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WFOR has been a better station than you're giving it credit.

This is from 1994 when CBS originally accounced that they purchased WVEU with the intent of making it the CBS affaliate in Atlanta. This clip was from WAGA, which was in the process of leaving CBS for FOX.

The thing is, CBS doesn't need to run WUPA well as a CBS O&O for it to be a financial success to stockholders, which is all that matters. It just needs a better balance sheet than WUPA as an independent. This paragraph is speculation, but the retransmission deal CBS has with pay TV providers likely is structured that so CBS gets more per subscriber for a station running CBS programming than an independent station. Plus, they get to keep all of it as opposed to negotiating a reverse compensation affiliation deal with WANF where Gray was paying CBS some percentage of the retransmission fees Gray collected. Syndicated programming costs will go down in the long-run since CBS network programming covers 11 hours per weekday in the time between CBS Mornings and Colbert. (Plus however many hours of CBS News roundup and CBS News Mornings they air overnight) There will be CBS programming where they can charge more for ads than they could with existing syndicated programming. They don't need to go big or expensive building a news department. That cost can be managed along with the expectations for it, and there is far more space to sell in a local newscast than in syndicated programming. Even if they attract lower quality advertisers, that revenue, ideally, gets made up in added availability to sell.

Local stations "bid" on the OTA rights of games that are otherwise streaming-only (Prime, Netflix, etc.) or on cable, no matter their affiliations. That said, the Falcons only have 2 such games, this season, so that obviously wouldn't be enough to prop up a station.

The NFL still requires it...for now. That may very well change in 2029 if the NFL feels such a change is in its best interests.

Gray doesn't really have a choice. To be fair, neither do any other broadcasting companies. They can't cut the cord and abandon traditional broadcast TV because that's where they've tied up their money, by investing in infrastructure and technology, and by relying on retransmission fees and --- to a lesser extent for some companies -- advertising revenue. Broadcasters missed the boat when it came to adopting a digital news and programming strategy that could also be effectively monetized. I also think what Gray is doing at WANF is a sign of what's eventually to come for broadcasters. Networks really don't need affiliates anymore. Certainly not as great a need as what existed in decades past. The time will come when the networks get rid of affiliates and rely solely on their streaming platforms. Affiliates will then either sink or swim. Those that do swim will rely on a heavy mix of local news and local programming. But the long-term sustainability of such a plan is in doubt. In 2029, the NFL can opt out of most of its TV contracts, and if it does so, then so goes what is perhaps the biggest reason why people still watch broadcast TV.

I composed two themes that are used daily; the entire QCL package, and the tease and talent themes, Plus, several handfulls of suplimental cuts, which will still be used.

A reminder for folks when it comes to cbs buying stations. 1. their finances aren’t exactly in the best shape right now. Buying a non appreciating asset like a broadcast station would not be a smart move financially 2. The current administration has a vendetta against Paramount. Even if cbs wanted to it’s likely to be held up by regulators for petty reasons

What incentive would CBS have to purchase WANF? Gray poured a lot of money and resources into WANF and would likely not sell unless it was for a LOT of money. CBS is also not in the mood or the shape to go on a buying spree right now.

There may have been some personal issues behind it, or a negotiation with ABC. Neither of which need to become public. Whatever, I'd just accept the decision.

Most likely be a VR set, quicker setup

If he’s 75 now the odds of him simply disappearing one day aren’t near zero anymore. Sometimes you just gotta know when to hang it up.

Yeah. IIRC, KSBW is their smallest station right now in terms of market size, and its DMA was ranked around 100. (Also, I included KWWL as it'd give KCCI an in-state sister station.)

The only games Gray could get in Atlanta are if they bought a pre-season package of 3 meaningless games, and any local rights to a Thursday night Amazon Prime game if the Falcons are in the game. The regular season football package is exclusive to CBS, NBC, Fox, ESPN/ABC and to their O&Os/affiliates.

After it (WCIX ch.6/WFOR-TV ch.4) had a callsign change and a channel swap...

Yeah, it’s the end of an era indeed. This is exactly how it played out for Bill Beutel in the late 90s until he left the station in 2003. And most of the veteran anchors stayed on the 6 p.m. show till their final days. Bill Ritter, now his replacement from 2003, is now 75, so it’s understandable that he's slowly beginning his departure from the career. Hopefully, he stays till 2030! What a solid anchor and face he has been for WABC.

...and has been a CBS affiliate thrice previously: 1953—1958, 1960–1962 (both as KTNT-TV) and 1995–1997. So CBS leaving KIRO-TV and going back to Channel 11 in Tacoma won't be much of a stunning development as what's about to happen in Atlanta.

