Mrtraveler01

Whoa! A bombshell, indeed.

I'm going to miss him. When I go down to visit family in NOLA, I always like watching Fox 8 when he's doing the weather because he always makes it so entertaining. Amazing to see how a transplant from the Midwest became as much of a part of New Orleans as the locals down there.

This is a pretty Sinclair move. But not too surprising, they seem to want their viewers either afraid or outraged over something (even their Town Halls are politicized), even more so than other members of the "mainstream media" which really aren't that much better.

Just another example of what a joke Sinclair is when it comes to journalism.

The 4am weekday morning news trend is growing by the month...

 

[MEDIA=twitter]659424582655483904[/MEDIA]

https://changingnewscasts.wordpress.com/2015/11/01/kyou-adding-local-news-900-pm-tomorrow/

The bigger news (at least for me anyway since I lived in the market) is that in Market 200, there is now a competitor to the previous monopoly Sinclair-owned KTVO had on the Kirksville-Ottumwa market. Starting yesterday, American Spirit/Raycom-owned KYOU has a 7-minute long newscast at 9pm. Plans are to eventually expand it to a 30 minute long newscast in the next couple of weeks.

I am trying to get more details but it looks like that a portion of it (at least the weather part) will be based out of Cincinnati's WXIX.

The irony in all of this is that Raycom used to own their competitor KTVO until they sold it to Barrington back in 2006. Hence why KYOU is owned by American Spirit instead of Raycom itself.

Here is the new logo. If it's the standard Raycom production quality, that will probably force Sinclair to finally bring Curves and the new graphics to KTVO.

I never thought I'd see the day that KTVO would have a competitor but I guess with Iowa being such a political battleground state these days, a news operation in Iowa is too difficult to pass up.

Well, it happened. FOX is now only on WTVC 9.2 in Chattanooga, and has changed its branding from "FOX 61" to "FOX Chattanooga". WDSI meanwhile has ThisTV on 61.1 and Comet TV on 61.2. MNT has moved to WFLI 53.2. Chattanooga is now the largest market (and first Top 100 market) to have FOX on a subchannel of a Big 3 station.

http://www.rabbitears.info/market.php?request=station_search&callsign=22590#station

http://www.rabbitears.info/market.php?request=station_search&callsign=72060#station

http://www.rabbitears.info/market.php?request=station_search&callsign=22590#station

So basically they took the Fox Rochester logo and replaced it with "Chattanooga".

It's also worth noting that with the new rebrand, the newscasts on Fox Chattanooga got the new graphics.

ICYMI, WFXR 27 launched its new in-house local news operation today. The morning newscast has been renamed WFXR News - Good Day Virginia and is now on the air from 5:00-9:00 a.m. weekday mornings. WFXR News - First at 10:00 has always been an hour-long on weeknights, but will soon be an hour on weekends too, starting October 3rd.

 

And it looks like WFXR 27 is using somewhat different graphics from other Nexstar stations and they've decided to use Extreme by Stephen Arnold Music. You can see a small portion of the 10:00pm news open under this story's video:

 

http://www.virginiafirst.com/news/local-news/wfxrs-commitment-to-local-news

The choice in colors for those graphics remind me a lot of the Scripps package.

Obviously it's not the same package but you can tell they were trying to base the colors of the package off of that one.

Looks like Tribune and ATT U-Verse are heading into a retransmission dispute. This showed up on their webpages today. They have until October 1st to sort it out.

http://fox2now.com/keep-ktvi-on-att-uverse/

KING 5 is doing a town hall after the football game this coming Thrusday about traffic in the Seattle/Tacoma area.

Sinclair is well known for their town halls but usually the topics are more political. Are there any other TEGNA stations that have down Town Halls before? I don't think KSDK ever did one before unless they did one during the Ferguson crisis and I just missed it.

Just noticed that WKTV got some new graphics and the L3's they use look pretty similar to the Sinclair package.

(Actually I think it looks nicer than the Sinclair package)

WOIO has finally switched to the new graphics/branding.

They're not using CBS Local either which is very surprising. Here is the stream.

http://www.19actionnews.com/category/291914/19-action-news-live

Here's a better picture of Cleveland's CBS 19 News logo on their Facebook page.

It's not even in use yet in their newscasts and already that logo looks horrendously dated. Did I step back in time and it's now 1995 all of a sudden?

 

...That horse's mouth is, uh, interesting, but it is real:

 

http://dishnetworkretrans.com/

 

That is SBG's website on the affair. They are claiming that the deal expires tomorrow and apparently lots of Facebook pages are buzzing with negative comments. Dish, for its part, says negotiations are ongoing and questions why Sinclair felt the need to involve consumers at this point.

 

Stuff like this are why so many people are deciding to "cut the cord" so to speak. So both parties are shooting themselves in the foot anytime they go through this.

If you guys haven't already taken a look at that website, I would suggest it. It's quite an entertaining read.

I thought this was the best part of that website:

 

 

• Q: What is retransmission consent?
  
