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This is insane. I guess they don't realize this, but the audience they're angling for with a schedule like this is already glued to CNN or FOX News all day. Those people aren't going to flip away from the national politics they're obsessed with to watch hours of local news instead. All they'll end up doing is overworking their anchors, reporters and staff for diminishing returns until they either leave or quit. Again, with this new round of affiliation changes, there needs to be a better alternative for the stations left behind than either the bottom-of-the-barrel syndicated slop or hours of redundant local news on a loop.

As far as I'm concerned, there are only two, maybe three markets that can support that much news output: New York, Los Angeles, and Chicago. One for the Big, one for the Bang, and one for the Theory, I guess.

To say WPLG did it better than WANF is like saying the flu is better than measles. Both have excessive amounts of local news output the marketplace cannot support and typify the laziness that has caused local television in be in this terminally sclerotic state. In any event, PLG will inevitably lose Live to WSVN .2 and WoF/J! goes away entirely next year. So by 2026 it'll be all shovelware news with diminishing returns for ratings.

People will want to know where they can find their CBS shows. They aren’t going to care about the WANF schedule of all news…

WANF, Your Official Shovelware Station!! Seriously... they knew this was coming and this is the best they could do??? Gray might as well have moved Peachtree Sports to 46.1. Would have saved them a lot of time and trouble. What a freaking waste.

Even by New York City standards this is excessive. A lot of NYC stations resort to repeating stories after a certain hour, for example WNBC's 7 PM broadcast. As bad as both stations schedules are, I would agree that WPLG has the better lineup. They have a few decent syndication options such as Live, Wheel and Jeopardy. Add to that Local 10 News is roughly 1st place among the English language stations in the market, putting them in a better position than WANF. In social media posts about these affiliation drops, I've seen viewers champion "more local news", especially without network agendas. What they fail to realize is more than half the time these of newscasts will be filled with national stories from wire services as there isn't enough local news to support such heavy output. Aside from preventing layoffs (such as in WPLG's case) are there any positives to these affiliation drops?? I don't see it.

They aren’t even gonna sell the CBS O&Os, maybe maybe WTOG and KSTW get sold but there not letting go of all of them.

This is kind of disappointing, on what world does Atlanta need an hour and a half of TBBT? Something smarter would have been to make the 6:00 an hour long, and move the weather show to 7:30, and then air an hour of LNL at 8. I personally would not complain if they go the WPLG route and have a ''world news'' newscast, possibly at 7 or 8?

The schedule was just as I thought it would be; KVVU/Arizona's Family East, though with some more sports programming. They have a successful template in those stations (even back to Meredith), so I think it's worth a try in Atlanta. Be relieved there's not a single Byron Allen program on it at the very least.

Local News Live is a Gray streaming news channel that has since expanded to become an OTA news program on Gray stations that decide to air it.

WPLG executed their independence better than WANF will. The former at least has the Merv Griffin Fun Hour and Live with Kelly & Mark on their schedule.

Most people don't care because, in their view, they've already long since replaced whatever local TV brought to the table with streaming and the internet. I also assume this is ultimately why the FCC has checked out of regulating all this consolidation. They probably don't see much of a future in local linear TV either, just a few sclerotic companies haggling over what's becoming a razor-thin slice of the pie.

