By September you'll be able to watch at least one TV newsmagazine every day of the week. In the past, there were few enough newsmagazines that each could have a night of its own. In the weeks ahead, producers will find themselves in a war of attrition as their programs face the added challenge of sharing a night with a competing newsmag. Network programmers are now aware that if they leave an informational program on the air long enough, viewers will come around. Neither were ratings dynamos out of the gate.
News programs amortize the costs of network news divisions.
Many of these viewers, whom advertisers covet, still have a reflexive need for a quick fix of news at day's end. The newsmagazines speak to that need. Advertisers are willing to pay a premium for commercial time on these shows. They believe that newsmagazine watchers pay closer attention to the TV than sitcom fans. Newsmagazines are the perfect vehicles for channel surfers.