• A: It’s a long story that started in the 1970s but we won’t bore you! Basically, retransmission consent is the process that cable and satellite companies use to negotiate with the owners of television stations for the right to carry those stations on their cable systems.
  

Gee thanks Sinclair, I didn't realize I was too stupid to understand what re-transmission content was. Otherwise I would've just realized what a money grab this whole scheme is.

Another part I liked:

 

 

• Q: Isn’t this just about greed?
  
• A: No. It’s about a local business just working to operate its business profitably. Given that we spend millions of dollars each year to buy and produce high-quality programming, it is only right and fair that Dish Network compensate us fairly for a portion of our cost, especially since they are re-selling our content to their subscribers. In addition, the inability to reach agreement with Dish Network is related to other material matters besides the amount we are to be paid.
  

Unless I live in Baltimore, Sinclair isn't a local business to me.

And then you get the usual "we should get money for cable companies carrying our OTA signals because ESPN does it so why shouldn't we" spiel:

 

 

• Q: Why should Dish Network have to pay to carry a television station?
  
• A: Nobody would suggest that Dish should be able to carry cable channels such as ESPN, USA, TBS, etc, for free! Dish Network pays large sums of money to these cable channels to have the right to carry and sell to their subscribers. Local TV stations are similar to cable channels in that we pay millions of dollars each year to buy high-quality programming from national networks (such as Fox, ABC, NBC, CBS and CW) and other program creators, and to produce important informational programs, such as the local news and sports. It is just standard business practice that cable companies like Dish Network should pay for the right to resell programming to their subscribers. It is essentially the same as cable channels.
  

• Q: But aren’t television stations available for free over-the-air?
  
• A: Yes, we are very proud that Local TV stations and all their great programming (including network and local shows) are available over-the-air at no cost with the use of an antenna. However, this doesn’t mean that cable companies have the right to resell our signals without properly compensating us. It is no different from the fact that local radio stations are free over-the-air, but a satellite radio company like SiriusXM Radio has no right simply to carry local stations and charge subscribers for it.
  

It's almost always a good thing when a station dumps the MyTV branding, but 22 the Point! sounds more like a radio station to me.

Coincidentally there was a radio station in Pittsburgh that was called The Point back in the 90s.

 

 

http://www.post-gazette.com/ae/tv-radio/2015/05/27/WPNT-TV-fromerly-WPMY-to-focus-on-sports/stories/201505260127

 

 

Looks like based on this promo for a new show featuring a local sports talk radio host (Mark Madden), the new branding is "22 the Point"

https://www.facebook.com/my22pittsburgh?fref=photo

I'm not a huge fan of Sinclair but I will say that they do seem intent on providing a lot more local content for WPNT compared to before.

 

On the move for today:

 

Martha Sugalski is looking forward to August 6 when her future will be revealed according to Orlando Sentinel

 

Also according to www.ftvlive.com there hearing that Stephany Fisher is to head to FOX owned WAGA-TV after her non-complete clause is up. I think this would be perfect for Stephany. If they can move Tom Haynes to Good Day and have Stephany on the 5 & 11pm broadcast good for you WAGA.

 

 

Julian Johnson to leave KMOV and to move to WGCL to stay in the company fold. Also it reporting that KMOV to start a 4pm news in the fall which will shuffle the programming schedule on Channel 4. Either The Price is Right will stay at 11am or move to 10am. Y&R currently airs at 4pm will move to 11am or 3pm like (WGCL), or Dr. Phil could move to 9am a lot is going on at KMOV.

 

Wow, this is big news because the Y&R have been on KMOV at 4pm for a very long time. But since KSDK and the KPLR/KTVI duopoly both have 4pm newscasts, it was inevitible KMOV would join in too. My guess is that they're trying to copy their sister KCTV and start an hour-long 4pm newscast and have TPIR and Y&R air at their regular timeslots (10am for TPIR and Y&R at 11am). Then the question is where will they move "Great Day St. Louis".

A lot of people have left KMOV lately, first Robin Smith retired earlier this week, Craig Cheatham left KMOV to take an assistant ND job up at KSTP and now this. Gotta wonder what is going on at KMOV.

Don't forget that Detroit is a NFC market. Even with the lackluster economy of the market, I don't see Fox selling WJBK unless the Lions join the AFC or something.

 

This website will be rolled out to all of the Nexstar stations.

 

Now if they would only stream their newscasts.

 

So WJCL moved their site to Hearst Television's CMS provider, Lakana (the former Internet Broadcasting). However, they are not using the layout that the other Hearst stations use. Rather, they are using the same layout that Nexstar is rolling out to their stations.

 

It makes you wonder, if the other Hearst stations will get this layout in the near future, because it's responsive and the existing Hearst sites are not (they load a separate mobile skin when I browse on my iPad, for instance).

