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Not a moment too soon, because I think they ran out of breaking news in the 8am hour this morning.

If you're of a certain age, you can remember the glut of first-run syndicated dramas, sitcoms, and musical/talent shows that were around during the 1980s and '90s...a lot of that had to do with more TV stations signing on the air during that aforementioned time (thus needing the programming, besides old off-network reruns and whatever live sports they could cobble up), and already-established stations having more control over their programming inventory. Over time, with the launch of Fox, and later The WB and UPN, plus the growth of cable TV (both in terms of subscribers and the number of networks), a lot of these same kind of shows that would be meant for first-run syndication eventually migrated to those outlets, and now 25-30 years later, much of that same type of content has migrated to streaming. The more I think about it, these local stations (including the likes of WPLG) may have to try "re-invent the wheel" in order for them to survive in the long-term...going wall-to-wall news (like a certain CW station in my home city) may not cut it everywhere.

I grew up during that era, so I watched a number of syndicated shows (mostly sci-fi and fantasy), though little of it regularly as there usually wasn't a TV available in the house when I wanted one. The thing that always annoyed about syndicated programming was that it'd end up in weird time slots such as late at night or weekend afternoons. Even the most of indie stations would do that, saving the 8-11pm hours for movies. I remember being down in Florida one summer and discovering that one station was showing either Hercules or Xena during primetime hours on a Tuesday night.

Good Morning America is planning to depart its iconic Times Square Studio this summer https://www.adweek.com/tvnewser/good-morning-america-times-square-move/

Here's some more highlights to add to what @ekt8750 has: Video Tour via NBC 10 YouTube Page

GE ultimately sold NBC and WTVJ to Comcast plus lots of investment made WTVJ a player in the market again

CW and NASCAR are debuting a new set.

With NHL preseason getting underway, let’s get this thread underway. Victory+ is broadcasting its first-ever Dallas Stars game tonight.

Ryan was off most of last week, but was back on Friday night, Dionne was reporting from Milwaukee on Thu/Fri, and Mark must not have been available on Thursday, so that's where Marshall slotted in. Dionne was then off for the weekend, so Mark was sent to Milwaukee for the Illini's 2nd round game, and Marshall was in-studio again. They'll all co-exist, at least for now, with baseball starting, Bulls & Hawks winding down, pre-NFL draft coverage, and the usual Spring break time off.

how do the news heavy indies do in prime time?

Reportedly, all sports programming will continue to air on the spun off cable networks. Production will be outsourced (mostly to NBC Sports), however SpinCo will still have to build a team to 'manage its league deals' and create their own streaming products.

The issue that I don't understand is with the sports programming. What will happen with the sports programming that appear on USA, CNBC, & E networks once they officially separate from NBCU? Will NBC move the sports to bravo and / or Peacock? When Comcast made the deal with NBA to show games, they included wnba games to be shown on USA. What was the point of doing that when they were considering spinning off USA with the other networks?

Yeah, this feels like a stopgap measure. A bandage, even.

Good for him getting out there like that then.

Too bad they clip sports out of their on demand recordings. Is third fiddle at WLS a step up from Sports Director at WBBM?

Along those lines, I wonder if ABC did pursue WSFL for an affiliation given the relationship between the Alphabet and Scripps. That said, good for WSVN if they can handle it, but we'll wonder long they'll keep ABC and Fox on their signal.

I think it’s gonna be almost all simulcasts

Here's the WSVN side of the story... ABC Miami on WSVN 7.2. https://wsvn.com/news/local/miami-dade/disney-entertainment-and-sunbeam-television-corporation-announce-new-home-for-the-abc-television-network-in-the-south-florida-market/?FBWSVN&fbclid=IwY2xjawJJTKJleHRuA2FlbQIxMQABHWIpSNEIDqDVeuvOu1Mk-s7TLKwZlyhOM-bu4kZc4cHaNldzLsPUBiODhQ_aem_B0JyRJKky81ge_aAjP29vg

Wow. I am STUNNED. WSVN is gonna carry two networks?! I mean, this is like a nuclear bomb dropping over us! I wonder what WSVN will do in terms of news output. There's no way WSVN will split it.

One reason is that NBC wants to build peacock as their destination for future sports coverage. NBC could always decide later to show highlights of the events shown on peacock.

I'll watch Grand Slam Track sounds interesting as I like Track & Field why isn't the main NBC going to air it thou and only on Peacock streaming only. NBC not have enough space to fill on the weekend like The CW does.

Further discussion of the likely new Fox NFL package here.

I'll have to wait until I see it in hi-res, but from this initial look, I don't like it.

I'm not sure if I should ask this question here or in a different section or category, but NBC new deal with the NBA includes WNBA games being aired on USA network. Since USA will be part of spinco, will thus deal be changing so WNBA games will air on NBC or peacock instead?

The article clearly states there is much to still be determined in unwinding "SpinCo" from the current NBCUniversal, including NBCU's structure. It again reiterates it is a spin off, to shareholders, not a wholly owed new Comcast division. It will have its own stock, its own board (who we don't know the members yet) and make its own decisions. How it interacts with NBCU, especially on providing content is to be determined and complicated.

