T.L. Hughes

WPNT's new brand strikes to me similar to KMCI's "38 The Spot" brand as well. One more note, apparently KSNV is taking another stab at producing news for KVCW, both airing on weekdays only. That station, which had aired an hour-long 10:00 p.m. newscast from 2006 to 2009, is launching a half-hour newacast in that same timeslot starting Monday (August 17) to be anchored by Marie Mortera (who already anchors KSNV's 3:00 and 7:00 p.m. newscasts). KSNV will also produce a two-hour morning newscast from 7:00 to 9:00 for KVCW, which will be anchored by Krystal Allen (who anchors KSNV's noon newscast) and newly joined Jeff Mahler (formerly with KXTV). That program will carry the "Wake Up" title used by KSNV's 4:30 to 7:00 a.m. newscast, though Kim and Dana Wagner will not be involved with the KVCW morning show.

Saw a bit of it on the livestream. It seems weird how the radar/warning map and alert crawl are included on the stream, despite the fact that WGNtv.com transmits a clean feed that omits the logo/time/temp bug the map is supposed to appear above during live newscasts... thus leaving an obvious gap between it and the crawl when there are no L3s onscreen.

NBC Now or NBC News Channel might work. Though there would be branding issues with calling it NBC News Now. On one hand, they probably would want to keep the NBC name in any shorthand on-air references, but on the other, using NBCNN for short might create quite a bit of viewer confusion with you know which network...

For something a little different... this clip has gone viral. During an interview with KMAX's "Good Day Sacramento", model-turned-actress Cara Delevingne caught some flak by the program's anchors after an increasingly awkward live interview via satellite from a New York press junket for the recently released film "Paper Towns". It started with Marianne McClary calling her the wrong name, the other anchors chiding Cara for her sarcastic responses to some of their questions (before giving them her real response) and behaving a little condescending to her and after it abruptly ended, McClary, Ken Rudolph and film critic Mark S. Allen's comments about what just happened, rivaled the cattiness of Mike Jerrick following that interview with the Kardashians. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FTav-TowVLo

Surprised no one mentioned this but KABB is launching a midday newscast on September 14, which I believe would be the first one on any of Sinclair's current Fox stations. The half-hour broadcast will air Monday through Fridays at 11:00 a.m., and will be anchored by Ernie Zuniga, Jessica Henry with Shaun Stevens as the program's meteorologist (all three currently serve as the team for KABB's weekday morning newscast Fox News First). Interesting that they chose to add a newscast in that timeslot instead of placing one at 4:00 or 5:30 p.m. http://blog.mysanantonio.com/jakle06/2015/07/new-s-a-tv-newscast-to-debut-in-fall/

About Skittlesman, I believe he's done this before. I think that would be his third channel, because I recall he previously used a username similar to that of his previous account about a year ago.

One question: The Courier & Press article announcing WEVV's new anchor teams stated that the news department would be based out of WTVW's old studios on Carpenter Street, instead of WEVV's existing studio on Main Street (both of which are large enough to house a news department and house back office operations as well). Will all the administrative and back office operations move there by August 3, or is this going to be like the arrangement with WOLO and (during its first two years as an ABC affiliate) WFTS, where the news department is based in a separate facility from the main offices, since the article doesn't mention if everything else is moving.

Well, note that I said "regroup" as opposed to "rethink". Scripps' ventures into original content (other than "RTM") have apparently fared worse when directly contrasting to other groups that have done this in the past such as Group W and Tribune, whom have had failures in syndication but also quite a few successes, so it doesn't mean give they should give up completely... just come up with something that audiences will at least find likeable and seamlessly switch out the shows that aren't working. The only thing is you can retool and "give [the shows] time" as much as you can, but anyone in the programming biz knows that there comes a time when the realization arrives when a show should be taken out like Old Yeller... not to mention that if ratings in the time periods that these programs have aired at are that much lower than when outside-acquired syndies or local newscasts ran in those slots, then the GMs and programming managers at the stations already carrying them are going to have to be the ones to put corporate's proverbial backs against the wall and realize "we need to do better... the viewers aren't watching, the stations feel the shows are dragging them down, the show is a Grade-A bomb". Even the hardheaded ones learn sometime, the question is at what point? If company management is that stubborn to not realize an epic fail when it slams into their face like a Mac Truck going 80 mph, then the original content biz isn't cut for them.

