Dead at five! Obituaries move to TV, as stations find revenue in the recession
Filed under: Company News, Economy, People, Media
With local TV stations scrambling as advertising dwindles, it's prompting some to examine a money stream traditionally relegated to newspapers: obituaries. WNEM-TV, a Saginaw, Michigan, CBS affiliate owned by Meredith Corp. (MDP), may be the first TV station in the U.S. to air obituaries -- an idea it came up with this year when several local papers including The Flint Journal cut their frequency to three days a week. That cut-back worried funeral directors trying to relay information about services to residents, says Jeff Guilbert, general sales manager of WNEM.A large newspaper's obituary fees can reach $1,000 for a notice, according to Advertising Age. But for just $100, families can buy into a two-minute segment about their loved ones on WNEM, which includes an obituary on ObitMichigan.com and televised information about the funeral home, Guilbert says.
"We do a five-second opening, saying, 'Here are today's death notices'," Guilbert says. "It has a nice background, and it's a very respectful way to commemorate those who passed. Then four names pop up on the screen, and every eight seconds, another four names come up until the two minutes are over."
The station has aired more than 700 obituaries since it began doing so in August, and Guilbert projects that local obituaries may be "the largest local client on-air" within two years. But for now, it's a new, untested revenue stream. TV advertising slumped 10 percent in the first six months of the year, according to TNS Media Intelligence. And auto manufacturers, a large part of Michigan's economy, slashed ad spending by 22 percent -- the second-biggest drop, after financial services, among 10 categories tracked by TNS.
"Right now it happens to work out well with a down-market," Guilbert says. "Michigan has been hit hard by the recession, and the entire state is looking at our product."
Stations in Detroit, Lansing, and other Michigan cities are considering licensing WNEM's program, which includes proprietary software, Guilbert says, adding that Meredith's WSFB-TV in Hartford, Connecticut, will also roll out the program. But it's not clear how much revenue obituaries represent, says Mort Goldstrom, VP of advertising at the Newspaper Association of America. Goldstrom estimates that obituaries represent between 1 percent and 5 percent of newspapers' classified revenue. Last year, the NAA says, classified sales for newspapers declined 30 percent, to $9.98 billion.
While WNEM's program has strong local interest, Goldstrom says, he feels it's unlikely to become a million-dollar category for TV stations. And there's an ''ick" factor: "It seems a little morbid to have a weekly show of who died this week," Goldstrom says. But WNEM hasn't heard any viewer complaints, Guibert says; indeed, if volume picks up, the station may devote half an hour to obituaries.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
10-20-2009 @ 7:22AM
jbjg24m said...
damn spammers!!
Reply
10-20-2009 @ 4:30PM
dave said...
People must be stupid enough to click on these spam sights for them to keep posting them. Idiots!!!
Reply
10-20-2009 @ 8:33AM
dawn said...
why would there be an ick factor? we see stars all the time that have passed on the news. Is it somehow less important when a regular person passes? Are there people just mad they did not think of this first. But after all I come from Michigan and I see nothing wrong with this idea
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10-20-2009 @ 3:51PM
T-Bone said...
Good point dawn! we're still hearin about michael jackson , annna nicole etc. lonnnnnng after their death. but i guess us 'nobody's" arent as important? I'd much rather know who died "locally' than an AOL bS headline reading "musician dead at 45" then you click on it and it's some guy or woman from some band nobody even heard of!
10-20-2009 @ 8:45AM
4me2knw said...
I'm paying the cable company so they can get paid by advertizers to show me nothing but "paid programming"! I'm paying them so they can get paid by some one else trying to sell stuff to me!! I'm getting really sick of this! Plus our cable is taking channels off left and right! They've removed at least 5 channels in the past 2 months! One's I liked t watch! I'm considering just going with basic free TV. Take up reading again. Now, I'll be paying to watch a show about who's died. Just what I want to watch. NOT!!!
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10-20-2009 @ 3:44PM
AC said...
Cable bites. I'm fairly happy with Dish Network. Many more channels to not watch! LOL
10-20-2009 @ 4:48PM
chuckie said...
Look into Dish network. We had cable for years when we lived in town but since moving to the country fifteen years ago it's been all satellite. No comparison! And no, I don't work for them. :)
10-20-2009 @ 7:33PM
Karen Anne said...
I can agree with you completely! My son got us cable, and it's been nothing but grief! Had to replace the BRAND NEW box in less than a month (whoops, brand new and defective) and this one's not any better. Stations come and go, picture freezes, sound goes out, you name it, it goes wrong! And their answer? Oh, just reset it...over and over and over...sometimes as much as a dozen times a day! ARGH!!!!
Problem is, we're in a strange "fringe" area where it's nearly impossible to get ANY television without cable or satellite or something!
Rather have my books anyway!
10-20-2009 @ 9:27AM
Dee said...
Great Idea! I lIke! Better than seeing all of that religious HogWash on the Boob Tube!
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10-20-2009 @ 9:57AM
mark said...
It is a good idea, they should also should include what the person did and where the person worked so people who need jobs know where to apply.
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10-20-2009 @ 11:02AM
LJenkins said...
My grandmother used to listen to the obituaries on the radio all the time. They would read the entire thing on air along with where the body was going to be viewed and the hours. It was actually sort of a relaxing thing to listen to, and it allowed her to do two things at once. It also helped me learn local geography as they listed small towns, I might have not known of otherwise. There's nothing "ick" about it. People die, I think it would be a natural thing to move it from the radio and newspapers to the TV. We are already looking at them on the internet versions of the newspaper. I think it should have been done long ago, imagine in 10 years when perhaps you could "Twitter" your death notices. Actually from a business point of view, I think its a great idea, and better than the rest of the "filler" fluff that they put on air. They could also do wedding and engagement announcements and actually charge more for those. At least in death you could have your "two" minutes of fame.
