Jase

A quick side note…. 
 

They haven’t gotten around to removing Amy from the 20/20 page/website. Strangely enough, they were relatively quick to update the GMA3 one the following Monday after her and TJ were fired.

5 hours ago, TheRob said:

The Hill will be on at 5ET/4CT.

Leland Vittert to moderate NewsNation Panel Show ‘The Hill’. He will move to DC and continue to host ‘On Balance’. 
 

https://deadline.com/2023/03/newsnation-the-hill-leland-vittert-1235280809/

Congrats to Rob and Ravi. While I agree Ravi should have been given the 10P given his longevity at WLS; in all likelihood, I could see him retiring in 8 yrs. (his 25th Anniversary). Rob on the other hand is (or will be) 49-years old and probably could work at least 15-16 yrs. before considering retirement.

8 hours ago, Spring Rubber said:

I wonder if Rush Hour with its current name and format moves to an afternoon timeslot after the expansion is complete - Maybe like 3pm-5pm ET, or earlier? Then maybe one other news show to bridge the gap between Marni's NewsNation Live and Rush Hour? Perhaps bump Morning in America up to 6am-9am ET to match the general industry standard, followed by NewsNation Live starting at 9am ET?

I could see Rush Hour moving up like you suggested. It’s my understanding that it’s one of their strongest blocks. 
 

Having a show like ‘The Hill’ at 7P would be a good alternative or giving Elizabeth 2 hrs. to lead into Cuomo. Morning in America is dreadful and is in dire need of a change. Bankert is way too opinionated. 
 

I don’t have an issue with opinion-based shows, but it’s best to keep them to prime time (or early evenings). The majority of the day should be ’news-heavy,’ but that’s probably asking too much of them.

4 hours ago, Spring Rubber said:

...and the even bigger piece of that article is that Sook says that the network is converting to 24 hours of news programming Monday through Friday by the end of April this year. Entertainment programming will remain only on weekends, albeit temporarily, as their goal is to move weekends to all-news by the end of 2024.

 

Sounds like they're going all-in and not backing down.

I'm curious if they plan to make changes at 7P [maybe 'The Hill' goes here??] to provide a stronger lead-in into primetime programming.

I would wager that CBS has done [or will do] their due diligence when is comes to deciding whether a station will continue to use its call signs, logos and the like.

As others have stated, viewers are going to continue to refer to a station the same way they always have and these changes being implemented by CBS isn't going to stop (or prevent that).

Granted the execution, thus far, hasn't be the greatest; once the rollout is complete, I'm curious to see how everything shakes out.

14 hours ago, iron_lion said:

Wait, I thought they were referring to the stations as "CBS News ANYTOWN" at all times, even outside of newscasts. 

 

Otherwise "CBS News Detroit" during newscasts and "CBS Detroit" during regular programming works fine.

 

I believe KCAL is the only station that brands themselves as 'KCAL News' at all times, even outside of newscasts.

Also, this is a 'must read' for anyone interested in understanding the mindset behind this graphics rollout and the grand scheme, if you will, that dates back to Fall 2020.

Exclusive: Inside the rebranding of CBS-owned local stations

I hope reading this will put an end to all the what ifs and whatnot that has plagued this thread recently.

A couple of highlights....

'KPIX, serving the San Francisco Bay Area, launched the new branding and design in late December, formally becoming CBS News Bay Area. Los Angeles duopoly KCBS/KCAL and WWJ in Detroit will follow, ahead of a wider rollout this spring for remaining stations in the group.'

'Viewers will notice the removal of station numbers from logos and bugs with an emphasis on location. McMahon notes, however, that the overall rebranding is very much a market-by-market approach heavily guided by market-level research and data... In some markets, viewers may see channel numbers remain while in others – such as at KPIX in San Francisco – stations will lean into call letters as the primary moniker alongside the location name.' 

'[Wendy] McMahon [president and co-head of CBS News and Stations] notes that each market is different and the knowledge, brand and history for each owned station will influence its final brand positioning and on-air design.

5 hours ago, FiveNews said:

KCAL's sports department is branded on air as "Sports Central."

 

Regardless, it doesn't make much sense to tack on KCAL News when you could simply say KCAL Sports. Same could be said with CBS Texas (i.e.. CBS Texas Sports or CBS Sports Texas). 

18 hours ago, mrschimpf said:

I think what the PR doesn't say is (or the trades) is whether the show will remain in Chicago at NBC Tower or not, or moving shooting somewhere else like WCIU (Weigel's non-subfarm stations have carried him through his entire run and they probably pushed for Byron to get him in exchange for bulk renewals). If it is that, and they continue to pursue regular cases (the Judge Mathis case submission page is still live), then maybe Byron is giving the show a budget? Or at least letting Chicago TV actors do something besides slumming it in the One Chicagoverse?