KSTW is technically already a CBS O&O.

I wish I could say I was shocked but as I've said for years, without the SEC and with CBS becoming what Moonves feared would happen under Viacom's rule, Gray wasn't going to keep paying them for a third-place product at major-market prices. They get a clean slate and now it's all CBS's problem. Like I was saying on the After Midnight thread, replacing it with Byron Allen repeats won't cause affiliates to dump the network, but underinvestment across the board and settling 'that lawsuit' and intefering with news judgement certainly doesn't help. These groups are not willing to pay for content like formless reality shows and Hollywood Squares that only a decade ago were full-on MTV2 and VH1 product. This was where WSVN was on January 1, 1989 and I feel like this is a similar situation, where the network felt no loyalty and was happy to let them go their own way, and it really didn't work out well for CBS, which is de facto irrelevant in Miami. It's never felt like they cared any way or the other for WANF. And yes, we're in an unknown, but TV has adjusted before. Gray has the Braves and the Hawks will eventually come to their own crossroads with FanDuel, and who knows what happens with United and Apple TV; they could offer more games from them, and I feel like in a few years if they keep on this track, they could be at parity with WSB news-wise. Meanwhile, WUPA is just...nothing. It has call letters from a network that died twenty years ago, a lousy lineup and all of its news product has been worse than if they did nothing at all. I don't think they're going to invest a lot in Atlanta; maybe ramping up their sports coverage as the Falcons official station (speaking of cursed entities), but they'll probably do enough to look relevant and not much more than that.

It's a little too late for Byron Allen to recoup what he spent for those stations. Even if the FCC totally deregulates TV broadcasting, Allen's stations are about as appealing to purchase as a rusted-out Ford Pinto. Plus, Allen Media gutted its stations to absolute bare minimums, and in some cases, the company doesn't even own the physical property. Anyone who's crazy enough to buy an Allen Media station will have to effectively un-Allen the stations by undoing the damages caused by hubbing master control, weather, etc. Kind of like what Gray had to do when it bought the Meredith stations and had to undo Meredith's dumb decisions.

End of an era. Interesting that he said he’ll remain at EWN at 6 for years to come. Mike Marza is going to do great alongside Sade.

Jesus. Blurred or not why would they even air those images? The content could have just been described. News in the 70s and 80s was RAW! History repeats itself. With news of CBS Atlanta leaving Channel 46 and going to Channel 69, here are some news reports of when the CBS affiliation almost went to Ch 69.

I found the whole 5pm send off /farewell really odd. For most of his career, he’s been known as the 6pm and 11pm guy… he’s been on at 5pm for a little less than 6 years (replacing Diana Williams in September 2019). It made sense to have a big announcement about the 11pm. They probably should’ve done the 5pm at the same time… or just made this a less over the top goodbye.

The moderators have recently had to hide several posts from less-seasoned users, asking about individual stations' launches. Gray has like a thousand stations, we don't need to see inquiries about all of them. Please try and show some restraint, from this point on.

But won't CBS just air the games on their new local station? How would Gray get the rights

I have a rolling list of stations that have yet to switch to GrayONE. 52 news departments have yet to switch. KOSA/KCWO has somewhat soft-launched with their logo but still using old graphics.

An unexpected lowpoint from what used to be a respectable network. What is the purpose of this video anyways?

Glad he’s not retiring I’ll give him to 2035. But I’m glad he’s staying.

At the rate CBS is heading, WANF and Gray are the winners in that they don't have to pay CBS anymore for less and less content. CBS has done nothing but shoot themselves in the foot for the last several years, especially on the news side. Losing the SEC was another blow, and primetime keeps getting worse and worse. Now that WXIA gave up on the primetime news on WATL, I totally expect WANF to bring it back. And given Gray's great OTT platforms, the reach is far beyond Atlanta as cord cutters and watch WANF virtually anywhere. Since ratings and revenue don't matter anymore, CBS took their ball and went home. They'll be the 5th place operation but as long as people are paying for CBS somehow (through cable, satellite, OTT or Paramount+), they'll get all of the money from that now.

It’s something the ABC stations have done since they broadcasted online. I assume they’re fearful about rights but other chains have no issue.

I hope I'm not getting off topic, but Tom's streaming show, TopStory, has moved to 1A.

