# Local News Service

The name Local News Service refers to a variety of news resource share services all started in 2008 and 2009. It sometimes does not refer to a specific sharing service but to the category in general. Typically, these services include pooling video crews to cover routine events and sharing helicopters used for newsgathering.
For 2009, the biggest development for local TV was content pooling.
NBC-Fox partnerships are called Local News Service.

## History

Since 2000, Fox News, ABC and CBS have been partners in a national news pool partnership.
In January 2009, NBC Local Media and Fox Television Stations set up the first Local News Service with their Philadelphia stations after testing since the summer 2008. Fox and NBC then added other markets where they both own stations. In March, the first local news pool not formed by the NBC-Fox alliance was formed in Columbus, OH by Media General's WCMH-TV and Sinclair Broadcast Group's WSYX and WTTE. On April 1, Fox Stations entered into its first pooling agreements without NBC in Phoenix (KSAZ-TV) with Scripps' KNXV-TV and Meredith's KPHO-TV and in Detroit (WJBK) with Scripps's WXYZ-TV. The Fox (WFLD)-NBC (WMAQ-TV) partnership on May 11 started its Chicago pool its first with outside members: Tribune's WGN-TV and CBS's WBBM-TV. On June 29, 2009, six weeks after the start of the Atlanta group, WGCL-TV exited the pool as they considered it restraining their ability to differentiation. The Orlando local news service launched July 16, 2009 is the first to include a local news cable channel, Central Florida News 13.

## Issues

There is some concern that these agreements will cause local news coverage to be overly similar "or will enhance it." The involved stations claim that it will help the stations by allowing more specialized reporting by not tying up resourcing for routine events. Many of the stations involved have reduced news staff due to decreased advertising revenue. Fracturing audiences will continue the revenue decline and the need to continue to reduce costs. These partnerships are a natural solution along with outsourcing and other partnerships and content sharing to the revenue decline. However, the member stations may use the local news services as a reason for even more reduction in personnel. Others say that it will be difficult for rivals to work together.

## News share services

| Market | Launch date | Station | Owner |
| Philadelphia | Test: Summer 2008 January 2009 | WCAU | NBCUniversal |
| Philadelphia | Test: Summer 2008 January 2009 | WTXF-TV | Fox Television Stations |
| Washington, DC | June 15, 2009 | WUSA | Tegna |
| Washington, DC | June 15, 2009 | WRC-TV$^a$ | NBCUniversal |
| Washington, DC | June 15, 2009 | WTTG$^a$ | Fox Television Stations |
| Boston | June 1, 2009 | WFXT | Cox Media Group |
| Boston | June 1, 2009 | WBZ-TV | Paramount |
| Chicago | May 11, 2009 | WGN-TV | Nexstar |
| Chicago | May 11, 2009 | WFLD | Fox Television Stations |
| Chicago | May 11, 2009 | WBBM-TV | Paramount |
| Chicago | May 11, 2009 | WMAQ-TV | NBCUniversal |
| Phoenix | April 1, 2009 | KSAZ-TV | Fox Television Stations |
| Phoenix | April 1, 2009 | KNXV-TV | Scripps |
| Phoenix | April 1, 2009 | KPHO-TV | Gray |
| Cleveland | April 2009 | WKYC-TV | Tegna |
| Cleveland | April 2009 | WOIO | Gray |
| Columbus, OH | March 2012 | WCMH-TV | Nexstar |
| Columbus, OH | March 2012 | WSYX | Sinclair |
| Columbus, OH | March 2012 | WTTE | Sinclair |
| Atlanta | May 18, 2009 | WAGA | Fox Television Stations |
| Atlanta | May 18, 2009 | WANF | Gray$^1$ |
| Atlanta | May 18, 2009 | WXIA-TV | Tegna |
| Tampa | June 2, 2009 | WTVT | Fox Television Stations |
| Tampa | June 2, 2009 | WFTS-TV | Scripps |
| Tampa | June 2, 2009 | WTSP | Tegna |
| Detroit | April 1, 2009 | WJBK | Fox Television Stations |
| Detroit | April 1, 2009 | WXYZ-TV and WMYD | Scripps |
| Los Angeles | June 15, 2009 | KTTV | Fox Television Stations |
| Los Angeles | June 15, 2009 | KTLA | Nexstar |
| Los Angeles | June 15, 2009 | KNBC | NBCUniversal |
| New York | June 22, 2009 | WNYW$^a$ | Fox Television Stations |
| New York | June 22, 2009 | WNBC$^a$ | NBCUniversal |
| New York | June 22, 2009 | WCBS-TV | Paramount |
| New York | June 22, 2009 | WPIX | Nexstar |
| Grand Rapids, MI | July 13, 2009 | WOOD-TV | Nexstar |
| Grand Rapids, MI | July 13, 2009 | WWMT | Sinclair |
| Grand Rapids, MI | July 13, 2009 | WZZM | Tegna |
| Orlando, FL | July 16, 2009 | WKMG | Graham Media Group |
| Orlando, FL | July 16, 2009 | WOFL | Fox Television Stations |
| Orlando, FL | July 16, 2009 | Central Florida News 13 | Charter |
| Dallas$^h$ | January 9, 2009 | KDFW | Fox Television Stations |
| Dallas$^h$ | January 9, 2009 | KXAS | NBCUniversal |
a. Also share in an "aerial news footage partnership" h. Helicopter shares 1. WANF, then called WGCL-TV, dropped out of the news share pool.

## Helicopter shares only

| Market | Station | Owner |
| Phoenix | KTVK | Meredith |
| Phoenix | KPHO-TV | Meredith |
| Phoenix | KPNX | Tegna |
| Denver | KCNC | CBS Television Stations Inc |
| Denver | KDVR / KWGN | Nexstar |
| Denver | KMGH | Scripps |
| Denver | KUSA / KTVD | Tegna |