• Broadcasting & Cable, Monday, October 12, 2009 10:30 AM

Newscasts running from 2½ to 12 minutes are finding viewers from Detroit to Knoxville to San Diego. The "snackable" programs hit home at a time when consuming short clips on YouTube and news sites are a part of life for many. "In today's world, where everybody's racing around, we thought it made sense," says XETV San Diego general manager Richard Doutre Jones.

Other stations include: Acme's WBBX Knoxville, which partners with Gannett's WBIR to air a 12-minute news show as well as an 11-minute news pod on WBND South Bend. The bite-sized local programs let TV stations get into the news game cheaply or help them extend their news brand into a new time slot. A short newscast also prevents them from cannibalizing the newscast put out by a news partner in the market.

With weather still the main reason viewers tune into news, most stations are simply seeking to scoop the competition with tomorrow's forecast. "Sometimes people who stay up for news just want to go to bed. Now, in 11 minutes, boom-they get everything they need," says Doutre Jones.

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