Charlotte, N.C., CBS affiliate WBTV has done something no other Charlotte station has been able to do since 1990: It beat ABC affiliate WSOC in all key ratings periods in February.
The Charlotte Observer reports WBTV has been slowly catching up to WSOC, winning November at 6 a.m. and noon.
WBTV news director Dennis Milligan credits a news set makeover and a focus on investigative and consumer stories. “It’s led to steady and consistent growth,” said Milligan.
He also cited the station’s Alert center, an innovation that WSOC has copied, which helps get news on the air quicker during broadcasts because someone is already on the set and able to deliver a quick report on a specialty topic.
WSOC has seen the departure of several key news personalities in the last year to bigger jobs in bigger cities including Natalie Pasquarella, who went to New York, and Blair Miller, who left for Boston.