Format Change

2 February 2010 @ 20:26 | Posted in » Media

Over the years I have listened to plenty of radio stations that have gone through format changes. The one thing that seems to be common to all of them is the chase of the almighty dollar. It would seem that stations change format merely to attract more revenue. If Top 40 isn’t working out, move to rap. Shoot WIP, the nation’s first all-sports radio, used to be an adult contemporary station.

Surely we are all familiar with stations that have done so.

Why then don’t television stations do the same thing?

There is one cable news channel excelling; the rest are failing. Fox News viewership is up heavily month after month. Meanwhile, their competition CNN and MSNBC have plummeting audiences. Given the distinct differences between formats, it would seem that CNN and MSNBC would abandon a liberal editorial bent to move more toward the center in an effort to capture more of the market.

We’re talking business here. Moving a channel’s political point of view is not compromising core values as it would be for an individual.

If a station that is right of your channel is gobbling up the viewers every month, isn’t it good business to change your programming to capture some of that market?

CBS puts on a hospital show that does well, NBC will follow suit. When reality television worked, all the stations began creating such shows. So why doesn’t CNN and MSNBC do the same? Wouldn’t it be smart business to do so?