. He totally flubbed 1.0 and it’s a testament to his sales ability that he kept his job.
A lot of us who got hired to work at the MyFox properties really got hosed, and all roads lead to Berryman. Look at the attrition rate and the sales numbers and you’ll see the whole story. I was actually one of the more successful ones and I killed myself for every last penny.
But, you always have to give credit where it’s due: Mr. Berryman is right in that automotive is *seen* as the holy grail for local media online. I’m not so sure it is. Those guys love search marketing an awful lot and it might be hard to peel them away.
3. Z | May 16th, 2007 at 6:32 pm
DC: In the top 50 markets, there are quite a few Fox stations doing their own news. The deal you mention is often done for former WB/UPN stations in those markets.
4. Steve Boriss | May 16th, 2007 at 8:20 pm
When you fit all the puzzle pieces together, it seems as if Rupert Murdoch may very well be preparing to use local Fox affiliates to take over all local TV and newspaper news. Really. Read my post today at thefutureofnews . com.
5. ! | May 17th, 2007 at 5:26 am
after taking the bait and reading “thefutureofnews” i agree with #4. but fox has done a terrible job in pointing all those myfox names they corraled last year.
note to rupert: eyeballs are a terrible thing to waste.
6. ! | May 17th, 2007 at 5:34 am
i wanted to make another point…
if you find yourself in the detroit area, try to catch the spots running for the “detroit media partnership”. i mentioned before there’s a huge ad buy going that sets out to get folks to forget about the “detroit NEWSPAPER partnership” and think of this same bunch as today’s MEDIA instead.
after a friend made the comment that the pitchman (who happens to be the CEO i think) looks just like the rotund microsoft guy on the apple commercials we laughed.
irony is funny afterall.
7. Rocker | May 17th, 2007 at 12:37 pm
In fact, I don’t know if anyone produces more local news than the Fox O&Os….very aggressively expanding in this area.
8. Keith | May 19th, 2007 at 7:51 am
I don’t know much about the business of network TV, but isn’t the whole network/affiliate concept based on local stations carrying ‘premium’ national content in order to exactly “generate numbers and lead-in ratings?” It is a model where the national network uses economies of scale to have large budgets for expensive shows, but the local affiliates share the cost and the revenue by attracting local advertisers to those national shows.
With the possible exception of the news, most local TV is already amateurish, boring or irrelevant. Telling them “you have to get more creative” seems like a doomed strategy in a world where the networks themselves are failing to retain the eyeballs with the high-end content.
9. k | June 7th, 2007 at 11:19 am
Do not underestimate Ron Berryman - he is brilliant and will make things happen. He is the ultimate market maker.
10. Tony Filson | August 8th, 2007 at 8:00 pm
From my perspective this adds more value to the Affiliate. Good GM’s should be branding and catering to their local communities with enhanced programming not matter what DMA they are in. Keeping your audience on your station website or channel can’t fall ALL to the Network.
The revenue generated from local programming and creative local community usage of websites does n most cases has not been optimized or even monetized as of yet. These ancillary revenue streams can be substantial.
If I’m going to pay a GM $300,000 or $400,000 he or she better get the business, technical and creative aspects of our industry on a local level.
Stations have much better access to their local communities than the Networks. Perhaps more GM’s, GSM’s and heads of programming should sit down and explore their own communities and they will realize that their local streets are paved with more gold than New York, Chicago or Los Angeles.
Tony Filson
President
Filcro Media Staffing
ExecutiveSearch.TV
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