WHDH will definitely be a blueprint for Atlanta They (WANF/Grey) already have a deal to do some Braves games

Same script different cast. Tom did a decent job as expected. Seamless transition. IMO the iffy set and formatting persist. I don't think he'll beat David Muir but I anticipate NNN will remain a strong number two. There's a new segment "The Cost of Denial" about the toll of healthcare insurance denial on patients. No doubt a conversation sparked by the Luigi case.

2028, for all of Tegna's CBS affiliates.

They will have a hard time.

Yeah I predicted this when they rebranded. There’s a reason Gray is removing all the network logos on their station logos…. Watch for more of this.

I can only see Hearst buying WKOW and the Wisconsin stations to bolster WISN plus WAAY to bolster WVTM. The rest would be difficult for Hearst to imagine buying. I don't see them going back to Hawaii (for KITV).

KCRA Channel 3 Reports 1980 KCRA Channel 3 Reports 1975

i'm not really sure if it was a good idea for them to get rid of this is your news

Gray just got their calls for the former WYOW allocation in WNWE, so it's very much possible all of the moves of the last seven years around Wausau will lead to a flat circle and them becoming an ABC affiliate again as a new license, though with it as a sub in Wausau proper. As for WJRT, I could see Sinclair putting WSMH in the Rincon scrapheap and trying to buy them, though honestly a Weigel purchase with WJRT carrying most of their services as subs isn't far-fetched either as they have a good ABC relationship with WBND.

Regardless of what happens, here's how I feel. https://youtube.com/clip/UgkxK6-SmN4Tj_KS1jKZfDRBWmNLN28LbOG9?si=vxwtIOQD1DWwQpNr Unless they sell to Sinclair or Coastal that is or Gray shells them out.

On the other hand, unlikely since they own the FOX affiliate there, but it'd be kinda cool if the Big 3 network stations in Tucson are owned by the same owner of the Big 3 stations upstate in Phoenix with Gray/CBS, Scripps/ABC, & TEGNA/NBC.

The AMG TV stations may be up for grabs. https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/business/business-news/byron-allen-selling-local-tv-stations-up-1236235004/ https://deadline.com/2025/06/allen-media-group-hires-investment-bank-to-sell-tv-stations-1236420381/

I wish WTHR was still of this format 30 years later, instead of becoming just 13 News (unfortunately, profit is king apparently, so Eyewitness went out the window in 2022).

I genuinely don't understand the angst regarding Nightly broadcasting from Studio 1A. Is it just sentimental longing for a dedicated space? From a business perspective, it doesn't make a lot of sense to build a standalone studio for a show with a 22-minute runtime where the studio itself is on camera for a few minutes. The economic realities make Nightly's use of 1A completely reasonable. Heck, Nightly started switching the show from the 1A control back room during Brian Williams' tenure. I don't see the practical need for a big production space for a solo-anchored newscast like this. ABC World News Tonight uses a shared studio space, but outside of a bump shot, the show is mostly a static shot of David seated in front of an LED wall. And this is the top-rated evening newscast, and on occasion, has been the most watched show on television. So while the set in Studio 1A might be a little long in the tooth, it seems perfectly serviceable. Lester's ratings didn't drop when they moved to 1A. And I doubt Tom's would spike if they had their own space. When budgets are being slashed, the priority should be to keep investing in newsgathering resources. Building a new set to say you have a dedicated space doesn't seem like a good use of shrinking resources. But I might be missing something here.

Yeah, WCLE (AM) and WCLE-FM are both also down in Tennessee -- Cleveland, TN, to be exact. WJJW might be available, though. The calls are on an FM station at a small college in northwestern Massachusetts; Nexstar could probably work out a deal that would allow them to use WJJW-DT in exchange for a "modest" donation.

Just checked KBJR- post “Northern News Now” inception, the “N” rotated with the peacock or cbs eye, depending which channel was airing the show. Network logos have been replaced with an impressive, yet unnecessary, animated Gray TV logo, the “N”/Tree logo remains with festive Christmas lights added for the season, and a QR code I’d assume gets you to download their app. They’re still using their Quincy graphics. As for the gray logo… does any regular viewer (read: none of us) know or care what Gray is?

KYTV ("KY3") in Springfield, Mo. has not prominently featured the peacock since it introduced its current logo when it went HD years ago. However, in 2016 or '17, the station started using the peacock in its bug during newscasts. I just noticed tonight that the peacock is no longer part of the bug. I don't watch regularly, so I'm not sure when the change occurred. Incidentally, KY3 is still using the graphics that were commissioned by Schurz in 2015, right before the station was sold to Gray.

Some of these are going to have a hell of a transition. Like KOSA.