By E.B. Moss

In an era where media conglomerates dominate the landscape while land grabbing for streaming, one independent network is defying the odds and finding remarkable success by leaning into its independent status and live content. REELZ, the television network owned by Hubbard Broadcasting, has struck ratings gold with its flagship program On Patrol: Live – an unscripted, live format that immerses viewers into the real-time experiences of law enforcement officers across the country.

REELZ’s very independence has been the catalyst for its innovative programming success and unique partnerships. As its affable but resolute CEO, Stan E. Hubbard, explains, “We’re not part of a big conglomerate. We can do things a little bit differently.” And the difference is showing up in the ratings.

This independent spirit has empowered REELZ to be daring with its programming choices, embracing formats that larger networks might back away from, allowing REELZ to jump on development opportunities. “REELZ has made a habit, as all of Hubbard Broadcasting has, of embracing things that others shy away from over the years,” Hubbard stated. “Universally, we have consumers thanking us for bringing them things that others won’t.”

One such bold move was greenlighting On Patrol: Live, a show that embodies their mantra of “real lives, real stories” by following – in real time – law enforcement officers from a diverse mix of police departments and sheriff offices from towns across America. “We deliver eight premiere hours, with six live hours experiencing law enforcement in the field every week interacting with real people, and it’s as transparent as you can get.”

On Patrol: Live quickly became the network’s flagship property thanks to a weekly binge-worthy view of the front lines of policing. An ambitious live production setup includes a staggering 50 cameras deployed around the country every weekend, across different communities of different sizes, with unprecedented access to law enforcement officers on patrol. Host and executive producer Dan Abrams and two officer analysts provide a play-by-play of the live broadcast as it jumps between unfolding incidents. Abrams, a longtime network news correspondent once dubbed the “go-to analyst on legal affairs,” provides context, updates, and shares the outcomes – whether charges are filed or routine encounters where officers de-escalate tensions with respect for the community they serve.

Hubbard describes Abrams’ as “brilliant” in his ability to jump from event to event, from interaction to interaction, giving updates on how things are sorted out. The show, he adds, lets viewers see that “these police officers and deputy sheriffs really know their communities. A lot of times they know residents by name. We, the viewers, also get to know some of the communities and some of the officers over time. Sometimes there are some very dangerous situations – and you watch how they calm things – but to see the respect that these officers have for their communities, and the way that they interact, is really remarkable to watch. And we’re watching it in real time as they’re doing it, in 2024.”

What’s also been remarkable to watch is the ratings success of On Patrol: Live. With six live hours weekly, the show defies the conventional wisdom that the appeal of live viewing on linear TV is limited to sports and news even spawning the build out of On Patrol: First Shift. Like the “little engine that could,” the On Patrol: Live franchise has proven that compelling unscripted programming can fuel appointment viewing and reignite live viewing, and spark non-linear distribution, too. A proof point? As an independent, Hubbard acknowledges that “we can’t force our way into distribution deals…We have to earn our way and we do on a regular basis.” REELZ, available to some 50 million homes, is one of only two non-NBC networks on Peacock.

REELZ’s gamble with On Patrol: Live has proven to be a bona fide ratings hit, too. It has Hubbard doubling down on justice: “With six live hours, and eight total, each week On Patrol: Live is our focus,” he says. “Everything we do as we move forward will fit with OPL as our filter for new programming and scheduling and, importantly, it’s been embraced by consumers nationwide.”

Christine Georgakakis, SVP of National Ad Sales, adds, “We realized justice and law enforcement programming was really resonating with viewers. It led to a 181% growth in Prime time among A25-54 over two years, which is pretty remarkable in this marketplace.” Nielsen shows REELZ as the number one cable entertainment network in all key adult demos on Friday and Saturday nights for Q12024* and a top 20 cable entertainment network in Prime Time among both A25-54 and A35-54.**

The Sponsorship Appeal

But wait, there’s more: Georgakakis points out that not only is REELZ tops among target adult demos, but the appeal is evenly split among males and females. “It’s a solid co-viewing experience,” says Georgakakis, and that brings home gold for sponsors.

What makes the pitch to advertisers even more impactful is the combination of those powerful stats paired with agility. Georgakakis and her sales team can offer tailored packages that larger media giants may struggle to match. “Being a smaller independent network really lends itself to extremely collaborative and extremely flexible kinds of partnerships,” she points out. “Being independent lets us turn things around quickly with no red tape to deliver on the client’s ultimate goals and desired outcomes which is extraordinary and very appealing to our advertisers.”

She provided an example of one brand opportunity that is clearly appealing to viewers as well: offering a dedicated sponsorable hour of On Patrol: Live. “The fans,” she said, who have dubbed themselves ‘OP Nation’, “just go nuts that they can get 13 or 14 extra minutes of content, and they are loving the advertiser that enables that. It actually goes viral on social media. One renewing sponsor for this is a pet pharmaceutical and fans were posting pictures of their pets watching the show, too.” Sadly, Nielsen does not provide co-viewing stats for pets because based on the number of photos on social media these pets also settle in for their weekend binge.

But Hubbard truly brims with pride when discussing the recently announced expanded partnership with the National Center of Missing Exploited Children (NCMEC). The reach and impact of On Patrol: Live, he explains, “opened up a whole new avenue of public service. Since we’ve started, not even two years ago, more than 20 kids have been found. It’s a remarkable number that just kind of takes your breath away. NCMEC has been around for a lot of years and they tell us that those kids have been reunited with their families because people have seen something that we’ve talked about on On Patrol: Live.”

Family and Brand Safety…

“The Missing segment that airs in the show every week features Angeline Hartmann of NCMEC. And the ‘OP Nation’ quickly gets involved – to the point where they’re actually finding missing people. So, it’s an engaged audience like no other,” Georgakakis points out, as yet another value proposition for sponsors. Marketing partners can be associated with NCMEC messaging through co-branded spots, customizable short form content, along with digital and social extensions.

Hubbard adds the example of the impact of sharing NCMEC’s CyberTips, “if someone’s wrongly connected with a child on the internet or is threatened. How do you recognize that and turn it in, in a safe way? We’re really thrilled to help spread those important messages on REELZ, because if kids aren’t separated from their families in the first place, then we don’t have to worry about trying to help to reunite them.”

For the final word, Georgakakis points out that “safety” extends to advertiser concerns, too. While live content in any kind of programming can sometimes be unexpected, industry standard live programming delay protocols are in place to allow fast review.

Sources:
*Nielsen, LSD, 1/1/24-3/31/24: Sat 8p-11p; Fri/Sat 8p-11p. Excluded sports, news, repeats, and less than 5 telecasts
** Nielsen, LSD, Fri & Sat 8p-9p, Cable Prime (Mon-Sun 8p-11p), 1/1/24-3/31/24. Excluded news, kids and Hispanic networks and sports.