The folks overseeing “Today” want to attract a new audience from a decidedly different set of competitors. After years of battling “Good Morning America,” the venerable NBC A.M. The news franchise is now targeting the masses who flock to consumer publications like People, Cosmopolitan, Good Housekeeping and Vogue.
On Tuesday, the mainstay of the morning news will unveil its first digital cover story, an in-depth look at creator and actor Issa Rae, who is being promoted not only on his digital website but also on the linear TV show and through his social channels. The belief is that a series of in-depth stories about newsmakers and creators, released across the show’s digital channels, will attract new audiences interested in lifestyle and consumer news.
“We’re really trying to rejuvenate our audience across brands,” said Libby Leist, senior vice president of NBC News, which oversees all iterations of Today, in an interview. She adds: “Digital and social platforms are a great way to do this, reinventing the ‘Today’ brand for newer and younger audiences.”
Sizzling digital journalism has often served as a vehicle for long-established legacy print brands hoping to lure in a generation of readers more used to scrolling on a smartphone than turning a glossy page. Now that the economics of TV networks’ important morning news are in flux, “Today” sees an opportunity to use the tactic to expand its base.
Rae will be the first in a series of digital-first projects, Leist says, to be released quarterly, all part of a redesign of Today’s Digital Outlet this fall. Today commissioned Sylvia Obell, an entertainment journalist who has worked with Netflix and Buzzfeed, to explore Rae’s next steps and her new project, Rap Sh*t. Photographer Ravie B. took exclusive photos. And while the story will appear first on Today.com, Rae will unveil the effort on the show’s “PopStart” segment on Tuesday at 8 a.m. and then appear during the 10 p.m. hour of “Today” for a 10-minute interview from Hoda Kotb and Jenna Bush Hager.
The effort serves as a demonstration for celebrities and influencers, who could participate in similar ventures in other media, of what Today can accomplish, Leist says. “We’re definitely in a competitive environment, and the advantage we have is amplifying content across different platforms,” she says. “Nobody else has a show, a digital website, a streaming channel, radio shows from SiriusXM, and a podcast and newsletter.”
“Today” accounts for at least 22 hours a week on NBC’s schedule — more hours than Fox airs in prime time — but the network has been trying to expand even beyond that massive presence in recent months. Today, Today also includes a 24/7 streaming channel that combines new programming featuring show personalities with curated material from the TV show and recent history.
NBC News is launching the effort as its flagship Today operations have entered rougher waters. Ad revenue in the first two hours of “Today” fell to about $298.3 million in 2021, down more than 16% from $357.6 million, according to Kantar, an ad spend tracker equals the show achieved in 2020. At primary TV rival Good Morning America, advertising revenue fell 4% to about $281 million over the same period, compared to $293.6 million in 2020. Meanwhile, CBS’s morning show’s advertising revenue fell 40% % from $185.4 million last year to $110.7 million in 2021.
Even so, the morning shows still have value, says Carrie Drinkwater, chief investment officer for MediaHub at Interpublic Group, a media buying firm. “Early morning news has suffered from our ability to get news instantly,” she says of any number of competing outlets, but “morning shows have done a great job of getting longer interviews with cultural figures and newsmakers at relevant moments,” a Attracting a loyal audience that is difficult to reach through other outlets at once.
NBC believes Today’s digital outlets hold similar power. Today.com published 1,300 pieces of original text in June, a new record for the operation. And Today has hired more reporters to cover topics of interest to audiences looking for lifestyle content, such as health, parenting, pop culture and trend coverage.
At a time when digital media is becoming increasingly important, focusing only on “now” on TV could be short-sighted. “Our job is to reach different target groups who don’t turn on the television,” says Leist. “We’re working on that across our digital and streaming platforms and reaching an audience that doesn’t necessarily watch the show but is interested in the brand from a lifestyle perspective.”
(Pictured above: Libby Leist talks to Savannah Guthrie and Hoda Kotb on the set of Today).
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