tyrannical bastard

With Connoisseur buying AlphaMedia, there's a rumor they may be interested in the Cox radio stations:

https://connoisseurmedia.com/connoisseur-media-to-acquire-alpha-media-creating-leading-nationwide-local-media-company/

Cumulus may even be one of their targets.  Is Cumulus that poorly off that a small fish like Connoisseur can gobble them up? 

In fact, it was Connoisseur that sold off stations (all of them?) to Cumulus in the 90's consolidation binge.

But back to CoxPollo, a sale like this could make the TV sale a little easier if there are willing parties in the faster circling drain that is the radio industry.  As long as it's not EMF or some god-caster.

29 minutes ago, GodfreyGR said:

The comment section on @TheRolyPoly's FB link has some people calling out the dropping of FOX for the call letters already... And most are not kind. Hopefully someone is reading the early speculative feedback! Agree that when you're on top of the mountain, you need to indeed innovate and stay ahead of the game, but don't blow up what you're known for (read- the branding, the logo)

 

Isn't a Fleur-De-Lis in NOLA like hiving a lone star on just about anything in Texas? Lots of local and regional pride that goes along with it.

The Fleur de Lis is probably the most sacred of all above being referred to "Fox 8".  It was a brilliant move by the Bensons when they bought the station, and carried on to this day.

And after reading the comments, potentially losing the "Fox" branding is causing some viewers to lose their minds, because they tie it with a certain "news" channel.

14 minutes ago, mre29 said:

 

I look forward to the power company changing its name to....SpinCo.

 

I'd be careful of a laundry service or laundromat with that name

Please don't tell me they're rebranding as WVUE 8.....
Come on Gray....

"FOX 8" is what put them on top of the ratings, WVUE is branding of an also-ran ABC affiliate that was pounded by WWL and WDSU 30 years before Fox came calling.
These Fox stations don't quite have the ability to stand on their own like their other affiliated stations.  Anything else would be foreign to their viewers.

 

Another major loss on the Gulf Coast of another TV legend.

Longtime WALA-TV weatherman John Edd Thompson has passed away at the age of 82.  He had worked at WALA for over three decades before retiring in 2009.

https://www.fox10tv.com/2025/05/06/longtime-fox10-chief-meteorologist-john-edd-thompson-has-died/

20 hours ago, mre29 said:

 

Nine?!?

 

There are basic cable networks with less original programming than that.

 

Heck, how do they even decide which show gets a particular case?

 

It wouldn't surprise me if the same cases are on different shows, with the same actors, or maybe that's how they make them different.

17 minutes ago, Big Rollo Smokes said:

I saw this in an FB group today...

I wonder if these are outright sales of the facilities to other parties, or simply selling the building to a new owner through a sale/leaseback deal...
Either way, it's going to bite them somehow in the future.  When the rent goes up, then that's a big problem.

I won't watch until the Continental Soccer League ends up there...with all of the Ariagas, Barriaga, Pizzoza, Aruglia, and a deciding match between Mexico and Portugal...

On 4/26/2025 at 3:50 AM, TheRolyPoly said:

 

If that's true, that's bleak.

Why I don't work in TV anymore....

12 years at the same station and don't even crack Gray's minimum wage...

2 hours ago, TheRolyPoly said:

 

Sounds like Gray is in that category as well if Nexstar and Sinclair are worse.

Does Gray still start at $18 an hour?

Sinclair starts at $15 IIRC....

WUAB has a "new" logo....as they transition back into an independent station when the CW moves (back) to WBNX.
WBNX is now owned by Nexstar and from what I'm hearing, is now being operated remotely by one of Nexstar's hubs.

It's a long time coming.  WUAB has suffered greatly since the Raycom days and going independent again will hopefully be a good thing, especially since Nexstar has watered down the CW into a crap network with "wider" appeal.

As long as 47 is in charge, I don't believe a word he says until it's either struck down or confirmed by a judge.  That's why we have the separation of powers.

53 minutes ago, MediaZone4K said:

why aren't local stations transparent about ratings anymore? Is it to spin the numbers in their favor to convince advertisers to agree to a certain price?

Because ratings are even more irrelevant than ad revenue.  It's all about the retransmission payments they are getting from Pay TV providers lining their pockets.

Unless there is some SERIOUS deregulation that is to take place, I agree with @Rusty Muck.  Apollo is stuck with Cox unless someone comes along with either money and or cap space to support an acquisition.

Even TV stations don't have a savior in the wings like the radio industry does with EMF.  Even Trinity Broadcasting Network cashed in a lot of their stations during the spectrum auction, and as evidenced by Imagicomm selling out, the market is slim pickings.

20 hours ago, Dave Lampstein said:

WUSA’s entire game plan is based on hiring anchors fired from other stations. The entire morning show is WTTG castaways. 

