Each of the major network nightly news broadcasts – on ABC, CBS and NBC – airs at 6:30 pm. But some might recall a time when they all aired at 7:00 pm. I think there’s something more glamorous, or at least more prime-time-ish, about airing the news at 7:00 instead of at 6:30. Not necessarily better, just different.
I dug into the New York Times archives to find the date that each of the three networks moved its broadcast from 7:00 to 6:30:
ABC – December 15, 1986
CBS – September 5, 1988
NBC – September 9, 1991
In ABC’s case, the above date is just when the flagship station, WABC in New York, moved its broadcast to 6:30 – it wasn’t a network decision. But as a major affiliate, it probably had a big influence. And because the news was already taped at 6:30 for a 7:00 airing, that meant that the ABC station in New York began airing it live.
Two things I hadn’t realized in learning this information. One, I hadn’t realized the schedule shifts had occurred so long ago. I’d thought they had all happened in the early-to-mid 90s. Two, I hadn’t realized that the shifts occurred so far apart. So there was actually a long time when you could, for instance, watch Peter Jennings and then shift over to Dan Rather or Tom Brokaw. Weird.
It’s about maximizing profits. News loses money no matter what the networks say. In fact, with the exception of Fox, all the nets lose money. How do they make money? The owned and operated stations. And where do they make the bulk of that money? News and access (7pm-8pm) where they air Wheel and Jeopardy or ET and Access. It makes more sense to air your news as a contiguous block and then have an hour of syndicated programming, i.e. lots of commercial avails, as the viewing levels rise leading into prime.
The network news shows are on at 5:30 here in Arizona.
5:30? Jeez, who’s home from work by that time? No matter the evening news audience consists of retirees.