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Sinclair is a unique situation, considering Diamond Sports’s bankruptcy (largely resulting from the loss of vMVPD carriage in concurrence with the acceleration of cord-cutting following its purchase of the group from Disney, though some appear to blame the absence of sports events on the then-Fox Sports regional networks in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, though it’s possible both can be factors) may be impacting the company’s bottom line. Sinclair has also had debt issues for decades, and nearly went bankrupt at least once before; the Bally Sports mess, buttressed by its boatload of station acquisitions during the 2010s as its was getting out of financial trouble, only put them back into that situation. In hindsight, it seemed difficult for a family-owned station group to maintain the diverse portfolio it has with such a large number of stations, and not run into financial difficulties. That’s why most family-owned broadcasters only run 10 or fewer stations, and a handful of miscellaneous properties (take Griffin Media for example, which in addition to owning KWTV/KSBI and KOTV/KQCW [both of which have Sinclair stations as competitors], also runs an outdoor advertising business [technically two subunits serving its two main markets, which are branded after its respective CBS stations in Oklahoma City and Tulsa], a cluster of radio stations in Tulsa, and a statewide news-based radio syndication network). Most successful family-owned broadcasters that still exist (like the Griffins) know that they must keep their portfolios manageable to maintain stewardship long-term, something the Smiths chose not to do.

Growing fast by what sort of measure? If it’s 0.2 to 0.4 that’s not exactly celebration worthy…

I don’t mean to sound like a jerk, but the station is not going to tell you or me if the ratings are not what they want it to be. As far as having a “great product”…I guess it’s good for what it is, and I’m glad CBS is finally making an effort after decades of nothing, but let’s not pretend they’re surging in the ratings if we don’t know the full extent of their ratings growth. That said, they expanded their newscasts quickly despite a delayed launch, and if they are seeing consistent and significant improvement, good for them.

So you didn’t ask the $64 question about how well it’s really doing?

They will never sell out in Pittsburgh, that was their second market. Baltimore Pittsburgh and Columbus are where this company started and the success they had in those three markets is what built this company.

WTVN-TV was a huge money-maker even back in the days when it was owned by Taft.

The GrayONE look has launched at WCSC.

I suggest you contact the powers that be. Just relaying information.

NEW info: In addition to the news operations in Toledo, Medford, and Sioux City being shuttered, Sinclair is also ending "local" newscasts in Omaha and Gainesville. https://tvnewscheck.com/journalism/article/sinclair-shutters-five-news-markets-we-just-turned-off-the-lights-for-many/

Recently talked with some with the station and the ratings for WWJ are improving each week. Though it’s obviously in 4th place, the fact that ratings are growing each week and growing this fast is a great sign for things to come. This is what happens when you have a great product on the air. Keep up the good work, CBS News Detroit.

Assuming the Soo Kim will even be allowed to buy them, after all the crap he's pulled trying to buy Tegna.

Maybe. But, considering a Texas judge presiding over the company’s bankruptcy allowed Diamond to pay the MLB teams they weren’t able to wholly compensate 50% of the fees for their 2023 cycle, anything’s possible. It seems, at least, that some sort of settlement or a court ruling that the teams held the right to exercise the clause (regardless of whether they notified Diamond/Bally Sports beforehand), assuming there was an insolvency clause in the Suns/Mercury contracts that allowed them to seek other broadcast agreements in the event Diamond ever filed for bankruptcy, would likely be coming down the line.

…and thus marks the beginning of the end of Bally Sports Arizona. Diamond Sports already lapsed on fee payments to the Diamondbacks (a recent court ruling did allow the company to pay half of what it owes to the MLB teams it missed payments to) and the MLB is considering reclaiming its broadcast contracts to its teams; losing the Suns and Mercury means it’s only a matter of time before the Diamondbacks and Coyotes head for the exits.

Allen Media has a long way to go to decent respectability. Owning the Weather Channel is a good start, but the bottom line is Allen Media (and Entertainment Studios) are the slumlords of daytime TV with all of their cheap "court" shows.

They’re wasting no time trying to lure the recently fired Don Lemon and Tucker Carlson to NewsNation.

P.S. Do you consider Allen Media a top rate broadcaster? LOL Tegna is light years ahead in respectability. Allen is right there at the bottom of the garbage pail with Nexstar, Scripps and Gray.

Ellis' arrival comes as Brittney Bryant is leaving the station and news altogether. Her last on-air appearance was this morning.

