tyrannical bastard

Once the subchannel affiliation rule is revoked (allowing a station to take another network on a .2), some of these could be toast, as there are more capable stations in these markets that can serve their area better than Sinclair.

The industry has seen better days, so the willing buyers are few and far between. Even the current state of buyers (Allen, Gray, etc..) are crying poverty and cutting their stations to the bone, especially in smaller markets.

It's sad to see her go but amazed that she got almost another two decades in her community service role for 10TV. Tegna and other companies think they can cut their way to success with a once-proud station like 10TV.

I could have sworn that TheGrio was still running ads on their Weather Channel Roku app as recently as last week, promoting all of the sitcoms they carry. Even if it was still running ads for a dead network, that's probably about as Allen Media as you can get.... ...aside from cheaping out on toilet paper and gas for station vehicles.

Methinks Nexstar wants that shot that way so it shows off all of their branding in one shot. But the "only one person in the studio" could ring true as well.

My thoughts exactly. She'll be on 10TV as soon as that non-compete is up.

Another of "Cleveland's Own" has passed away. Neil Zurcher, longtime "One Tank Trips" reporter has passed away at age 89. https://fox8.com/news/fox-8s-neil-zurcher-passes-away-at-89/

Could she pull a Yolanda Harris or Jerry Martz and end up at 10TV? But as long as they keep ramming the Buckeyes down the viewer's throats, they'll be fine. This is Sinclair's crown jewel thanks to the fortunes of the rest of the market. NBC 4 has some hope but 10TV has sadly past the point of no return.

I wonder how much longer the dual-affiliate "ban" will last under the new administration. It's not like a network can just pick up and move to another station in the market. Especially when you have the largest broadcaster in America potentially displacing a large number of affiliates. Running a second stream should be an option especially if it's an emergency fix. And for the record, here's where Nexstar's affiliations stand as of their 2023 Annual Report. They renewed with CBS earlier this year. And for comparison, here's Sinclair (from their 2023 AR). Guess who else's agreement was up at the end of 2024?

NBC doesn't really have a lot of options there except for Sinclair. Hopefully this general manager didn't shoot the station in the foot by bringing this to light.... They could be the next sacrifice (a la WJMN) in a network deal in the works. Perhaps Uncle Perry is playing another game of network poker with his "flagship" station?

In this day and age, it's a win for broadcast. The path for any sport other than the NFL and NCAA football is a murky one since the RSN's and leagues have pretty much swallowed up baseball, basketball and hockey aside from marquee games on the networks.

WSET anchor Mark Spain has passed away after battling Pancreatic Cancer. https://wset.com/news/local/mark-spain-beloved-abc13-anchor-and-community-figure-dies-after-battle-with-cancer# Before Lynchburg, he also worked in Jacksonville at First Coast News and WAWS/WTEV Before that, he was at WJW in Cleveland right after they switched from CBS to Fox.

Things are almost returning to the way they were before the RSN's took total control of the rights away from local stations. I remember with SportsChannel Ohio carrying the Indians alongside WUAB, where SportsChannel was an a-la-carte service that Warner Cable scrambled during the games and sold access, until it was eventually "bundled" into expanded basic like the other channels. Then in 2001, Fox Sports Ohio (their successor) took total rights and WUAB ended their coverage. Now, MLB appears to have distribution rights in Cleveland since whatever the RSN is for the time being (FanDuel) is no longer carrying the Guardians. It would be a good gesture for at least some of the games be made available for broadcast.

This partnership extends into the other regional sports channels that Gray has created, to pretty much align with the Braves' territory. Hopefully something similar happens in Cleveland because it looks like Major League Baseball is going to be controlling those games directly for the Guardians.

I prefer this package over the others that their stations are using, especially the newer ones. It seems the only one that has actual network elements in it is the NBC one with the peacock. The others are largely though association with large groups of their stations aside from a duopoly partner here and there.

