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WABC-TV Special ‘Protect Our Children: Stress, Coping & Hope’ Airs Saturday, April 18, at 7 P.M. EDT

Inspiring Stories During a Pandemic

Click Here to View Promo

WABC-TV, New York’s No. 1 station and the most-watched television station in the nation, will air “Protect Our Children: Stress, Coping & Hope” on SATURDAY, APRIL 18 (7:00 p.m. EDT). It will rebroadcast Sunday, April 19 (5:30 p.m. EDT). Hosted by Eyewitness News anchor Shirleen Allicot, the special raises awareness of the critical need to provide coping skills and hope to parents and children dealing with stress-related problems exacerbated during the COVID-19 pandemic.

During a time of global uncertainty, the special shares inspiring stories of individuals who faced challenges and conquered them when their hardships seemed insurmountable. Featured stories include the following:

• A Manhattan high school senior, who experienced mental health issues at age 14, shares the importance of receiving mental and medical care as soon as possible as well as his own journey of self-discovery.
• As the COVID-19 pandemic has contributed to the increase of homelessness and unemployment, a young man in Harlem coping with homelessness helps others who are experiencing poverty.
• A 10-year-old transgender girl on Long Island successfully finds her gender identity with the loving support of her family and age-appropriate professional care.
• A nonbinary advocate for the transgender community addresses the challenges that arise from changing one’s gender on a state-issued identification and shares their journey to pass the “Gender Recognition Act” in New York.
• Educators and students at a middle school in Staten Island work to counter the feelings of isolation during a time where public health orders advise social distancing. Together, they work on ways to help the student body feel unified and supported, in order to come out of these dark times together.

WABC-TV has long been dedicated to covering the important issues of health and safety of youth in the community. WABC’s “Protect Our Children” campaign, which launched in 1998, includes informational safety messages, a dedicated website and a missing children campaign that can be seen on every Eyewitness News program. The station has produced a number of compelling local programs addressing the stress-related problems plaguing a vulnerable population – children. The series has received six Emmy® Awards, six “Gracie” Awards from the American Women in Radio-TV-Film (AWRT) and awards from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, (NCMEC). Learn more about “Protect Our Children” at ABC7NY.com/Protect.

About WABC
WABC-TV has been the leader in local news and entertainment programming in the New York City area for more than 60 years. Producing more than 45 hours of live, local news and weather each week, Channel 7 “Eyewitness News”is the most watched local news in New York and the United States. WABC-TV also produces “Live with Kelly and Ryan,” weekdays at 9:00 a.m., which is seen in more than 200 markets across the U.S. Quality news and programming, cutting-edge technology and ongoing community outreach are the hallmarks of excellence that have consistently kept WABC-TV New York’s No. 1 station and the most-watched television station in the nation.

Media Contact
Jeelu Billimoria
“Protect Our Children: Stress, Coping & Hope,” Senior Producer
(917) 260-7148
Jeelu.Billimoria@abc.com

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Industry Veteran Jon Camera Named Head of Sales at WABC-TV

Jon Camera has been named head of Sales of WABC-TV, the flagship ABC-owned television station in New York and most-watched television station in the New York television market and the United States, announced Debra O’Connell, president and general manager of WABC-TV, to whom he will report.

In this role, Camera will be responsible for managing and directing advertising sales and sales strategies of the station’s multimedia portfolio. He will lead a team of sales managers; an Integrated, Sponsorship & Partnership Marketing team; account executives; and research and support staff providing customers with meaningful and innovative solutions for their advertising needs across the top DMA in the country. While overseeing all aspects of WABC’s linear, digital, social and sponsorship sales, Camera will work closely with station leadership as well as Disney Ad Sales to continuously develop new revenue-generating opportunities, inventory optimization and marketplace positioning.

“I am thrilled to have Jon join us; he is a proven leader with a strong track record of sales success,” said O’Connell. “Jon has the ability to combine innovation with a strategic vision to balance the day to day while planning for the future – this combination will bring success to our sales team here at WABC and our advertising clients alike. As the No. 1 station in the NY DMA and the nation, replacing Scott Simensky who excelled for 23 years as our station general sales manager was a critical mission, and Jon is the ideal executive to lead our sales team into the future.”

“It is an honor to have the opportunity to work for WABC, the ABC Owned Television Stations and The Walt Disney Company,” said Camera. “I am looking forward to working with the exceptional Sales team at WABC and across Disney Ad Sales, and excited to move our advertisers’ business forward.” 

In December 2008, Camera founded Kingdom Media Marketing, a full-service, independent media planning and buying firm, and served for more than 10 years as its president and CEO. He was responsible for obtaining non-owned media assets on large multiplatform and multimarket deals for media companies as well as meeting the needs and providing solutions for marketing and communications agencies. His clients included major broadcasting groups, in addition to numerous independent marketing and communications agencies, in need of seamless and scalable solutions with their multimarket campaign executions.

