tyrannical bastard

They're not getting a new set, they're just getting new studio lighting. Since this set and graphics package was one of the "parting gifts" Tribune left their stations before handing the keys to Nexstar, I wonder how much longer these stations (WJW, WGHP, WGN, etc...) can remain status quo. (photo is from Neil McNeill's WGHP FOX 8 facebook page)

Whether they are truly short-staffed by people leaving and can't fill the jobs, or simply choosing not to, they're saving money either way. WYTV did have a technical meltdown on their 11pm show last week and ended up simulcasting WKBN's news for the rest of the show.

It looks like WYTV has ceded to WKBN doing their news on the weekends. I've seen it done on holidays, but I wonder if it's a temporary thing, or a sign of more things to come....

If this was 20-25 years ago, Univision or Telemundo would have snapped up the station to give the station the prime real estate it deserves for leading the market.

https://current.org/2025/07/montana-pbs-to-acquire-three-stations-in-underserved-region-of-the-state/ Apparently KYUS in Miles City has been silent. Probably when Glendive ended local programming and their NBC subchannel?

Even I forget sometimes that WPLG is no longer part of Graham... ...so BH Media was not grandfathered in like it was with Graham and WJXT. From the getgo, WJXT AND WJCW were both available on YTTV because Graham made that deal before they launched. WPLG's divestiture was several years before YTTV existed, so they only had their ABC affiliation as a key to get them on the streaming services. Getting retransmission payments based on a hyper-local news presence may be a disaster in the making, so they will probably opt for "must-carry" status to keep themselves on pay TV providers. By doing so does lessen their leverage to get on "channel 10", but the way cable and satellite TV work nowadays (being all digital), there's really no excuse not to be, unless the providers want to purposely stick it to them by denying that channel slot.

Well, Sinclair is buying several Deerfield stations...all in markets where they already own stations. https://tvnewscheck.com/business/article/station-trading-roundup-1-deal-7-07-million/ These include KNSN in Reno, WSTR in Cincinnati, and KBTV in Beaumont. Failed station waivers, perhaps? KBTV was "subsumed" by KFDM and "Fox 4" lives there now.

Double yeesh. How long before they elect "must carry" status with cable and satellite? They better be streaming all of their shows on the apps or else they have really screwed the pooch with this move.

yeesh. Seems like a fantasy or offshore TV station come to life in Miami. Hopefully "ABC Miami" will be their main brand, but they have to educate the OTA & cable/satellite viewers on channel position. "ABC Miami" is enough for OTT. I would imagine WPLG would continue on YouTubeTV. WJXT has always been carried as an independent so carrying WPLG post-switch should be a given. ABC would pull the strings for getting "ABC Miami" on there.

If there was one thing worse than TBN itself, it was this deal. Second place goes to CTN putting Newsmax as a subchannel on their stations. Sure, it looks like a nice public service move, but we all know their motives. Separation of church and state be damned.

Since most translators are owned by local entities in remote locations like Glendive, I would imagine either Dawson County or the city of Glendive would apply to set up a local translator to relay the stations from Billings. This is the first time in recent memory that a station going away like KXGN wipes out an entire DMA. But given the diminished state of broadcasting as a whole, KXGN may be the only station left even as a member of Montana PBS. Being a future non-comm certainly derails the possibility of even attempting to relay any commercial television station from Billings without a new licensee shacking up on KXGN and/or KYUS's spectrum.

Damn, this pretty much seals the fate of the Glendive market. Since it's basically a no-man's land for local TV (since the local cable/internet company seemingly ended TV service, DirecTV never started local service, Dish's channels are mostly out of South Dakota and the only "local" station on YTTV aside from KXGN/CBS was WMAQ in Chicago), it will probably be merged into the Billings market and all of their stations will now serve Dawson County, Montana. Then again, Denver may step in for another far-off remote orphaned county like they do across Wyoming, Utah and any other state they pick up the slack for any other market that won't serve them. Also, this is the end of Stephen Marks' company since they are his (estate's) last two stations since the others have been sold. Marks' former radio stations in Glendive were sold to an entity owned by Andrew Sturlaugson, the son of KXGN-TV station manager Paul Sturlaugson. Keeping things in the Sturlaugson family, Paul's wife Dorothy was the host of KXGN's sole remaining local program "Let's Talk About it", and was also their public affairs manager.