You would have thought they would have rebounded after WJLA was tanked by Sinclair, but Tegna's gonna Tegna....

Just now, Breaking News said:

TEGNA seems to be cash poor. Can they afford him?

Would WUSA even hire him....if he even wanted to work again?

That would be his third station in DC after WJLA and WRC...

Well, Sinciair not only wants the FCC to abolish the current ownership rules, but end ATSC 1.0 as we know it....
https://www.tvtechnology.com/news/sinclair-urges-fcc-to-abolish-station-ownership-rules-sunset-atsc-1-0

I sort-of agree that 3.0 is a superior standard.  But if only Sinclair is behind it and other broadcasters are using it as a way to restrict viewership (through encoding and datacasting), then it sort of defeats the purpose of broadcasting as we know it.

Streaming has proven to be a method where they hold the control.  It's there one day and could be gone the next. If broadcasters have the same control, then consumers lose out as well.

37 minutes ago, nathannah said:

WRAL's streaming strategy is a big firehose with multiple services rather than just limiting it to certain websites and services (and times... *cough* Perry Sook ), including an open stream of their WRAL+/WNGT-CD service on YouTube, so this isn't a surprise; just another means to get their news out there. I wouldn't worry about any takeovers; this is just a broadcasting company that remembers the 'broad' part of the name and Fox letting them do so through that affiliation agreement, the same way they carry WAGA's audio on an HD2 radio subchannel through Audacy, and I'd expect this will be the first of many FoxLocal streaming deals (or perhaps a part of the upcoming cord-cutting app in planning).

Being a savvy mom & pop operation, this actually makes sense.  No corporate directives to use "their" platform. 

Just use their absolute dominance to send their signal every which way because everyone is watching to begin with!  And FOX gets a willing affiliate who wants to make their news product part of their national offerings, on their own accord, not a forced clause in their affiliation agreement.

Perhaps FOX is plotting a hostile takeover of WRAZ?

Raleigh/Durham could use another voice in the market, and WRAZ could stand on their own. 

Even WRAL operated them independently for a while in Durham before finally consolidating with the mothership in Raleigh.

More likely, FOXLocal is beginning to sub-license affiliate stations in other markets.  It's slim pickings because the other large groups are FOX affiliates in most cases, unless they are tied with their affiliate agreement to stream local newscasts on the app going forward.

11 hours ago, NEOMatrix said:

I’m just waiting for Nexstar to make this a thing. Can’t wait for “FutureALERT” on WKBN! /s

As long as they can slap a sponsor's logo on it... pretty sure they don't care what it's called.

Any outreach event Nexstar puts out has a "insert logo here" mentality to sell to the first willing client.  Whether it's band-wagoning a major sporting event with a special program or running their "Remarkable Women" promotion, everything has a dollar sign attached to it.

Nexstar has entered the must-run game.  Why?  So they can try and own more stations.

https://thedesk.net/2025/04/nexstar-fcc-must-runs-ownership-caps-deregulation/

No thanks.  They have enough stations as it is.

And their tactics of delaying web streams and shaking down viewers for a dwindling pool of retransmission cash is bad enough.

31 minutes ago, GoldenShine_10 said:

 

That leaves the stations in Greenville and Pocatello.

and WICZ in Vestal/Binghamton as well.

It was an early Gannett station when they were headquartered in Rochester.  Doubt Tegna would ever go for it...especially now!

5 hours ago, Georgie56 said:

KAYU, KOKI/KMYT, KFFX, KCYU, KYMA, and WHBQ will be sold to Rincon.

We'll see if this is a real company or just another disguise by Sinclair to own more stations. 

Rincon is the company headed by Todd Parkin that just agreed to "buy" several Sinclair stations including WICS/WICD, KTVO, KHQA and WVTV.

It may be a legit sale since there are strong operational ties between all of the Sinclair divestitures except WVTV.   I know KHQA's news was coming out of WICD's building and that's since shifted to KTVO.

But we'll see...

Jessica Foster has moved up from morning anchor to primary anchor at WJHG in Panama City, replacing the now-retired Neysa Wilkins.

https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=1040227587922954&set=a.151923240086731

Lee Peck is now one of the morning anchors at WALA in Mobile.  He was an early evening anchor before, and filled in as primary anchor after Byron Day's departure.

Eric Reynolds is apparently still at the station, but his whereabouts are unknown.  He was a longtime morning anchor at the station, even anchoring with his wife at one time.

I'm hearing that it could be health-related, so I send my best wishes to him and his well-being.

Neysa Wilkins is retiring from WJHG in Panama City after 32 years as a main anchor there.

https://www.adweek.com/tvspy/neysa-wilkins-retiring-from-wjhg-in-panama-city-after-32-years/