“NBC Nightly News” is scheduled to become the first news program to air its
entire broadcast on the Web, a move that might lead other networks to
increase distribution over the Internet.
Beginning Monday, “NBC Nightly News Netcast with Brian Williams” will be available for free beginning at 10 p.m. EST, according to NBC News. It will be the same program that aired earlier in the evening and will include breaking news updates. Past broadcasts will be archived
on the site, NBC News said.
“This is the next logical step for ‘Nightly’ and NBC News,” Steve Capus,
acting president of NBC News, said in a statement posted on the NBC News Web
site. “We know that just as fast as technology is changing, people’s
lives are changing too, and they expect our newscasts to keep up with those
changes.”
Although news channels also have limited their videos to short clips,
typically providing a text version of a story and a video link that goes
along with it, NBC’s decided to move beyond those limitations.
NBC said the webcast will target those for whom the evening newscast
time is not convenient or for those who are traveling or
otherwise cannot see the show when it originally airs.
“Consumers are increasingly getting their news online, and MSNBC.com leads
that space,” Charlie Tillinghast, president of MSNBC.com, wrote on the
company blog. “By partnering with NBC News to offer ‘Nightly News’ in its
entirety, we’re giving news consumers the flexibility to watch the program
on their own schedule, on whatever medium they choose.”
“NBC Nightly News” Anchor and Managing Editor Brian Williams, who started
writing a daily blog about putting together the program earlier this year,
wrote in the blog: “Many of our viewers tell me they often miss the
broadcast because they’re not home in time or tending to their busy lives
and families. This new service reflects the fact that the pace of our lives
has changed.”
News divisions at other networks are also expected to keep up with increased
technological and broadcast changes.
Each of the three major news networks, as well as cable news stations such as CNN and Fox News, already have a large presence online, creating a synergy between the mediums. Most news networks offer at least some video clips on their Web sites.
NBC News offers clips of “Nightly News,” “Today,” “Dateline,” “Meet the
Press,” and MSNBC TV on MSNBC.com.