 

Check it out at http://www.wjcl.com/

 

Looks like they got the weather portion of the Hearst package at least (not sure if this has already been covered).

http://www.wjcl.com/weather/more-very-hot-weather-this-afternoon/20943198/story

It looks like Waypoint Media is doing the exact same thing in Jonesboro that they are also doing in Hattiesburg, MS. Waypoint acquired a low power station there and beamed in a FOX affiliate (and eventually a CW .2) from their facility in Meridian. Waypoint owns both WGBC and WMDN in Meridian, having acquired WMDN from Frank Spain via a failed station waiver.

 

I'm surprised KAIT didn't go after CBS as a .2 prospect. This way, they would still have WMC to import into the market as an NBC. Antitrust issues perhaps?

KAIT just recently added NBC to 8.2 and just simulcast WMC's newscasts.

Not sure how antitrust work with networks on subchannels but I guess Raycom figured it was easier to just make 8.2 a satellite of WMC instead of tackling a new network.

Sinclair's MyNetwork affiliate in Pittsburgh is changing calls from WPMY to WPNT

In addition, they're announcing more local content in the form of high school football (similar to what Sinclair has done in Columbus, San Antonio, West Palm, etc).

http://www.post-gazette.com/ae/tv-radio/2015/05/27/WPNT-TV-fromerly-WPMY-to-focus-on-sports/stories/201505260127

 

KVHP has significant overlap into KBTV's territory. This goes back to when KVHP was the parent station of KUIL-LP, which was FOX's Beaumont affiliate until KBTV took it in 2009.

 

I could see Raycom eventually picking up another affiliate or two on KPLC to attempt to round out the market.

 

Wouldn't shock me. Raycom has been doing that in Biloxi and recently in Jonesboro. The question is which network will Raycom try to go after, ABC or CBS?

I imagine these would replace the Beaumont signals on the cable providers there as I would think viewers would prefer to keep the Lafayette stations over the Beaumont ones. But then again Raycom might want to get rid of both.

 

This may have bigger implications for Lake Charles itself. If KPLC covers the Lafayette area decently, it still has the coverage advantage over piping in news from Baton Rouge.

 

On the flipside, KPLC may challenge "K-JAC" (KBMT's NBC subchannel) if there's enough crossover. If i'm correct, viewers there associate better with the Beaumont-Port Arthur market than with Lafayette for their remaining affiliates.

 

It is good news for Lafayette since they're most likely the largest market in the country now that still relies on an adjacent market for a major network affiliate. But on the flipside, it could mean the ultimate collapse of the Lake Charles market should Lake Charles merge into Beaumont.

 

It could also be the next Zanesville, OH or Victoria, TX if KPLC sticks around for their local Lake Charles viewers.

 

If Lake Charles merges with anyone, I have a feeling it would be Lafayette instead of Beaumont since they're in the same state. I don't think the stations in Beaumont bother to cover anything in Louisiana even though Lake Charles gets stations from Beaumont as well as Lafayette.

 

Big changes are coming to two former ComCorp stations July 1st.

 

In Lafayette, KLAF will become an NBC Affiliate, while MyNetworkTV will move to the DT3 subchannel of KADN. KLAF will also local news by early 2016.

 

And in Waco, KYLE will split off from KWKT and become a MyNetworkTV affiliate.

 

Looks like they'll pipe in news from WVLA in the meantime.

Looks like Nexstar is going to rebuild these stations from the ground up. It's exciting to see even though it'll probably mean the loss of KPLC in that market.

I don't think viewers are going to flee ABC33/40 in droves because Sinclair bought it.

Depends on what Sinclair does to it. If they leave it alone like theyve done with stations like KOMO, you're right but if they start toying around with it, it could have side effects.

 

Just in time for the 2016 election, Sinclair is adding more political programming to its stations, while at the same time, expanding Sharyl Attkisson's role at the company.

 

http://www.tvnewscheck.com/article/84799/sinclair-signs-attkisson-for-sunday-am-news

 

Oh great, now KDNL can bridge between This Week with George Stephanopolous and Ring of Honor. I have a feeling Ring of Honor is going to be more informative than this news program will be, especially since it's being hosted by a woman who thought the Obama Administration hacked into her computer to delete stuff she was typing but most security experts suggest was just a stuck "Backspace" key.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sharyl_Attkisson#Report_of_Attkisson.27s_computer_being_hacked

BTW: Did anyone else catch the irony in this?

 

Attkisson recently authored the New York Times bestseller, Stonewalled, which addresses the unseen influences of corporations and special interests on the information and images the public receives every day.

 

I'm not a huge fan of the Journal graphics, and I admit I'd be disappointed to see Scripps use them as a model for their next standardized graphics package, unless they did something to make the look a bit more appetizing to me. My dislike of them might be from the feeling that they replaced a lot of truly exemplary (also Renderon) stuff on the Journal stations and can't hold a candle to what they replaced.

 

Renderon does great custom stuff, but when they have to go generic they do that a little TOO well (though the 2012 Scripps graphics are alright and way better than

)

 

Renderon is responsible for the current Journal package too if I recall correctly in addition to the Scripps package.

So it's most likely that Renderon will be called again for the next generation of the Scripps package.