jerseyfla

Yes, you’ll need to watch it on a desktop with Adobe Flash. If only I knew how to rip it to mp4 and put it on Youtube.

Here is a link to that promo from the Internet Wayback Machine. You have to hit continue go to the 70s, then 1977 and then click on Bob Hite sails to Tampa, the promo then plays. https://web.archive.org/web/20050326181659/http://media.tbo.com/wfla/flash/timeline/popup.htm

WPMI is owned by Sinclair. Kind of a go figure. If any other group owned WPMI, Greg Peterson probably would have been fired for violating state law with his side venture.

The logo may look similar to KGTV and WJAR's old logos but I think it looks more like a knockoff of WFLA's 1982-1988 Spirit of Tampa Bay "Figure 8" logo. Kind of an odd looking logo for 2020.

I remember when Belo changed the graphics at WWL back 8 or 9 years ago (I think) with a rotating logo bug in the right corner. The viewers complained left and right on social media and probably via phone too and within a week the rotating graphic was frozen. I wonder if more complaints ensued once Belo and Gannett merged to become TEGNA and launched the standardized packages to WWL. I'm sure Tegna brass said "to hell with the viewers" this time. I bet someone at WNEP gave Tegna brass the run down on what effects could happen if they ditch MCTYW Schwartz-style like ABC did with WPVI.

This was replaced by a reboot of Tattletales with Bert Convy in January 1982. 4pm became an infamous daytime death slot for CBS. Most CBS affiliates and even their O&Os programmed syndicated shows at 4pm and shifted the 4pm scheduled show to 9:30am or Noon, or never showed it. CBS tried to put a game show in this slot for 4.5 years. All great game shows in Tattletales 2.0, Body Language, and Press Your Luck but nothing stuck. CBS moved Press Your Luck in January 1986 to make room for Card Sharks, CBS figured more affiliates would change their schedules to keep PYL and it never happened and the most iconic game show of the 80’s was gone by September as CBS gave 4pm back to the affiliates.

Wow! Carol Jenkins looks great!

Actually, next year will be the 40th anniversary of many stations swapping NBC for ABC in 1980 due to ABC's massive ratings at that time and the network seeking stronger affiliates. Atlanta-ABC swapped from WXIA to WSB losing NBC Dayton-ABC swapped from WKEF to WDTN losing NBC (reversed August 2004) Jacksonville-ABC swapped from WJKS (now WCWJ) to WTLV losing NBC (reversed April 1988) Not 1980 but 1979 for the same reason Indianapolis-ABC swapped from WTHR to WRTV losing NBC

Another WFTV alum headed to the big leagues at WSB. I'm glad to see him come up to my new neck of the woods, I liked Jorge when he was at WFTV the first time around when I was in Cocoa Beach.

It wasn’t that late. At least according to this ID before an episode of Super Password in May 1988 it wasn’t.

This is probably when they launched the "Watch Our Spirit Now" promos with the "Newswatching Out For You" slogan. But as a newscast close from 1984 shows, WXFL didn't stop using the soft instrumental close to close the newscasts. They had so many graphic iterations of promos during The Spirit of Tampa Bay's time. They had the pre-call letter change multi colored logo which was on the trucks, the yellow logo with black background on the mics, and the gold logo with blue background after the call letter change. I think I saw 5 different show promo graphics for the station from 1982-1985 to when they went to the Gannett knockoff graphics and they went with Power News for newscasts and Turn To News for promos.

The only viewership WIIC got in the 70s was when the Steelers played on Sundays and Pirates played on The Game of The Week on NBC. If it weren't for the Steelers success starting in 1972, I'd think WPXI would still remain a laggard in the ratings.

10 minutes of a WTAE newscast from January 20, 1980, the night the Pittsburgh Steelers won their fourth Super Bowl. Most of the open included too. At the end you see part of KDKA’s news open from that same night, which KDKA posted on their own website 10 years ago. Which was the last time the Steelers won a Super Bowl.

