Gannett Co.-owned CBS affiliate KTHV-TV, Channel 11, announced Wednesday that Alyse Eady, Miss Arkansas 2010 and runner-up to Miss America 2011, will join "Today’s THV This Morning" as co-host.
Eady, 23, fills the post left vacant by the sudden departure earlier this month of Alyson Courtney, who left the show to join Allbritton Communications-owned ABC affiliate KATV-TV, Channel 7.
This will be Eady’s first job in television news. She joins Tom Brannon, the show’s long-time co-host and meterologist, in the morning show slot. KTHV officially announced the hire to staff at a 2 p.m. Wednesday news conference at the station’s Little Rock studio.
Eady said she’ll spend the next few months "learning the ropes" and making guest appearances on the show until August, when her work begins full-time. She is currently fulfilling her duties as Miss Arkansas.
She said that while waking up so early for work seems daunting, she’s excited about her new job.
"I think we’re going to have some fun," she said.
(Arkansas Business and KTHV have a news sharing partnership, and Arkansas Business Publisher Jeff Hankins and Interactive Editor Lance Turner regularly appear on KTHV news programs.)
More: As audiences tune in, advertisers seek out morning shows.
Shooting Straight
At the Wednesday announcement, Eady spoke briefly about her work as Miss Arkansas, and how she believes it has helped her to prepare for the job. She said travelling the state has given her a sense of who Arkansans are and what they want.
"They want you to shoot it to them straight," Eady said, adding that she believes KTHV does exactly that.
"I’m really just looking forward to being part of the team," Eady said. "I’ve got a lot to learn and I’m really looking forward to just digging in."
KTHV President and General Manager Larry Audas said Wednesday that he believes Eady’s talent is a perfect match for the team already in place, which also includes morning reporter Melissa Dunbar-Gates, who has handled expanded duties since Courtney’s departure.
Eady’s hire, Audas said, "adds to the strongest talent group and biggest and best team in the marketplace."
"Anyone who has met Alyse knows she is as charming as she is intelligent, as delightful as she is committed," he said. "She is altogether engaging … and now dedicated to THV morning viewers.”
Internet Famous
Eady became a viral video star in 2010 as clips of her performing in pageants with ventriloquist dummies made the rounds online.
Her performance of "I Want to Be A Cowboy’s Sweetheart" with two ventriloquist dummies on the 2011 Miss America broadcast, widely circulated on websites like The Huffington Post and Gawker, resulted in other national TV appearances, including on CBS’ "The Late Show with David Letterman" and MSNBC’s "Rachel Maddow Show."
(Click here to see video of Eady’s performances on "Letterman" and the Miss America pageant.)
A Fort Smith native, Eady graduated from Ouachita Baptist University in 2010 with a bachelor of arts degree in mass communications and speech communication. In an interview with InArkansas.com in January, she talked about using her pageant scholarship money to get a master’s degree in journalism.
The Ratings Race
Eady’s hire comes amid a ratings decline for "Today’s THV This Morning," which spent years at the top of the viewership survey.
According to The Nielsen Co.’s most recent TV ratings, KTHV in November posted declines during each of the weekday morning show’s two hours, at 5 and 6 a.m., while KATV’s weekday "Daybreak" saw gains. While virtually tied at 5 a.m., KATV took the lead over KTHV by 3 household ratings and 8 share points in the 6 a.m. hour.
Morning show competition is stiff in the Little Rock market, ranked No. 56 in the nation by Nielsen. Three of the market’s four local TV news operations produce morning shows, each lasting more than two hours, featuring local TV veterans and mix of news, weather, traffic reports and live interviews.
Both KATV’s and KTHV’s broadcasts begin at 4:30 a.m., following a national trend that began last year in markets like New York, Boston and Washington D.C., and run until 8 a.m.
On KATV’s "Daybreak," the hosts are Melinda Mayo, Barry Brandt and Beth Hunt. "KARK 4 Today," the morning show produced by Nexstar Broadcasting-owned NBC affiliate KARK-TV, Channel 4, is hosted by Matt Mosler, Mallory Hardin, Wendy Suares and the station’s chief meteorologist, Mike Francis.
KARK’s broadcast ends at 7 a.m. with the start of NBC’s No. 1-rated national morning show, "Today," but continues for another hour on a secondary channel also owned by Nexstar, KARZ-TV, Channel 42.
Local affiliates have invested more in morning shows as TV ratings indicate that the audience at that time is growing.
Channel Changes
Courtney’s departure earlier this month was among several moves by on-air personalities and behind-the-scenes editors. In the month since leaving the show, KTHV has relied on Melissa Dunbar-Gates to co-host the show with Brannon.
Stipulations in Courtney’s contract with KTHV keep her off the air at KATV until September. KATV General Manager Mark Rose told Arkansas Business in mid-March that he’s not sure what on-air role Courtney will play.
"We have a great team over here, and I think she’s going to be a great addition to what we have," Rose said. "Her talent will allow her to serve in several capacities."
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