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If this turns out to be a correct prediction, and history suggests it likely will be, you gotta give it to Hearst for taking things in steps instead of blowing the whole thing up at once. Methodical and calculated.

Effective today: NBC2 NEWS (WBBH-DT) & ABC7 (WZVN-DT) are now operating under one brand & one website. NBC-2.COM & ABC-7.COM now redirect to: www.gulfcoastnewsnow.com, the 2 stations will still have separate newscasts & anchor teams but one brand. Below is the new logo for the 2 stations. Here is the article talking about the switch: https://www.gulfcoastnewsnow.com/article/gulf-coast-news-nbc2-abc7-fort-myers/63677491 IMAGE: WBBH / WZVN.

Narrator voice: Given the reality of local TV revenue in 2025 and beyond, we'll see how long the separate newscasts last.

Rare clip, Today Show outdoors (1972) featuring Frank McGee and Barbara Walters

Glad the branding ended up here instead of Mobile & Pensacola. I figured this could be an eventual game plan with Sinclair if they ever totally merged their Pensacola and Mobile operations into one.

Lots of interesting design decisions were made here…

From a design perspective, they made the absolute correct choice to embed the ABC logo inside the "C" and have the peacock hanging off for a litany of reasons.

Interesting that the ABC logo appears "first" even though WBBH is the actual Hearst-owned station.

Long live KWHY. The legendary L.A. callsign is back from the dead on what used to be KBEH Channel 63. Filed on January 27th, approved a day later by the FCC on January 28th, and effective February 2nd. Now, instead of KWHY-TV Los Angeles on Channel 22, we have KWHY Garden Grove/Los Angeles on Channel 63. https://enterpriseefiling.fcc.gov/dataentry/public/tv/draftCopy.html?displayType=html&appKey=25076f91943b6ee9019441f45db81a7e&id=25076f91943b6ee9019441f45db81a7e&goBack=N

If not, I think the WBBH graphics are just custom-made for that station because I haven't seen it being rolled out to more stations in the Hearst group, especially since some stations began using the Diagrid 2.5 open during the summer of 2024, months before WBBH switched to their version of the Hearst graphics. I say this because during the floating logo era, some stations used their own modified versions of those graphics (e.g. WLKY, KOCO).

Yeah, probably because of shorter channel number and high cable penetration in the market

Updated to say that he died at 81. But it doesn't matter the age... he was the TITAN, the GIANT of Bay Area TV news to the likes of Van Amburg and Dave McElhatton. I just woke up to this, and this one hurts badly. There will never be another one like him again.

Dennis Richmond was a prominent fixture not only in the Bay Area but throughout California. The Ten O’Clock news was widely available due to KTVU’s superstation status via cable and satellite. Even as the number of Fox affiliates grew in the west, most opted to simulcast KTVU’s popular Ten O’Clock news — at one time the most watched prime time newscast in the country.

Former WBRZ producer and traffic reporter Falon Brown is now the communications director for new East Baton Rouge Parish Mayor/President Sid Edwards. https://www.wbrz.com/news/former-wbrz-reporter-falon-brown-appointed-director-of-communications-for-ebr-mayor-s-office/

Color me shocked. 2015 has finally rolled around for Nexstar. I just downloaded the Fox 8 CLE+ app. Hell has finally froze over. Looks like it's the major markets that are receiving Roku apps. And yes, they do have live streaming. (And why 2015? Because it seems that Nexstar is a decade behind the times with everything. I bought my first Roku 10 years ago!)

I'll try to find it, unless someone can clarify quicker, but I thought I read after Allen pulled the plug on replacing the local weather teams that one of the chief mets noted on their Facebook page that for weekends and fill-in that TWC could/would still be used.

Another day, another sports rights agreement with Gray. This time, a deal with FanDuel Sports Network K.C. will carry 10 Sunday games on KCTV, KSMO, and some other Gray stations across Royals territory. https://www.facebook.com/GrayTelevision/posts/pfbid0cvFbdF11e26HYatjcwtHXLki8jNtnpmSHNcbwDFq1NBpSMTRkv5EuNX4Vag4w7Bcl

Wot? But then, who would be in 4th place, KSMQ?

45 years of Southern New England television for the queen in the market... one WJAR's Patrice Wood. https://www.instagram.com/p/DFqiy1zS2AT/?img_index=1

Posted this in the WABC thread but I’ll post here as well. Seems like end of month Eyewitness News will be in their new newsroom and studio

I just checked WPRI and it looks like they're doing their streams live again too but I also noticed this... this could be the first of many popping up from Nexstar (FINALLY). WPRI, btw, is the first Southern New England television station to launch their own smart TV app. I'll be downloading this on my Roku, ASAP. https://www.wpri.com/wpri-12-smart-tv-app/

Knicely Done... John. Congrats on your upcoming retirement from WOWT Omaha. https://www.wowt.com/2025/02/03/longtime-wowt-anchor-john-knicely-announces-his-retirement-television/

WOOD TV does the bite size news they have a live desk news & interviews that is what the promos have been saying for the past couple of years. Maybe that is how they got past the 2-hour rule before the newscast could be streamed but I don't know that for sure. Does other Nexstar stations have a live desk for online and bite size news for weather, sports and interviews with someone local or famous celebrity etc.?

