How ABC News’ ‘Selfie-Style’ Reporting is Breaking the TV News Model

‘On Location’ show attracts half a million views per episode on Facebook Watch, despite low consumer awareness of the platform

ABC News Selfie-Style
Credit: Stacy Revere/Getty

For the past eight years, ABC News has been working to reconnect with the millions of consumers who have lost focus on their television sets in favor of their mobile phones. Most recently, the network partnered with Facebook Watch to launch “On Location,” a daily news show created for a mobile audience. While Watch has been notorious for having low consumer awareness — a recent study from The Diffusion Media Group found that half of Facebook users have no i Newsdea the company has a video platform — ABC News has still been able to find success on the service.

Since launching last month, “On Location” has accumulated more than 30 million views and averages more than 450,000 views per episode. Followers of the show page have also increased by 38 percent week over week.

Much of this success came because ABC News decided to ditch the polished feel that comes with news programming on traditional networks — something that Colby Smith, SVP of content and partnerships at ABC News, says. . .

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