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Perhaps a throwback to the 1997 logo

Again, the problem is that KDKA, KYW, WBZ and WCCO have to share those call letter brands with unrelated radio stations. Most people really wouldn’t care if the call letter brands were retired. They aren’t nerds like us and get easily confused between the two. If that wasn’t the case (and CBS had forced the radio stations to change their calls en masse in 2017, as what Sinclair made Lotus do when they bought KOMO radio) then a case could be made for keeping the call sign brands in the TV group.

The 7-9am block was pretty much identical for all the stations as the 6am hour. The thing that's a little shocking to me about the LA ratings is just how low the share is across the board – so much competition I guess, not just from all the other news options, but just everything else that's on the air too. I can't see the Spanish stations, but maybe those take most of the viewers, perhaps? I suppose you could say that KTLA and KABC are the leaders, but neither of them seem to have anything that's a dominant news hour over everyone else like what you see in other markets. KTLA stays a pretty constant .5 rating / 12 share in the demo all morning long, which isn't bad, but not a runaway. Compare that to the Bay Area market, for example, where KTVU averaged a 1.0 rating / 23 share in the 7 and 8am hours. Another insight I saw is that I can see why they'd want to do more with KCAL. The primetime block is actually quite strong. KCAL's 9pm hour last week averaged a .6 rating / 4 share in the demo, which was not only the best rating of any KCAL/KCBS newscast, but also one of the better ratings of any English language newscast in LA. I think trying to do something local on KCAL in the morning while leaving all the network garbage on KCBS is a pretty good idea. That doubles the ad inventory, and it at least gives them a chance at maybe siphoning some viewers away from KTLA and KTTV. What KCBS is currently doing in the morning clearly isn't working.

I don't even live in the New York market and I wish WCBS could have kept that. I guess I'm a traditionalist-type. At least KPIX got to keep its Westinghouse-style "5" that dates back to the late sixties.

I’d wager a guess that since the Now casts graphics are CBSN-based, the new O&O graphics will probably look like them too.

From what I read this morning: CBS "innovation lab" directive is CBS News (insert city name) NOW where there is a sister CBS affiliate that produces the news, and CBS News Now (city name) where there is no duopoly with a CBS station. It also seems most of those newscasts will originate from Dallas or New York. Thing is, will this get confusing with NBC News NOW which like CBS News (city name) is a streaming service? IMO, it seems the Innovation lab didn't really think this through. These are mouthfuls. And most viewers (not news junkies) will say turn to the news on Channel whatever.

It looks like KCNC is going for a full rebrand to CBSNewsColorado. https://twitter.com/CBSNewsColorado

Which could renew interest for Allen Media.

To be honest, a graphics color change is not determining whether someone watches a station (it’s not like they changed it to fuchsia,) but I do think their established identity is certainly a determining factor. However, I am curious about the ratings for the CBSEN in Pittsburgh compared to other markets.