A loophole in Colorado Springs. Scripps has K30JM-D, a longtime translator of KOAA. Even past branding has branded them as 5/30. Scripps could sell off/shut down KOAA itself and use KKTV to rebroadcast "NBC 5" as a subchannel. The only hitch would have to be converting "30" to a Class A station if it isn't already. Then a duopoly is perfectly legal since "30" is low-powered and not subject to FCC regulations.

I wonder if they have more (physical) assets than Allen Media. Either way, good riddance.

This station swap is good news for Lansing and Lafayette and terrible news for Colorado Springs. Even with pending deregulation of ownership rules, I still think Scripps is going to have to sell something in Colorado Springs to get it through. Unless there is a dire reason for consolidation (like if a gutted Allen Media station was involved), this won't pass. In Twin Falls, Scripps getting KMVT would actually give KSAW a local counterpart instead of having to pipe in KIVI news from Boise. Being low powered, It's not a regulatory issue for Scripps to get KMVT.

If the broadcasters get the network O&Os, the networks could eventually walk away from broadcasting when they take all of their content directly to streaming. Sad to say, but Nexstar, Gray & Sinclair could be the next "Big 3" networks, especially with their news divisions. The others will just become news-intensive independents where they can be supported. Nexstar having the CW may benefit them in a non-news way and Gray's regional sports efforts would be a prime source of programming when the networks disappear. The other groups would be producers of "filler" shows....much like Byron Allen does today....

TBN also did themselves no favors by cashing out many of their stations in the spectrum auction, and subsequently selling the licenses to other parties, much like WDLI in Canton living on as a re-packed station on Ion's (Inyo's) WVPX. These TBN stations (and other full-power god-casters) exploited the must-carry obligation to get them on cable while the others opted for retransmission consent. Donations went down over time and the spectrum was a way to make some quick cash.

I think Mississippi TV will stay separate markets, but Greenville/Greenwood under one owner and WTOK in Meridian and WHLT in Hattiesburg ceding to their Jackson counterparts is beginning to weaken the markets a little. Moreso in Meridian since WTOK is the undisputed leader in the market while WHLT has always played second fiddle to WDAM who has kept their operation local to the market. If either Columbus/Tupelo or Greenwood/Greenville had Gray stations, they would probably have pulled the same moves Meridian did. At least WTVA is the only Allen Media station in Mississippi and WXXV and WCBI remain separate operations, likely due to distance.

Does the TV version of EWTN still air Mother Angelica's reruns? EWTN was her mission as a nun and was an extension of her creating a monastery in the South after experiencing a miracle of her own healing from a devastating injury. Her original TV efforts were through WBMG (now WIAT) but she decided to start forming EWTN after she objected to CBS's content at the time. As tormented as the Catholic Church has been throughout its history, this is probably the only religious TV channel purely devoted to faith.

I'll bet you that this and the ABC fines will be overturned on appeal after Trump is deposed (it may come to that when his term is up and he doesn't leave) because this is blackmail plain and simple.

I can only imagine what Oprah thinks of all of this. Bonus points if Gayle King told her to come to her senses before he went (further) off the deep end...

For this to be happening in Mississippi State's backyard, Frank Spain must be rolling over in his grave. At least his heirs knew better when they ended up selling to Heartland Media not knowing that Byron Allen would be the next one to get the keys.

BIG, and sadly some likely expected news coming out of Northeast Mississippi. Matt Laubhan is leaving WTVA. https://www.djournal.com/news/local/matt-laubhan-leaves-wtva-launches-own-site/article_54ed7004-77b1-44d6-9659-d38cb5aa6a5c.html I figured it was going to happen sooner or later with the way things are going at Allen Media, but luckily it looks like he's able to do it on his own terms. And is evidenced by other meteorologists beginning to do their own thing, local TV weather may be starting an irreversible decline as the most seasoned are starting to head for the exits and are being replaced by younger, and sometimes distant colleagues doing forecasts from virtually anywhere.

Just imagine if Karen gets a bad cup of coffee and wants to "speak with the manager" Not to mention all of the other crackpots who want to worm their way onto TV....

WJZ's building on TV Hill in Baltimore suffered an electrical fire this afternoon. The fire was out by the time firefighters arrived at the station. https://www.cbsnews.com/amp/baltimore/news/maryland-baltimore-fire-wjz-building-newsroom/