mre29

Here's one tidbit that might help explain that: The college the town hall Trump rally was held at? Final exams start tomorrow. Those students didn't need the kind of disruption this event brought.

And let's not forget the massive programming overlap with Ion. As for so many of them still having the MNTV-based branding.... well, that's just laziness on their part. But there might be something else. Way back in 2006 when the CW was announced and Fox announced MyNetworkTV in response, stations were rushing to affiliate with one or the other, including changing call letters (sometimes for the first time in decades) -- as if "independent" was a four-letter word. This was especially surprising as Fox was using MNTV to test a format that was new, at least here in the US: Telenovelas. Dramas that ran five nights a week for thirteen weeks, then ended; 65 episodes and out, replaced by another show of the same length. It didn't go well at all, and the telenovelas were reduced to two nights a week in March 2007 before being eliminated altogether. The switch from network to programming service came in 2009. All those stations that had rushed to affiliate with MNTV and change their call letters and branding probably felt foolish when the whole thing collapsed. Personally, I think Fox's announcement of the switch to a programming service should have included a request that affiliates move away from their MNTV-based branding. But the aforementioned fear of the word "independent" was likely still at play.

I honestly thought Nexstar had pretty much hit the cap and wouldn't be able to buying anything in a market bigger than, say, DMA 150. Took a peek at KUSI's website. I see they're still rocking the mid-2000s Fox News color scheme.

Nope.

I wonder if WSBK quietly dropping MNTV and going independent last September is related at all to these stations going indie.

I just noticed that CNBC is providing live coverage of Berkshire-Hathaway's annual shareholder meeting, including Warren Buffet taking questions. Is this something the network offers to all major corporations, or is it just because of Buffett?

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?

So, when do the affiliation deals for KIRO, WANF, and WTSP expire?

It also shows that the Ion stations aren't set in stone; if Scripps sees a good use for one, they'll use it.

NBCLX seems like something that could've been a one-hour show on WMAQ America -- er, NBC News Now.

Sounds like WBBM rushed the switchover so they wouldn't be last. Now it's down to just WJZ and KOVR. 13 versus 13! Who will blink first?

Doesn't Gray have some sort of connection to WRCB?

It's, uh.... it's already being used.

Physical media, I'm guessing. DVDs, Blu-rays, laserdiscs, VHS, Betamax, 35mm film reels, etc.

That would actually be hilarious.

For the record, I have no opinion about her. I was just wondering if GoldenShine9 wanted to see her and the rest of Standard Media's staff banished, too.

Even if doing so takes out Deb McDermott and Standard Media in the crossfire?

Hmm....If the helicopter is supposed to get maintenance and an inspection every 100 flight hours, that inspection would have to be more frequent than once a year. Otherwise, it would only be in the air for an average of 16.4 minutes per day.

So, are we taking bets as to which station (WBBM, WJZ, or KOVR) is the last to switch?* *Asks the guy who does not have money to spare right now.

You do know The Conners isn't the only sitcom that has laugh tracks, right?

The Morgan Murphy stations use white, orange, and what looks like dark gray with a touch of blue. It's strikingly different from other packages.

I have to admit, this looks pretty good: It also makes me want to see what the black box looks like with just the 3 in it. Anyone want to mock that up? Oh, and is Morgan Freeman aware that he's apparently been cloned? Because that's who Ukee Washington's voice reminds me of -- in a good way, of course.

I've gone ahead and started a Speculatron thread for HLN. As Daleks would say, SPEC-U-LATE!!

That's a bad thing?

Meanwhile, HLN, which has been showing older Warner Bros. TV dramas on weekends -- first The West Wing, now Fringe -- has expanded that to weeknights, with Third Watch now showing at a rate of four episodes per night (8:00pm to midnight, ET). I mention it despite not being sure this is the correct thread anymore for discussing HLN. I mean, does the channel even fall under Licht's purview outside of simulcasting CNN This Morning? Do we have to move this discussion to the Breakroom?