24994J

A mere child, David Muir with George Stephanopoulos' hairdo. There goes sleeping tonight.

I've heard 6-9 floating around a few times, and considering their weekday time frame and weekend competition, that wouldn't be too unreasonable. That said, a co-anchor, at minimum, will have to be added because I don't think the quasi-CLTV format will work for anything more than an hour.

One would think Sean or possibly Tom are up for it, and both would be deserving. And if we're talking underutilized, I'm still disappointed that we haven't seen Patrick Elwood on the desk since he's been there. As for the weekend morning show, it'll be interesting where they take it. They could continue to go the traditional route like they've done since it launched, or they could try to replicate the weekday formula, but that carries some risk. They've been pretty lucky assembling the early shift B-team, but lightning doesn't often strike thrice.

I know KTRK has been one of ABC's most struggling O&O's, and if this story gains any traction, they could be in for a bigger fight back to dominance...or even 1st place. http://www.chron.com/life/articleComments/Dave-Ward-says-he-was-ushered-out-at-KTRK-9136464.php?cmpid=twitter-mobile

Lara is going in for hip replacement surgery. The general recovery time is 4 to 6 weeks. Good luck to her, of course, but I wonder is there's ANY chance that she gets shelved/reassigned while she's gone...even though that move seems more like something out of the Today show playbook. [MEDIA=twitter]763711050608807936[/MEDIA]

A handful of ABC O&O's are doing it, too, plus my CBS station.

Why would it be canceled? This is just a show for the late morning kids block.

WLS- Alan, Rob, Hosea, Terrell, Ravi, Ben, Harpo, Groucho, another Rob, John, Paul, Ringo, still another Rob (but goes by Bobby), Fahey, Joel, John, Ron, Tim (during the dark years), HEY! Another Rob...

Just looking at my DVR, it says that the 4 o'clock hour is returning to Extra/News combo after the Olympics. Perhaps it's a typo, but you have to wonder if this really is just for the games (like they've had in previous years), and that the official launch will be in September (or sooner, as the original announcement did say August).

Jesse, perhaps?

That was before Nightline and Kimmel switched slots, so it wouldn't be as convenient this time around, and I think some in the station group only did it in 2012, anyway.

Yeah, I wonder if that might backfire in the immediate days/week following the Olympics, with viewers not realizing it's a permanent change. That said, that's probably not anything to worry about. I really do hope that the male anchor arrangement isn't the longterm plan, though. It would be disappointing considering they did actually have a job posting up (still do), unless that is to replace Ponce, knowing he was leaving.

I hope he moves into the weekend anchor/#2 role sooner rather than later. With all due respect, Evan Fitzgerald really doesn't cut it, for me.

Hosea Sanders is back to work today after recovering from a severe case laryngitis. He hadn't been on the air since June 7th. He returns to air with a beard, though it pales in comparison to Ron Magers. https://www.facebook.com/video.php?v=10208083203892707

Apparently Mark McGinnis is still an option as a 6th meteorologist. Jerry said goodbye to the 10pm crew Thursday night, but said Cheryl wouldn't start til Monday. To accommodate, Cheryl was in for Tracy Friday morning, and Larry took the whole evening shift. Therefore, McGinnis returned to the air this morning for the first time in close to 4 months. Also something to note: Rob Elgas might not be the clear #2 anchorman like I thought. Ravi did the 5, 7 and the all-important 10 on Wednesday and Thursday, even though Rob was available and reporting from the field. He still did the other 3 late nights, but it's eerily similar to when Dick Johnson would superceed him at NBC.

Michelle and Susan both days, versus when they alternated alongside Anthony.

In a stunning turn, the clouds parted and my antenna was able to pick up CBS 2 in amazing quality. As I said before, I don't like the edited theme cut in the opens (the rejoins sound okay), but the skyline imagery looks fantastic. Notice the old lower third that pops up in the morning video. (Also posted the O&O changes thread.) Morning Update/Rejoin: 5pm Open & Rejoin: 6pm Open: 10pm Open:

Don't bet on it. There are just some elements of this package that fall outside the safe zone.

Damn, they butchered the open cut.

As long as the mothership feels the need to offer a 720p subchannel, they're stuck.

Heck, I think some of their opens are in SD. I don't know why, but it seems like some the graphics never quite look right at NBC 5, be it A, 2 F's, or an N.

Passed over for a weekday slot, who knows what could happen? It's wacky speculation on my part. Nothing more.

Apps, drones, weather graphics, whatever, station groups usually invest for everybody, not just one. It's why almost all of the ABC-owned 7 day forecasts like similar.

Wears a beard better than Dan would, I think. As for Dan leaving 7, at least there was a set plan. If I recall, the album deal, tour schedule, PBS special, etcetera, were all in the works, and TV was going to get in the way. There was, theoretically, less risk in leaving a reporter position than the anchor desk, too. As for where Anthony might end up...weekend evenings on channel 7. I hope I'm wrong, but I predicted Rob Elgas' hiring (though I got cocky and landed him at 10).

God help us.