Finally, what y'all have been waiting for and curious to see, just like me... the weekday schedule for WANF and it is about to pump out a WHOLE LOT more news. Yes, its OnTVTonight again as my resource for this. Monday, August 18th, WANF's first full day of a news-heavy independent schedule: 04:00-07:00 AM: ANF Early Edition (they're expanding to 4am to compete against WSB) 07:00-10:00 AM: ANF A.M. LIVE (the 9am goes back to an hour) 10:00-11:00 AM: ATL LIVE (new timeslot and expands to an hour) 11:00-11:30 AM: Inside Edition (the new episode will remain on WPCH) 11:30AM-12:00PM: Investigate TV+ 12:00-01:00 PM: ANF News LIVE at 12 Noon (expands to an hour now that it doesn't have to worry about CBS Daytime anymore) 01:00-02:00 PM: ATL LIVE (repeat) 02:00-03:00 PM: Local News LIVE 03:00-04:00 PM: ANF News LIVE at 3:00 (going back to an hour on WANF proper though its been that way on WPCH for quite some time now ever since Investigate TV+ premiered on syndie) 04:00-06:30 PM: ANF News LIVE 06:30-07:00 PM: ANF First Alert Weather Extra (yep, they're getting their own 30-minute all-weather program just like a handful of other Gray sisters out there, i.e. KCTV and WBRC) 07:00-07:30 PM: ANF News LIVE at 7:00 07:30-09:00 PM: The Big Bang Theory (x3) 09:00-10:00 PM: ANF News LIVE at 9:00 (the primetime newscast it once had, for WPCH, is back and on WANF proper) 10:00-11:30 PM: ANF News LIVE (no word if WPCH will continue to simulcast WANF's 6-9am, noon, 3, and 10pm newscasts) 11:30PM-12:00AM: ANF Sports Overtime (new to WANF proper but just like what KTVK/KPHO is doing with The Extra Point plus WANF has done this on streaming for some time too) 12:00-12:30 AM: Young Sheldon 12:30-01:00 AM: The Conners 01:00-01:30 AM: ANF News LIVE at 11:00 (repeat) 01:30-02:00 AM: ANF Sports Overtime (repeat) 02:00-03:00 AM: Georgia High School Sports Daily (from PSN: Peachtree Sports Network) 03:00-04:00 AM: Law and Order: SVU

They could turn it into a satellite of WDCW or WUSA, and technically run all 3 stations on it for the benefit of Western Maryland. And the irony of the old WDVM calls coming under common ownership... Plot twist: Tegna could end up trading out WTSP and others like KHOU to CBS. But what would CBS trade out in return?

Has the Deltavision deal completed yet? I know Gray really has to be kicking itself now for not going into Greenville when it had the chance. Yeah, it's the Mississippi Delta, but you've got everything around it covered and a lot to support it...

Bonus points if Cox is the survivor or at least has more influence.

I still remember when WebTV and CueCat were going to revolutionize 'interactive TV' so long ago... The American TV market is not the UK is a passive audience and it just has never worked well. Why would we interact with a TV when our phones are in our hands to do said interaction? I've had the same computer setup for years, either a TV window to the right on my monitor, or a separate TV and the most interaction I do have with my TV (just cable television, not with an Apple TV or Roku) has just been the weather forecast in a cable box menu...which simply usurped a traditional channel doing the same thing for 2+ decades. That, and polls have just plain become pointless noise that doesn't do anything except bring Facebook 'engagement' in arguments that just are viewer poison to someone who just wants the news. Consumers would just be pleased to be excluded by ZIP code from weather updates that interrupt their shows for events nowhere near them. Weather radio can do that, and has for three decades, but somehow, two different digital TV standards have it as a 'back burner' feature that could be activated, but won't, because the NAB knows with their whole chest if it is rolled out, then advertisers can't have the full audience on their ads, and stations won't have their 'first alert' coverage go to everyone, so it'll forever remain a 'promised feature' that is part of a standard but like the closed captioning text channel, will never seriously be used. And I definitely agree that not selling higher-quality PQ has been baffling. Why are broadcasters all about just simulcasting their existing channels with barely improved PQ in formats that are out of date? Yesterday, I was watching WTMJ's flood coverage in 1080p through their app with crisp and clear weather maps that look blocky and unfocused in 1080i over-the-air. Push all of that over 'you can have the temperature on the side of the TV' or bad polling, along with this inane push of advertising targeting that the consumer does not want.

datacasting, TV executive boomers' wet dream. They sell that like we're in the 1990s. I watched some exec on Youtube selling ATSC 3 as this amazing technology (odd how they ignore the encryption questions) and the big selling point he made was ... imAgiNe cArs d0WnloAding SofTware to update... My cheap 2022 Hyundai Santa Fe Calligraphy literally downloads firmware to itself, and I can see where it is at any time on a map, because it has a 5G chip already! Not that there aren't one-to-many broadcasting advantages but I have a hard time beleiving anybody is going to pay $5 to Sinclair and other ATSC 3 patent holders to put a chip in their gadget. They also seem to think Apple will put an ATSC 3 chip on the iPhone so people can watch broadcast TV. And all of that will somehow save broadcasting.

The big deal is that there's no more UFC ppvs, as everything is now on Paramount+. Like how sister company WWE did away with the traditional ppv model years ago. Also, it sounds right given how Trump-friendly UFC is.

