Leaderboard

You guys are setting up yourselves for disappointment if you think the networks, cox, graham, Scripps (yikes) or any other broadcast company is buying any Sinclair station. It’s been reported that Sinclair is looking to unload small market stations, most likely CW, mynet and independents. Sinclair will sell those underperforming stations to a private equity firm, then they will gut the stations or let the network and syndicated contracts expire and sell the spectrum to god casters. I think the thing to look for is what network contracts are due to expire. That could be a sign to what stations sinclair unloads.

Time to be realistic. Don't waste your energy speculating which existing broadcasters with cap space could buy these stations. It's not happening. These station sales will be the broadcasting industry equivalent of selling bundled mortgages or medical debt. Sinclair needs cash. The companies that will purchase these assets will be private equity investors who can drain these stations dry without remorse and then hold on to them until there is another opportunity to sell the spectrum these stations broadcast on back to the federal government.

I just saw this on KTLA’s Instagram. I can’t believe it. He was one of the good ones. A true icon. He was there on the morning news almost since the beginning. I’m heartbroken. Sending prayers and love to his family and everyone at KTLA.

It's clear the industry has seen better days. And I do agree that these stations may end up in the private equity / crappy owner dumpster pile unless there is a suitable duopoly partner in a market that can take one or more stations on without major investment. There may be a white knight somewhere that takes on a station or two....perhaps a local investor or a college/university that wants to make something out of a Sinclair fixer-upper. We haven't gotten to the point where groups are so insolvent they have to shut down stations and fire sale them off. But it could be coming. At least Sinclair is being proactive (at least in a financial way). The only way the FCC is going to change things is if things get so terrible, it takes anyone with a check that clears to run a station if there's no one else who can afford to do so.

Whoops for Bill Ritter. Someone in the comments said he's working for KendrickThe audible "oh my God" in the background. RPReplay_Final1715344511.mov

I’d rather see KTUL go to Hearst to be honest I don’t see Scripps ever selling KJRH.

Don't worry, Perry -- Rand Paul is coming to your rescue! Shouldn't they be referring to him as Senator Paul? I hope the bill crashes and burns. All it would do is help Nexstar, SInclair, and Gray gobble up more broadcasters, leaving smaller broadcasters such as Hearst and Graham (and smaller) unable to acquire stations because they keep getting outbid.

I would like to see WPGH sold to Fox Television Stations, Inc. (But I doubt that's going to happen). I would also like to see WJLA, KTUL, KDNL, WNWO, WXLV to either Cox, Scripps, or another broadcast group. IMO, WJLA should've been an ABC O&O, but I know it's been said many times that Disney doesn't buy stations. And Tegna never owned a station in Tulsa, but it would be a good fit for KTUL, I remember many moons ago when Belo (Former WFAA Flagship owner) owned KOTV before selling it to Griffin. One last thing, I would like to see WOAI/KABB to Nexstar and KEYE to be CBS O&O, but again, I doubt that's going to happen.

God please do sell KTUL to a better company.

Mark Mester is returning to television – as main anchor at KMIR in Palm Springs: https://nbcpalmsprings.com/2024/04/19/welcome-mark-mester-to-the-nbc-palm-springs-family/

If social media reaction is ANY indicator, this might blow up in Cheryl's face more than Mark's. Some of Mark's previous female co-anchors are also seemingly standing by him. Meanwhile, I record the 10 o'clock news on most nights, and actually have the clip. While the mention of Cheryl is shoehorned in to an unrelated bit, and proper joke structure would've included a line about himself or Alan, he does not directly call her a ditz. Maybe that's merely a technicality, but she's entirely wrong if she thinks he's only ever picked on her. Ron, Carol, Joan, Jerry, Kathy, and I'm sure John Coleman back in the day were all targets of his ribbing. DITZY DESIGNER small.mp4

This is shocking. He's just one of those faces that you're just used to so the fact that he's gone now just feels wrong. RIP

When she's ready.

SAM RUBIN AW MAN! https://www.tmz.com/2024/05/10/sam-rubin-ktla-entertainment-reporter-dead-dies-heart-attack/

Sam Rubin, KTLA's entertainment reporter for 34 years, died today (May 10) from a heart attack at age 64. https://www.tmz.com/2024/05/10/sam-rubin-ktla-entertainment-reporter-dead-dies-heart-attack/

Harry J. Pappas, co-founder of Pappas Telecasting Companies (whose stations have since become part of Sinclair's broadcasting portfolio), died on April 24 in Reno, Nevada. He was 78. https://deadline.com/2024/05/harry-j-pappas-dead-pappas-telecasting-companies-founder-1235910952/

Why? Because they actually modernized production for their newscasts and thus made themselves a target of a has-been blogger who wants things to remain stuck in 1989 even as viewing habits have collapsed across the board? In the real world, the only real weak spot is the Ion stations, and that's because of the soft national ad market.