This is gonna be a long one, so my apologies to everyone in advance. That quote certainly points to changes, and explains the increased emphasis on “CBS News” online and with their local/national streaming services. However, “unify our brands” doesn’t mean there aren’t room for exceptions, nor does it have to mean that local identities vanish at all. The main reason I point this out is because of a few key quotes from the Variety article on the situation in LA: That second quote is from Wendy McMahon herself, and she directly references “KCAL 9 News.” That’s not to say that you’re wrong and that they won’t eventually unify the brand there, but there is a clear emphasis on a strong brand for their morning news. Even with brand unification, management still values placing emphasis on a successful local identity. If it’s that important for a station like KCAL, I fail to see why it’s not important for a station like WJZ, which has built its identity, good reputation, and successful news operation on their call letters. That said, there’s still the question of radio: The more I think about the radio issue, the less I think it matters in the long run for two reasons. First, while the KDKA situation caused a bit of an uproar directed at the TV station, I think most people know the difference. The classic example of this is none other than WABC. WABC TV and Radio have been separate operations for close to 15 years now, and the radio station could not be more different from the TV station. They aren’t associated with ABC in any way whatsoever (they’re affiliated w/ Fox News Radio IIRC,) even though “ABC” is in the name of the station. Yet, you don’t hear too many cases of people calling WABC-TV, ABC News, or Disney demanding that Bernie and Sid be fired. Besides, the kind of people that do complain to the TV station are probably not the type of viewers that stations are looking for anyway. Second, rebranding a station like KPIX as “CBS News Bay Area” will actually create confusion in that market. It will unintentionally create a false association between KPIX and KCBS radio, even though they no longer share common ownership. This is certainly true in the case of KYW. That’s a Group W station that could really use a branding shake-up. However, legacy doesn’t always hold back the network news division; in fact, it often enhances it. Look at WRAL. When NBC moved there from third-place WNCN, they hit the jackpot. Their overall ratings went from last to first virtually overnight. That is because a station like WRAL, with strong news programming and a good reputation built around a local identity, contributed to the growth of NBC programming in the market. It’s well known that there’s more overall trust in local news than national news in the United States, so even with brand unification, there is no convincing reason why the successful local brands at CBS must go away. That kind of move would hurt the successful local stations more than it would enhance the national operation. Again, this (very long) post isn’t to say that you’re wrong and that CBS isn’t thinking along the lines of 100% brand unification; it’s only to say that there is evidence that CBS still wants some regional emphasis at their more successful stations. It’s certainly true that the CBS O&Os are generally last-place stations that have been run into the ground by David Friend, Peter Dunn, etc, and that their more successful stations are in comparatively smaller markets. However, when you have stations like WJZ, WCCO, KDKA, and WBZ that have built their success around their local identity, there’s no good reason for CBS to throw those babies out with the bathwater. I could be wrong, but I think management realizes that.

I was also hoping that the stations would keep the channel numbers. And as for the WCBS chopper paint job, I do think that is the look you'll see in the fall. Notice the colors are reversed; the eyemark is gold and the "2" white. That's new.

The goal is brand unification. CBS already has an open position for Group Creative Director which explicitly states that they will “work closely with CBS Stations, CBS News and CBS Marketing to unify our brands.“ Group W hasn’t existed for nearly 26 years. Legacy is one thing but not if it’s holding back the evolution of the station group/rebuild of the network news division. Moreover, outside of KPIX and WJZ-TV, the Group W TV stations never fully owned those recognizable brands. They were always shared with radio and now mean totally different things to different people since CBS sold off the radio unit. (Nevermind that KYW-TV was never a “market leader” in any sense of the word.)

The set has been under construction for awhile now and Kathy's been in the position on an interim basis for much of that time. I'm pretty sure she signed off on it. That said, with as much as the station is bleeding money, I doubt they'd rip out a set this close to the finish line.

KTXA previously tried airing news from 7p to 9p under the name TXA 21 News. The numbers weren’t great and it was yanked. If they couldn’t get decent ratings in that slot, with zero competition, there is no way they will be able to pull a respectable audience at 9p up against juggernaut KDFW Fox 4. KDAF CW 33 already learned that lesson under Tribune leadership … although I suspect Nexstar will relaunch a newscast in that 9p slot at some point since that is their home market.

No, you're right, sorry for the typo. Indeed you're right on all points. I'd read the story about Peter Dunn's winning WLNY as a prize, like the trophy on the 18th hole. And that it was nothing like the heritage market station KHJ / KCAL is. And it is very true that since Disney (when it owned Channel 9) created the three-hour prime-time news block in 1990 the newscast has always created very solid ratings as counter-programming. And it retained loyal viewership long after Dunphy's passing too, even hitting #1 at ten p.m. a few times in the early 2010s. I guess I was thinking it was odd that the KCAL brand has been elevated above KCBS' in a meaningful time slot, but then again I didn't realize just how bad 2's numbers were. I didn't know there was such a thing as 0.0. At that point, sure you make a move. And zero means no lead-in for the network show. And it's true, KCAL's news rep is a good one -- and more often than not industry stories about KCBS refer to it as either "beleaguered" or "underperfoming."