Wow if the deal does go through Nexstar will own 3 stations in San Diego KUSI, KSWB, & KFMB. Interesting.

And, apparently, on Spectrum systems too, under the name Local Look Today (which I looked up the schedule via Zap2it via Gracenote... most of the time is LNL but part of it is also... sports. Yep).

Seems like they should be an easy beneficiary in any necessary cast-offs. But if they are still dead to the FCC, despite their stance, oh well...

Counting down the days until Gray or private equity or forces unknown takes over Sinclair.

News 5 Tonight from Christmas Eve 1997, presented by Jill Neubronner, with the top story the recovery of wreckage from Silk Air Flight 185 (notice the much different graphics, a sheer simplification of the original Novocom ones, plus the usage of the standard "Where It All Happens" close rather than an edit of it and the bumper):

My question is...if this administration is so gung-ho on the route to dictator-ism and those who have bended towards our fearless leader are getting what they want... Where's Sinclair in all of this? Surely the new FCC has let them off the hook by now for all of their (mis) deeds. Perhaps they are playing their sleeper role by selling off some stations here and there and will magically appear one day like Nexstar did to disrupt the Meredith-Media General merger.

I'm late but I appreciate when news talent speaks up about what went wrong that lead to their exit rather than a goodbye post with subliminal hints about their bad experiences. Unfortunately this may cost him the opportunity to work again so it's understandable why other reporters don't do this. His situation aside, I always wonder why anchor positions are reserved for more experienced talent when it's easier than reporting (as long as you have the presence to be on camera for more than 2 minutes). Especially in mid markets, you "need" tons of experience to anchor yet the teleprompter copy is written by recent grads.

WCKT (NBC) promo in Feb. 1980 for a new set and name: NewsCenter 7:

That is definitely indirect news reporter speak for a non amicable departure but not saying too much for fear of being blacklisted. WABC has the least turnover, so Im curious aswell.

If news of this sale goes through, the lines for Talkback 16 will be lit up when it breaks like a Christmas tree!!!

I'm not sure a strongly-worded letter written by Newsmax is going to sway many opinions in Congress and at the FCC. What ulterior motives could Newsmax have for wanting a bunch of full-power TV station licenses to be available at low cost? Keep in mind, the FCC's mission is to regulate the wireless spectrum, not business and commerce. The cap exists to prevent a company from monopolizing available, finite radio spectrum. The stupid simple solution to this issue (which I suspect we might see play out if this merger is attempted and fails) is to make that work differently. Sinclair and Nexstar have been pushing ATSC 3.0 datacasting quite heavily, to the point that datacasting is often the only time ATSC 3 comes up in their quarterly and annual investor reports. All they need to do is make the argument that, because the spectrum can now be used for multiple purposes, they are no longer "television stations" but "data transmitters". Multiple stations sharing one transmitter is already happening (both "sides" of ATSC3 lighthouses, post-repack channel sharing), and the FCC has not really addressed the multiple questions this raises. If everyone is on one frequency anyways, what exactly is the FCC regulating? The next step is to decouple the transmitters from the broadcasters themselves (hey remember EdgeBeam Wireless?). The UK has been doing this since 1997, and I believe most, if not all, of the transmitters in the country are owned by Arqiva. The UK Government still regulates the use of the "Muxes" on these transmitters, but the US has a pesky "Constitution" that would probably make that difficult for our government to do. It would likely end up with "let the free market decide", and pitched as "anybody" can now operate a "TV station" over these transmitters, as long as there is available bandwidth, and you can pay for it. Not enough transmitters? Oh well! Should have formed a consortium and bid on the spectrum that was freed up when every television broadcaster consolidated onto 3-4 frequencies in each market. We're kind of already doing this. What are cellular networks if not wireless data providers, available to anyone who can afford a phone and the subscription to use it? We don't regulate what websites can be accessed on cellular networks, so why would we regulate datacasting differently? Something is going to give, eventually. Whether it be the scenario above, or the FCC/congress/etc. just throwing up their hands and saying it's pointless when all this is available online, anyways.

And Nexstar could resort back to Tribune's "Plan A"...to put the CW back on WTTV (4.2) and make WISH-TV a full independent. Tribune was the one who sold the CW affiliation, but this was well before Nexstar was in the picture, as the company would later absorb Media General, then Tribune, and later the CW network itself.

If I were Gray, I'd be licking my chops at getting WISH-WNDY from DuJuan McCoy, potentially for a song.

