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Yesterday it was announced 11 stations have joined the Fever network, including a lot that aren't owned by TEGNA: https://www.wthr.com/article/sports/wnba/indiana-fever/tegna-expands-broadcast-distribution-indiana-fever-games-11-additional-markets-stations-companies-how-to-watch-guide-free-caitlin-clark-aliyah-boston/531-4b0454bb-85c9-49ec-8903-aea5b087535b

Why don't more utilize an "a-la-carte" packaging option? I mean, Disney kind of does with Hulu/D+/E+, but in my home for example, Peacock is used only for those pesky NFL games they do only streaming for (aside from the Olympics...). Cash grab?

I still love that they had a perfect indie branding in "The Spot" and never thought to use it outside KC until a few months ago rather than this bland city+channel number pattern they used originally. Now we see what the Rays do (in so many ways)...

The Bolts are the latest team leaving FanDuel for Scripps Sports.

I would love it if the sports package were made available separately. I'm not particularly interested in paying for cable news as it exists in any form today.

Especially since Fox network programs are staying on Hulu.

We got Angels games on select Sundays throughout the season on KCOP. https://tvnewscheck.com/programming/article/angels-enhance-viewing-opportunities-with-kcop-simulcasts/

will ESPN offer at least 1080P (if not limited 4k) and audio 5.1 on their streaming service? they currently only offer 720P and 2.0 audio on watchESPN

I'm sure many of the left will not subscribe if they have to pay for Fox News if they want everything else,

they never mention antennas when they have carriage disputes, just other providers, local news and sports will eventually be paywalled, maybe the NFL will give free streams to the primary markets of teams, I'm starting to see commercials for "as seen on TV" products during the local breaks of smaller market stations instead of local business like car dealers I guess ESPN will see massive subscriber drops during the slower times for sports like the summer, but massive increases when football begins again in the fall

I blame all the companies who focused on profit instead of trying to make broadcast TV last.

Wow. She is one of the few anchors I've watched while getting WPTV in Northern Broward County in 2005 (alongside WPEC, WFLX, and WXEL), thanks to a robust analog signal at my grandma's (at the time) trailer park. Shannon Cake is hanging it up after nearly 30 years at WPTV, and this Friday is her last day there. Some of the last of the old guard are slowly leaving this heritage station, and I'm sad to see her go. https://www.wptv.com/about-us/wptv-anchor-shannon-cake-a-look-back-at-her-29-year-career-at-the-news-station

ESPN’s new all-access streaming service is good news…unless you’re a cable or satellite provider, or one of the many broadcast TV companies that rely on said providers. ESPN is probably the last big reason why most people still subscribe to cable or satellite TV. Now that ESPN is putting everything on its new streaming service, I suspect the holdout subscribers have a very good reason to cut the cord for good. That’s obviously bad news for cable and satellite providers. It will also set off a domino effect that means bad news for broadcast TV companies that rely mostly on retransmission revenue from said providers. Cable and satellite providers now have more leverage to say no when broadcast companies seek higher fees come negotiation time. Some companies are feeling the squeeze as I type. For example, Scripps reported a $10 million quarterly loss “as a result of declining legacy pay TV subscribers.” Gray reported a $2 million drop in retransmission revenue in its latest quarterly report as well. These losses are very small compared to the revenue both companies made. However, with ESPN’s newfound devotion to streaming media, the omnipresent threat cord cutting poses to local TV is going to get worse. It's yet another reason why 2025 is a bad year to be in linear broadcast TV.

After a 25-year career in TV news, WFRV's news director, John Laughrin, is leaving the business. He has also worked with WLUK and WGBA (the latter as their news director), before being hired back at WFRV in 2021. https://www.wearegreenbay.com/news/local-news/john-laughrin-reflects-on-25-years-in-green-bay-news-launches-four-leaf-communications/

He also reported on the noon yesterday.

Mike was out covering the Diddy trial yesterday. Not sure about today but yesterday he did several reports for all evening shows.

I noticed these days that Mike Marza never fills in for Bill Ritter when he's not at 5pm and 6pm. Is there any logical reason for this? (not that I mind, of course, I'm just curious) Yesterday Sandra was there for Bill at 5pm, today we had David and Sandra at 5pm; Liz did both days at 6pm only. I thought that because Mike was Bill's soon-to-be replacement, he would be his immediate replacement on his time off.

In more news, the pricing for ESPN's direct to consumer service is out: https://espnpressroom.com/us/press-releases/2025/05/new-direct-to-consumer-offering-to-be-singularly-branded-espn/ $29.99/month or $299/year for everything ESPN (all the ESPN-owned channels, all the sporting events on ABC, ESPN+).

ABC has finally given up on the entire 'temporary simulcast because of strikes' charade involving MNF with the 2025 season; it's on every week for the new season (probably with those odd doubleheader weeks and one of them will have a VR game like the Simpsons game last year most likely)

Trust me, as long as Fox still has The Simpsons and company, Hulu will still continue to host ALL Fox shows. And with that renewal, it's clear they're not going away from Fox.

Hulu subscriptions that are bundled or on the same myDisney accounts as Disney+ subscriptions will result in most Hulu content being available on the Disney+ app/site. As you noted, the reverse doesn't apply for the Hulu app/site. This is also true for ESPN+. Fox's websites/apps already authenticate with cable/satellite/virtual subscriptions, and this app, which is not designed to replace those subscriptions and will not be promoted on the channels, will have exactly the same content.

"43 The Block" couldn't have come at a worse time. They had just lost the Indians and Cavs to cable and WBNX was starting to clean their clocks in the ratings by smartly investing in programming. WUAB had been burned in the past by some deals (notably Webster reruns) but managed to get some good syndication as well. WUAB's strategy at the time? Bulk up on informercials and create a bunch of amateur comedy-mercials with comedian-hosts like Mike Polk. Even he lampooned these efforts in WUAB's 50th anniversary special! https://youtu.be/pKW-7sccPDY?si=wXH-3IGg7AZEDKbf&t=1242

Isn't Hulu totally available through Disney+ as well? Hulu content appears to be available through Disney+ but not the other way around. Not to mention a large number of subscribers probably get or pay for the Disney Bundle, which includes Hulu, Disney+ and Espn+. I wonder if this will be a stand-alone option for non-cable subscribers, and can be authenticated for free with a cable/satellite subscription...

Michael Jordan and Vince Carter is joining the NBA on NBC, Jordan as a special contributor and Carter as a studio analyst.

I understand that Hulu will continue to carry Fox network content in addition to this.