Before the Algorithm: Why TV Stations Were Sitting on a Digital Gold Mine
Somewhere between a career’s worth of wins, losses, pivots, and lessons, there’s been one constant: writing. I’ve filled nearly fifty journals with scribbles, stories, thoughts, prayers, and learnings. While my professional life has been digital, I still feel the pull to write with a pen and paper. And plus…there’s much less distraction when the device is off. Today, I begin a series to chronicle what I’ve learned over my career. So here goes. First stop: the very beginning with Access Point Interactive.
My career kicked off in an unlikely place — reviewing, rating, and analyzing TV station websites as a broadcasting graduate student. Naive? Probably. Ambitious? Absolutely.
A few classmates and I had a theory: TV stations were perfectly positioned to become the digital epicenter of their communities. In the late ’90s, the push to go local, personalized, and niche via digital channels just wasn’t a thing yet. It was wide open. The first one there wins. Remember Citysearch?
Like most big changes, though, there was no shortage of reluctance and denial. Stations had been doing the same thing for decades and saw no reason to stop. “We are a TV station. Our focus is on the 5, 6, and 10 o’clock newscasts. We don’t have time for a Website. This trend will pass. No one will go there,” crowed more than one grey-haired news director or general manager.
As inexperienced but proactive twenty-somethings, we saw it differently. Web video — remember RealVideo? — was coming, and the opportunity was there for whoever was bold enough to grab it. We showed up to every pitch with a TV station armed with data, case studies, and the kind of unearned confidence that only your twenties can provide. The tide was shifting, and we were trying to convince these stations that the chance to plant their flag — to be the market’s pre-eminent online destination — was right now.
But even when a station saw the value? They wanted the bare minimum. A domain, a few anchor headshots, some promos for the upcoming sweeps piece. It was the equivalent of a billboard. Check the box, send these pesky kids on their way. We were that mosquito at the picnic that just won’t quit.
We kept buzzing anyway because we saw what was coming – and it would be transformational for those willing to be trailblazers.
We pointed to the early success of Yahoo, and Altavista. We highlighted newspapers — yes, newspapers — that were already leaning into frequent updates and community interactivity. (Newspapers were ahead of TV stations on this. Let that sink in.) Our pitch was simple: your website should be a living, breathing community destination, not something to be thought of as a one and done project. Your community is always changing and your online presence should mimic the pulse of the people you serve.
Over time, my colleagues and I built tools and frameworks (and a company!) to help stations move online with a forward-thinking mindset. If done well, the website became the nexus — a companion to the local newscasts, not an afterthought. We found allies inside these organizations, too. Sales directors were usually the big win. They saw the website as a differentiator, especially in growing markets like Cincinnati, Milwaukee, and Kansas City, where many stations didn’t even have an online presence yet. Watching sales leaders get creative about contests, promotions, and digital packages was genuinely thrilling and they became important advocates to get the entire station thinking about the Web.
Fast forward to today: TV stations face enormous pressure to stay relevant. Younger generations can’t imagine sitting down at 6pm to watch a newscast, let alone seeking out a local TV station’s clip on their phone. News breaks online in minutes — not from a station or a “trusted authority,” but from your neighbor, your friend, or anyone with a phone and something to say.
Those early conversations — the skepticism, the slow wins, the doors slammed in our faces — shaped how I think about technology, change management, and the art of selling a vision that was far ahead of its time. And starting a business from scratch was something I’ll never forget.
More to come. Stay tuned.
Until next time,
Dan Naden