Maybe we see those RSNs go back to their Pre-Fox/Sportschannel names like Sunshine Network, HSE, SportsSouth, PASS, etc.

Jamie Simpson, the Chief Meteorologist at WKEF/WRGT Dayton who was made famous for during an EF 4 tornado hitting the Dayton area telling viewers complaining about missing The Bachelorette due to storm coverage “I’m done with you people” was arrested this morning for OVI (Ohio’s term for DUI, DWI aka drunk driving). www.whio.com/news/crime--law/meteorologist-arrested-for-ovi-miamisburg/RdipSddDy1cKHJ3YzawlJK/amp.html Here’s the kicker though, the ND from WKEF/WRGT told the other Dayton media outlets that he was already unemployed before the incident occurred this morning. His profile was on the station’s website yesterday. He hasn’t been on air in 2 weeks but something smells fishy. Simpson was fired from his Chief Met position at WHIO back in 2014 after he blew a .228 and swerved and hit a tree.

You just made my morning. Fantastic find!

I wonder if this means Movies! or Buzzr disappears from Fox O&Os. I think most likely Movies! but Buzzr has the most accessibility of any netlet out there being on video streaming apps Pluto and Sinclair’s Stirr. So if Buzzr goes it’s not a huge loss.

To add to this. Here is coverage from the Big 3 Pittsburgh stations of the Pirates World Series parade. Beginning with the end of the KDKA newscast I linked earlier.

With my Youtube find from yesterday, how about I post the next year with the Philadelphia Phillies winning the 1980 World Series. I found this a few years ago, it has post game/celebration news coverage with channel flipping through all 3 Philly TV stations and post game coverage from WPHL who was the long time OTA flagship for the Phillies at that time. One question comes to mind. When did League Championship Series and World Series games stop being carried by the team's OTA Flagship station? I knew WPHL did their own coverage of the 1980 NLCS parallel with ABC's coverage but it was interesting to see KDKA show the World Series when they are a CBS affiliate showing a game off of ABC.

Partial KDKA 2 Eyewitness News October 17, 1979. The night the Pittsburgh Pirates won the World Series.

This was the bid for WM VI in 1990. LA wouldn’t get this one, Skydome (now Rogers Center) in Toronto would get it. LA would host WM VII the next year. Vince McMahon used security concerns from Operation Desert Storm as his excuse for why the event was moved to the LA Sports Arena from the Coliseum to cover up the low ticket sales.

I’m hoping they repost the post-Super Bowl XIV newscast from January 20, 1980 again. KDKA had it on their website 10 years ago when the Steelers won their last Super Bowl. Also maybe they should or should have redone (since it’s winter) an image campaign like their sister WBZ did last year. Maybe Here’s 2 or Renaissance 2.

Longtime WPXI Sports Director Sam Nover died overnight. He was a major part of the Pittsburgh Steelers TV coverage during the team’s dynasty in the 70s when then-WIIC was the team’s flagship station carrying their preseason games and the majority of their regular and postseason games carried on NBC. He also was the last person to interview Roberto Clemente two months before he died tragically in a plane crash on New Year’s Eve 1972. He worked for WIIC/WPXI from 1970-2001 with a two year stint at NBC in between from 1980-82. https://www.post-gazette.com/local/region/2018/12/04/Sam-Nover-longtime-WPXI-sportscaster-dies-at-77/stories/201812040178

It probably was a double douche move all happening over the weekend. WBNS finds out Bradley is going to die (surely before he made the statement on social media), calls Elwell and says “Hey, we need a new Chief Met. Wanna come back?” Elwell says “Sure!”. Elwell tells WHIO, “Hey I got offered the Chief position at my old station, I’m going to take it and leave in a month and a half” WHIO says “Oh really?!!” “Well good for you!” “You’re demoted to Noon and McCall Vrydaghs will take your place effective immediately!”. Or in reality knowing how much of a good guy Eric Elwell is, he told them and graciously scaled back to the Noon to make room for McCall Vrydaghs right away. But he really should have waited a week to announce why he’s on at Noon and McCall is on at night.