Are you ready for the 9 o’clock news?
Once WGRZ-TV’s (Channel 2) 10 o’clock news is bounced off WUTV on July 1, the NBC affiliate will produce a 9 p.m. weekday newscast to be streamed on its website and app and carried on its digital channel Antenna TV (2.2), which is carried over the air and on cable. It also will be available on Roku and Amazon Fire TV Stick.
As a promotion, the first two nights of the new newscast, “Your First Late News at 9,” will be carried on the main channel, WGRZ, which will be preempting reruns of NBC programs on July 1 and July 2.
The 30-minute newscast will initially run from Monday through Friday and be lead at the start by a rotation of anchors.
In an internal station communication to the staff proclaiming "a new era for late evening newscasts," the 9 p.m. newscast is being referred to as “a first of its kind newscast in the Western New York marketplace.”
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The memo noted that 9 p.m. is a popular time slot for news in Midwest and Mountain time slot.
It added the newscast “will feature the latest headlines and weather information along with a selection of our best content from other newscasts that highlight our brand. We will also include some interesting retro content from time to time.”
The idea is partly to attract viewers who multitask and watch things on different devices simultaneously.
Sinclair Broadcasting announced weeks ago that it will premiere its own hourlong newscast at 10 p.m. on WUTV on July 1, replacing the WGRZ newscast that it has been carrying for eight years.
