Breaking News

KNBC- Layoffs and Buyouts hits the station- Chuck Henry & Bev White leaving.

https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/business/story/2022-12-07/knbc-channel-4-chuck-henry-beverly-white-vikki-vargas-kim-baldonado-angie-crouch-exit

https://www.ftvlive.com/sqsp-test/2022/12/8/buyouts-and-layoffs-hit-knbc

WSB-TV's Richard Belcher retires after 50yrs on ATL TV from WXIA, WAGA & WGST radio. Who also married to Sally Sears who worked at WAGA, WSB and CBS46.

https://www.wsbtv.com/news/local/channel-2-investigative-reporter-richard-belcher-retires-after-50-years-atlanta-tv-news/QU3JPV6PKFD6NASAZYTLQOEMLM/

WTVG's Lee Conklin & Diane Larson been together for a long time- {btw WTVG beating WTOL} -

https://www.toledoblade.com/a-e/tv-radio/2022/12/03/diane-larson-lee-conklin-tenure-nightly-news-anchors-wtvg/stories/20221204018

WSYX 1992-11pm Sunday

How old is Alan? He looks very youthful tbh and a popular mainstay at Ch7.

Another one retires! FOX 13 Tampa Bay!

Andrew Humphrey  at FOX 13 Memphis.

On 10/30/2022 at 10:53 PM, GoldenShine9 said:

KXLY is the market leader in ratings, correct?

I was told KREM & KHQ are neck to neck and KXLY in 3rd place. Idk that.

28 minutes ago, MD TV said:

Doreen Gentzler just announced her retirement from WRC-TV after 33 years, effective at the end of November:

 

 https://www.nbcwashington.com/news/local/doreen-gentzler-retiring-from-news4-after-33-years/3194257/

End of an era on NBC4.

On 10/24/2022 at 9:45 AM, Big Rollo Smokes said:

 

I found those posts on FB, it was from some former 10TVers who worked with him. They said he passed in London at age 78 back in January of this year.

 

It is a bit surprising that there was no obit on him in The Columbus Dispatch or on either WBNS-TV or WSYX. Perhaps that's what Lou wanted or recieved from years of living abroad and under-the-radar.

No obit is The Dispatch is not what The Dispatch used to be. No longer under The Wolfe Family control.

11 hours ago, Big Rollo Smokes said:

 

Off-topic, but when did Lou Forrest pass? I couldn't find anything about it and as far as I know he's still with us.

Back in January his daughter posted an update about Lou passing at 72 from cancer.  The Dispatch hasn't wrote anything, because none of

the writers from years ago are there. None of the stations reported either.  That why nothing to see, and it was on Ch 6 former employee site on Facebook

how I found out.

41 minutes ago, tyrannical bastard said:

In the 2000s, WBNS in Columbus also revamped their 11 pm news as NightBeat, using a totally different graphics package and harder cuts of This is Your News. 

I believe it lasted until they went HD in 2007 and shed the 10TV Eyewitness News branding and became 10TV News HD.

 

Here's their 2003 debut. 

The subject of the lead story, a wanted fugitive showed up at the 10TV studios right at the top of the show to give her side of the story.

Funny part is during the 80s when the late Lou Forrest and Bob Orr did the 11pm they were called Nighbeat.  Then in the late 90s WSYX during the Deb Countiss/Bob Hetherington/Lorene Wagner era they also did

Nightbeat at 11pm. However in the 80s and early 90s  WTVN & WSYX called their 11pm  Nightcast.  Nightbeat return 10TV in the early 2000s.

1 hour ago, TresGriffin said:

Here's what can I see happening:

Eventually, CBS drops WANF and moves to the station it already owns here, WUPA, and perhaps change the call letters to WCBA (CBS Atlanta/CBS News Atlanta), as the current WUPA calls are a reference to the long-defunct UPN. This will allow to WANF to run more news and operate it as a true news-heavy channel, since that seems to be the brand they're trying to go for anyway. And then CBS can essentially do what they're doing in Detroit and establish a legit locally-run news operation instead of the Dallas-produced newscasts they're airing currently.

 

As for The CW, or what of it will exist at that time, Gray can sell WPCH (which essentially won't be "needed" once CBS leaves WANF) off to Nexstar and then that can basically become Atlanta's version of KTLA/WGN/WPIX, etc.

