A year ago we asked you, our dear readers, to predict what would happen in the world of TV news in 2012. You responded by the thousands… and the results were decidedly mixed. Here are the results from the 2012 TVNewser challenge. We will publish the questions for the 2013 TVNewser Challenge tomorrow.
How many current or former GOP candidates will join a cable news channel as a contributor?
None: 4.01%
1: 9.54%
2: 35.26%
3: 29.74%
4+: 21.45%
Surprisingly, none of the candidates have signed a contributor deal with any cable news channel. The closest might be Herman Cain, who started Cain TV, a web-video venture.
Which network will have the most viewers on election night 2012?
ABC 7.94%
CBS 2.77%
CNN 11.51%
Fox News 55.44%
NBC 20.04%
MSNBC 2.29%
A majority of you were wrong, sorry. FNC came close, but NBC won the night.
Where will Matt Lauer be at this time next year?
NBC’s ‘Today’ Show 51.93%
Another Network 15.82%
Planning his own Syndicated Show 32.25%
Our readers were right on the money with this one, and didn’t let the rumors sway them. Lauer signed a long-term deal to remain at “Today” in April.
Will ‘Imus in the Morning’ be on FBN at this time next year?
Yes 29.93%
No 70.07%
Well, you were wrong about this one. Imus and FBN may not have the greatest relationship in the world, but he signed a new, multi-year deal earlier this month.
Which cable news channel is most likely to make changes to its primetime lineup in 2012?
CNN 58.26%
MSNBC 33.61%
Fox News 3.64%
None 4.48%
None of the cable news channels tweaked their primetime lineups this year, including CNN.
Which of the following international news channels will gain the most distribution in the U.S. in 2012?
BBC World News 41.43%
Al Jazeera English 39.14%
CNN International 19.43%
You were right about this one, with its big deal with Time Warner Cable this month, BBC World News gained far more distribution than either AJE or CNNI.
What change will occur in the morning show ratings war?
GMA overtakes Today 15.98%
CBS This Morning overtakes GMA 7.71%
None. All stays the same 76.31%
This is a contender for surprise of the year. While ABC had been creeping up on NBC for a while, it never seemed to amount to much. Until April, when ABC overtook “Today” and firmly planted itself as the morning leader.
Which of the following newsers will begin using Twitter regularly in 2012?
Brian Williams 53.47%
Bill O’Reilly 9.25%
Scott Pelley 17.63%
Morley Safer 1.45%
Lara Logan 18.21%
All of these people have expressed skepticism about Twitter and, well, that hasn’t changed. None of them have fully embraced Twitter and those that do have accounts either don’t use them, or have staff automatically send out video clips.