Mathis will likely move to CA with the rest of the Allen-produced court shows. It wouldn't make much financial sense to remain in Chicago unless they can make some sort of deal with the owners of the NBC Tower. Pretty sure they would hate to lose Judge Mathis as it would be an end of a era.

I could see him pushing for having real court cases as he's better at feeding off real people. That's my hope at least.

1 hour ago, NewEgg00 said:

 

Another note too. "CBS News Texas Sports"??? 

 

Long name for a local sports division. When CBS was developing this entire local strategy as part of the national rebrand, didn't they thought of a division combining CBS Sports and the locals that cover it? Or....just simply asking stations to brand sports coverage based on it? 

 

Could be worse... (i.e.... KCAL News Sports).

2 hours ago, cbs2worksforyou said:

Is Don Lemon going to weather this storm or get let go? Thoughts?

It depends. The only thing currently saving him is the fact they likely want to see this morning ‘experiment’ through until the 1 yr. mark. But there are limits to everything.
 

59 minutes ago, Drew said:

I could see Comcast/NBCUniversal looking at purchasing and merging Peacock into Hulu. 

Yeah... trying to combine two steaming services is easier said than done. Just ask WBD.

I could see Disney and Comcast becoming 50/50 partners. However, I don't think it makes financial sense to have full ownership of Hulu (whether it's Disney or Comcast). 

On 2/9/2023 at 5:37 PM, tvtime07 said:

 

Disney definitely owns a significant amount of brands, so if they do sell-off Hulu,  they can re-route content from FX, ABC, Freeform, 20th Century, and Searchlight to Disney+, that's what they've been doing internationally. Makes you wonder if Universal would want to go all-in on Hulu and ditch Peacock altogether. 

 

I feel like most people forget Disney has partial ownership of A&E Networks (50%) and VICE Media (16%), I wonder if any of those will be re-evaluated at this time, or if they're fine being silent partners with those entities, those two ventures haven't been really integrating under Disney, I'm surprised ABC News hasn't partnered with Vice News on projects. 

 

I do wonder if Fox would invest in some of Hulu again, they did recently renew their relationship with them: https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2023-01-30/fox-renews-deal-to-put-prime-time-shows-on-disney-s-hulu-service

Hulu has turned into a bit of albatross for Disney. Trying to program it and Disney+ is just too expensive. Plus, not selling/licensing films, shows, etc.. to others and keeping everything in house isn’t generating $$$.

Can’t see anyone jumping at the chance to buy Hulu that already owns their own streaming service. 

6 hours ago, Myron Falwell said:

Of note, the streamer is ALSO being renamed "Paramount+ with Showtime".

Only the premium tier of Paramount+ will be renamed.

14 hours ago, MorningNews said:

One has to wonder about Whit Johnson and Eva Pilgrim. Are the weekend editions of GMA more notable jobs than GMA3? During Amy and TJ I’d say yes, in whatever it becomes the answer is likely no. 

14 hours ago, 24994J said:

Before DeMarco & Rhiannon, remember the first week of the suspension was hosted by Stephanie Ramos and Gio Benitez. I feel like either of them might be in the mix, as well.

I think they would want to keep things stable (with DeMarco & Rhiannon) rather than have a revolving door of people coming in to 'try out.' Plus, I don't think moving people (Whit, Gio, etc...) from their current assignments is the best idea either. Best to leave things as is.

While GMA3 is a high profile spot, that doesn't mean whomever anchors that show is the heir apparent for Robin and George. I think that notion died when Robach and Holmes were cut loose. 

I could be wrong, but that's how i see it.

To me it seems like they have settled on DeMarco and Rhiannon and it's just a matter of making it official. I don't think the possibility of him leaving in say 3-4 yrs. should disqualify him from getting the job permanently.

1 hour ago, CraigViewer said:

Yes.  That would be redundant to Chris Wallace's interview series indeed. 

I can imagine, however, a scenario of Gayle King occasionally hosting interview specials with celebrities and newsmakers on CNN, like what the late Barbara Walters used to do on ABC, for example.

On the subject of Wallace, while his series is interesting to watch, at times, I have never understood why CNN does not use him in a full time capacity covering politics.  It seems more like his wheelhouse as opposed to a generalized interview show with high-profile guests.  CNN is losing a golden opportunity by not using one of the best in the business at covering politics on a full-time basis, in my opinion.