 

 

Here we go again the speculation 5000 on Channel 46 and CBS.  Nothing not happening and ANF is going to be just like Clear News here today gone tomorrow.  This is so stupid honestly.  The brand has been CBS46 and should of stayed CBS46 ANF could of come into play.  At this points CBS is moving to Channel 17- here you now go run with that. SMH

On 10/2/2022 at 12:53 PM, ATLNewsExpert said:

And make CBS go where, WXIA, WSB? Obviously pure speciation but that's quite a thought. To be fair WSB isn't as appealing to be an affiliate for as it was say thirty years ago during the last major switch's 

Yeah sure! Clearly ABC & WSB have been besties for the last 42 years.  WSB & WXIA didn't want CBS in 1994. Regardless the networks still have value to these stations.

1 hour ago, Myron Falwell said:

WSB is owned by a New York private equity firm (to call it a "hometown company" is extremely generous bordering on Truthiness, Cox Media ceased being "an Atlanta company" when the Cox family sold out due the Theranos scandal), which doesn't care about investing into it and ultimately wants to sell it to the highest bidder. Private equity is the worst type of ownership because they want to make back their money, everything else be damned.

 

The only thing WSB has going for it is Rusted Dial Syndrome.

The Cox side owns 19% and it uses "Cox Media Name" just in name only, and privately equity is what's is.  Wall Street players looking at profits and the younger

Cox generation of the family didn't see any interest in media.  WSB-TV hasn't ship wreck yet!

19 hours ago, Metrodonmartin said:

Networks are going away. The GM here has already made the comment, “do we really need to be a CBS/network affilliate ?  They are banking on creating a local brand. CBS owns a station in Atlanta. Gray is well aware that CBS most likely will pull an NBC BOSTON type move in ATLANTA.  Gray is smart to create a non CBS yet local brand. 

The networks aren't going away they're going to reinvent themselves. That what the local management thinks, and most executives are stuck in their own enclave.  CBS has added value to WGNX/GCL/ANF-  but over the last 20+ years the ownership and management have placed their own stamp on station.  This station needs stability and here hoping Gray does the station well.  Just insert that CBS eye into the logo and let see if still beats WXIA come after November Sweeps.

On 9/30/2022 at 6:24 PM, nycnewsjunkie said:

To be fair, the station’s fate isn’t entirely in their own hands. How well ANF does will be influenced by how much the competition slips up (especially WSB/Apollo). That said, given that the station has been remarkably stable as of late, I’m optimistic that this goes beyond a name/set change.

 

IMHO, they don’t have to end up in first place (or even second) to consider this a success. They simply have to be competitive. Gray’s short-term goals were to make investments into the station, hire solid journalists, and maintain stability. So far, it looks like they’ve done that. Even in the worst-case scenario, they are at least putting out a better and more accessible product today than they ever have before.

Competition slips up?  Has WSB lost it ratings share?  NO! It still #1 and still commands a 50% audience, because "Cox" doesn't officially own the station. WSB going to do what WSB does and that to stay on top!

6 hours ago, bpatrick said:

I'm not sure I'd say that WAGA is not a legacy station.  It has been on since 1949, although it has been with Fox since 1994.

All that time it has been a (mostly) competitive second to WSB.  WXIA, however, had no ties to a radio station (unlike WSB

and WAGA), and has been on the air since 1951, but I doubt if anyone considers it a legacy station, what with a long history

of turnover in ownership, call letters, and personalities.

WSB & WAGA are both a legacy station.

On 9/10/2022 at 9:27 PM, AdamTheJ said:

Honestly, it wouldn’t surprise me if they beat channels 11, 5, AND 2 in the ratings. Their new image has me under the impression that ANF has Serious potential to be #1 in Atlanta for years, if not decades to come.

On 9/10/2022 at 9:37 PM, ATLNewsExpert said:

I would not go full out on that just yet. Yes WSB is slowly dying but it's legacy and anchors will keep it up until the ship sinks. WAGA will be their real competitor for the foreseeable future for #2 thanks to the rate WXIA is going thanks to TEGNA until WSB starts to kick the bucket (aka the current anchors start leaving)

Plus we will have to wait and see what product ANF even produces, but we do have what maybe three weeks until launch so not too long? Just pray they don't get any of the extremely bad Gray packages! 

