NBC Plans ‘Today' Fan Festival With Events Scheduled for Fall
NBC News is planning a series of live 'Today' events, a sort of fan festival built around the program that will highlight many of its franchises, including Jenna Bush Hager's book recommendations, Willie Geist's in-depth celebrity interviews, and Hoda Kotb's wellness discussions. 'Today' has in recent months put a bigger spotlight on its food and recipe discussions and launched an app that spurs subscribers to think about fitness. The new concept would surface between October and early November, says Libby Leist, the NBC News executive vice president who oversees the morning franchise, and could include a series of ticketed events that would take place in New York City and a few other locations in the U.S.
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In an era dominated by social media, says Leist, 'experiences are kind of a differentiator,' and can bring people together. 'There is so much fragmentation out there, and our thought is we have this trusted brand in 'Today,' and an ability to energize our fandom in real life.' NBC has sought ways to make the events affordable for different audiences, she adds.
'Today' is the latest NBCUniversal property to test experiential waters. The Bravo cable network has for several years organized a 'BravoCon' fan event, and MSNBC last year held a one-day conference that gave attendees a sneak peek at a coming documentary as well as several panels managed by or featuring the network's anchors and hosts. :'Today' has already dispatched Bush Hager to book events and had Geist interview interesting people like Ina Garten and Nate Bargatze at special events in front of live audiences. The concepts typically generate revenue from tickets, but also through advertising partnerships that weave specific brands and promotional messages throughout the occasion.
Like many other traditional media companies, NBCU is relying more heavily on programming that aims to gather large, live audiences. The NBC broadcast network will, next year, turn over two nights of its programming schedule to NBA telecasts as part of a new rights deal with the basketball league. NBCU will also telecast a new Winter Olympics in early 2026.
NBC executives felt this year, which doesn't have an Olympics or an election race, would have more room to focus on creating a 'Today' fan festival, says Leist. The aim, she adds, is to keep things going beyond a first year. 'The more we do it, the more we hope to generate interest.'
Savannah Guthrie and Craig Melvin, the two 'Today' news anchors, are likely to talk about the festival on air, says Leist, and may take part in a larger event tied to food.
Other news outlets have experimented with meet-the-viewer ideas. CNN mounted a series of live 'Citizen' events in recent years that convened newsmakers and CNN anchors to discuss major issues of the day. Among those who took part were Jimmy Kimmel, Dr. Anthony Fauci and NBA Commissioner Adam Silver. Fox News Channel has organized its 'Patriot Awards' for the past few years; the event has even included a meet-and-greet and a whiskey tasting.
But the concept has not been tested in such force by a broadcast morning program, Leist believes, and the hope is the concept brings 'Today' closer to its viewers in an era when A.M. news remains critical to the economics of the broadcast-network news divisions. ABC's 'Good Morning America' continues to win more viewers overall, but NBC's 'Today' leads in the critical category of people between 25 and 54 — the audience favored most by advertisers in news programs.
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