KTLA Plans to Stick With Continuous Trial Coverage

KTLA-TV Channel 5, bolstered by improved ratings and what it calls strong viewer response, intends to continue its gavel to gavel coverage of the O.J. Simpson trial until further notice, even though the station is losing about $250,000 a week in advertiser revenue.

KTLA is the only local broadcast station that has stayed with the trial during the last two weeks, while other stations during the day are mostly airing hourly updates or going to live coverage during important testimony.

“It’s much more watched than we thought it would be,” said Greg Nathanson, KTLA general manager. “Our audience is up about four to five times what it usually is.”

The station Thursday hit its highest point yet, with 31% of viewers tuning in during the afternoon session of the trial. The rating outdistanced those of all other stations, KTLA officials said.

Despite the success of KTLA, most stations are sticking to their policies of mixing regular updates with live coverage. However, KTTV Channel 11 will air the morning session of the trial live from 9 a.m. to noon each day starting Monday, with possible live cut-ins in the afternoon.

Television insiders also downplayed the significance of KTLA’s rise in ratings, saying it was easier for KTLA to show the trial than other stations, particularly those owned and operated by the networks. KTLA’s daytime schedule is composed mostly of reruns of “The Brady Bunch,” “In the Heat of the Night” and “Beverly Hills, 90210,” which are easier to preempt than first-run daily soap operas with loyal followings.

But Nathanson countered by saying, “Sure, our ratings may not be as strong, but we are giving up a lot of commercial inventory. So it is very expensive.”

The station is trying to slip in commercials during breaks in the proceedings or during sidebar conversations between attorneys and Superior Court Judge Lance A. Ito. But Nathanson said it is sometimes hard to schedule the ads and that the station is showing fewer commercials than usual.

Even though Nathanson said showing the trial is not financially beneficial for the station, “it’s the only way to show what’s really going on. We don’t want to filter it through our interpretation or our coverage. This is the fairest way to show the trial. Plus it’s a great, real-life soap opera.”

How long can KTLA continue to show gavel to gavel coverage?

“We’ll try to cover as much as possible, but we’re not committing to it forever,” he said. “I think as long as we can maintain the ratings --and have enough sidebar discussions--we’ll be all right. But if it gets bogged down in boring DNA stuff, we’ll probably not go live anymore.”