The New TV News Battleground: The Pre-Dawn Hours

Wee hours newscasts aren't really a new phenomenon. Back in 1992, a young TV journalist got his start as the anchor of ABC's pre-dawn 'World News Now'. His name was Anderson Cooper.

Today, 'World News Now's' anchor is Vinita Nair, whose good looks, crisp diction and hearty sense of humor have earned her a cult of fans.

But whether you view early-early-morning newscasts as a talent farm or simply a way to get an early jump on weather and traffic updates, these shows are multiplying in cities all over America.

According to The New York Times, new 4AM and 4:30AM newscasts are launching this month in New York, Boston, Washington, and other cities, as TV stations recognize that there are untapped groups of potential viewers they can reach, people who aren't just insomniacs or dairy farmers.

In fact, some 16 percent of households have their TVs on at 4:30, a segment that has doubled over the last 15 years.

There are several reasons cited by the Times for the sudden drive for pre-drive-time news shows. For one thing, it's a time when people are too busy getting dressed or working out to get their news from the Internet. Indeed, in New York, the stretch from 3AM to 5AM is the best time of day to reach viewers under 35, a demographic coveted by advertisers. Besides, any new time slot to sell to sponsors is a welcome revenue stream.

Plus, newscasts at those hours are cheap to produce (they're often just anchors repeating the news from 11PM and introducing pre-taped segments), which is good for stations that have laid off personnel. And even if an early newscast isn't profitable, it still gets viewers to turn on their TV early, at which point it might remain switched on to local and national news for five or six solid hours.

So it's no wonder that 4:30AM local newscasts are beginning this month on some stations in Philadelphia, Los Angeles, Tampa, Toledo, and Kansas City. And who knows, one of them may be anchored by the next Anderson Cooper. Or at least the next Vinita Nair.










•Follow Gary Susman on Twitter @garysusman.