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10-20-2009 @ 11:23AM
Sprinkle Cookie said...
I think it's a good idea. I think I would rather have someone go on TV and say a few nice words about me than have a big to-do at a funeral home. Actually, I don't want a funeral. I would just like to have a big freakin' party for my friends after I die. They could prop me up in a corner with a drink in my hand and motion-activated recordings saying things like: "Great party!" "Thanks for being here!" "Go get some more punch!" "There's more rumaki in the kitchen." etc. etc. :)
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10-20-2009 @ 11:42AM
pdgrovebaskets said...
I thought I've seen a lot of crazy things in my 48 years but even this shocks me. Somehow I can't help feeling it's very disrespectful. I really don't know if I would want my loved ones' name that they're dead splashed all over the television. Right in there with the soap operas, sponge bob and tampon comercials. And then, if you don't have the complete obituary, how do you know it's the correct person. What if they say Robert Smith has died. Even where I live which is not a big city there are probably 50 Robert Smiths. It just doesn't sound kosher to me, I don't like it.
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10-20-2009 @ 11:47AM
Paperdoll said...
This sounds like it is just a death notice, not an obituary. An obituary tells the life story of the deceased. A death notice tells the who, age, and funeral information. Really, what is the cost of a death notice in the larger papers? Do they also run to $1,000? It sounds like this reporter is confusing two separate items. Also, I would think soothing music playing, instead of a few commercials screaming at you would be a very pleasant change of pace. Good idea to my way of thinking.
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10-21-2009 @ 12:56AM
KayCee71 said...
Nope Paperdoll, the reporter is correct with that absurd amount for some newspaper obituaries. Some papers charge per word & as it seemed to us when we were writing one with the funeral director for my father-in-law, the bigger the paper, the more the amount per word cost. We wanted to list his obit with The New York Times, but they were exceedingly pricy that we considered it a sort of extortion. As those of us who have had to assemble funerals for family & friends, some funeral directors are skilled in feeding your grief, thereby running up a higher bill & some newpapers give them kickbacks for obits, so don't be surprised when you write a nice, poignant, respectful obit for someone & then are told that the cost is ridiculously high & to keep it in a financially sound perspective, you have to whack it down to name, date of birth/death, names of spouse & very immediate family. Make up a "fake" obit, with as much info you can think to squeeze in & then call your "local bird cage liner" & ask them how much it costs if you think I'm kidding or not well informed on the subject. In my opinion the televised obits are a great idea, as less people read newspapers & rely on the internet & televised programs for local news. I recommend that if anyone has to plan a funeral for a loved one, that you have a friend who isn't emotionally tied to the deceased to come with you, so that they can point out excessive things & help keep you on track & level so that you aren't bilked for an expense you could have easily done without. Not all funeral directors are shysters, but some really seem to enjoy ringing up a large bill, which is what makes me thankful for my friends in "the business" giving me that advice & making me aware of what to expect. This is a great service offered to this TV station's viewers & it would be great if it was offered for the same cost, if not even lower, if it catches on in the larger TV markets.
10-20-2009 @ 12:28PM
Annie said...
This is not new. Most rural radio stations have been performing this service for the community for a long time. Some since radio first came to the towns. We have two stations from two local small towns which both read the obits daily and have for at least the past 50 years and I imagine for much longer than that.
They give pertinent information on the deceased, (age, where they were born, and community they lived in when they passed) funeral arrangements ect. Basically the information one would need to determine if the John Smith who died is the one you know or some other John Smith.
Most rural communities only have weekly newspaper service if any at all and this is a valued service to inform the community of deaths in a timely fashion.
One local station also reads a list of those admitted to the hospital each day if the family has not ask that the name not be made public.
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10-20-2009 @ 1:56PM
Amanda said...
Annie, you're right. I work at a rural radio station and we announce the obituaries on the air every morning @ 9 am. We tell them everything they need to know, where it's being held, what time, who they can donate to, etc. It's a great service, in fact, it's one of our most popular. Anyone over 50 is usually listening on a very regular basis.
The three funeral homes in the county provide the up-to-date obits and we announce it as a courtesy and get sponsors for each funeral home.
I think it helps strengthen the community.
10-20-2009 @ 1:46PM
GotEdge said...
What next? Film the death scene and the wake and post it on You Tube? Maybe post it on Twitter with links to Flickr? Or use the camera on a computer and show it in real time.
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10-20-2009 @ 2:30PM
Jill Conner Browne said...
My family has always loved a "good" obit--so when our Mother died recently, my sister and I had a Fine Time writing hers. By the time it came out in the paper--it was NEARLY A FULL PAGE! Which we also thought was pretty swell although we feared it would take her last dime to pay for it. Totally worth it. It's gone viral. But if nobody's sent it to you yet, you can read it under "news"--"Mama's Gone" on my website--www.sweetpotatoqueens.com People have written us from all over--wanting us to write THEIR obits! A radio station in San Francisco read it on the air last weekend--we're in Jackson, Ms.! Mama would be So Pleased.
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10-20-2009 @ 6:04PM
Rhonda said...
Jill,
Your Mama's obit was fantastic. I'm sure she loved it. My husband died last year from Cancer, and he actually helped write his own obituary. We were not as clever as you and your sister, but he wanted to be involved. I just want to say that I really enjoy your website.
Rhonda