tyrannical bastard

WLOX has a new package....but it looks like a recycled Gray look. (very much like the WCTV package) They are still using Arnold's Extreme. Kind of a downgrade from the old look IMHO. It's apparent that Gray is making their mark on the former Raycom stations

And a savior for WXIA since there is no way Apollo would choose them over WSB.... Either way, if Apollo prevails in getting either or BOTH Meredith and Tegna, it's gonna be a mess, ESPECIALLY in Atlanta.

When was the last time Ernest was actually on his own program? He's had guest hosts for like the last 3 or so years. Unless they're completely moving the show to 55.2, the hurt of the scandals, losing the CW, and all of the foreclosure proceedings have likely taken their toll on WBNX and probably slashed the production budget (that is, if it's staffed by actual "paid" employees, and not the "volunteers" that got them into hot water with the Cathedral Buffet)

Another irony in Central Ohio lies in the legacy Gannett papers in the cities around Columbus (Lancaster, Marion, Zanesville, Newark, Mansfield, Chillicothe, etc...) At one time these papers (known collectively as the Newspaper Network of Central Ohio) had a content sharing deal with WCMH (when they were an O&O). Now that the new "Gannett" will absorb these papers along with their sizeable Ohio holdings (including the Columbus Dispatch), is another full-circle move. Now if Hearst is one of Tegna's targets, that brings WLWT and even WBIR and WYFF full circle. And maybe hope for WWL. But that's for another day. Seeing what Tegna does to the Dispatch stations will be interesting enough.

All rightey.... I am now a YouTubeTV subscriber. And YouTube TV's page is back to how it was before....so no CW feed or station for me....yet. but it does look like network programming is available on demand after it airs. Hopefully this capability extends to markets where affiliate stations of any network either haven't agreed to carriage or don't exist at all in the market. They are currently running a 2 week free trial so it's definitely worth a try.

The irony in a Gatehouse/Gannett merger along with a Dispatch-Tegna sale kinda-sorta re-aligns the WBNS stations with the Dispatch.

It's official....GateHouse is buying Gannett and will assume the Gannett name and HQ in McLean, VA. https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/2019/08/05/gannett-gatehouse-media-new-media-investment-group/1902550001/ So Tegna lives on. Yay.

UPDATE:. As of 8/1, the information I redacted earlier is now live....so it appears YouTube TV is filling in market holes with missing networks (even in places where affiliates exist and no carriage deal is in place). I'm curious to see if these are distant affiliates or network feeds just to try and convince the few remaining stations to join. I'll be signing up in a few days and curious to see how I'll be getting the CW, whether it's my affiliate WFNA, or a network feed. I'm done with AT&T, especially after this standoff with Deerfield and Nexstar.

Some recent updates.... it looks like PBS has inked a deal with YouTubeTV to carry any affilates that want to participate, as well as the PBSKids network. I wonder if this will include a network feed for markets unwilling to participate. Speaking of networks, it looks like ABC is now available in the Tribune markets (as a network feed) as well as the CW feed in markets that have not authorized their local affiliates on to the system. Also, it looks like networks that were not carried by a local affiliate at all are now available in these affected markets....places like Zanesville, Ohio. More than likely these are network feeds and not adjacent affiliates. (see below post)

And it's like the third show with that name. WALA (the one-time sister station to WPRI under LIN) has Studio 10 and I believe WTSP used that name as well.

It's a longshot, but Gray could always get a low power station and relay WLUC or even WILX.... WLOX has the "News Now" brand.....here's hoping they don't get this monstrosity of a logo...

DirecTV has had that capability in their earlier receivers (like the HR20) and with their no longer available AM-21 Tuner accessory. Now it's some kind of USB dongle that wasn't available until recently.

If Biloxi-Gulfport is not included in the scope, then WLOX could be an option as well. Over at WPMI, they recently lost Jake Dunne as he will be going to mornings at KWCH in Wichita...sort of a homecoming for him since he's a Kansas native and interned at KWCH early in his career. And since WPMI is down to 2 (and Chris Dunn is on vacation?), WEAR Chief Allen Strum is appearing on WPMI in a pre-taped forecast. I'm hoping it doesn't set a precedent for the future. Kelly Foster, the only other meteorologist is still doing double duty in the mornings (BOTH anchor & weather), and the noon show is her solo.

