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Probably not. CBS is dropping The CW from their stations to wipe their hands of the network for good, and to potentially get local sports rights. WSBK and WBFS dropping MyNetworkTV, on the other hand, was just them dropping a network that really isn't anymore (if it ever was in the first place).

Here’s what Wendy McMahon had to say about programming these new (and possibly existing) independents in the Deadline piece: Sounds like there’s a new game plan in the works for the CBS independent stations that isn’t just tired court shows.

It's why so many broadcasting companies were sold in their entirety, why Nexstar and Sinclair became so gargantuan, why companies such as Hearst, Graham, and other relatively smaller companies haven't been able to make as many acquisitions, why ABC had to pass on buying WJLA (remember, they didn't want the rest of the Albritton stations), etc. It's also a loophole in the tax code, one that should be closed by Congress. But it won't be. They could skip a few steps by doing a facility swap between KUNS and KSTW, a la the WFOR-WTVJ swap back in the '90s. It would have the side effect of putting KUNS on channel 11 and KSTW on 51, though. Is anyone here going to lose sleep over MyNetwork TV not being in 24 markets?

Somebody would probably want the spectrum... Also you've gotta love big corporations and their aversion to paying taxes. They'd rather be in a cash crunch than pay taxes!

More like a clone of "Cheddar News"....dumbing things down for Gen Z.... At least it's not as ill-conceived as the TBD network....that's like trying to surf the internet on a landline phone.

In the major markets it certainly can. It's two hours of programming. This is not akin to losing a major network affiliation with numerous time periods to fill.

I'm surprised the CW is still a tv network with ratings as low as they are. Again, this begs the question, what will local station lineups look like with stations going independent and less syndication options. It cannot simply be news overkill.

Jacksonville, Boston, Indianapolis, Johnson City, Wisconsin, San Francisco They won't think twice about pulling the plug.

The KMAX and WPSG situations are easy. KQCA and WPHL. Mind you, the latter is a MyNetwork affiliate owned by Nexstar.

Okay this is just me thinking out loud here... KBCW > KRON KMAX > NO OPTIONS KSTW> KONG WKBD>WADL Sub Channel WPCW>WTAE OR/WPGH Sub Channels WTOG>NO OPTIONS WPSG>NO OPTIONS WUPA>WPCH OR/WANF Sub Channels So I only see the CW missing in 3 markets here after CBS drops them. My Network TV is without stations in 24 Markets, they will do just fine!!!

CBS getting WSB in an asset swap would be the most insane thing ever and I can totally see it happening.

CBS isn't afraid to pull the trigger.

Nexstar owns KRON and most of The CW, and Fox owns KTVU/KICU and MyNetworkTV, so that’s an easy shift.

Most things on those independent stations is junk these days. I would love to go back to them showing live sports.

I would love to see the Tigers and Wings back on WKBD like many of the games prior to 2004. If a conflict happens, maybe WKBD could put said games on one of their subchannels. Not surprised about Paramount dropping their CW affiliations as they've been wanting out for awhile now.

The big thing here is pro football. There is a lot of money to be made by owning both the local and national sides of that programming. And with CBS now being able to show more NFC games, they would be crazy to leave that affiliation with somebody else. Those two stations are going to be CBS. Why put money in other people's pockets? Tampa too! They were doing 3-year affiliation agreements, so my read on this is that they expire in early 2024.

A little less important thing here is with the 'Columbia' part of the 'Columbia-Warner Network' out of the equation (at least station-wise), do we see a rebrand coming for the network itself like The NX, NexTV, or SookNet (I'm not serious on the last one)? As for the ratings outside whatever Nexstar keeps out of this year's schedule (so far just All-American and the Saturday/Sunday night reality filler blocks), it doesn't really matter. Whatever Nexstar throws on, it's basically just going to be like Heartland, which fills any timeslot without a pulse on weekends and has no particular loyalty outside a small viewerbase that finds handholding to be a break of morals, or CanCon/international content that most anyone who was already a fan long ago found much easier/ad-free (or with more interesting ads) via a VPN. CBSNS will not only be fine, but likely to be glad to be rid of the branding yoke. And Hearst will likely offer additional Go Time filler to help these stations, as CBS made the contract for OMM, not Nexstar.

Correlation does not imply causation. Nearly every media company’s stock price has been dragging for the last month. The local TV business in general isn’t doing great right now. While this move definitely makes it easier for CBS to move the network in house in Atlanta and Seattle if it wanted to, I highly doubt that’s happening this fall. The Deadline article would’ve mentioned it, and CBS has affiliation contracts to fulfill. EDIT: If those agreements expire in 2024, I suppose things could potentially get interesting. Stay tuned, I guess.

I honestly have a hard time seeing those stations losing the CBS affiliation, and their owners will probably try to package them to prevent it. The smartest move IMO for CBS is to sell the stations in those markets.

Clearly positioning for potential local sports opportunities as RSNs fail, and also I wonder if we could see some simulcasts of CBS Sports HQ or CBS News Streaming? Even better question - are there options for the CW in those markets?

how will the independents perform in this type of market? that's what I'm curious about.

