Media Bitchfest

Media Complimentfest: Single Sponser News Shows

December 11th, 2006 by Justin

Not a lot rattles the bones of big media. They are slow to react to change, usually don’t adapt to trends until it is too late and consistently redefine the term “annoying sense of entitlement.”

However, in this edition of Media Complimentfest we salute NBC for their embracing of the single sponsor ad concept with NBC Nightly News. A week ago, the Brian Willams hosted news staple allowed Phillips Electric to buy out all of its ad time, this encouraged Phillips to use less of its time since viewers tend to get the message when you are the only commercial, which it turn gave six more minutes to the news, which delighted viewers to the tune of over 4,000 elated emails.

Here is the biggest reason why I love this move: it shows a realistic view of how business interests can best serve the news. Phillips wants all the time they can buy in front of a national audience and that allows stories that might not have been told to get out, everyone wins. The villainized big business boogeyman and journalistic integrity hold hands and skip through the meadow of our national viewership. Dogs and cats, living together, mass hysteria.

Now if this became a regular practice at NBC, I would think there should obviously be self-imposed limits on how many days in a row or how long a period there has to be in between buy outs but it shouldn’t be difficult. Besides, this internet thing is pretty good watchdog if something seem a bit too “you scratch my back…”

So Brian Williams and the NBC Nightly News staff, take a bow, you have found yourself on the business end of a Media Complimentfest.

Posted in Media Complimentfest

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