Local stations continue to make efforts to reclaim the 10pm hour from broadcasters, a top industry executive said on Wednesday.
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Hearst Television President Mike Hayes was asked about the state of 10 p.m. ET during a panel at the NAB Show New York on Wednesday, a topic that has received a lot of attention in 2022.
"I don't think it's ever stopped," Hayes said of the conversation. He said his longtime predecessor at Hearst, David Barrett, "first brought this up at ABC in the late '90s. And we continue to have conversations with the networks. We see it as a win-win."
Stations have been provoked in recent years by network owners who have prioritized streaming and starved their prime-time lineups. There have also been uproars, such as NBCUniversal’s later-abandoned plan to offer access to late-night shows like The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon at 8 p.m. on Peacock, which would have undercut affiliates. The view among many local TV executives is that their programming is often able to draw a more reliable tune-in than what networks offer, given budget constraints and the need to bolster streaming services.
