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As "early" late news gets more popular, station chiefs wonder if 10 p.m. is the new 11 p.m.
The "early" late newscasts, which run at 10 p.m. ET/PT or 9 p.m. CT/MT, may never replace their 11 p.m. kin in terms of late-news primacy. But across the country, newscasts airing during primetime are emerging as a viable alternative for viewers looking for their news fix a bit earlier.
Industry analysts say Americans are going to bed earlier, thanks to longer workdays and commutes. To cater to them, many large markets now feature three 10 p.m. newscasts, and a growing number of midsize markets, including Charlotte, N.C., and Dayton, Ohio, feature a pair of 10 p.m. programs. Some offer straight news for 30 minutes or an hour, while others incorporate longer sports reports and talk segments.
"The No. 1 driver for 10 p.m. newscasts is convenience," says Dick Haynes, research chief for Frank N. Magid Associates.
Several markets report that the earlier news is more than holding its own with the late-news crowd. In...