Soon.

Not to mention that Weekdays and Weekends have two different production teams.

In typical CBS News fashion, they make one big step forward and then two steps backwards. Why the inconsistency between the weekday and weekend?

Some good news — the bill failed to make it out of committee. By the way, for those interested in a trade site for public media — current.org is a good source.

Nice, my FOX affiliate. (WDAF-TV)

Like literally, how can the FCC be considered fair if they do stuff like that to NPR and PBS?? Like couldn't anyone in Congress (Democrats, 'casue... GOP can't be trusted to help PBS) tell the FCC to knock it off and follow their guidelines that they have to be impartial? Yea, I do agree, given that... Lord, help them.

With how the kid's market has now declined to the lowest effort slurry like Poppy Playtime to 'educational programming' meant more for seniors, PBS is the firewall for good kid's programming. Like this and the BBC and CBC defunding drives, they want kids to suffer and be marketed to, and public broadcasters are seen as obstructing commercial interests and as liberal havens, even as the average PBS schedules and pledge drives actively market to a conservative nostalgic audience.

Absolutely. History has shown that you can't necessarily count on the free market to always serve the public good.

We have heard WAAY being one of those stations keeping their weather team and now it sounds like stations are quickly doing a 180 in making a video and letting folks know that stations are keeping their weather teams in place.

KDRV wasn't mentioned amongst that list. However, they're sticking around too and if that's the case, so will KEZI and all their stations. https://www.kdrv.com/news/top-stories/allen-media-weather-update/article_38bd38aa-d9e3-11ef-aaad-abd33b46c1f7.html

Inside Edition on the Allen meteorologist story

WTVA has confirmed from Allen Media that the decision has been reversed and they are staying. https://www.wtva.com/news/local/wtva-parent-company-reverses-decision-severe-weather-authority-to-remain/article_62b9d4da-d9b4-11ef-9386-a7fc886aea62.html

Probably because his shows are barter and don't cost the station anything.

Please let it be true and they reverse it for all stations.

https://old.reddit.com/r/Broadcasting/comments/1i7nzaf/allen_reversal/ It's only a rumor at this point, but the Broadcasting subreddit has been pretty spot on about things like this. Perhaps even Byron Allen realized this was an incredibly dumb move.

Yet, 'KTV and 'QTV say hello.

WLFI set is from when they went HD under LIN, WTHI set when they built their new building in 2012 under LIN, and WFFT set from their HD days under Nexstar. Under Heartland, I think both THI and LFI did add some more people back and improved their reporting. I think if Heartland hadn’t sold, they would have gotten new sets or updated sets.

Yes but still has it called Fox 55 News.

Did they (WFFT) just removed the FOX out their branding 'Fox 55'?

I thought that a company couldn't own the top rated stations in the same market

It looks like WBBH and WZVN are merging what was their separate weather teams into one. One example... Rob Duns in the new year will stay on WBBH at 4:00 but will then switch over to WZVN at 6:00, 7:00, and 11:00pm. https://www.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=1264728761283664&id=100032396576813

It looks like another update to the diagrid package, only appearing more rectangular. And the Strive music package is still being used, just with newer cuts. What I am referring to is a complete overhaul of the graphics and music, like when the diagrid graphics and Strive debuted in 2012, or when the rings graphics package was introduced in 2004 (in that case, however, most stations started using NewsMusic Central's Hearst TV News Music Package before switching from camera v2 to rings). Only other difference between this update and the last two is that WESH is not the first station to be using the updated graphics.

Carr will seek to alter the equilibrium between stations and networks along with opening up ownership rules: https://deadline.com/2024/12/fcc-donald-trump-broadcast-tv-local-stations-brendan-carr-1236196688

I knew that Brandon Carr was going to be the new Chairmen at The FCC come Jan of this year since he has been the one always making statements when rules came out that he didn't like. Which means that Nexstar/Mission doesn't have to sell WPIX. As Brandon Carr will undo what the outgoing chairwomen Jessica did.

Trump has announced Brendan Carr as the new chairman.

KDKA finally got news mic flags, although unlike all of the others that use the call sign square, the entire mic flag is black.

Didn’t want to make a new thread unless it’s official, KPIX this week has been using the “morning/sports” set on the other side of the studio for all of its newscasts except for its Noon newscast which is done in the newsroom. not sure if they are doing studio maintenance or possible speculation of getting KCAL’d with the new mandate set. the shots are so tight so I’m not sure if they moved the “set” next door where the virtual weather set is currently located. mind you, PIX never got the whole makeover mandate look. In 2020 they refreshed its 2012 look by getting the 2016 KCBS anchor desk, updated the duratrans walls, got rid of the traffic center in place of a couch set that never got much airtime which was converted into a secondary set now used in the mornings and sports. They kept the framing from its 2012 Jack Morton design look based from WBBM’s 2008 street side studio. I guess we will see……