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KDKA. Is. Not. Special. Whenever a new group-wide package debuts, they'll get the same thing as everyone else, and they'll be better off, for it. Besides, while I understand the civic pride, the black and gold look they have is downright unsightly for any coverage not pertaining to the Pens, Pirates, or Steelers.

Some other pictures from them Also it's confirmed the new music remix is by AntFood, the same people who designed the new CBS Mnemonic. No more Man Made Music.

Absolutely not. Not a f’ing chance.

I like everything about these changes; when do we get a new anchor to go with all of this?

Glad to see they are doubling down on staying in DC. I have always liked the DC move. It's the nation's capital and there is a ton going on there these days. Makes sense to be in the middle of the madness.

Our good friends over at The Other Site have the new open, and speaking of new music... CBS is bringing back the music from '87, albeit slightly remixed.

This is a large rearchitecture. The reason it has taken this long is simply because of how comprehensive it is. Of the four O&O chains, CBS has the most problems ailing its. Most of the stations are ratings fixer-uppers and have spent two decades or more in such a condition. There was no news in Detroit. Post-Dunn and Friend, something radical needed to be done. And the investment in News and the fact that there is actual innovation and renewal in News are all to be hailed. If you watched the first night of the new Evening News look, you might have noticed the text elements listing places where CBS News has bureaus. There's London...Rome...Johannesburg...Atlanta...oh yeah, and Sacramento and Baltimore. News and Stations in a nutshell. There is a lot going on. A visual overhaul, the first top-to-bottom one at Stations in nearly a decade; a restructuring internally; the continued effects of the Paramount Global merger, etc.; the launch of news in Detroit; and the shift to a streaming-first or -co-first mentality at every outpost in Stations. This does not happen overnight. Why are we so excited? Because there is a sense of renewal at CBS that is long-deserved and needed. Because they are fixing, finally on a comprehensive level, a historic inequity in Detroit, and they are making the right moves in doing it. Because there is a pathbreaking branding approach. ABC has too many successful news franchises in its markets to do this. NBC has too many, and it also has Telemundo; it's hard to have that sort of fusion of national and local news when there are two separate networks (with separate teams) to feed and all of the NBC newsrooms it runs are bilingual. Fox fundamentally cannot do this without compromising and tainting its local news product to a significant portion of the audience.

I really like the graphics. I really get a local news vibe from them. Hopefully the upcoming O&O package takes some cues from this.

No offense, but I don’t get why either of you is so passionate either way about KDKA’s color scheme. I don’t think KDKA will tank in the ratings depending on whether they go with a standard set of graphics or change some colors around. Besides, it’s not like they’re filling the screen with fuchsia (although I suppose I shouldn’t give people ideas). To get back on topic, despite the twinkle effect in the intro and the large horizontal bug, this is the best the Evening News has looked in a long time. For once, they beat out the other networks’ graphics. ABC could certainly use a similar upgrade.

Big upgrade. I'm a fan of the on-screen graphics, in-studio graphics, and the new music. I'm not a huge fan of the large show bug but that seems to be everywhere now. I guess that box's size was dictated by the streaming service to fit the horizontal "CBS NEWS" logo but I wish they could have made it smaller.

Seen at the end of a WCBS promo featuring all of the anchors talking about reporting on the communities they live in. I keep hoping for more clues that the O&Os are keeping the channel numbers but I have a feeling I'm going to be disappointed. What will stations be branded as outside of news? How will they differentiate between TV and streaming?

The music works well for what it is. A modern take on the 1987 theme is miles better than the awkward EDM remix they’d been using. Sounds like they incorporated the 5-note musical signature as well. The twinkle effect they have on the intro looks cheesy and cheap as hell, but I guess the overall intro/graphics are an improvement over what they had. I’m surprised they didn’t make further updates to the set, given that the virtual background draws heavily from Studio 57 in NY. None of this will really do anything ratings-wise, of course, but I guess it’s good for brand cohesion.

So this marks the 2nd return of the '87 theme, the first during Scott Pelley's run from 2011 to 2016.

Color me impressed. Well done, CBS News.

Here is all of the screenshots I have of the new package.

Wow! I think CBS has created some of the best network news graphics they have ever done. As for the music, it brings back the classic 1987 CBS Evening News theme signature with new orchestrations.

I’m… surprised…. This looks amazing, love brining back an old theme, the L3’s are unique, and the open stands out. It’s nice to see CBS actually try, when they inevitably fire Norah this look will transition well. The CBS News streaming elements look great.

I really like set graphics. The wood look elements add a timeless feeling.

I wish I snapped a picture, but I’m in Philly right now and I saw a KYW talent promo w/ Ukee Washington after tonight’s Evening News. It ends with the “CBS3” and “CBS News Philadelphia” logos, with no mention of Eyewitness News. They’re going full send on brand standardization. I didn’t think they’d actually do this at first either, and I’m very much in favor of local identities being kept. That said, on many levels, this makes sense. As many others here have pointed out better than I ever could, most CBS-owned stations in large markets do not stand out. WCBS and KPIX already look bland, KYW and WBBM have been mismanaged into instability, and KCBS… need I say more? I don’t think a unified branding will make those stations ratings powerhouses or anything, but it would at least tie them to the network’s news division. Also, to answer your question, there is no longer any need to differentiate between the network and streaming. That’s the whole point. If CBS wants to really prioritize streaming, a great way to do that is to unify both linear and streaming brands.

