‘Dateline’ at 35: How the True Crime Sensation Became an Always-On Franchise
Two billion podcast downloads and a leading FAST channel are taking the NBC newsmagazine beyond Friday night — and to younger audiences The post ‘Dateline’ at 35: How the True Crime Sensation Became an Always-On Franchise appeared first on TheWrap .
NBC’s long-running newsmagazine, “Dateline,” is celebrating its 35th season and has undergone a significant transformation to adapt to modern audiences. Once reliant on viewers tuning in at a specific hour on television, the franchise now reaches audiences through various platforms, including a podcast, a dedicated 24/7 streaming channel, syndication, licensing, social media, and live events.
The podcast feed has surpassed 2 billion lifetime downloads, making it one of the most widely distributed channels devoted to a single television property in the U.S. The true crime genre is experiencing a cultural moment, with the Lindsay Clancy trial receiving national attention and Netflix’s “Monster” anthology gaining popularity.
“Dateline” is capitalizing on this trend by expanding its reach across audio, streaming, and social media. The multiplatform growth demonstrates how the future of a legacy TV property may depend not only on its performance in the broadcast hour but also on its ability to build younger audiences and generate new revenue streams outside of television.
As ABC’s “20/20” has led “Dateline” in total viewers for four consecutive seasons, “Dateline 24/7” has gained traction on free ad-supported streaming platforms, becoming the most widely distributed channel devoted to a single television property in the country. This has allowed “Dateline” to become a destination for true crime enthusiasts, regardless of where they consume content.
Written by urgent.news from TheWrap's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
