Weekends, especially weekend mornings, are a time period that many television stations just don’t put much of a priority on, at least in terms of their newscasts. And it can be a truly missed opportunity. Weekend mornings have solid audiences available, and those viewers are in a different mindset than on weekdays--when everyone is rushing to get out the door and to school and work. Weekend Mornings represent a genuine opportunity to connect to that audience that may not usually watch your station.

Of course, when discussing the current financial climate, weekends are seemingly the first places stations want to cut back on or just cut out altogether. In our opinion, that is a short-sighted mistake. Some viewers may not watch any local news during the week, but they might just turn on the news on a Saturday or Sunday morning. Getting sampling, especially for a number two or three-ranked television station, should be the goal of trying to implement a growth strategy. (And isn’t everyone trying to implement a growth strategy these days?)

To quote the hockey great Wayne Gretzky, “A good hockey player plays where the puck is. A great hockey player plays where the puck is going to be.” That’s true for local TV news as well. Don’t have an audience when everyone is on the air? Try being on when the others aren’t. Admittedly, given the amount of local news on the air now, that is harder than ever.

But even when stations have weekend morning newscasts on the schedule, they often give them very little care and feeding. Not only is the time period an opportunity to reach a different audience, but it is also an opportunity to showcase a news operation. Growing the bench for the next anchor isn’t a new idea, but presenting people who can be more relaxed and not quite so focused on rattling off what’s “New, Now, Next” every ten minutes is a significant opportunity. We know of some stations with a co-anchor team on their weekend AM newscasts, and we believe that is a strong decision. Filling a couple of hours as a solo anchor is tough. Having another voice at the desk can make the show far more watchable. One thought is to schedule one regular anchor and then rotate others in the second chair to get their chance to anchor. We’ve never known a newsroom that didn’t have people who wanted a chance to sit at the anchor desk.

Weekend mornings can also be an opportunity to showcase some of the best work the newsroom has done in the past week. One example is a replay of a special report or investigative piece, along with some Q&A with the reporter. If you haven’t noticed that cooking segments are a staple in the network’s weekend newscasts, you haven’t paid attention. Segments with things to do this weekend is another opportunity to give the audience truly usable information—and with a digital content play that can have a revenue opportunity.

And speaking of revenue, there can be multiple sponsorship opportunities in weekend newscasts that just may not be practical or desirable in weekday newscasts. Of course, we are not suggesting that every segment should be sponsored, but some creative thinking can certainly be applied to the challenge of creating the kind of opportunities that will make the sales department happier.

Even having those with cameras in the newsroom shoot some extended video of almost anything on weekend mornings can be great. Those “Moments In Nature” that CBS Sunday has made a staple over the years can work locally, too. Let us remind you that everyone in your station with a smartphone also has a video camera! (And often, they make better pictures than the cameras the MMJs and Photographers use daily!) Teaching everyone how to shoot and submit videos is an excellent investment in expanding your content base.

One more idea—as long as you have the team in place, perhaps consider producing an additional live newscast for your streaming channel. It may not be accurate in your home, but we know of many folks who spend some part of their weekend morning staying longer in bed and looking at their phone or tablet before getting out there.

Weekend evening newscasts are a bit more traditional but still present the same opportunities for growth. Many stations schedule their primary evening anchors to work Sunday through Thursday shifts, given the large number of major programming events that become lead-ins to Sunday late newscasts. Sunday nights are also when many who haven’t kept up with news over the weekend may reconnect to what is going on while they were enjoying some time away from work.

Weekends can and should be a place to experiment and develop your people, your content, and even your brand. Putting some emphasis on them can be the first step in a long-term growth plan. And we’ll say it point blank here: getting out of the weekend news business is not good business--it’s just missing an opportunity.

And these days, can local television stations really afford to miss any opportunities?