Here me out: ”CBS.”

They did an excellent job tweaking the 1987 theme.

Here's the full thing:

I agree. Most don’t seem to like the move to DC but I’m on board with it.

Now I'm wondering if any of the O&O's will launch the new look today to coincide with this.

This open looks much better than I previously thought, and I was looking forward to it from the get-go. Great to hear the '87 theme once again as well; sounds as great as the last times.

I at first did not have much hope for this rebrand but the new intro, updated 87 theme, in studio graphics actually changes my mind! I can't wait to see this in action!

False. WRAZ simulcasts with WRAL at 4pm. Once again, simulcasting exists in the year 2022. The concept of 2 stations running the same newscast has been in place for at least 20 years. There is no written or unwritten rule that forbids something from happening just because some people don’t like it. There will be no mass affiliation changes if both NBC and Fox stations run 10pm news. There will be no volcanic eruptions, earthquakes, or tsunamis as a result of NBC and Fox stations running 10pm news. The state of Hawaii has not sunk into the Pacific Ocean just because KGMB/KHNL already simulcast their late news. Stations are not going to blow up their affiliation agreements just because some of us don’t like the idea of a 10pm simulcast.

Also what I honestly bet they go with. “CBS” for every non-news show, network or otherwise. Maybe the legacy calls for the cities that look like they’re going to keep that branding element, but for most of them, just “CBS”.

If any network may want to be willing to go for a prime time newscast, I think it would be CBS since they are usually a distant third in ratings in the early evenings - maybe a 10 pm (or 9 pm CT) national news there (with the 6:30/5:30 pm timeslot yielded to an hour-long local newscast) would be able to break from the shadow of NBC Nightly News and World News Tonight.

No need to apologize, that’s my bad. I agree with your point though. Making things less complicated is likely the whole motivation behind why they’re doing all of this in the first place.

Yeah, I wasn’t being snarky. Apologies if it came off that way. I was trying to prove that things like that need not be overlooked. Why complicate branding outside of a newscast when you can just say “CBS.”

There was a time several years ago when NBC O&Os branded themselves as “NBC” during non-news and non-network hours.

This is definitely spot on. It's not going to necessarily boost their ratings, but to bring back the fanfare (as ABC did during pre-vax COVID and as NBC will always have even after John Williams is gone) is golden. Then by your logic, CBS should do one for KTVT with the red and star accents...

CBS has been doing the late commercial and 60 second commercial thing for a few weeks now.

There are a few parts of the newscast where CBS is copying (or if you prefer, taking inspiration from) ABC. They didn’t air a single commercial until 14 minutes in, and that commercial (for a pharmaceutical, of course) was accompanied by a headline banner. In addition, Robert Costa’s opening story relied heavily on quick soundbites, fast cuts, zoom effects, and the obligatory “Breaking News” banner, all hallmarks of modern-day ABC News. I’m not sure if any of these adjustments were in place before today, and the rest of the stories felt like they were from a CBS newscast, but I couldn’t help noticing some close similarities to David Muir’s newscast.

It’s definitely a much needed improvement. But it looks like a package that may have been good about five years ago. And some of the templates are a little sloppy.

Yeah I agree. I'm impressed. I really like this! I thought they'd go the CBS Mornings route in terms of the L3s, but happy to be proven wrong on that.

I don't mind the stars. #ScanimateForever.

Website has updated (sorta)

Back in the studio. Quite a few of the old fluorescent fixtures are still there, but with new diffusion on them, along with some new lights scattered around. (Also, look closely at the screens in those pics... Are they chroma keying in a fake monitor for the Storm Chaser live shot????)

It was pointed out that Universal Television wouldn't be happy with having fewer slots to sell shows to NBC in. I'm sure a lot of Hollywood types would need to be pacified as well... (Then again, none of them had any advance knowledge of The WB and UPN joining forces!)

David Muir has much better ratings then CBS so no.

Those were the days ... -- Matt

I don’t think there’s an affiliate in America that wouldn’t approve of this. I’m sure they’d all love to have an hour-long 10.

This is an idea I have had for a while now. I may so something similar in a future video on my YouTube for some newscasts. Would you watch it? These are the local Pittsburgh Newscasts (3 Screen), and Washington DC (4 Screens) but I can do this for other cities too. Tell me what You think of this idea. BTW, My Youtube Is: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCLYQHTCr8M59QQ-J4lvSj7g

WGR(Z) Newscenter 2 1982 WSJV Newswatch 28 1985 (skip to 18:30) WISN Channel 12 News 1987 KTVB Newscenter 7 1987 WWL-TV Eyewitness News 1992

Good points all. (As for running network news twice, true. KABC puts on "World News Now" at 3:30 and then again at 6:30. Or at least last I saw. More important, besides the channel position and newscast name, there is no difference at all between CBS 2's and KCAL 9's content. As for the field reporting, the only difference is which way the reporter turns the mic flag, the "9" instead of the "2." All anchors appear on both stations anyway. But it's a lot to ask for KCAL to do much cutting into KTLA's ratings right off the bat. KTTV and "Good Day LA," which once dominated in the heyday of Steve Edwards, Jillian Reynolds, and Dorothy Lucey, has been playing catch-up with KTLA for some time. "The KTLA Morning News" is a pretty strong brand.