It’s the CBS News Streaming graphics, only in blue. It’s likely changing whenever the new O&O look debuts this fall.

Easy money on Standard General’s legal counsel being that bad. Soo simply thought he could buy Tegna out of sheer hatred for Dave Lougee, and the details didn’t matter.

When I made that post, I actually didn’t realize that KCNC completely rebranded their social media pages as “CBS Colorado,” without any mention of channel 4 or anything, so that lends some evidence to your theory.

I'd also like to see the viewership of Ch. 9 - aka the family feud station. I would suspect the news gives WLNY a slight edge on less least watched station.

Their public statements have been this mix of playing the victim card and tepid deflections (“It’s not true! Proof? Bro. Trust me!”), it’s stunning how unprofessional Soo and Deb have been throughout this process. I’m employing Occam’s Razor for this analysis, and with the level of opposition, FCC scrutiny and Standard General in amateur hour mode, this deal needs to set up an appointment with Dr. Kevorkian.

If my memory is right, a few weeks back both Soo Kim and Deborah McDermott have made statements in response to the some of the criticism. Including investing in news product, not cutting as well as clarifying Apollo's limited role as a funder and not involved in any part of the operation. I'm sure they have had to file and answer directly to the FCC much of this in more detail that may not yet be public. As I read earlier, the FCC giving this more scrutiny vs. the previous FCC regime that except in the Sinclair/Tribune fiasco, rubber stamped most mergers quickly is not a bad thing, but may not indicate a deal is dead. There can also be negotiations of how to build the wall to prevent Apollo input and if there are any station swapping or selling needed. It's still playing out, so making conclusions yet is premature.

According to the SEC filing there is a termination fee of $163 million and to address @GoldenShine9's question about when Tegna could terminate this deal, the earliest they could get out of the deal with Standard is in May of next year.

It’s only a matter of if anyone at Tegna has the good sense to call off the deal before the FCC rejects it out of hand. The one thing you do not want to do is lie to the FCC, and withholding the info about Apollo having a substantial financial stake in the buyout (because Soo can’t afford the company on his own) reaches that level of impropriety. This deal is deader than dead.

I wished that KCBS and WBBM would've had WCBS logo.

To be fair, their attorneys responded to the FCC and essentially stated that the concerns were irrelevant because Apollo was “too small to trigger FCC attribution rules.” IMO, that’s a deflection. Regardless of size, Apollo will still have interests in competing stations in multiple markets.

Not only that, there has been zero response from Soo Kim and the other figures about it at all. They have completely ducked the questions. This has the makings of a deal gone bad. I could see this drawing itself out and Tegna walking away, even if Soo Kim throws more money at them. The outside date is in early 2023? Once Graham put up its petition, that should have been a warning sign.

I’m assuming you’re referring to WLNY, now WNYW. Thing is, you can’t really compare the two. WLNY was a small LI station that was allegedly bought in exchange for a golf membership. There were never serious investments made, and when CBS bought the station, they actually cut WLNY’s news department entirely. Meanwhile, KCAL is a station that built a solid reputation for itself in the 90s, and carved out a niche audience by doing news in prime time. It also helps that they hired away Jerry Dunphy to give them credibility on day 1. By the time CBS bought them, they had been well-established for a while. I’m not an expert on the market, but it seems to have gotten to the point that KCAL has a better reputation than KCBS, even though they’re under the same umbrella. And besides, if your stations are going to air local news from 4-11am, why split it between KCBS and KCAL and force viewers to change channels at 7am? KCBS gets to show live national news (which no other station does), while KCAL gets better programming in the morning than it has now. Both stations can concentrate on their specific audiences. It’s better than showing a newscast that pulls a whopping 0.0, which in turn hurts the national morning show.

I know all that. I'm sure she would too. I only put it that there to emphasize on the underlined (that the debut would be delayed) because it was interesting at the time. Same here.

It’s basically the isolation cam… used when an anchor has a close exposure that requires masking at all times when around others, or when is returning to work symptom free after 5 days but before 10 days and still requires a mask.