Given that "Let's Ask America" got canned, and "The List" and "The NOW" haven't done too well either, maybe Scripps should regroup on their in-house programming strategy and find concepts that actually work. Of all the Scripps-backed shows, "Right This Minute" is the only one doing remotely well, it seems. Though that show's concept is more current, given the focus on viral videos. By bulk, which ones? And, which ones besides "ET" does WUAB not carry?

Do I detect a Hothaus package?

Considering Sinclair has some irons in the fire besides its broadcasting properties, they should think about changing their name to something along the lines of "Sinclair Media" (though I believe they used it in the past for copyright tags, Sinclair Communications is out, since that name belongs to an unrelated radio station owner in Virginia). http://www.sinclairstations.com/

KHOU (and former KTRK) sports director Bob Allen has revealed he has been diagnosed with cancer. He will be taking an extended leave from KHOU, while undergoing treatment for a form of T-cell lymphoma. http://www.tvnewscheck.com/article/86534/khou-sports-director-bob-allen-battling-cancer

In addition to that, since most of the full-power stations in San Diego are on the Baja California side (including two English stations, XETV and MyNetworkTV affiliate XHDTV-TDT), duopolies are a legal quagmire since there are only six FPTVs on the U.S. side of the market and you need at least eight within an American market to form a legal duopoly. I think the only way you could merge stations, and effectively news operations, in SD is through an LMA.

Marisa Mendelson, who became a reporter at KVOA in Tucson in March 2014, was let go from the station earlier this month (on June 10). Mendelson claims that her dismissal was the result of her using Periscope, an app she states other KVOA reporters have used without being told not to. http://www.adweek.com/tvspy/reporter-says-she-was-fired-for-live-streaming/150992

Sinclair has announced a partnership with MGM to launch a science fiction-focused multicast network to launch later this year in markets covering 30% of the U.S. MGM will handle programming and operational responsibilities, while Sinclair will own it (given Sinclair's common business model, TVSpy compared it to an SSA in its story on the unnamed network, although its not too dissimilar to the arrangement between Tribune, and formerly Weigel, and MGM for This TV). http://www.adweek.com/tvspy/sinclair-to-launch-network-with-mgm/151035

KAUT's "Newswatch 43" operation began when the station signed on in September 1980. From what I've found out, it aired during the daytime only (originally from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., then reduced to 9:00 to 7:00, when it scaled back the hours it broadcast the VEU subscription service; Golden West Broadcasters owned KAUT and VEU, as well as KTLA, which became its sister station again when Tribune bought KAUT and KFOR two years ago). It lasted until around the fall of 1981. I actually have a tape from 1992 (shortly before NBC aired that year's Olympics) that includes promos and a news update (from when KFOR aired hourly updates outside of full newscasts on a regular basis) from the "NewsTeam 4" era, although it doesn't have a newscast on it (mainly portions of a couple of NBC "Movies of the Week" including commercials). The theme used in the promo in the video package was a cut from what I guess was a custom theme used by the station from '90 to '94 (which is not listed in the NMSA). Really, a lot of 1990s clips from Oklahoma City newscasts (outside of Oklahoma City bombing and May 3, 1999 tornado outbreak coverage) are hard to find. Particularly, much of any newscast clips from KWTV during the decade or KOKH from when its news department started in 1996 until 2000, as well as early '90s news footage from KFOR (including that from around the time of the transition to the "NewsChannel 4" brand in '93/'94).

Apparently, it wasn't just KOCO that lent a helping hand to KFOR to allow staff to attend the memorial service. It was mentioned on KFOR/KAUT's evening newscasts Friday that KOKH, KWTV and even OETA lent some support as well. Illustrating that the so-termed "Oklahoma Standard" (the I-want-to-help-out-no-repayment-necessary mentality that Oklahomans are known for) extends deeper than just with regular citizens. KFOR also devoted its entire 10:00 p.m. newscast on Friday to Barry, with the closing segment -- aired in part of the usual "Friday Sports Overtime" slot -- with the station's three remaining sports anchors (Brian Brinkley, Nate Feken and Dylan Buckingham) recalling their memories of BBJ. The special newscast also featured an edited version of the video package shown at the end of the memorial service during the KFOR.com live stream (the website features the service in its entirety), which included bloopers from his years at Channel 4 (the full package also includes some KFOR sports promos from the early 1990s to recent and one from his one-year stint as sports director at KAUT in 1980-81).

