CircleSeven

Jersey Matters hosted by former news anchor Larry Mendte. It airs twice on the weekends. WDPN also carries it.

WOW! This could be Weigel's biggest acquisition yet (in terms of price)...... They're acquiring PMCM's WJLP for $62.5M! The deal also includes NYC LP outlet WNWT-LD. So PMCM has now sold both of its TV stations. WDPN was sold to Marantha Broadcasting (owners of WFMZ) in 2015 for $25M.

Update. Seems that Vaughan has withdrawn the application. Don't know why that it. EDIT: I just thought of this just now. Remember when Sinclair started shifting the networks around earlier this year? They moved Fox to the sub of WKEF. That probably made WRGT a non top-4 station and WBDT the new 4th ranked station.

The Tegna signals could be blacked out on Dish Network on Wednesday.

New PRM. Another Gray station wants to get off of VHF. KKCO wants to move from VHF 12 to UHF 30.

So Dakota News Now continues is fulfillment of expanding newscasts by adding weekend morning shows. It was launched a couple of weeks back (9/18). To not compete with KELOland, their shows are aired on the late morning hour at 9am. It airs on KSFY on Saturdays after the 2nd hour of Good Morning America; and on KDLT on Sundays after Meet The Press.

Happy October. New M&A. Weigel is snagging another CA station. They're getting Bishop's KVME from Venture Technologies (Bellagio Broadcasting) for $4M. This comes after Weigel bought three other Venture stations in the LA market last month.

"First Alert" for a news brand........ The question is why?

New M&A. Looks like Byron Allen is grabbing another TV station in Hawaii. Allen Media is acquiring Honolulu station KIKU from RNN National for $4M. Remember last year, the station acquired ABC outlet KITV 4 from SJL Broadcasting for $30M.

KPIX airs EN at 6:30pm. I sure they'll keep that airing. And KABC (in LA) airs WNT @ 6:30 (KGO @ 5:30).

Two PRMs (KNOE & WYMT) have advanced to NPRM. I really thought the WYMT one would be the hold up petition giving that they're roughly close to Cincinnati's WLWT (which serves northern Kentucky) whose also on RF 20. Look at the two contours here. _________________________________ There is a hold up, however regarding Medford Oregon's KTVL move from VHF 10 to UHF 16. A religious broadcaster theDove Media (the owner of LP station KDSO-LD, which currently occupies on RF 16) filed comments against KTVL's move to their allotment. They say it would "lose" its "unique voice" in the market if the LP gets displaced, and that CBS would be lost to about 9,000 people should the channel move occurs. What's even more shocking is that they even written a "counterproposal" to have a "new" full power signal on RF 16. KTVL wrote a reply to their comments stating that if they want a full power signal, there are five other vacant UHF allotments they can file a petition for. Listen, I understand that theDove wants to stay on RF 16 and not want a big CBS affiliate taking their allotment or whatever. But here's the problem. theDove doesn't have any standing. LPs & translators don't get protection over their allotments (Class A LPs DO get protection, but KDSO-LD is not a Class A). So if a full power wants to occupy on an allotment an LP is currently in, they can do so. That means the LP has to find a new allotment to go to. So I think in the end, the FCC is going to greenlight KTVL's UHF switch, and put theDove's "counterproposal" to bed.

So we now know what they'll be using WLFM-LD for. WOIO will be launching a new Telemundo affiliate for Northeast Ohio with new callsign "WTCL", beginning January 1st. Still hope they can repeat WOIO on a sub (19.10) on that stick for those in-city folk who can't get 19 on RF 10.

I just watched a news piece on a closing of a well-known Wendy's at "Dave Thomas Circle". And I'm shocked to see WRC still using the 2016 gfx post-Olympics. You would think they would've switched like the rest of the group before the games......

Okay. The Tegna sale talk is in this thread in the Speculatron.

They also use that version for Nightline. Oh, so I see 20/20 with the "regular" on-screen bug. Why can't they just be consistent with what they use?

I knew Tegna was going to drop the "Local" branding. But do the logo needs to look like WVEC with that slant on the end?.....

They only use that bug for ABC News shows like 20/20.

So Gray is adding another weekly program to join Greta. Its investigative unit is launching a new weekly half-hour program this weekend, appropriately titled InvestigateTV.

