Fox, NBC O&Os Form News Cooperative

The groups are creating a local newsgathering service in each of the six markets in which they both own stations. The video will be available to each, plus it will be offered to other media outlets."By allowing us to save on duplicate expenditures we can be even more competitive," says Fox's Jack Abernethy. Philly is first, launching in January.
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TVNewsCheck,

The Fox Television Stations and NBC Local Media are teaming up to form local video newsgathering services in each of the six markets where they both have stations, starting with Philadelphia next January, the station groups said this morning.

The service will shoot video not only for their own stations, but also for other interested media outlets, including TV stations, print publications, radio station and Web sites, the groups said in a joint announcement.

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The Fox and NBC stations will continue to operate independently in all other respects regarding their individual newsgathering operations, they added.

"By allowing us to save on duplicate expenditures we can be even more competitive with NBC and other stations through signature pieces and investigative reporting," said Jack Abernethy, CEO of Fox Television Stations.

John Wallace, president, NBC Local Media, made the same clairm. "By pooling resources to provide video coverage of general market events, we can ensure our stations are covering the news of the day, and at the same time, focus our efforts on the type of specialized reporting that defines our brands and differentiates our stations within their communities."

NBC and Fox will provide newsgathering and transmission resources to the local news service, including a helicopter, personnel and equipment, while also maintaining their own separate capabilities.

The news service management will independently identify the stories to be covered each day and make arrangements to gather and transmit the video back to each of the stations.

The stations will each decide how the material is to be used in their own newscasts, using their own writing and editorial voice. All employees involved in the local news service will remain part of their respective companies.

The new business will launch in Philadelphia in January 2009 with NBC's WCAU and Fox's WTXF. The two stations have been conducting a trial of the service since the summer.

The groups intend to roll out the service later in other markets where they both have stations--Los Angeles, Chicago, New York, Dallas and Washington.

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