Complete Coverage: TCA Summer Press Tour 2012
Los Angeles -- CBS is making Face the Nation's expansion to a
one-hour format permanent, CBS News president David Rhodes announced at the TCA
press tour here Sunday.
The network expanded the Sunday morningpublic affairs show to one hour in April on a 20-week test basis to capitalize
on interest in the 2012 presidential election. Year over year, Face the Nation with Bob Schieffer is up 11% in viewers
and 33% adults 25-54.
"We think that will help Bob be more
competitive than he's ever been," Rhodes said.
Despite the expansion, CBS will continue to rate the first half-hour and second half-hour of Face separately because football season will force pre-emptions in many markets (all of the other Sunday political shows are rated based on one hour). When sports is no longer an issue, Rhodes said it can transition to rating the full hour.
As it has been since the April
expansion, markets will have the option to take the second half-hour, but CBS hopes that by making the expansion permanent, most stations
would want to take the full hour. In the test run, two-thirds of CBS affiliates have taken the full hour, Rhodes said.
Rhodes also announced that Anthony Mason
will join Rebecca Jarvis as cohost of the Saturday edition of CBS This Morning.