Prior to Kingdom Media, Camera was senior vice president of Business Development and Marketing at the CBS Owned Television Stations, where he developed and implemented integrated marketing growth opportunities and oversaw business development of all the stations for broadcast and digital sales. Previously, he was the director of Business Development at NBC Local TV Stations and director of Convergence Sales at ABC Owned TV Stations. He began his career in television sales at FOX as a sales assistant before moving to WABC Radio as an account executive and then PAX TV’s New York TV station, WPXN-31, as an account executive.

Camera attended Boston University and is a graduate of Hofstra University with a bachelor’s degree in business administration and marketing. 

About WABC
WABC-TV has been the leader in local news and entertainment programming in the New York City area for more than 60 years. Producing more than 45 hours of live, local news and weather each week, Channel 7 “Eyewitness News”is the most watched local news in New York and the United States. WABC-TV also produces “Live with Kelly and Ryan,” the top-rating daytime talk show that airs weekdays at 9:00 a.m. E.S.T. and is seen in more than 200 markets across the U.S. With the most trustworthy and accurate news and programming, propelled by cutting-edge technology and ongoing community outreach, these are the hallmarks of excellence that have consistently kept WABC-TV as New York’s No. 1 station, and the most-watched television station in the nation.

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WABC-TV Is the Most Watched in New York and the US

‘Eyewitness News’ and ‘Live with Kelly and Ryan’ Finish 2019 as Ratings Leaders

WABC-TV, the flagship ABC-owned television station in New York, announced that it is once again the most-watched television station in the New York television market and the United States in 2019, finishing the year with a 2.7 rating/8 share in DMA Households from 6 a.m. to 2 a.m. Monday–Sunday for the full calendar year. With an average quarter-hour audience of 245,000 viewers all year long, ABC7 boasts the largest audience of any television station in the nation. WABC also leads the market among local broadcast station websites and has the highest engagement on Twitter and Instagram while also boasting the strongest Video Engagement and Video Views across all platforms. Channel 7 continues to expand its digital presence with initiatives such as The Vault, a look into its extensive archives that has amassed 1.3 million views on YouTube and 42,000 hours watched.

The station produces the nationally syndicated morning show “Live with Kelly and Ryan” which averages 2.8 million viewers a day across the country and is the No. 1 daytime entertainment talk show in Households and all key demographics. In the New York market, the program finished 2019 as the time-period winner in Households and Women 25-54 with a 71% advantage, while attracting more than twice as many Women 18-49 as any competing station. This year, hosts Kelly Ripa and Ryan Seacrest traveled to Los Angeles for the annual “After Oscar Show” and also recorded a series week of programs in Las Vegas. “Kelly and Ryan’s Best Halloween Show Ever” was daytime’s most-viewed Halloween-themed talk show on Oct. 31 in Total Viewers and key demographics. The viral video-themed show also performed better than last year’s episode nationally in Households and Women 25-54. Now in its 32nd year, the program continues to find new ways to engage audiences. This season, the show began an “I in Live” segment where the co-hosts feature a fan of the day.

WABC-TV’s market-leading “Eyewitness News” franchise continued to lead the market in 2019. Here are some highlights from a year that saw the “Eyewitness News” team travel across the nation and the globe to cover news of interest to viewers in the tri-state:

• “Eyewitness News This Morning,” which saw the return of New York broadcasting legend Sam Champion to WABC, had a 64% lead among DMA Households and a 60% edge among Adults 25-54.
• “Eyewitness News at Noon” ranked No. 1 with a 29% lead among DMA Households, a 57% advantage among Women 25-54 and a 50% edge among Adults 25-54.
• “Eyewitness News First at 4” attracted more than twice as many DMA Households as its only local news competitor. It also attracted nearly three times as many Adults 25-54 while also winning the time period overall in key demos.
• “Eyewitness News at 5,” which bade farewell to longtime co-anchor Diana Williams, was No. 1 among DMA Households and attracted twice as many Adults 25-54 as its nearest competitor.
• “Eyewitness News at 6” delivered a DMA Household rating that is 65% higher than its closest competitor. It also held a commanding 167% lead among Adults 25-54. With 462,000 viewers on a nightly basis, “Eyewitness News at 6″ is the most-watched local newscast in the country.
• “Eyewitness News at 11” was No. 1 among DMA Households by 34% and among Adults 25-54 by 100%.
• “Eyewitness News This Morning” on Saturday and Sunday ranked No. 1 in DMA Households and Adults 25-54
• “Eyewitness News at 11” on Saturday and Sunday was No. 1 in DMA Households and Adults 25-54 among newscasts that aired at 11:00 p.m.
• WABC-TV’s consumer unit, 7 On Your Side, recovered more than $1 million for local viewers in 2019, the sixth consecutive year it has topped the million-dollar mark.

