Worlds are colliding for NBC News’ Hallie Jackson.
The Washington-based anchor and correspondent on most weekdays can be seen leading a two-hour program, “Hallie Jackson Now,” that live streams on the NBC News Now service. And on Sundays, she is behind the desk for “NBC Nightly News.”
Starting Monday, however, there is going to be a little crossover.
On June 1, San Francisco’s KNTV, an NBC-owned station, will start running an hour of Jackson’s live-streamed program each weekday between 2 p.m. and 3 p.m. PT. It’s no coincidence that the program debuts the day before California’s primary election on Tuesday.
“We are going to serve our audience, no matter where they live and wherever they are across the country,” says Jackson, during a recent interview. “We see this as really additive.” KNTV viewers have the station’s local-news reporting to inform them of news in their immediate area, she says, and her program will help keep them up to date on what’s happening around the U.S. and in politics — a specialty of hers, since she is also NBC News’ senior Washington correspondent.
Jackson’s debut Monday on KNTV marks the first time her program will be seen outside the confines of the NBC News streaming service, but it is part of a longer-term effort by NBC to make broader use of the news division’s broadband content. In 2022, NBC stations began to replace “Days of our Lives” with hours of NBC News Now’s daytime schedule, with hours called “NBC News Daily.” Local stations were able to add their own story segments to the mix. Talks are underway for a second hour of “Daily” to become part of certain stations’ daytime schedules.
The streaming-and-stations move reflects NBC News’ decision to treat NBC News Now as a top-tier service, says Janelle Rodriguez, executive vice president of programming for NBC News. “We made an early decision to invest in NBC News Now, and other networks haven’t always done high-quality premium programing with top talent,” she says. In addition to Jackson, whose “Hallie Jackson Now” runs for two hours in the early evening, “NBC Nightly News” anchor Tom Llamas also leads a program, “Top Story,” as do Kristen Welker and Gadi Schwartz.
“There is an audience for this. There is going to be demand, and I think we’ve proven that this is the model that can expand the audience,” says Rodriguez. The afternoon hour of “NBC News Daily” that airs on stations won more viewers between the ages of 25 and 54 — a key demographic for advertisers — than any of the afternoon hours aired by cable-news networks so far this season, according to data from Nielsen.
Jackson left duties anchoring an hour at the cable network once known as MSNBC nearly five years ago to launch her two-hour streaming program, and says she never felt the program was “an experiment.” She says viewers have come to her and her colleagues to talk about “Hallie’s show,” and notes many people watch the program on a TV screen as they stream it thanks to a service such as Roku or Amazon Fire.
“Hallie Jackson Now” has featured exclusive interviews with Epstein survivors and their families, as well as business leaders such as the Indianapolis Colts’ co-owners and Starbucks CEO Brian Niccol. Jackson has also co-anchored live coverage of primary results during the current midterm election cycle on NBC News Now.
Other media outlets have also shown interest in the idea of tapping streaming content to fill linear TV hours. At MS NOW, the weekly schedule often includes some hours of Nicolle Wallace’s video podcast, “The Best People.” At Nexstar’s NewsNation, a push into podcasting will create new hours of content that might be available for use on the linear network, according to Michael Corn, president of specials and programming.
Arrival of Jackson’s program on KNTV will spotlight her busy schedule. Jackson is usually working Washington stories and contributes to NBC News’ “Today” and “Nightly News,” notes Rodriguez, but also must focus on her two hours of daily streaming as well as her anchor role at Sunday’s “Nightly.”
There are times when Jackson, while hosting her streaming program, will make appearances on weekday “Nightly — both shows are on between 6:30 pm and 7 p.m. Eastern –and present an original piece or update anchor Tom Llamas on new developments in the nation’s capital.
This is the new working life for TV reporters, who must be ready at any time to feed the latest news to digital and linear services and even throw tidbits to followers on social media. Still, says Jackson, joking, “It’s not really as intense as we make it sound.”
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