Broadcaster Turns First Local TV Web Site Profit

If you get e-mail at all, you have no doubt seen hundreds of Internet-based get-rich-quick schemes, but real profits from the World Wide Web have often proven to be elusive. Now WCCO-TV and WCCO radio, serving Minneapolis, Minnesota, says it has become the first US TV station to turn a profit from a Web site.

WCCO partnered with professional site developer Internet Broadcasting Systems (IBS) for its Web project at http://www.wcco.com, which it calls Channel 4000 after its channel 4 location on the TV dial.

Channel 4000 launched in March, 1996, and has grown since then to over 300,000 viewers and three million page views monthly, the station said. The partners credited the crossover to the range of what they called "revenue opportunities" they have built into the site.

IBS President George Johnson cited sponsorships, niche content, Web development and event sponsorship, in addition to more standard banner advertising, as examples of such opportunities.

"Channel 4000 offers advertisers a very targeted, knowledgeable audience," added Johnson.

To keep things dynamic, the project keeps up a steady feed of continually updated Minnesota news, weather, and sports, building on content provided by WCCO-TV and Radio. A team of the station’s reporters works from the TV and radio newsrooms to keep local coverage current, the station said.

In addition to its partnership with the stations, Channel 4000 has forged ties with the Midwest Sports Channel, Minneapolis/St. Paul Magazine, and Twin Cities Business Monthly for content. The Channel 4000 publishers claim that makes the site a sort of one-stop news shopping center for local residents.

Building on that, the project has sold sponsorship positions to Marquette Banks, Realty Locators, Health Systems, the Minnesota Twins, AT&T, an assortment of Minnesota attorneys and the Pioneer Planet, said IBS.

The IBS developers also operate Channel 2000 for Channel 2 in Los Angeles and Channel 6000 for Channel 6 in Portland, IBS sources said.

Reid Johnson, chief executive officer (CEO) of IBS, said the site’s ink actually turned from red to black in August, but they waited until now to release the news. He added: "We have not paid back our initial investment, but we are definitely on the right track."

(Contact: Andrea Yoch, IBS, 612-841-3377, e-mail andrea@ibsys.com; or George Johnson, IBS, 612-896-9898, e-mail george@ibsys.com)