The victims may be dead, but NBC’s “Dateline” is going live.
NBC News announced Tuesday that the cast of its popular long-running true crime newsmagazine will gather onstage Sept. 28 at the Pinnacle, a new music venue in Nashville.
Ticket-holding fans will see correspondents Josh Mankiewicz, Blayne Alexander, Keith Morrison, Dennis Murphy, Andrea Canning and anchor Lester Holt in panel discussions and Q&A sessions. There will also be criminal justice experts on hand for onstage demonstrations.
The Nashville session — which will also commemorate the 3,000th episode of the program first launched in 1992 — will be a test run, according to Liz Cole, senior executive producer for “Dateline.” A strong turnout could lead to more dates and become additional source of revenue for the program. (NBC News has not revealed prices for tickets, which go on sale Aug. 5.)
“We realized that the anniversary was coming up, and it’s such a big number we wanted to do something special to mark the occasion,” Cole said in an interview. “This seemed like a great way to experiment with the format and go out and meet with our ‘Dateline’ community in real life.”
The television news audiences are shrinking as viewers move from traditional appointment viewing to on-demand streaming. But on-air personalities, whether they are covering politics or true crime, have devoted fans willing to pay to see them up close.
The revenue news shows can generate from live events is probably limited as journalists and anchors need the time to report stories or prepare a nightly program, making it challenging to book lengthy tours. (The “Dateline” correspondents are frequently on the road for their stories.)
“It’s quite an accomplishment getting everyone in one place at one time,” Mankiewicz said in a recent interview. “That usually only happens here when we’re taking the team picture or we’re kicking off the new season.”
Networks with well-known franchises are looking for ways to expand their reach beyond the viewers tuning in each day. Every little bit helps. “Dateline” has been doing it with podcasts — one of which will carry an audio version of the Nashville show — which have attracted younger viewers who don’t watch on TV as often. Podcast versions of “Dateline” TV episodes regularly populate the Apple rankings.
But live events can help create a deeper connection with viewers, as other outlets have discovered.
MSNBC, which will soon be leaving the NBC News family to be a part of the Comcast spin-off company Versant, sold out a 4,000-seat venue in Brooklyn last year for its first “MSNBC Live” gathering.
“MSNBC Live 25” will return in October with a top ticket price of $1,086.05 for an evening session at the Manhattan Center’s Hammerstein Ballroom in New York. The price includes an orchestra seat and a VIP dinner event with hosts Rachel Maddow, Jen Psaki and Stephanie Ruhle in conversation with special guests.
Conservative-leaning Fox News has tapped into its loyal audience annually with its Patriot Awards show that features Sean Hannity and other anchors honoring citizens who “dedicate themselves to their communities with inspirational acts of courage and patriotism.”
A Fox News representative said the event, which is streamed on the network’s Fox Nation site, has sold out every year since its inception in 2019. In the fall last year, the program honored President Trump at the 2,242-seat Tilles Center in Long Island, N.Y., where the top ticket price was $669.
In March, NewsNation anchor Chris Cuomo joined ESPN commentator Stephen A. Smith and former Fox News star Bill O’Reilly for an event billed as “Three Americans Live.” The trio regularly debate on Cuomo’s prime-time program for the Nexstar-owned news channel. No further dates have been booked since their one appearance in Westbury, N.Y.
Cole has seen evidence that the “Dateline” crew can draw a crowd on their own. The correspondents are a top attraction when they appear at CrimeCon, an annual gathering of true crime fanatics.
Many of those fans drive hours from around the country for the weekend event, which will be held in Denver later this year. The $1,800 Platinum VIP level tickets are sold out. (The dress code is “respectful casual” to discourage cosplaying.)
“I love the viewers because they always have questions and observations that I was not expecting, and I see that every year at CrimeCon,” Mankiewicz said. “I also experience it regularly at America’s airports, and I’m expecting that in Nashville.”
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