In a bid to overtake NBC (GE) in the 25-to-54 demographic, ABC's (DIS) "World News With Charles Gibson" will air four newscasts in the month of April commercial-free. ABC is just behind NBC in the demo.
It'll be done through sole sponsorships of each individual newscast, starting with CVS on the first show on April 2. Other dates for sole sponsorships will be April 9, April 16 and April 23. The other sponsors havne't been indentified yet.
On the specific designated nights, ABC will have an additional news piece called "Key to the World," in which reporter Bill Weir will talk about different issues in an added on five-minute piece as a result of being commercial-free.
At this time, NBC draws 2.9 million viewers in the 25-to-54 demo, with a 2.4 rating/9 share for the number one position. ABC is next with 2.86 million viewers in the demo and a 2.3 rating/9 share. If this is a hit with viewers, it could launch ABC into first place in the demo, being so close to NBC. If that's the case, we may just see more sponsorships and better prices in the near future.
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