A few departures of longtime employees is happening at WMBB in Panama City, FL. I don't think these are related to the recent layoffs that have gone down at Nexstar stations over the past several days. Longtime anchor Amy Hoyt will be stepping down tonight. She has worked in the market since the early 1980s (beginning at WJHG) and started working at WMBB in 1994, anchoring the news ever since. https://www.mypanhandle.com/news/local-news/bay-county/amy-hoyts-proclamation/ General Manager Terry Cole is also stepping down. He's led WMBB since 2008 when Media General sold them to Hoak Media. https://www.mypanhandle.com/news/local-news/bay-county/wmbbs-terry-cole-is-stepping-down-as-general-manager/ Before WMBB, he was also the GM at rival WJHG and later was the GM at KAKE in Wichita. He even received correspondence from Dennis Rader, who was revealed to be the infamous "BTK Killer" and these messages led to his capture. Also retiring is a longtime engineer, Mark Gilland who has worked for WMBB for 26 years.

I"m glad that the industry is (mostly) over the gratuitous use of 3D. Flat and simple is here to stay and if it has some accents to it, all the better. I just wonder if Nexstar has some new looks up it's sleeve. The CBS, NBC and FOX packages are getting stale. And with GrayOne taking over their stations, the look that mirrors it needs to go as well. Lord help us whenever WJW has to change their look. Hopefully that won't be for another 5-6 more years they way they use things like sets.

From a reddit post: Looks like they are cutting positions in Marketing, Sales and Production.

Wisconsin seems to be ground zero for these kind of moves. Decades ago, the required separation of TV signal contours may have put a stop to this, but here we are with groups controlling large areas that make consolidation easier. What they should have done keep the signal contour rule and limit the amount of reach a broadcaster can have in a particular state, unless it's something grandfathered or serving a rural area through satellite stations, or a statewide PBS network.

Paxton Media Group (WPSD) is openly courting ex-Allen employees. https://mediajobcenter.com/job/attention-journalists-laid-allen-media-509943769?utm_source=www.jobiqo.com&utm_medium=jobwidget&utm_campaign=launch You know it's bad when a rival company is ready and waiting to scoop up laid off employees.

Here's a Reddit thread on the Allen cuts: https://www.reddit.com/r/Broadcasting/comments/1h6nia1/the_bloodbath_in_wisconsin/

Maybe Allen sees Lafayette as being a "cool" place to set up a hub, especially since Coastal runs the other stations in town that way. I totally get WFFT being turned into a spoke. Allen has done little to the station ever since it was spun off from Nexstar in favor of WANE. It still even has the old Nexstar set and graphics package. And lest we forget how Nexstar lost, then regained the Fox affiliation after they complained (of all companies) that Granite/Malara was too much for that market. I don't see these as long-sustaining moves. It's a way to stave off the inevitable bankruptcy or auction of Allen's assets.

The other Allen stations in Indiana are in Terre Haute and Evansville. Of those, WTHI is the more-established one and it may make sense for them to do news for Evansville while Lafayette does news for Fort Wayne. Of course, the whole shebang could come out of Lafayette as well.

Allen is joining the newscast consolidation movement. The first victims are WFFT in Fort Wayne, which will now get their news out of WLFI Lafayette. https://www.ftvlive.com/sqsp-test/2024/11/25/allen-media-to-hub-news-in-indiana And a "slightly" bright spot in this. WAAY in Huntsville will be producing a primetime newscast for WCOV in Montgomery with two reporters based there. https://www.ftvlive.com/sqsp-test/2024/11/26/allen-media-merges-newsrooms Seeing as this is another voice in the market, it's a little win. But the market may be better served by the current WAKA newscast that they've put on for the last 15 or so years, and before that, WSFA. This may now shift WAKA's efforts over to their WBMM CW station to compete against Allen at 9pm.

These kind of pre-emptions are bad news these days. It's not like it was 20 years ago where a CBS station in a non-SEC market pre-empted the game for a J-P (Raycom) Sports Network ACC game of the local team.