Spring Weather, I saw that FOX Weather was kind of on this strange loop yesterday. The Weather Channel & Weather Nation TV were both on top of the multiple alerts as they were going out. FOX Weather finally started to show alerts 20-30mins after TWC & WN, SAD situation for FOX Weather.

Fox Weather is toast. The most dangerous tornado outbreak of the fall/winter season is underway, and Fox Weather dropped coverage at 8pm or 9pm ET (not sure which), because welp, it's a weekend during the holiday season, and ya know, 9pm is pretty late, so we'll be back live at 6am to assess the aftermath. Even TWC, which originally planned on also dropping coverage at 8pm ET, added an additional live shift from 8pm to ??? (still live as of now at 9:37pm ET) when they saw how serious the tornado outbreak was going to be. I don't think the higher-ups really care about Fox Weather anymore. It seems like they're just treating it as another shovelware FAST network that plays whatever they feel like showing in between constant ad breaks. I think 2025 will be the year that Fox Weather drastically cuts back even its weekday programming schedule, with additional staff cuts.

Way back prior to being fully bought by NBCUniversal, the company that included USA and SciFi was called USA Networks. The down side is if SpinCo goes international, the name may not work.

I liked Tom Niziol he was pretty good for the winter forecasts. All the best to Tom wherever he goes.

I think they should move all their cable sports programming to bravo network, as well as peacock. Comcast will spin off most of their cable networks to a new company,. Eventually, they will sell that new company if a buyer makes a good offer for the new company, is that correct?

When Comcast sells off it's cable networks, including USA & cnbc, will they just move whatever sports programming that currently airs on those networks over to peacock?

Good timing on the launch of the CMG thread... more news: they're shutting down the DC bureau.

I don't have any insight or information, but having a new job and an ongoing relationship with the station makes me think this was a planned exit by him. A quiet and short notice without the pomp and circumstance is the ideal departure for many people. News anchors come and go, and maybe he didn't want to make himself the news or at least minimize the time when he is the center of attention. The tribute and retrospective PKGs are awkward and have no viewer benefit. Newsroom cakes and speeches are just painfully awkward.

It sounds like it was for the most part his decision, though he’ll still pop up on WSB as a contributor

Thin vertical score bug on the left side of the screen? Reminds me of the shape of the early 2000s WGN scorebug, but of course, a lot more modern. The huge GOAL graphic that takes up the left side of the screen looks ripe for social media thumbnails.

You know Sinclair is right wing bordering far right? If they at least cared about the Spanish community, they would have some Spanish stations left in their portfolio.

Racist how? They dropped a Univision affiliation in Seattle for The CW.

New NBC Sports look for hockey And here's a highlight package from the NHL that shows off some elements from the package:

For the third straight season, KTLA will carry a limited number of Clippers games--four preseason, and eleven regular-season contests.

I'm sure it happens more and more every election by every party, but WDAY-AM (Fargo) is accusing the Harris Campaign of using the station's URL and fabricating headlines (per The Forum) in Google Ads. What's interesting to me is all of this clears Google's ad policies. Not uncommon for campaigns to use media clips, but is something like this becoming common across the board? WDAY Radio Statement Headline 1 In Question Headline 2 In Question Disclosure- WDAY-AM and The Forum are co-owned by Forum Communications, although WDAY-AM is operated by Flag Family Media.

No changes preseason graphics-wise for the Bills, Bears, Bucs, Chiefs, Chargers, 49ers, Jaguars, Seahawks, & Titans. Raiders using MLBN/NHLN type graphics, while the Vikings & Saints use the current FOX scorebar, & the Cardinals, having moved from KPNX (NBC) to KPHO (CBS) went with a new custom scorebar.

Bengals package is fundamentally the same, but the production values have noticeably come up, probably not a coincidence in their first year on new local flagship WXIX. The graphics have some motion to them now with dissolves and wipes. Font is clearly their in-house typeface with something similar to the FOX 2017-20 package.

Houston Texans making a slight tweak with the color of the scorebar from last season, Pittsburgh Steelers no change, Atlanta Falcons follows suit with the Lions & Giants with the current NFL on FOX bug, while the Miami Dolphins, Philadelphia Eagles, & Baltimore Ravens remain unchanged from last season.

That won't happen though. In the CNBC article that I shared, it said, In that case, Sony would have kept Paramount and the studios, while Apollo would have taken CBS - and likely would have started to sell it for parts like they have done with Cox stations, maybe even reorganizing Cox stations around CBS.

Things that make you go hmmmmm......for all those who remember the '90s anyway

I wonder if Shari Redstone will say yes to the Skydance deal which will selloff CBS & Viacom cable networks as all that Skydance wanted was the Paramount studios only.

Jeff Glor is staying with the eyeball network and headed to SATMO. https://www.cbspressexpress.com/cbs-news/shows/cbs-this-morning-saturday/releases/view?id=52806

Per the NY Post, CTM seems to be clicking with viewers https://nypost.com/2019/05/29/gayle-king-already-a-ratings-a-success-for-cbs-this-morning/?_ga=2.93574365.1157626706.1559208938-amp-MSambGDh_qw5Tt1wjXe6Fg

He said on Twitter he will be on that show for a few more weeks.

Anthony Mason still anchoring CTM: Saturday.