One R&O. One NPRM. R&O: KTUL (10 > 14) NPRM: Channel 4 NCE allotment Fort Bragg, CA - One Ministries, Inc. filed this PRM for this new allotment.

A couple of M&A approvals today. The KTNL deal in Sitka, AK to Ketchikan Television. The KASA deal (along with the plethora of LPs & translators in NM) to NBC/Telemundo. .....and they got it. Deal completed today (9/15).

OMG! Giorgio Moroder's Chase as a news open. Wow!

Follow up. The FCC has greenlighted the Lotus acquisition today (9/10). This approval comes with a condition: So close this deal by three weeks from now (10/1). Or you won't be able to until after the FCC renews your license. I've never seen this kind of stipulation before.....

It is difficult to find a vacant channel that wouldn't cause intereference with stations on the same allotment in adjacent markets. Especially when you live in the Northeast quadrant of the country where the use of the TV spectrum is extremely high (even post-repack). Also, you have these Class A LPs that are protected from being displaced from their allotments (unlike the regular LPs and translators). Most of the channel changes have happened in roughly smaller markets in the South, Midwest & West where they're not using that much spectrum. I was shocked to see WRGB found a channel given that heavy spectrum use in that part of the country. Take for example, RF 20 in Cleveland (where LP station WLFM-LD occupies, the one Gray just bought). If they want a full power allotment on RF 20, the FCC wouldn't allow it because it would greatly interfere with that Sinclair station in Pittsburgh (WPGH 53, also on 20) and that PBS outlet in Detroit (WTVS 56, also on 20). Here's the contours of the three stations (the LP, and the two full powers) I'm talking about. I'm not saying don't give up hope. I'm also not saying to hold your breath either. This is why you see Gray gobbling up on these unbuilt LP-permits and some operating LPs. I'm hoping they'll light some of these up and not let it sit and let the permits expire. __________________________________________________ Anywho, we have a new M&A. Weigel is getting more LPs. They're buying four Class A LPs (three from SoCal and one in VA, west of DC) from Venture Technologies for $17M. KHTV-CD & KSFV-CD Los Angeles for $7M. KPOM-CD Ontario, CA for $7M. WAZT-CD Woodstock, VA $3M. KPOM shares spectrum with KSFV; while KHTV shares spectrum with already-owned KAZA-TV. And let me also mention that Weigel has completed the WZME sale from NRJ TV on 8/31. Also, another M&A from last month. Scripps bought a couple of LPs-permits from Mako Communications for $70K. K32OR-D Palm Springs, CA W33EP-D Key West, FL Also, Nexstar has gotten the FCC greenlight of the KGBT deal. So it'll be a legal duopoly with KVEO once its closes. And finally, KSNB received its construction permit for its RF 24 York allotment. The Federal Register posted the final rule eight days after the R&O was posted (8/31). And received the permit three days after that (9/2). That was fast. Should the installation of the KOLN tower be completed, this would be the first time all big-4 network stations (based out of Lincoln and on its primary .1 signals) would be easily reachable in the capital city. That includes KLKN (ABC) & KFXL (Fox).

I believe they're talking about KYES already in the top-4 at the time it acquired CBS from KTVA last year. And not that the time it bought the station in 2016. Also the station moved from VHF-low 5 to VHF-high 7 in 2018. It would be nice to provide some Comscore or Nielsen proof that KYES was in the top-4 at the time of the CBS acquisition. Let's not forget it acquired KYES under failed station waiver, with that condition from the other Democratic controlled FCC (under Wheeler), that it wasn't going to acquire another big-4 affiliation two years after consummation. That condition ended in 2018. They also said that acquiring CBS from KTVA was not a "swap" meaning KTVA didn't acquire the MyNet from KYES. If you all remember the infamous Hawaii switch of KFVE & KGMB in 2009, the stations swapped callsigns & programming. That was classified (in their eyes) as a "swap". They going to say anything to not pay this fine. But if they didn't do anything wrong, why did they later move the CBS over to the LP (K22HN) & have it on the subchannel on KTUU? They could have done this in the first place. It'll be interesting to see whether this $500K+ will stand. We'll see what happens......

That change happened this week. Feder first reported on the change last month. LMAD & Drew Barrymore switched slots, with Drew moving to 9am.