djlynch

KVUE picked up the new weather branding today. It's the second time in the last year or two that they've rebranded the weather segments after dropping the "Storm Team" name they'd used off and on since the 1980s. Before I found out that it was a Tegna mandate, my first thought was that the lack of stability doesn't exactly signal confidence in the product. It's also the second refresh of the weather graphics since the start of the year. They had only just started using the revised look for weather within the last few months.

Looks like KXAN is off the air long-term.

I really wish someone would, but I have a hard time seeing anyone doing it any time soon. The networks aren't going to bother with a second full production when they can insert segments into the east coast-produced shows. Out of the big station groups, Nexstar is the only one that has enough non-big-3 affiliates to make it work but I think they're too busy trying to push NewsNation to try anything else.

I keep hoping that they decide to bring that back instead of the 87 version. It's got so much more energy.

Maybe I overestimate the market for this kind of thing but I'm surprised none of the non-big-three stations on the west coast (that I know of) is doing the reverse of KCBS and doing a live nation/world focused newscast up against the three-hour-old network newscasts. Nexstar could even slap a NewsNation logo on the version from KTLA or KRON and simulcast it on cable. I know Hawaii is pretty late to the party both in terms of how much things are delayed and how long it took them to get satellite feeds instead of flying in videotapes, but it seems to work well enough for KHON to have kept it all these years.

And in more KXAN news, political reporter Daniel Marin will take over 5, 6, and 10 PM when Robert Hadlock retires later this month.

Note to TEGNA: This is how you do flat graphics well

Don't know if these rolled out at the same as the rest of the update, but I've noticed that some stations are using a different L3 for anchors/reporters with white on whatever accent color is being used for the rest of the graphics.

Wasn't it also supposed to be moving to Times Square along with the Monday-Saturday "Mornings"? I'm kind of curious now if it's a matter of avoiding the Broadcast Center or if they took down the previous set but never finished the move.

Looks like KXAN is going to be switching over to a variation on the the WISH/WTNH graphics, based on maps posted to their social media today. The existing look is a 2015 refresh of one that launched in 2011, so it's definitely time for something new.

KTBC morning anchor Dave Froelich is headed to KHOU, according to this tweet from his co-anchor.

Local weather hubbing seems like it would make far more sense with the groups like Tegna, Sinclair, and Nexstar that have significant medium to larger market stations right next to small-market stations than it does for network O&Os that tend to be much more spread out. For the hypothetical surprise Sunday morning tornado warning, someone who's from a couple hundred miles away at most is going to have a much better shot at knowing what names on the radar map are significant population centers, the unusual/difficult pronunciations, and the general state of the atmosphere. And even for things like weekend mornings or fill-ins, "so-and-so is joining us from our sister station in a nearby big city" feels like it would work as a toss.

I can understand the Austin transmitter because that's where their facilities are and the original concept when the station signed on was to serve both Austin and San Antonio, but the San Saba transmitter is strange to me. It's in the Temple-Waco-Bryan market and within 20 miles of counties in the San Angelo, Abilene, and DFW markets. I don't see much market for San Antonio-focused ads there, so I don't get the financial reasoning.

Getting some retro special report vibes from the start of that intro.

KVUE chief meteorologist Albert Ramon announced on social media that he will be leaving the station next week after 10 years there. His message said that the new opportunity was too good to pass up and he would still be covering Texas weather “extensively,” but coanchor Terri Gruca mentioned that he was headed to Chicago. The combination of those two pieces of information makes me suspect that he may be headed to News Nation.