ABC News programming:

• “Good Morning America” decisively remains the top choice in its time period for tri-state area viewers. The program ranked No. 1 for the year among DMA Households, Adults 25-54 and Women 25-54 with year-to-year growth in each area.
• “The View” ranks No. 1 for the year among DMA Households, Women 18-49 and Women 25-54.
• “GMA3: Strahan, Sara & Keke” wins its 1:00 p.m. time period in Women 25-54 and Women 18-49 with strong growth in both areas.
• “World News Tonight with David Muir” attracts more DMA Households and Adults 25-54 than its two network news competitors combined.

Entertainment:

• “General Hospital” continues to lead its time-period competition among Women 18-49 and Women 25-54.
• Syndicated programs “Jeopardy!” and “Wheel of Fortune” continue to be No. 1 in Prime Access in DMA Households with wide leads in most key demographics. The programs attract more DMA Households than their five competing stations combined.
• In prime time, ABC introduced “mix-ish,” “Kids Say the Darndest Things” and “Stumptown,”which joined successful shows including “black-ish,” “The Good Doctor,” “Modern Family,” “The Goldbergs,” “Grey’s Anatomy,” “Dancing with the Stars,” “A Million Little Things” and “Shark Tank.”

WABC also began reimagining its community outreach efforts in 2019. The station committed to participating in more – and more diverse – community initiatives including new events like the Lunar New Year celebration, Veteran’s Day Parade, “Following in my Father’s Footsteps” – which celebrates fathers and daughters, a “Bone Marrow Drive” in the “Live with Kelly and Ryan” studio, and an Opioid town hall in partnership with sister station WPVI.

The station also launched a “BeKind” campaign. The station has produced more than 100 original content stories, creating a Facebook community to help foster awareness and conversation around these stories. WABC also elevated its pre-existing partnerships by adding Eyewitness News talent to all Disney corporate social responsibility campaigns such as the Magic of Storytelling, Choose Kindness and Foster More campaign.

In addition to its renewed community efforts, the stations slate of award-winning local specials performed well in 2019:

• WABC-TV’s coverage of TCS New York City Marathon reached 1 million viewers locally and averaged 371,000 viewers per quarter-hour during the race coverage. Marathon coverage online saw about a 6% increase in site traffic and a 25% increase in app traffic over Marathon Sunday last year. Live streams on abc7NY.com had more than 115,000 views, with over a quarter million unique users visiting the station’s digital platforms on the day of the race.
• Coverage of the “National Puerto Rican Day Parade” attracted an average of 171,000 viewers with a big imprint online that included 20,000 views across our platforms and YouTube with nearly 300,000 reached on Facebook.
• The “NYC Pride March” attracted 261,000 viewers, more than some prime programs that evening. WABC’s coverage topped 200,000 cross-platform views online and reached 164,000 people on Facebook. WABC also led the market in social engagement across multiple platforms. For the month leading up, Channel 7’s Pride content attracted more than 90,000 unique visitors to our site and app.
• A live preview program from “The New York International Auto Show” reached an average of 221,000 viewers, up 18% from last year.
• WABC-TV’s first-ever coverage of the Veterans Day Parade was a huge success, reaching 542,000 viewers in the tri-state area with more than 14,000 views online.
• WABC-TV’s coverage of the Women’s World Cup Parade was the most viewed in the market on Facebook with more than 225,000 views. Megan Rapinoe’s full speech also generated the station’s most-viewed YouTube video with more than 117,000 views.
• Channel 7 offered up extensive coverage of The Jimmy Awards this year and the content saw more than 15,000 views across platforms.
• WABC-TV commemorated the 50th anniversary of the moon landing and Long Island’s important role with a local special that attracted 237,000 viewers and three original videos that generated nearly 13,000 views across platforms.
• The “Columbus Day Parade,” “United Airlines NYC Half Marathon,” “Operation 7: Save-A-Life” fire safety campaign, “Hidden Heroes,” breast cancer awareness, Black History Month, Hispanic Heritage Month, two editions of “Broadway Backstage,” coverage of the “Bethpage Air Show at Jones Beach,” a well-received weather special, three Localish specials and “Protect Our Children”rounded out Channel 7’s mission to reflect the large and diverse community it serves.

Source: NY Nielsen LPM Live+SD Overnights 1/1/19-12/31/19; Nielsen Npower; Live +SD; 12/31/18 – 12/29/19; Instagram; Facebook, Twitter, Hitwise, Omniture.