TVIntheDesert

The difference between TEGNA and RKO General was that RKO's stations were not really strong (WOR-TV and KHJ-TV were the third-ranked independents in New York and Los Angeles, respectively. KHJ could have been fourth behind KCOP). Maybe the years they were operating with the FTC and FCC as thorns on their side could have been why they never could be competitive. The Gannett group had some top-ranked stations at one time.

This is marked as a "Circle K commercial" (which is what it is), but at the :30 mark, there is a KTVK teaser from 1985 ("Eyewitness News" era) featuring weekend anchors (at the time) Frank Camacho and Heidi Foglesong.

They were under the same ownership from the late '60s until 2015. Possibly the owner (A.J. Williams) took if off the air in the mid-'70s to build radio station KDWN 720 in Las Vegas, and I'm guessing the profits from that station were used to put KAIL back on the air. When they signed off their analog signal ten years ago, they were running a '60s-era GE transmitter. KAIL was under management turmoil throughout the '80s too (according the Broadcasting Magazine archives at americanradiohistory.com).

Not a news station, just a very-low-budget intro to Fresno independent KAIL-53's movies. Notice the mailbox number stickers used for "53." The former owner of this station was notoriously cheap at his two radio stations and one TV station.

I remember watching KTVZ back in ‘94 during a stay in Bend and finding it to be super small market quality. Two and a half decades make a difference!

I have a feeling no one's making money in Casper. If KCWY wasn't profitable, then KTWO/KFNB/KGWC isn't either given the quality of their product. They allowed consolidation in the small, struggling market of Yuma/El Centro, but not in Wyoming.

The rotating "Across America" segments that I've seen got the most play have been the Wienermobile one and the pretty one-sided "unplanned pregnancy options" interview. This is on the Roku stream.

The wire service articles on their website are credited to their on-air talent, which is pretty misleading. I don't think standard low power stations have to abide by the same rules as full-service or class-A stations, so maybe they give their CA affiliates waivers. They do provide the three hours of educational programming (low-budget stuff from the Telco Productions library) for the one or two stations which are class-A, though.

I was in HS in 1994, and the school I attended had a Video Toaster, so some high schools have had "fancy graphics" on their announcements for some time now (although, with newer, cheaper technology, they got better over time).

You hit the nail right on the head. Watching NewsNet makes me wonder if this is just a glorified version of high school video announcements (those under 45 should remember what those are--they were usually paired with "Channel One" infotainment).

I know the "American News Network" program designed for low-power and religious stations from 15 years ago looked less professional than NewsNet. And ANN was based in Atlanta. Has anyone seen Independent News Network (another hubbed "local news" source for smaller stations) lately? Since NewsNet was designed for low-power stations, I don't expect flashy graphics and presentation right out the box.

The Luken networks use DTMF tones. Given that many of their affiliates are LPTVs which may run some kind of Luken service (not that Luken is providing uplink services for NewsNet), that might make it more cost-efficient for the stations who want to use ad insertion.

The original KNXV format (in their last few months of being a Fox affiliate) was inspired by KSHB. This is how Scripps originally wanted to do news if KNXV, KSHB, and WFTS had remained Fox affiliates.

I still think that Quincy will use KVOA as trade bait with Nexstar. I'm sure the Oakleys would love to enter Des Moines with the pending Tribune divestitures.

TBD was a miscalculation by Sinclair. They thought millennials who "cut the cord" were buying antennas and watching over-the-air TV, when they're actually doing most, if not all, their viewing through streaming services. I'd like to see some internal ratings information on TBD. They're definitely not selling the network to advertisers based on ratings, but on the concept itself. As for Decades, that was an expensive gamble on both Weigel and CBS, and I'm surprised Weigel has kept it around without the CBS stations.

A lot of older westerns, but not much different than Starz Encore Westerns on cable. I wouldn't say they're in danger of falling like the Decades Network did. I still think Sinclair's TBD will be the next diginet from the large operators (I don't consider Luken to be one anymore, since they cater to low-power stations) to close shop or change format, and that will most likely be because of the Tribune/Court TV deal.

It's quite possible. We've got duplication of Grit and Escape in Phoenix (via Univision and Nexstar), so I can see them substituting Court TV in those duplicate markets.

IIRC, the Katz business model is to lease space on the subchannels of stations. That's why you see Grit, Escape, and Laff sometimes on two stations per market. Eventually, they're going to make a deal with Nexstar based on the Tribune deal and their existing relationship with them.

KOBI/KOTI has been using the "Interstate Sign" logo for decades, and their former sister station in Chico/Redding (KRCR) might have done so too at one time.

I just heard through the grapevine that Stephanie Hockridge said her goodbyes at KNXV this evening.

Even if it’s a young anchor reading AP copy while B-roll is on the screen, it’s still better programming for low power stations than Jimmy Swaggart’s Fire & Brimstone Network, or 24/7 infomercials (although the last two are major revenue generators for LD stations). I believe the announced Palm Springs affiliate is NOT an affiliate of the far-left “Free Speech TV” though. I noticed that station’s Facebook page and the owner seems like an Alex Jones wannabe.

When the big guys don’t want to try something, someone’s got to do it. Then, even if you get moderately successful, the big guys will take your idea and run with it (see where MeTV is now compared to Retro TV). Like I said before, I commend Mr. Wotila for trying to make this work. But, Cadillac, Michigan is not New York, Atlanta, or even Chattanooga.

It appears from their business model that they're going after the LD market. Speaking to a local Phoenix LD operator, and he said he's interested in NewsNet, but can't launch it on 1/1. We'll see. If they put out a halfway decent product, kudos to them. But, if ABC or CBS ever decides they want to turn ABC News Live or CBSN into a diginet, that would be a death blow to them.

NPG has been able to consolidate TV operations in an even more financially depressed market (Yuma/El Centro) with the help of Brady. These are the kinds of markets that they specialize in. It doesn't matter if the quality of life is bad in Casper, it shouldn't be much worse than Y/EC. Maybe run all of them out of Cheyenne instead of Casper, but keep a news bureau there. Heck, they could even consolidate master control out of Colorado Springs.

KGWC, KFNB, and KTWO (and its assorted satellites for the State of Wyoming) are operated from two run-down steel buildings in an industrial section of Casper. What group (other than Gray) would be able to modernize the stations (I've seen production from high schools that are better than they churn out) and keep them in the red? The only one I can think of that is really dedicated to very small markets is NPG.