The
morning news race just keeps getting earlier, as Tribune's WPIX New York will
kick off a 4 a.m. newscast Sept. 20.
The Monday-Friday broadcast will be anchored by Chris Burrous and Tamsen Fadal from 4 to 6 and Sukanya Krishnan and John Muller from 6 to 9.
Severalstations, including those owned by Fox and NBC, have moved their morningnewscasts up to 4:30 a.m. in recent months, citing viewers who awaken earlier
for longer commutes and the demand for near-round the clock news. Elsewhere in
DMA No. 1, Fox's WNYW and NBC's WNBC kicked off 4:30 newscasts in March.
WPIX,
which scrapped 6:30 p.m. news last month, is going them a half-hour better.
"People are getting up earlier, and others have gone in that direction," says
Tribune President of Programming Sean Compton.
A
CW affiliate, WPIX currently airs Inside
Edition at 4 a.m. and starts news at 4:30.
"In 2008 PIX11 led the way by expanding local broadcast news to 4:30 a.m., and others have followed," said News Director Bill Carey. "PIX 11 is the leader with the most viewers in that half-hour, so we will lead the way again and expand to 4 a.m. This is a nice fit for people who have a long commute and busier days, as we remain committed to serving the changing needs of our viewers."
Other
stations kicking off news as early as 4 a.m. include WTVF Nashville and KLAS
Las Vegas.
Michael Malone, senior content producer at B+C/Multichannel News, covers network programming, including entertainment, news and sports on broadcast, cable and streaming; and local broadcast television. He hosts the podcasts Busted Pilot, about what’s new in television, and Series Business, a chat with the creator of a new program, and writes the column “The Watchman.” He joined B+C in 2005. His journalism has also appeared in The New York Times, The Philadelphia Inquirer, Playboy and New York magazine.