On the air, Vivian would often talk about how 76º is the perfect temperature. To this day, I still associate that temperature with Vivian every single time I see a forecast of 76ºF.

Anyone know the status of the new studios for News4NY and Telemundo47? Any timing? From some plans that were posted last year, I'm assuming it will have some elements from WRC (the circular look).

I guess Chicago is enough of a channel number market to warrant keeping the 2. Although I have no idea why they're using their 2 in the intro and the WCBS 2 in the bug.

What's that song? Na, na, na, na, na, na, hey, hey, hey ... goodbye! I love the creativity of the competitive marketplace. I love that we are a country where people like Henry Ford and Steve Jobs could create something out of nothing. That's not what these clowns are doing. They're taking somebody else's creation to starve it of money and then leave it broken and in a ditch on the side of the road. Sorry for the mixed metaphors. Not that I like government any better than these clowns, but in this case they are doing the right thing. Bye-bye Sue kim. I hope this folly cost you hundreds of millions of dollars.

About time...

Doesn’t sound like it’s a given that CBS will put the affiliation on WUPA. Braves, Hawks and the rumored new NHL team on WUPA?

If that happens forget "CBS News Atlanta", ATL would go crazy like Philly did when WPVI dropped the original "MCTYW". honestly "WSB News and streaming on CBS News Atlanta"

Surprised George & Robin didn't anchor the coronation. The primary anchor roles were left to Michael & Lara. The same on CBS, I don't see Gayle, Tony & Nate, just the weekend team.

The CW is losing good stations.

Hasn't Gutfeld been on top of some of those network late night shows in the ratings lately? Even during the regular, non-repeat season? Bill Maher's Real Time show is also on hiatus. It's the only late-night show I watch nowadays.

With Nexstar owning the CW, they may be in play to have drawn the short straw. With the implosion of the RSNs and the explosion of local news content, both are DVR-proof programming that can thrive on broadcast TV. Basically with Nexstar calling the shots at at the CW, they put themselves at a serious disadvantage without major investment from their former majority owners. The netlet era is over, unless Nexstar can find gold. So far it's a controversial golf league and an albatross news network. If they were smart they would be pursuing the soon-to-be available sports leagues that the RSNs can no longer afford. But of course the problem in all of this is retransmission revenue. The programming is so expensive so it's going to come back somehow... Likely in the form of a blackout come renewal time.

It’s not out of the realm of possibility that WMYD and WKBD each land teams (the Red Wings and Tigers on WMYD and the Pistons on WKBD, or vice versa). It’s also not impossible that WMYD takes The CW and snags a contract with one major-league team (e.g., the Pistons). Even if both stations acquire sports rights, I’m not sure if it makes sense for there to be two general entertainment independents in Detroit in this day and age (even-larger markets like New York, LA, Chicago and Philadelphia can make it work, but even that’s complicated to sustain there).

RIP Tony Valdez. Legacy KTTV nightside reporter.

This is also a situation that is highly in flux. Long term, I just can’t exactly see Paramount operating stand-alone indies in markets like Tampa and Seattle. It IS possible that Paramount conducts an asset swap or two to better align things… say, giving WTOG and WBXI-LD to Tegna, Tegna gives CBS KHOU/KTBU and gives WFAA and KVUE to Cox, while Cox gives CBS KIRO-TV… or some level of horse trading to that effect. Simply selling them feels like a non-starter because taxes, plus Atlanta and Seattle are not easy to find a buyer for. Even if they run out this fall, for the short term, plugging in movies in primetime and reruns of Paramount Network and Paramount+ shows seems like a good enough concept. Supplement it with sports play-by-play, the CBS News Now hybrid and local renditions of KMAX’s Good Day. This can include Atlanta, even if CBS takes the affiliation in-house at channel 69. Nothing stopping them from buying a WTBS-LD and moving the new indie format to 6.1 and 69.2

Not to mention the article’s reference to CBSNS entertaining offering sports on the stations indicates it’s looking to poach some major professional sports teams from Bally Sports and AT&T SportsNet. Half of the affected markets have teams carried by networks owned by either group (Bally in three markets, AT&T in one), meaning Paramount is likely to scout for teams in Tampa, Atlanta, Pittsburgh and Detroit. Seattle, Philly, Sacramento and San Francisco are served by Root Sports Northwest and the NBC Sports Philadelphia, California and Bay Area channels, respectively. Though its less likely that WPSG can take the 76ers, Flyers and Phillies, KMAX can take the Kings, and KBCW can take the Giants, As, Sharks and Warriors for now, and the prospects of getting the Mariners and Kraken to be able to move to KSTW are unclear; NBCUniversal doesn’t seem to be getting out of the RSN business just yet and Root Sports’ status is questionable as while minority partner Warner Bros. Discovery is getting out of the RSN business, the Seattle Mariners majority own the network.

I assume most will become news-heavy, a’la KCAL.