This package by far is the best one that Gray has pushed out... I do agree that the Barlow series font isn't the greatest choice, but it's so much better than plain Arial/Helvetica...

TVNT: hates when big corporations suck out the local personalities of their stations with standardization Also TVNT: hates when big corporations allow their stations to keep their local personalities by making it fit with standardization Make it make sense Anyway, the site which we apparently cannot name for slightly petty reasons has actual quotes by actual decision makers.

TND merely exists as a cheap ploy to get additional political ad revenue with ham-fisted political overtones to boot. Of course WXLV would drop the KABB-done "local" news to carry it. WNWO will run it as a cheap way to get advertising from both Michigan and Ohio. (It's also why KDNL doesn't even carry it, because Illinois and Missouri are nowhere close to being political swing states.) But why stop with TND? They could outsource everything to NewsNet and not have to pay anyone. As @Weeterspointed out in the Discord, it'd be a 1:1 replacement anyway.

I forget what was going on, but I tuned into that newscast to watch a story. It was awful. It was like watching something from a tiny market in the 1970s. The poor girl who was the reporter barely could spit out any words. Oh, and sorry to rain on you guys parade, but nothing is going to happen to Sinclair unless the Smiths want it to happen. This is from one of their SEC filings: "Smith hold shares representing approximately 77.4% of the common stock voting rights of the Company and, therefore, control the outcome of most matters ..."

I've gone through all of the Sinclair stations they own and found the stations that I most believe are on the bubble for being shut down in favor of syndie shows and The National Desk. KIMA & KEPR: The fact that Yakima was able to handle three newscasts for over 50 years is surprising, but surely Sinclair will think that makes the two stations expendable. A full shutdown of KIMA & KEPR's news could also allow KAPP & KVEW to expand their 11pm news back to 35 minutes. But at best, Sinclair could just end all of KEPR's stand alone newscasts and fully simulcast KIMA. KLEW: A real anamoly, as they're Lewiston & Clarkston's only commercial TV station. If there's not enough support from th viewers in those cities, it could be on the bubble. WGFL: Sure, this is done out of WPEC, but still, this is a good choice to quietly shut down considering WCJB owns the market, and to a lesser extent, WUFT. All they have is a 6 and 11pm newscast, which can easily be replaced by an extra Judge Judy rerun or Daytime Jeopardy, and The National Desk. KRCG: They may have a purpose, given how they're licensed to Jefferson City and provide a mostly Jefferson City focused newscast, but still, KOMU is the big leader here, with KMIZ likely second. KHGI: Yes, I find the venerable NTV as a station who's news is probably on the bubble, since most of their news goes out to rural towns and cities. A shutdown of KHGI for TND would also mean that KFXL's news would end up going to TND, and then Lincoln would have no 9pm newscast unless KOLN starts one for their CW channel. KTXS: Somehow, Abilene has 4 TV news operations, since Nexstar has run KRBC & KTAB as seperate stations. This would be a easy cut for that reason, along with the fact they have no midday newscast unlike KRBC & KTAB. Incidentally, their CW channel is already carrying the morning and primetime National Desk broadcasts. KEYE: Be honest, can Austin really handle 4 news operations, especially in the midst of a Fox O&O in KTBC? To add to this, they don't have a noon or 4pm newscast, unlike KTBC and KXAN. And said noon slot is occupied by reruns of Modern Family. KEYE does have the city's only 6:30pm newscast, but that can't be doing well against ET, TMZ and WoF. KMTR: I'm surprised that Sinclair didn't fully merge KMTR and KVAL's newscasts after Newport sold KMTR off in 2012 to Fisher, and then bought the two. Their newscasts however have been produced out of the KMTR studios since 2020, so in my eyes it seems expendable. In addition, I can see Sinclair blowing up the outsourced newscasts on WMSN, KDSM and KRXI in favor of TND, as well as the newscasts on KCVU, KJZZ, WCWN, and WTVX, as well KBOI, WHP, WWMT and KIMA's CW channels. I also think that WJLA 24/7 will close down as well, spelling the end of the network that was once NewsChannel 8. If I missed any other markets or you have a differing opinion on my choices, let me know!

I think WJZ is too. I've sort of been badgering the meteorologists and apparently they're prepping for the changeover. The new weather center is in what was then THE CUBE...

Patrick Ellis is leaving WLBT after 6.5 years for WMC.