I agree about Wallace (and to some degree..Kasie Hunt). The problem is they have too many people offering up political analysis. As I have previously mentioned; they often have upwards of 8-10 people in-studio battling it out to get a word in. It's utter chaos half the time. Wallace was on during their midterm coverage, but he probably got in just a sentence or two within a 3-hr period.

Unless they change how they do things, I can't see him having a bigger role at CNN.

2 hours ago, TheNewsTV said:

Would that already be the new set?

 

No. This doesn’t match the renderings nor the video posted above.

53 minutes ago, Geoffrey said:

 

I don't like this.

 

I was actually just watching some of Maher this morning and was reminded of how much I dislike him. He doesn't offer any unique insight, spends a lot of time complaining about younger generations based on very exaggerated stereotypes, and "both sides"ing everything. And he seems disappointed that his in-studio isn't nearly as smart as he thinks he is.

 

Feels like a bad fit for CNN and a lazy choice. Not producing anything new, just taking something that HBO shot earlier that night.

Yeah… not sure he appeals to the demographics they’re trying to reach. I do wonder if they will use clips/highlights from John Oliver’s show as well once the new season starts.

36 minutes ago, NBC 5 Chicago said:

Dang! I love Lisa's Target5/NBC 5 Responds reports. She is a great journalist with great reporting techniques. I will miss her reports. Man, they are starting to dwindle at NBC 5. Wonder who will fill that spot for consumer type reports now?

 

One thing I have also noticed is Patrick Fazio has done a few NBC 5 Investigates pieces. I wonder if he is shifting to more of that type of reporting now that Rob Stafford and Phil Rogers have retired or he is just the face delivering the report. 

Patrick could take on a more active role with NBC 5 Investigates. If I’m not mistaken, he is (was) an award-winning investigative reporter before joining WMAQ, so it would be a perfect fit for him.

CNN To Show Bill Maher’s ‘Overtime’ Segments As Part Of Friday Night Programming

12 hours ago, EHTVnews said:

Bumping this thread because I have found a little something in regards to the new set while digging on their creative department's Vimeo account

 

There's also a little glimpse of new weather graphics shown in the screen to the left.

 

I wasn't sure if I wanted to share the video instead of screenshots, but I suggest to see this one ASAP because they may quickly remove this video. By the looks of it, it’s a modified and small scaled version of the KTLA set. Good to see that at least some progress has already been made

Don't like the background as there just too much going on. And if they decide to use the 'ticker' above, it's only going to look worse. The main setup definitely has a KTLA feel to it, but because of the very low ceiling, it doesn't work to me. I don't like the desk either (looks too cheap). 

22 minutes ago, CLETVFan said:

Could ABC consider bringing back Michael Strahan and Sara Haines to GMA3?  I liked them and Keke Palmer together.

Not happening because it wasn’t successful. 
 

From Variety….

“GMA3” has also been a bright spot. In 2021, the program generated nearly $43.4 million in advertising, a jump of 26.1% from the nearly $34.4 million it captured in the previous year.’ 

This tells me that they will continue with what has been working. Could see them dropping the ’WYNTK’ part of the title, but I wouldn’t expect anything radical.

Robach and Holmes have been gone for nearly 2 months and the show has been humming along just fine without them. No need to fix what isn’t broken.

4 hours ago, iron_lion said:

What a shame. I wonder if they will be able to come back from this.

I think they can find success somewhere. NewsNation could use the help, but I wouldn’t be surprised if they both landed at a local station (NYC, DC, Miami, etc…) too.

Honestly, I think Robach & Holmes overplayed their hands and thought they were too popular to get rid of. ABC was just waiting for them to blink and when they did was ready to cut them loose.

On 1/6/2023 at 4:12 PM, PhillyWatch said:

I agree that "The Desk" is coming across as a bit overused, but I can see it from the angle that they're "constantly monitoring news, always bringing the latest information, etc." With approximately 95 hours of news to fill in a day, how many times can they run the same flood package, or the same report that McCarthy lost the speaker vote again? This is a market where an entire newscast will be blown out to follow a car chase- this at least brings some variety. 

 

 

 

Having had the chance to watch a couple of newscasts; my issue, with ‘The Desk’ is that either an anchor, reporter or someone with a very STRONG journalism/communications background should be handling this and not some random assignment editor.

It appears Mike Rodgers (along with whomever works ‘The Desk’ during the mornings and afternoons… can’t recall their names) don’t have any on-air experience nor the ability to put a cohesive sentence together. It’s tough to watch this guy constantly trip over every other word.

If there’s anything they need to change ASAP it is this. Especially if this person is acting as a de facto 2nd or 3rd anchor for your newscast.