In the Scripps swap, Gray exited a couple of markets in the West as well.

I just noticed something... Gray is only picking up stations in the Midwest or South. NO stations in the west. This means KDRV, KEZI, and KHSL/KNVN won't be sold, though I'm puzzled as to why not them. Gray isn't in any of those markets.

They're probably after WKOW and its spawn specifically so they can combine them with the stations they already own in Wisconsin, especially since they had to let them go the first time they struck a deal involving them. Plus they would own all the ABC affiliates within Wisconsin aside from WISN.

WETM-DT2 is becoming CW on September 1st according to this: https://documents.dps.ny.gov/public/Common/ViewDoc.aspx?DocRefId={B0481E98-0000-CD4A-8F64-074DF235BE83} WENY-DT3 is becoming Independent.

Kelly Clarkson recently cancelled her latest residency dates because of her ex-husband's ill health (which was not the narrative ET and other gossip sites had been trying to push so God, they're horrible); he passed away this morning. I'm so devastated for her and her children, and will completely understand if she will not be back on the show in September, much less November.

Looks like Gray is getting the last laugh on letting CBSAtlanta.com get away. CBS probably can't afford to buy it under the new Skydance management!

Now confirmed: the official website will be https://www.cbsnews.com/atlanta as I mentioned in an earlier post. Right now, it shows as coming soon...

GMA Miami Tour: Day 3. This time, its Lynn Martinez and Joe Roetz (the weeknight B-team) joining in on the fun. (Off-topic: NBC Nightly News is also in Miami this week so Miami, my backyard, is in the national spotlight for sure).

Yep the only thing that is live during the Scripps-cast (at least at KJRH) is weather and sports.

Fox extended their deal with Hulu/Disney last year to continue airing in-season shows the day after their linear broadcast. My guess is that a program's library (in all or parts) will be available on Fox One too. For example, only season 3 of Animal Control is available on Hulu and not the previous seasons. One would assume, season 1 & 2 will be on Fox One and once season 4 starts, then season 3 moves from Hulu to Fox One and so on.... I think the question is whether all Fox entertainment programs move to Fox One once the Hulu deal ends in 2029 or will they continue sharing content. I believe so. i think they want to offer bundles (Fox One & Fox Nation or Fox One, Fox Nation & Tubi, etc..) down the line too.

I get the business intent of doing a straight knockoff of ABC WNT - it's what viewers expect on that channel at that hour and they only had a few months to pull it together with little to no capital investment - but I think I'm still a little shocked that it is really that much of a knockoff. I gave up trying to believe TV news is driven by an actual strategy when I left the business almost a decade ago, but one would think this program slowly develops its own identity which makes watching worthwhile. Not all knockoffs are equal. Will this be Kirkland Signature World News or Great Value?

Probably take 5 years off that prediction now that ABC was the first to jump. Even Les Moonves when he ran CBS, far back as 2010-2012, had a CBS network feed ready in case an affiliate got too uppity during negotiations. If im not mistaken he said publicly that his preference is direct CBS network feed to Comcast, Charter etc, no affiliates needed

Not sure why we're collectively shitting on the World News broadcast... It's pretty impressive for a local station. I'm usually quick to denounce the "more news" mindset that has infected local television, but I understand what the goal is here. Yes, it's "more news", but it's replacing a network newscast and going up against network news. They're trying something that's not just the same local stories from 30 minutes ago run on a loop. It's different, and we should be celebrating that.

Ok, yes … their “World News” is cringey. Comical in its attempts to emulate ABC. And the anchor is totally trying to sound like Muir, which is just sad. I didn’t think it would be this bad.

I guess I can now say that this historic day in South Florida television history (Aug 4, 2025) is in the books and hopefully NO MORE affiliation switches happen but never say never because people thought that 1995 would be the last time this would happen but here we are 30 years later. If Local 10 were to be affiliated with a network again, The CW would be the best choice because they don’t have much programming outside of primetime (8-10pm) and weekend sports, plus it allows the station to continue it’s local-first vision that they clearly want to do now.

That looks like it was thrown together 5 minutes before the station went on air.

If Muir already has not laughed heartily after seeing video clips from this newscast, I would imagine it's imminent.

Yes it was! Hahaha. It became the last one on WPLG and the first one on WSVN.2/WDFL.