I saw part of what ended up being BBJ's last broadcast. They must have run out of time for a proper close to that night's Friday Sports Overtime, and just simply threw the copyright on-screen instead. KFOR and WWLS did exemplary coverage of Barry's passing; I loved hearing the stories that his colleagues, friends and even strangers had to share about him. Growing up watching Bob, Sr. and Bob, Sr., it's jarring that there won't be a Barry covering sports at KFOR. They were pros at what they do, and I was surprised to find out that Bob, Jr. even sometimes ad-libbed entire sportscasts. On one hand, the fact that Bob, Jr. left this earth to join Bob, Sr. the day before Father's Day is in its own weird way, very fitting and a comfort that he was reunited with his dad in time for the holiday, but at the same time, you feel for his wife and four adult children, who won't spend another Father's Day with him again until they pass on. Side note: 26-year-old Gustavo Gutierrez, whom performed the illegal U-turn that resulted in Barry crashing his motorscooter into his car, was booked on complaints of manslaughter, making an illegal U-turn, causing an accident without a driver’s license and possession of a controlled dangerous substance (a white substance found on him at the scene by officers tested positive for cocaine). He's also on immigration hold until his legal status is determined, as he only provided a Mexican ID to officers, preventing him from being set free even if he posts $18,500 bond. Gutierrez was arraigned on the complaints yesterday (June 22) via video link from the Oklahoma County Jail, and drug tests are being done to determine whether he had any cocaine or other substances in his system when the crash happened. http://newsok.com/other-driver-in-accident-that-killed-bob-barry-jr.-makes-first-court-appearance/article/5429195

Why they went for what barely is an anagram, I don't know. Tribune played it smart by keeping the same name for the publishing spinoff and the broadcasting/digital/real estate unit. Tegna sounds like oddly futuristic... in a more puzzling way than actually good.

Don't know if it's posted elsewhere on these threads, but KTVU will become the first Fox O&O to launch a 4:00 p.m. newscast (and the first to carry a newscast in that hour since a 4:30 p.m. effort that ran at WFXT for a couple of years starting in 2002) this summer, while also expanding the KTVU Fox 2 Morning News/Mornings on 2 by a half-hour to 4:00 a.m. on April 20. http://www.tvnewscheck.com/article/84565/ktvu-news-expands-in-am-adds-4-pm

KFOR-TV (Oklahoma City) has hired Marianne Rafferty as co-anchor of its 4:00, 5:00 and 6:30 p.m. newscasts. Rafferty, who started on Monday, previously worked for KOCO (I believe she was Marianne Bannister then) from 2003 to 2006; she then joined Fox News as an overnight update anchor and Fox News Edge reporter. Bannister replaces Meg Alexander, whose contract was abruptly terminated by station management in January after 17 years. http://kfor.com/2015/04/02/welcome-back-to-oklahoma-marianne-rafferty-kfor-newschannel-4-announces-new-team-member/

Technically, the NMSA has no date assigned to when the KSDK 1981 theme was used by KOTV. It's left blank.

I noticed when KOKH began carrying Grit on New Year's Eve, that the station converted the 25.2 subchannel to 16:9 from 4:3 (the aspect ratio it used as a ZUUS Country affiliate). Now, 25.1 is transmitted in Fox's preferred 720p resolution and the WeatherNation subchannel they launched on 25.3 in early December is transmitted in 480i (as the Grit subchannel is) and in 16:9. How much bitrate is needed to carry a station's main channel and two subchannels in 16:9, and (I only ask this since I use a digital tuner on an SDTV, so I wouldn't know this) can it be done with little impairment of the main signal? I've only heard of stations carrying two 16:9 channels and one or two 4:3 channels on a single digital signal.

It looks like WBFF isn't the only Sinclair station to affiliate with WeatherNation TV. KOKH has begun carrying the network on a new 25.3 subchannel. Right now, neither Cox nor any other cable provider in the Oklahoma City market is carrying it. The local forecast segments differ from other WeatherNation affiliates, as they are simply pre-recorded forecasts using KOKH's weather staff, instead of the "LOT8s"-style segments. Update: WZTV and WTVC have also added the network. WZTV carries WeatherNation on 17.2 in Nashville, while WTVC carries it on 9.3 in Chattanooga. http://finance.yahoo.com/news/weathernation-tv-three-sinclair-stations-150000874.html

Given that the FCC's tighter oversight of SSAs and the fact they've dismissed some SSA attempts recently (see previous couple pages), I'm not sure if that's possible. Unless Tribune uses a failing station waiver...? They did acquire KXNW using an existing FSW it had when Local TV bought that station a couple years back, and I'm not sure KDMI could survive in the longterm as a standalone given that it's not a Big Four affiliate.