By Michael DeLier
Many television stations copy their competitors programming, especially when it comes to weather. Gratuitous storm shots for the sake of showcasing talent, gear and resources is nuts, says DeLier Group President Mike DeLier ([email protected]) in this commentary for RBR+TVBR.
If you want to follow the loser, go right ahead. It happens all the time. It has always amazed me why and how often television stations copy what a poorly rated competitor does. Or, for that matter, copying what a successful competitor does.
Why in the world does one think viewers want more of the same on every television station in a market? It’s very much consultant driven for one thing, and I can tell you that, that is a very dangerous game to play. Allowing, paying for and using a playbook from another market is a dangerous thing to do. Copying what? Trying to get to a 3 rating and calling that success?
I am specifically talking about those stations in those markets that go wall-to-wall with weather coverage… all night long. It’s insane. Most often the weather guy/gal sounds like they are trying to gin up a tornado or other severe weather. Weather spotters driving around excitingly saying, “there’s a dark cloud, let’s pan over there and watch the wind,” is nutty. To turn over an entire night to weather people bouncing all over the set, the roads, the sky is nutzzzzzz!
The reason for this type coverage is the news is the bell cow for every station and weather is really the most important aspect of the news, especially during critical weather events. I believe in only hiring meteorologists, I believe in having the best radar in a market, I believe in preparation, I believe that television has saved many lives because of professional reporting, the guts to spend the money to buy the weather gear in the first place and the continued updating that goes with a strong commitment to weather.
But wall-to-wall coverage of at best strong storms that are just that, strong storms, trying to scare the hell out of viewers, and using weather events to showcase and promote talent, equipment and resources is just plain wrong. Stations in markets that do this do it because they are afraid their competition will be seen by the viewers as more engaged, having more, whatever.
The truth of the matter is you can separate yourselves from all others by being engaged, being more professional, showcasing your equipment when it really counts and not trying to manufacture weather events. Cut into programming. Use your own and network breaks to do it.
Cover the dangerous storms, and go wall-to-wall when necessary. Necessary is not and I repeat not necessary every time a cloud pops up. The viewers know this, they turn to cable. Just look at your ratings.
Michael DeLier is president of The DeLier Group, a management consulting firm. Reach him at: [email protected].
