tyrannical bastard

But considering all the crap that Sinclair pulled to try to get Tribune.... I'm sure the FCC would be glad to have any of Sinclair's licenses in somebody else's hands.

I'll say it once, I'll say it again. Once the Tegna / Standard General deal officially dies, Sinclair's TV stations and RSNs will be Standard General's next target. Even if Apollo is brought on board, the conflicts are far less than they would have been as Tegna's new owners. Plus, Standard General owns Bally's itself, so if there's the money to keep that the Diamond Sports dumpster fire burning, there's enough dark money to keep them and the Sinclair stations going.... And maybe they'll actually invest in these places where Sinclair has neglected their stations and left them to die...

On the local level, some of the Sinclair stations pump out some really excellent journalism. WSYX has taken a more harder edge "On Your Side" advocacy approach and other stations are very critical of corruption, wasted tax dollars, and being "a voice for the voiceless". On the corporate end, yes some of their products are very lacking. It's like you're taking a middle market newscast and simulcasting it to whatever market can't afford to put one of their own anymore. It's basically all the "must runs" that put Sinclair on the map as everyone's most hated company they've never heard of. And I really believe there is something going on with Sinclair. Especially tied to the Diamond Sports bankruptcy. Every time the judge forces them to make a payment of some kind, another round of layoffs begins in some market they can barely keep the lights on to begin with.

Gray snags the Phoenix Suns from Bally to broadcast on KTVK and Arizona's Family TV https://cordcuttersnews.com/bally-sports-loses-rights-to-phoenix-suns-nba-games-as-fans-can-now-watch-the-suns-for-free-on-broadcast-tv/

Allen Media has a long way to go to decent respectability. Owning the Weather Channel is a good start, but the bottom line is Allen Media (and Entertainment Studios) are the slumlords of daytime TV with all of their cheap "court" shows.

WNWO is the poster child of an also-ran station. Aside from it's days as Malrite/Raycom station, it's been the 5th station in a 2 station market. Also in a place like Toledo, it's quite telling when descendants of a single company have circled through EVERY station in the market. Raycom dumped WUPW for WNWO (Malrite merger) Raycom sells WNWO to Barrington for WTOL (Liberty merger) Gray dumps WTOL to Tegna to keep WTVG (Raycom merger) Securing NBC at the time may have been a bright spot, but that may have made it more vulnerable to outside competition from Detroit and Lima. As an ABC affiliate, and the Detroit stations on cable, WDHO/WNWO didn't have a prayer. And lest we forget Sinclair's extended blackout with Buckeye Cable that even extended into the 2014 Winter Olympics. With CBET and CBC coverage readily available, there were plenty of nails in the coffin already....

With all of the stations expanding their newscasts, the syndication inventory has to land somewhere. That's probably why stations like WBNX are doing so well, despite losing the CW and being tied to the controversial Ernest Angley ministry. And with third wheels like WPMI in Mobile, the syndication is "technically" programmed by the licensee (Deerfield) so it adds a little credence to it being something NOT tied to Sinclair. But then again, Sinclair is the one who runs the station and sells the ads....

And here's WNWO's take on their impending shutdown: https://nbc24.com/news/local/nbc-24-statement-on-modified-news-operations

Dear Lord, if Sinclair can't even afford to outsource a newscast to another market, then they are either seriously in debt, inept (cough cough Chris Ripley) or are that hell bent on making TND their primary source of news... IF WNWO is affected, then WOLF's newscast in Wilkes-Barre/Scranton is probably dunzo as well. KTVL is a shocker. Were they a truly independent operation? Or are they one of those stations (like KHQA) that's farmed out to another market? Virtually their entire station is run out of the old WICD newsroom in Champaign, IL, several years after Sinclair shut down their operation and merged the rest with WICS in Springfield. Basically at this point, any third rate station that's run from afar or is a shell game in the same market is probably ground zero for Sinclair's ulterior motives.

How does NBC treat any change of an affiliate, or an affiliate changing its logo? When WPMI switched from "Local 15" to "NBC 15", they used the current peacock with the NBC wordmark at the time. I just wonder if any affiliates' subsequent logo has to include the new NBC peacock with wordmark along with it.

If his show has been running in repeats, I would imagine that would continue for the foreseeable future. A talk show like this that has evolved over the last 30-some years definitely has some repeat value to it.

Columbus may as well be their crown jewel, it's probably their most profitable market, and now with WSYX posting sizable ratings gains against WCMH and WBNS, a place where they are actually winning the ratings. Of course, much of this has to do with the free fall of both WCMH and WBNS over the years. WKRC seems to have taken a dive a few years ago, but they may have recovered...

If they decide to open up their pocketbook, may it be the catalyst for Nexstar eventually filing for bankruptcy when all of their retransmission greed and refusal to live in the post-cable world catches up with them. This will be the blunder that takes them under.

I have to wonder, could Bob Prather be heading back to Gray, especially with Bob Smith's impending retirement.....

It's a relic of the old analog era where VHF ruled supreme. Plus, 3, 5 and 8 signed on in the late 40s, where as WOIO signed on in 1985. Even the basis of WOIO's news department only dates to 1988.

I'm curious, are there any NBC affiliates that are running more than 1 hour of NBC News Daily? I think the show is designed to cater to different time slots across the country, but air in full on NBC News Now.

Steve Harvey: Name a show that's replacing NBC 15 News at Noon and Gulf Coast Today. The National Desk! (Nope, another hour of Family Feud on top of the hour at 4: 00pm AND the 6:30 airing on WEAR!)

Didn't see a thread for Allen Media group, so here we go! And to start things off, Bob Prather (who left Gray to start Heartland Media) and Andy Fisher, are both leaving AMG. https://www.ftvlive.com/sqsp-test/2023/4/17/breaking-shake-up-at-the-top-of-one-media-group-to-be-announced-today Could any of this be related to Allen's involvement in the Diamond Sports dumpster fire?

Well....it appears that WEAR is now SIMULCASTING newscasts on WPMI. Hopefully it's just a weekend thing.

By now, the changes have probably been made in all of the affected markets. I posted in the "Out and About" thread about Mobile losing their AM, noon and lifestyle programs on WPMI. So all that appears to be left is weekend newscasts and weekly 5, 6 and 10 shows. I know it's not KDNL, but this is a pretty bare-boned approach in a market the size of Mobile-Pensacola. But to Sinclair, it's probably a way to keep status quo on WEAR and their absolute dominance of the Florida side of the market.

This should probably go in the Sinclair thread, but it's pretty significant to mention here. This is the last day of WPMI's morning show, noon newscast and Gulf Coast Today lifestyle program. This Facebook post even hints at more "sharing" with cross-market WEAR in Pensacola. All the more reason Sinclair should have NEVER been able to run 4 stations in 1 market.

WUAB is now available on YouTube TV. I'll have to see if Gray has a universal deal with The CW or if it's just certain stations in certain markets.

Now, MLB is trying to force Bally to pay up for the Cleveland Guardians (Indians) and the Minnesota Twins. They skipped these payments, and if if they don'r pay up, they could seize the rights from Bally. https://theathletic.com/4385805/2023/04/05/mlb-diamond-sports-bankruptcy-twins-guardians/ Since they-re post bankruptcy filing, does this have any chance of actually happening?

Unlike Ed Ansin's sons taking over Sunbeam after his passing, Edith Waterman probably had no one in the family interested in continuing the family business, so selling was the only option. Had it been part of an estate sale, it would have driven up the taxes for any buyer.