Broadcast news site TVNewsCheck ‘pauses’ publishing, will continue events

Industry news website TVNewsCheck has announced it’s putting a “pause” on its publication schedule while also starting to encourage readers to sign up for its premium offering in order to resume operations.

The site has been around 18 years and NewscastStudio articles were frequently spotlighted on the site.

“It’s no secret that the media industry is facing the most challenging environment it has ever known, finding itself in need of adapting to fragmentation and the demands of a multiplatform media universe. Each day, we have endeavored to share with you the story of that transition, the incremental successes and the casualties among the organizations that comprise this industry,” the company wrote in a post on its website announcing the move.

The company originally said it hoped the pause would be “only a temporary one” when it was announced on Feb. 12, 2024. The company later acknowledged as “cash flow shortage.” 

At that time, the company said it will no longer update its website with industry news on a regular basis and its email newsletters are being suspended as well, it will still continue to operate its event division.

Its upcoming Programming Everywhere, Local TV Strategies and NewsTECHForum, along with webinars such as Optimizing Political Revenue in a Multimedia World, will move forward as planned.

Later, on Feb. 14, 2024, citing industry reaction to its pause, TVNewsCheck began asking readers to enroll in its TVN Plus subscription service to help bring updates back.

The company is asking 1,500 broadcasters to subscribe to the offering, which costs $20 a month or $199 a year and opens up access to exclusive content. 

Advertisement

If the site is able to add that number of subscribers, it would build a cash reserve of approximately $298,500, less credit card processing and other fees. 

“For just $199 for an annual subscription, you will allow us to turn the lights back on as soon as next week,” the site’s appeal reads. This gave subscribers “(f)ull access to premium content, including exclusive interviews, trend stories and analysis,” according to the site.

On Feb. 21, 2024, the company updated readers by saying it could return as soon as Friday, Feb. 23, 2024, is it signed up 500 subscribers by then, it could resume operations, saying it was “close” to hitting that benchmark.

It 500 new subscribers paid for a year upfront, the company would get just under $100,000 less processing fees. It wasn’t immediately clear how long it could continue to operate with just that amount.

It was not immediately clear if any jobs were lost due to the changes, though columnist Paul Greely, who wrote the “MarketShare” column did note that his column was discontinued as part of the overall changes to the publication. Greely later returned to the column, writing that he was doing the job for free. The site also periodically has been posting premium and free content, though not at the rate it was.

The site also generated revenue from advertising sales.

Meanwhile, NewscastStudio is one of the only websites to cover the broadcast television industry without requiring any login or subscription fee to access all of its content and reporting. Other sites, such as insider site FTVLive, use Patreon to paywall some of its original reporting.

NewscastStudio remains fully committed to covering the TV broadcast industry for free. The site is also accepting new advertising inquiries.