Cable channel WGN America is shifting its prime-time programming to news from entertainment, pitching itself as a just-the-facts alternative to the big cable-news networks.
The cable channel this summer will debut “News Nation,” a nightly three-hour news show. It will draw on the vast local-news operations of its parent company, Nexstar Media Group Inc., which became the nation’s largest TV-station owner when it acquired Tribune Media Co. last year.
Luring audiences away from the likes of Fox News, CNN and MSNBC will be challenging—they have loyal viewers and star talent—but Nexstar executives believe they have an opening.
“I’ve heard so much about how news has become coastal, all with opinionated talk, all far left or far right, with no one covering news anymore in prime time,” Sean Compton, executive vice president at WGN America, said in an interview. “Part of the problem is all this content is created in New York City or Washington, D.C.”
“News Nation” will be aired from the WGN building in Chicago, where WGN-TV airs its local-news programs. A new set is being built for “News Nation.”
The leap into news is the second major shift for WGN America in five years. Under Tribune’s ownership, it became a general-entertainment cable network and invested in such original series as “Salem” and “Underground”—a strategy many in the cable world felt was a sound way to compete for audiences against rising streaming players including Netflix Inc.
The effort was short-lived, as the new shows failed to gain traction. The schedule is now mostly made up of reruns such as “Last Man Standing,” “Married With Children” and “Blue Bloods.” Despite increasing its ratings, WGN America has lagged far behind its peers, according to Nielsen data.
There are some compelling reasons for Nexstar to shift the channel toward news programming—at least during the prime-time hours of 8 p.m. to 11 p.m. Eastern time, when the potential audiences are the largest. As the TV industry has been battered by cable cord-cutting, with ratings under pressure across the dial, cable news has been among the most resilient segments, second only to live sports.
Nexstar has 110 local newsrooms across its 197 TV stations, and 5,400 journalists, giving it a jump-start in news gathering. Nexstar Chief Executive Perry Sook hopes WGN America’s focus on news will help the network extract higher fees from pay-TV distributors. The network currently gets an average of 19 cents per subscriber a month, according to SNL Kagan, much less than the largest news and entertainment channels. A Nexstar spokesman wouldn’t comment on distribution fees.
Industry analysts had expected that Nexstar would sell WGN America after it acquired Tribune. In a September investor call, Mr. Sook squashed that notion and instead noted the channel’s turnaround over the past two years from an unprofitable asset to an earnings contributor. He said Nexstar would “operate the heck out of it.”
“News Nation” will run nightly with three distinct hours of news, the company said, meaning no segments will repeat. When breaking news happens, the show will have the ability to go past three hours.
There will still be entertainment programming on WGN America outside of prime-time hours. Nexstar plans to cut back on spending for certain shows and invest in “News Nation.” Highly rated shows such as “Last Man Standing” will remain on the network, although the programming lineup is still being determined.
Nexstar and WGN America still haven’t decided who will be the anchors of the nightly show. There are plenty of high-profile cable-news anchors on the market, including Shepard Smith and Megyn Kelly, both formerly of Fox News.
“I’m not saying no, but [Shepard Smith] hasn’t called us yet,” WGN America’s Mr. Compton said. “It would be hard to say no if it’s the right deal.”
Fox News parent Fox Corp. and The Wall Street Journal’s parent, News Corp, share common ownership.
Mr. Sook sees “News Nation” bringing in broadcast journalists from Nexstar’s stations or other local-TV anchors from middle America. He said anyone looking to take the lead anchor roles would have to relocate to Chicago.
Nexstar has already selected Jennifer Lyons, who most recently led the news operation for Chicago affiliate WGN-TV, to become vice president of news for WGN America.
The company expects to bring on roughly 120 new people to help run the newscast, as well as the website and app that will cover news 24 hours a day.
Write to Lillian Rizzo at Lillian.Rizzo@wsj.com
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2020-01-15 13:00:00Z
https://www.wsj.com/articles/wgn-america-enters-cable-tv-news-arena-promising-no-opinions-11579093200
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