NBC News Readies Four Short-Form Shows for Quibi

NBC News’ newest programs won’t be appearing on NBC, MSNBC or CNBC.

In April, four new NBC News programs will debut on Quibi, the short-form video service launched by media entrepreneur Jeffrey Katzenberg. And the four programs – “Morning Report,” “Evening Report,” “Saturday Report” and “Sunday Report,” – offer different things to subscribers based on what they are most likely to crave at certain moments in their daily or weekly routines. The programs are likely to last five to eight minutes, depending on when they air and the subjects they tackle.

“This is going to have the DNA of NBC, the flavor of NBC News,” says Madeleine Haeringer, an NBC News senior executive producer who oversees the news division’s partnership with Quibi, in an interview.  But the productions involve people who “come from the network as well as people who come from the outside, from digital, and we want to combine, make sure we have a mix of both.”

“Morning Report” is a fast-paced program that aims to give viewers headlines from around the world, with a little context on those stories that may matter more. “Evening Report,” however, will feature explainers and go more in-depth on some stories. “We are going to break out one essential story and make sure the audience has the context they need, that they can learn something,” says Haeringer, who was the executive producer of “Vice News Tonight” at HBO and worked at NBC News and MSNBC in a prior stint for 19 years.

“Saturday Report” offers an important story driven by characters, while “Sunday Report”  takes a detailed look at a single issue.

Five new on-air personnel will be spotted frequently on the Quibi properties. Anchor Paul Gerke has worked in Arizona, Florida, Idaho, and Michigan, and has also covered sports. Anchor Michelle Fisher comes from Boston’s WBZ and has also worked as a breaking-news reporter and entertainment journalist. Anchor Valerie Castro has worked in New York, Denver, and the U.S. Southwest. Correspondent Antonia Hylton is a former correspondent from “Vice News Tonight” on HBO and won an Emmy for coverage of the Trump administration’s immigration policy. Correspondent Dan Lieberman hails from Now This News and has logged time at CNN, Fusion, ABC News and The New York Times.