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You have to wonder if part of the CBS O&O "CBS News (city)"/callsign rebrands that happened under Wendy McMahon were driven by her time at ABC... Namely the ABC O&O stations collectively engaging in this strange branding self-sabotage, where they all seem to be trying to look like each other, to the point there's barely any distinction between them. Rebranding to "Eyewitness News" in 2026? Really? We know there was some discussion about changing logos during the development of the ABC O&O graphics (including new logos entirely), and for a brief period this exact unification of Circle 7s was considered. Ultimately, the package launched with a compromise, where most everyone kept their version of the Circle 7 with a unified color palette. Now, years later, they unify on a logo, but go a step further and just roll out Eyewitness News in a market where it's totally unnecessary. "ABC7 Eyewitness News" is not a unique brand. Not to mention that "Eyewitness News" remains an active trademark registered to CBS and "Action News" still belongs to Cox. It's quite strange for Disney of all companies to be stuck in this brand limbo, where they keep reinforcing the brands they don't own and not the ones that they do.

This is what confuses me: the on-air brand changed without thought to the digital brand. If anything, in this day and age, there should be even less emphasis on TV branding. There has also been no explanation on air for the change from what I've seen. I get the sense that this was a reluctant and not super well-thought out change. WABC and KABC still calling themselves Eyewitness News, I totally get. I didn't think WLS' change back to that brand was necessary at the time, but I get they did it for a throwback reason that may have resonated with their viewers. For KGO, the only honest reason for this change is "because New York, LA, and Chicago all do it and it makes sharing graphics easier," and that's a pretty lame reason.

Some news involving New York's Capitol Region (both articles from The Albany Times-Union, meaning they are paywalled)... Seven years at WTEN, four as Nexstar's New York State political reporter, and Jamie DeLine is leaving for a new job in Raleigh. https://www.timesunion.com/kristi/article/political-reporter-jamie-deline-leaving-wten-new-21331751.php Also, Meteorologist Reid Kisselback will be leaving WNYT at the end of the week. He, too, has accepted a new job in Raleigh. https://www.timesunion.com/kristi/article/meteorologist-reid-kisselback-leaving-wnyt-21331416.php So what's the connection here if both are taking new jobs in Raleigh? Well, actually, they're married to each other and are expecting their first child together, a baby girl, this winter so congrats to them on that front.

Dispatch is great for New York, I'd even accept it in Chicago, but tonally, it's absolutely a downgrade in LA. And While WABC's font works for them, they're more likely to fall in line with the 3 others than for New York's to roll out to the rest, which was the plan at the package's launch.

Shocked. I would’ve bet my mortgage on this not happening.

Dispatch might be a little “too New York,” but it’s an improvement over KABC’s last package. All KABC, KGO, WLS, and KTRK need now is the WABC Eyewitness News font.

I think we're overthinking this here. WLS's is still abc7chicago.com despite having Eyewitness News. Just my two cents but I don't think websites need to change just because of switching to the Eyewitness News branding. They're still ABC 7's...

Wow ABC really wants the ABC 7 logo to be consistent in their top tier stations. The KGO switch was totally left field. I'm really going to miss the stations previous logos. It was those subtle differences that forged unique identities for them. There was a charm in that. Even back in the days when WLS' logo was awkwardly placed haha. I thought it was the most quirkiest. I guess they are adopting this practice from the other national networks, like CBS and NBC. Now I wonder, if WABC will modify their unique "Eyewitness News" wordmark to match the ones on the other stations in the west.. I'm glad KGO kept their version of the ABC O&O theme. I still think its wild that KABC switched to the WABC music Dispatch theme. Its not a fit for LA in my opinion. The theme feels out of place for that region.

While I wouldn't wear a suit with tennis shoes myself, I don't find an issue with Dale wearing them in the open. I think it is the station's attempt to make him more relatable. Even though he is a news anchor, he wants to be in with the trends, etc. If you pause the open, you will see in Margot's shots that she is wearing a strapless shirt while surrounded by her family. Again, not an issue. I like that the ABC stations group uses these opens to make their people apppear to be more human and not your average robotic news anchor.

As we all know, 2026 will be a big year for NBC due to the Olympics, Super Bowl 60, NBA, MLB, NFL, other sports, plus the busy political cycle with President Trump and the midterms so I get why NBC 5 has been making these moves. Last year, NBC 5 lured away Chuck Goudie from ABC 7 to strengthen the investigative team and now this year with Lou Canellis from FOX 32 to strengthen the sports coverage, and as the station becomes highly sampled, they obviously want that momentum from these events to continue beyond these periods, which goes into why they made the investment into new digital proof-state of the art studios, integration with Telemundo Chicago for extended resources, better reporting, and investigative content, as well as being more present in the communities across the Chicagoland region. The other stations in town better watch out because NBC 5 will be highly sampled this year and may slowly take a half or more of the ratings cake away from channel 7. They have done it before during parts of the 1990s, 2010s, and they might do it again. The NBC O&O stations are in a state of momentum right now due to the stations prioritizing stability and substance, and it is paying off in the ratings, so we will see what happens in Chicago.

Yes -- if there are duopolies, they can't have the Olympic rings showing on non-NBC channels...

I believe it has to do with the Olympic rings. They probably needed the 12 to make the peacoc rings lockup work. The rings also can't appear anywhere near the ABC logo.

Understandably so, Savannah Guthrie has dropped out of NBC’s Olympic coverage during the bizarre disappearance of her mother. https://awfulannouncing.com/nbc/savannah-guthrie-drops-olympics-coverage-mom-reported-missing.html?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter#

Update: 'Today' show host Savannah Guthrie's mother missing in Arizona, evidence of crime at home: Sheriff - ABC News