Broadcast news has shown a resurgence of viewership within the last two years.   

Some prognosticators have predicted the death of broadcast news.  And in fact, those predictions are based on declining viewership over the past decade.   NBC Nightly news is down 12% over the past ten years, ABC 18% and CBS a staggering 31%.  However that trend has begun to reverse itself.

NBC Nightly News enjoyed its biggest year since 2006 averaging 8.76 viewers in 2011, according to Nielsen.  That is an increase of 3% over 2010 with Adults 25-54 accounting for 29% of the audience.  ABC World News with Diane Sawyer had a 12% increase over 2010 and CBS Evening News had an increase of 6%.

These numbers are contrary to what many people have been predicting.  The thought just a few years ago was that broadcast news would soon be a dinosaur, a thing of the past.  But the current trend indicates otherwise.  True, the nightly news broadcast is still off the enormous numbers from 20 years ago but the trend is changing.

As result, healthcare marketers should not buy all the doomsday talk about television’s evening news.  The nightly time slot still delivers large numbers and is even increasing again.  Against the backdrop of the decline of practically all traditional media, broadcast news is bucking the trend and therefore should not be ignored.  It remains a viable alternative for our media considerations.