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Hearst buying WBBH is a unique one off, if you look at the demographics of SW Florida it’s very old, it’s the only demo that’s watches tv news and subscribe to cable in large numbers. Ft Myers is still a fast growing area. Just going by news ratings and how many people are watching in the market it’s likely far larger than its 55 ranking, possibly 5-10 rankings higher. Local news pay is really bad and in ft Myers for all stations especially WBBH it’s even worse. There is a bunch of injury lawyers and shady home remodelers in SW florida that purchases ads that make WBBH very profitable. Hearst isn’t going to buy your guys pet stations from owners that you don’t like. There is no one that’s going to purchase tv stations and “invest” in tv news in 2024 we are long past that point.

Funny to see that everyone on here almost universally pans KABC's switch to WABC music. I agree, but I can't help but wonder whether we might all have thought differently had they made these changes 10-15 years ago when CBS was similarly standardizing around the WCBS look. The WABC cut of Eyewitness News has become so recognizable with WABC for us that it feels wrong to hear it in Southern California. But, it's probably one of those things that doesn't matter a whole lot at this point. Most viewers are only watching for 5-10 minutes at a time at most, so who cares what the open music sounds like these days.

All the dead malls can merge together and you'd still wind up with a dead mall, just much larger and needing a bailout from the federal government when the entire system comes crashing down.

For what it's worth, I don't necessarily think it's the solution as much as I think it is the likely outcome. We, and the FCC, can continue to dream that all these local investors are going to come out of the woodwork to buy up these stations, but we continue to see the opposite of that happening as the small, local owners continue to sell out (i.e. WBBH). Some of these stations have already sold off their towers, and I really wonder how long it will be until you start seeing companies wanting to sell off the transmitter itself... Setting up something similar to the UK's broadcasting system where the transmission is contracted out to Arqiva. Especially as the bean counters at these groups love not owning things, and nobody seems particularly interested in doing anything useful with ATSC 3.0... It might be more "economical" to go through another round of spectrum auctions with the caveat that some will remain for television, and Crown Castle or whoever can buy that up and rent out the space to everyone else. We're already kind of seeing this with the post-repack channel shares out there, and ATSC 3 is primed to consolidate much of a market into a handful of frequencies.

The race is usually blacked out live locally.

The 1999 WABC cut might not be the perfect choice for KABC, but I think it’s a lot better than what they had been using.

Agreed. Should it happen, it will likely be part of a larger bill related to FCC rules and regulations. I'd compare it to the FAA reauthorization law that passed earlier this month, where lawmakers added five daily long-distance flights out of slot/perimeter restricted National Airport just outside DC. A small piece of a must-pass bill that got more noise than more consequential parts of the law, and was heavily lobbied for by an industry with a few big players. (In this case, most airlines that aren't named United, which wanted to protect its hub at nearby Dulles airport.)

It’s still surreal that they’ve adopted this theme.

I'm just gonna put this in the most blunt way possible: I do not expect "the cap" to survive under any political regime for much longer. It is a dinosaur. You can make a convincing case to either "side" as to why it needs to go away. It's been 20 years since Congress last meddled with it, it's just going to take one of the not-Sinclair groups to make a stink about it to the right people. It's a dated method of calculating "reach" in a world where everyone is connected to everything. I've theorized before that this isn't going to start from a company wanting to buy more stations, but a company trying to sell stations and not finding a buyer. Sinclair begging to raise the cap so they can buy more hits a lot differently than, say, Disney saying they can't sell the O&O group because nobody who wants to buy it can because of the cap. The ownership cap on television stations is the least of Biden's worries. I really don't think the general public cares all that much.

I think they will (use the entire space). Based off the orange signage promoting the street side studio, my guess would be that the morning/streaming newscasts will move here. Plus, if designed properly, there should be enough room for an AR weather center/space as well.

What is the issue? So no one can comment on a thread that hasn't been active in a while? And I think my comment fits because many people in this thread have discussed the hesitancy to break up the Dick Wolf blocks as an obstacle to slashing 10pm. I'm just mentioning that they have. So I see no issue with what I've commented.

They have two reporters on site, and perhaps they are reporting for other affiliates. Regardless, it is a story with major implications for the economy, and we're not that far away that sending a couple of reporters to provide coverage is an issue. They can take the national stuff, but there's value in having a recognized part of the team there early on.

Former WRTV news anchor Tanya Sumner (neé Spencer), who later became a town council member in the Indianapolis suburb of Whitestown after leaving journalism, has died at 53 from complications from a rare form of colon cancer she was diagnosed with in November 2022. https://deadline.com/2024/05/tanya-sumner-dead-news-anchor-indianapolis-abc-affiliate-wrtv-1235941409/

I’m guessing it’s not just branding concerns that caused the end of Eyewitness News.

Yeah it's a done deal. They've adopted WABC's style. I guess to be fair KABC's outgoing theme (New Generation 2) that was customized for them by the Gari Media Group was in use since 2012 so just over 10 years. Original Eyewitness News New Generation Theme (2008 - 2012) Eyewitness News New Generation 3 or 4? (2012 to 2024) The final days of their outgoing theme: Would've been so fitting to see them keep these light blue colors and the music for their new package. That would've really make them stand out more. They were also the first station to adopt the original NG theme. In 2008 during the "going HD" era. WABC chose to stick with Series 4 theme they've kept their music since September 1998 (25+ years). Which is why it's so odd to see palm trees associated with the Series 4 variation in the new KABC open it, seems out of place. If an average joe doesn't pay attention they can easily be mistaken for WABC: In my opinion the Series 4 theme should've been exclusive to the New York market to solidify both stations unique identity. The outgoing more upbeat lighter NG theme was more suited for the more chill Los Angeles market. But I digress! I guess I just really miss their outgoing NG cuts and theme lol . They seem to be having issues with the audio though this morning the closing cut didn't play. Above is the morning show clips from FATV with the WABC theme. The graphics also just don't match the light blue nature of the set, they should've just kept the background more of a light blue as well, overall I think KABC rollout of this look is the most lackluster of them all.