Tonight at 6 PM, WKYC launched its very first - single sponsor newscast in the Cleveland television market. Ohio Savings Bank, which changed its name to AmTrust on Monday, bought the entire 1/2 hour of Channel 3 News to bring you a virtually uninterrupted newscast.
NBC News first tried the concept when Philips Electronics sponsored NBC Nightly News last December 10, 2006. That Monday, NBC was able to present another 6 minutes of news stories in their broadcast. This generated "extraordinary" feedback from their viewers and helped NBC jump 8% in viewers that night.
As advertisers look for more unique ways to separate themselves from the competition, we may find more single sponsor TV shows in the future...including on WKYC.