WPTV uses it, so does WBBH. In other words, all NBC affiliates (WTVJ's being an O&O) in Southern Florida (I mean South of I-4) use the First Alert branding.

NEXT should’ve been an alternate branding with markets that use “First Alert” in other competing stations like WTVJ and KNBC.

Other ideas: CBS New York News Now. CBS News York Now. CBS News Now York. Now CBS New York News. Now News New York CBS. Now New News York Now Now Now. Now Bedtime.

I think this is a brilliant idea. KCBS isn't going to take a ratings hit – they have nowhere to go but up. 6am hour P25-54 27 Jun - 1 Jul KCBS 0.0 rating, 1 share KNBC 0.1 rating, 2 share KTLA 0.5 rating, 15 share KABC 0.2 rating, 7 share KCAL (Relative Justice) 0.0 rating, 1 share KTTV 0.2 rating, 7 share Sure, it's only July when morning ratings are pretty soft anyway with school not in session, but May didn't look any better for KCBS.

I think this is actually a good move, because like awards shows being taped and edited, the network morning show ending up with the same type of treatment when you've got it available live through SXM or your streaming service has gotten downright stupid; it's why Pacific Time stations are taking the 6:30pm ET newscasts more and more live at 3:30pm PT, and where the network overnight newscasts used to be live in all time zones, you only have World News Now done and out by 2:30am, then onto the morning newscasts by 3:00am. If you're a CBS station with no morning news, that means if you air the CBS Morning News at 6:30am PT...that's a six hour old newscast you're carrying (with a twelve-hour old newscast leading into that). And then you're leading into a morning show when Today is already onto Hota and Jenna outside breaking news days and CBS Times Square is empty and unused. It's an outmoded model, and there shouldn't be this artificial wall up around watching a morning show live in PT because 'that's the way it's always been'. I know KCBS will take a ratings hit, but you gotta start experimenting, and why keep KCAL in infomercial hell when they can be live 4-11? Most Fox stations are already in this mode, so it's basically CBS being adventurous and being the first here. I don't mind that they're going for it, and frankly, KPIX/KBCW should be next, and KOIN/KRCW should get incentives to try it themselves. You already basically had KOVR/KMAX as a half-model of this (their local show is active 4:30-11), and that seems to work pretty well for Sacramento.

That's actually a pretty cool wrap as far as news vehicles go!

There has been chatter about CBS O&Os possibly dropping channel numbers in favor of branding such as "CBS News New York". But a new paint job for WCBS's Chopper 2 shows a "CBS 2 News New York" branding: https://www.instagram.com/p/CfuXtkDO6S7/ Chopper 2, which the station shares with WNYW, has not had branding on it for many years. If the new graphics are indeed launching this fall, it would make sense that they paint the chopper in advance in order to get shots for opens and promos. (I doubt the mouthful "CBS 2 News New York This Morning" will be the actual newscast title format.) I'm not a fan of dropping channel numbers so I'm happy that this seems to not be happening. I hope the upcoming look is much more well thought out than the current group package, which felt sloppy and dated the day it launched.

KARD Fox 14 News at Nine (April 17, 2006) WKEF ABC 22 News at Eleven (January 2005) WDTN 2 News: The 5:00 Report (May 5, 1993)

They said the quiet part out loud. Surprised this didn't get posted, but Deb McDermott sent a letter to all of Tegna saying no jobs would be cut. In the article they went on to say Like, that's fine and all and I'm glad to see it, but how does that really benefit Jane and John Doe living in Nowhereville, USA? Great! This mega-media company is ran by minorities and women. How does that help them when it comes to local news?

My point about the Graphics color change is this. I would love to see other CBS O&Os do the same thing even if it is only for Sports or special programming. It keeps the viewer guessing as to what will come next. Maybe even do throwbacks to earlier station packages once in a while. Black and Gold works in Pittsburgh because people associate those two colors with Pittsburgh. It can work in other places too for different seasons,sports teams,culture, and much more.