The Lagniappe weekly newspaper had their annual "Nappie Awards", a best-of competition that readers vote on.... Best Meteorologist? Alan Sealls. (I'd post a link but the site is behind a paywall now) I'm hoping Ed can bring some experience back into this market but it may be difficult trying to fill the void with Alan Sealls' departure. This and the AT&T blackout could be devasting to WKRG's ratings....not to mention the "retirement" of longtime anchor Mel Showers. (He still fills in from time to time...)

WKRG has named a new Chief Meteorologist...Ed Bloodsworth from WFLA will be assuming the role vacated by Alan Sealls. www.wkrg.com/top-stories/wkrg-news-5-names-ed-bloodsworth-as-chief-meteorologist/

More sad news out of Cleveland, as market veteran Jeff Maynor, who worked at all 3 stations in Cleveland, has passed away at the age of 75. https://www.news5cleveland.com/news/local-news/cleveland-metro/longtime-cleveland-television-anchor-jeff-maynor-passes-away

If Sinclair gets stripped of their licenses, they'll probably shut down their stations instead of selling out.

It's YouTube TV and Philo for me. Since Google doesn't have any stake in most of the content providers (other than YouTube), they are willing to negotiate and have avoided the blackouts that most other providers have endured. Philo fills in virtually all of the other gaps (with Viacom and some other channels like A&E and the other Discovery networks) so between both services it's a cable-like package. The major selling point with YouTube is the complete availability of big 4 locals in virutally every market. The lone exception is Tribune and their ABC affiliates. CW and MyNetwork is still piecemeal, largely available with the O&Os and Sinclair, but not with Tribune, Nexstar, Scripps or Tegna. Some of the smaller markets lack networks simply because the network is not available locally there, with a few minor exceptions where NBC O&Os are provided in places like Alpena and Mankato (WMAQ).

Seems more like a Dish thing. This is the first time my locals have been affected, and between Nexstar and Deerfield, that's FOUR stations. The only major ones in my first stint with DirecTV were a short Viacom spat (during which my DVR was hit by lightning anyways), the loss of WGN America during a brief Tribune outage, and the 5 month spat with TWC. There was a couple close calls with Sinclair and Deerfield, Meredith & Media General (post-LIN) but they stayed on.

Has a single provider (AT&T) ever been in this many prolonged disputes at one time? This is why AT&T should have NEVER purchased Time Warner. Even Comcast hasn't resorted to standoffs like these despite their mega merger with NBCUniversal. It's like this merger needs to be undone. NOW. Much like the KYW swap in the 60s. Our DOJ should be ashamed of themselves for letting this happen. End rant.

It's been reported that Gannett could be sold to GateHouse..... https://nypost.com/2019/07/18/gatehouse-media-poised-to-buy-gannett/ If this happens (and TEGNA's antics really drive them into the ground), could the Gannett name return to this company?

Fred was the longtime host of The Morning Exchange, which ABC used their format to launch Good Morning America. After the show was downsized to an hour and cancelled outright in 1999, Fred spent another 12 years at WKYC, having a 15 minute show during the noon hour, and later his own show, eventually becoming a part of their pay-for-play show Good Company until retiring in 2012. In recent years, Fred has fallen on hard times after some health issues, even necessitating a GoFundMe effort to pay for nursing home care, after the government denied benefits he should have received from a stint he served in the military before going into TV.

This is why vertical integration back in TV's infancy was illegal. When the providers sell their own and acquired content (and in AT&T's case bundle the hell out of it and give it away like candy) it stifles competition since the "negotiations" are souring between the mega-companies that own all of the content.

Hopefully it's only that and not the other networks they own (CBS Sports, Showtime, Pop, Flix, etc...) I think we're beginning to see these disputes taken up to a whole new level. AT&T still will not allow HBO on Dish. Cinemax is being phased out on Xfinity for their in-house Hitz channel. The networks had better start making their content a-la-carte when they start demanding too much money for it. It's the only way in this vertically integrated disaster we're seeing with these mega-mergers. No one should have to sacrifice a whole service because another channel is ONLY available on a competing bundle.

...and Meredith is now gone from Dish, several hours before a midnight (PT) deadline, and a day-long extension by both parties to continue negotating.... https://tvnewscheck.com/article/top-news/236899/dish-drops-meredith-owned-stations/ And now, CBS is the latest group to go to war with AT&T (at least it's only the O&O stations, but could be another blow to AT&T) https://deadline.com/2019/07/cbs-warns-of-potential-directv-and-att-u-verse-blackouts-in-17-markets-1202647179/