16 hours ago, GoldenShine9 said:

 

Of course, we also don't know what future owners of WSB and WXIA will do to their stations. WAGA has the stability advantage more than anything, even if it isn't a legacy station.

Despite changes at WSB-TV it still number 1 with still 50% share of the audience.  They have 5 anchors for their main afternoon/evening newscast and that big!   WSB ship isn't sunk just yet and WAGA has been

chasing WSB-TV for years.  There a few times WAGA has passed them, but as always WSB-TV rebounds.  46 will pass 11 up no doubt, but 46 needs stability! 

It can't be the revolving door it has been for the last two decades. 

WSB-TV been Action News for 50 years or close to it.  WXIA has been 11Alive for 4+ decades  WGCL/WANF still has their work cut out for them.

On Monday, WKYC will start 4PM News.

https://www.wkyc.com/video/entertainment/television/programs/whats-new/wkyc-studios-to-expand-early-evening-news-programming-to-4-pm-starting-september-12/95-b40d93aa-d085-4fae-b1b0-6402f0846fed

On 8/18/2022 at 4:46 PM, NEOMatrix said:

If it wasn’t for WFMJ wanting to counterprogram WKBN at 5pm with Maury, then Oprah, then Ellen, WFMJ would’ve done it YEARS ago.

That pretty funny, but that small market finally moving into 5pm news arena is funny!

On 8/18/2022 at 3:52 PM, Nelson R. said:

I didn’t know that. Well move that to 7:30 and put all three BBT episodes on WPCH. 

Look for CBS46 to produced a 10pm news on Peachtree TV 17 coming soon.

According to Erik Schrader on a podcast saying they're working on a 10pm show.

https://www.rbr.com/the-infocus-podcast-erik-schrader/

From the AJC:

6 hours ago, SFTV said:

Former KTVU anchor Leslie Griffith has passed away.

 

https://www.ktvu.com/news/longtime-ktvu-anchor-and-reporter-leslie-griffith-dies?utm_campaign=trueanthem&utm_medium=trueanthem&utm_source=facebook&fbclid=IwAR3831V48LPaLGnrHuRJfrY48BXOL1I8sCNa10iELSuPyQsWHnn15DbL2Zk&fs=e&s=cl

KTVI Channel 2/ ABC- St. Louis 1980

10 hours ago, iron_lion said:

I think so! GH which will now be the lowest rated soap on tv may be the next to go after it's 60th. Either to Hulu or outright cancelled. 

 

CBS has always been more celebratory of it soaps in recent years but eventually Y&R and B&B will go to either to Paramount + or off the air totally.

YR contract ends in 2024 & Bold contract ends in 2023. The Bell Family that started both shows- the eldest son was responsible of selling the shows overseas. Where their $$$ comes from.  Lee Philip Bell was very popular in Chicago back in the day at WBBM.  Idk if the Family has some type of blood deal with CBS.  Who knows both shows could get a year renewal before morphing into Paramount.  I could see Bold either on Paramount or even take a dip to Pop ( at one time Bold was airing reruns on there) as for YR- it run by Sony Television Pictures.  The Bells' own Bold outright. 

As for the ratings in the soap world they're looking at the demos18-49 & 18-25 arena and Bold has been beating big sister YR for several cycles.  YR still #1 in HH.

12 hours ago, CLETVFan said:

Could the other soaps (GH, B&B, Y&R) move online to make room for more alternative network programming (or even additional news or syndicated product)?

They could it cost 50 million dollars to produce a soap.  When ABC dumped their two soaps; Madison Ave came out and said they were still invested in soap opera

viewing, because the audience is there and stable. 

Do we really want to see more news in the afternoon?   The soap audience hating seeing Talk Shows, or another news program replaced their soap. They've watched with their grandmothers, then their mothers and etc.  They want the escapism, and they want to be entertained.  They don't want to see GMA or Today on for the whole day.

The executives at the network is looking at the bottom line of course, and today's executives seem to be more concern about cheaper program vs. the entertainment value.

Anything is possible. 

20 hours ago, TheRolyPoly said:

 

Doesn't bother me. Soaps isn't needed anymore in this day and age.

Tell that to the people who still watch and tweet about it. As well have a podcast dedicated to genre. 

Oh yeah, that will go well with them with that flipping' comment.