An earlier start to broadcast day/
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Early birds will have to set their alarms even earlier. WPIX is about to change early morning viewing habits---again.
Beginning on September 20, the “PIX Morning News” takes their show to 4 a.m.
This is not a precedent for ‘PIX, having become the first NY station with a local newscast at 4:30 a.m. in 2008.
“We are moving to 4 a.m. because about the same number of TV viewers are using their televisions at 4 a.m. as they are at 4:30 a.m.,” Bill Carey, WPIX News Director, tells Examiner.com.
With WPIX a morning trailblazer at 4:30 a.m., in March WNBC and WNYW/Fox 5 quickly followed suit.
This time, however, WNBC and WNYW/Fox 5 have no plans to follow Channel 11’s lead.
A WNBC spokesperson tells Examiner.com that Channel 4 will not switch to 4 a.m. at this time and won’t be impacted by the earlier start.
“I think they are locked into deals with their networks, including their national overnight newscasts, so it’s just another smart way to assert ourselves as the independent station in NYC that can serve local news best,” Carey says.
Carey states that ‘PIX wins the 4:30 a.m. to 5 a.m. time slot, even since WNBC and WNYW jumped into the mix.
“So we figured, why not start at the top of the hour, and why not continue to grow our footprint if people like us?” Carey says.
The revamped “PIX Morning News” will feature anchors Chris Burrous and Tamsen Fadal from 4 to 6 a.m. and Sukanya Krishnan and John Muller teamed up from 6 to 9 a.m.
WPIX, which yanked its 6:30 evening newscast in June, currently airs “Inside Edition” at 4 a.m.
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