Primetime Crime and Theme Nights Fuel WGN America Viewing

WGN39s core primetime audience of adults 2554amp160as well as the younger demo comprised of viewers 1849 increased by 22 percent over 2016 the strongest primetime performance at WGN in half a decade amp160According to Nielsen that established WGN America as the No 1 general entertainment network in audience growth for 2017 amp160Total day performance last year also was on the rise in both categories 14 percent among adults 2554 and 18 percent among adults 1849The outcome is more remarkable in contrast to what transpired at other channels Of 95 advertisersupported networks 61 had a drop in primetime viewership among adults 2554 last year while five others were relatively flat amp160That39s according to Nielsen information provided by WGN America executivesamp160 Among adults 1849 69 networks had viewership declines and four were flatquotAll the credit goes to the team who put this wonderful schedule togetherquot saidamp160Brian Dollenmayer WGN America39s Chief Marketing Officer amp160quotFrom one show to the next the strategy fit for our audiencequotThere were two key elements of that primetime strategy amp160Adding evergreen favorites like Cops and MASH to the schedule and moving from series stripped across MondayFriday in specific time periods to a theme night or stack format amp160quotThe marching order is to attract 2554yearolds without leaning too far into one direction or anotherquot explained Robin Thomas Senior Vice President of Research at WGN America and Tribune Studios amp160quotGettingamp160viewers to a specific night and keeping them there in the stack strategy seemed to be working more effectively for usamp160 Consistency helpsquotWhen WGN kicked off 2018 Monday nights consisted of MASH and special editions of Movies for America a film showcase with cohosts and trivia features amp160Movies occupied Tuesdays exclusively while Cops became the featured Wednesday and Thursday attraction amp160MASH returned on Friday nightsamp160and Blue Bloodsamp160pictured at top and arguably the most underappreciated drama series currently in firstrun on a broadcast network filled Saturday and Sunday eveningsMASHamp160pictured at right a groundbreaking TV classic was launched in primetime as both a surefire audience attraction and a complement to WGN39s comedycentric late evening and overnight lineup amp160quotWe want to continue to have a pedigree in comedyquot notedamp160Lenny Bart WGN America39s Vice President of Program Planning and SchedulingOnair branding messages with a quotWe Get Crimequot motif played throughout the day focusing on the offnetwork contentamp160 By late autumn messages for Bellevue and hints of other new crimebased original series were launchedamp160amp160Advertising on various web sites and social media pages supplemented the onair campaign quotThat solidified our message that these shows fit together and belonged in the same worldquot Dollenmayer saidBellevue and Shoot the Messenger have earned solid viewership and critical accolades during their initial season play amp160Both series mix crimesolving with a focus on social issues from police brutality to media ethics amp160At least two more originals will premiere on the network in 2018 including the justannounced limited series The Disappearanceamp160 Marketing tactics for each series now include social media activities and community eventsIs another doubledigit viewing rise with WGN39s core adults 2554 base on the way amp160That39s aamp160lofty goal Thomas acknowledged amp160quotIf you had asked me at this point in 2016 if we would be up 22 percent in a year I39m not sure I could have predicted that amp160Very few networks are seeing any growth amp160Trying to sustain that rate yeartoyear is a high bar to set amp160I hope to see some breakeven and some plus signs for 2018quotPhotos courtesy of WGN America Click the social buttons above or below to share this story with your friends and colleaguesThe opinions and points of view expressed in this content are exclusively the views of the author andor subjects and do not necessarily represent the views of MediaVillagecomMyersBizNet Inc management or associated writersamp160

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Primetime Crime and Theme Nights Fuel WGN America Viewing

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