mrschimpf

I can understand deleting the website (you can't get tickets to a non-existent show) and Twitter/Instagram (that's so ephemeral), but the YouTube simply is probably Wendy having control of that content and refusing to allow DM/Lionsgate to retain the channel at all (same as when Letterman had his CBS-managed channel removed when the show ended and then started a WWP-managed channel), which would be justified. Sherri also probably didn't want to keep the content of her guest host run up because she's already dealing with a big enough minefield with everyone as it is and prefers a full fresh start, and that includes the social accounts; unlike other cases such as Circa's subscribers becoming National Desk subscribers and being like 'oh yeah, Circa's gone...guess I'll stick around for this, same thing', you do not want to have those Wendy-era followers who don't like the show now sticking around to hate-watch you and just "Where's Wendy you suck"-ing every post.

WMAQ, WLS and WBBM (I'm sure WFLD too, didn't check them because Peacock, CBSN and ABC are fast to access) definitely had all hands on deck...even the stations from Milwaukee were covering it in full, with WISN sending their chopper into Illinois. There's no excuse for NN to not have covered this outside Paramount Global apparently having them by the you-know-whats to fulfill that Blue Bloods contract. Just throw the syndication deals at Reelz, Ovation, INSP...anyone that counts as 'cable', and call it a day with entertainment programming already.

I think the issue is more with technology just being too fast through the 2010s; you were dealing with DLP projectors and plasmas being the top technologies at that time...which required a whole lot of power and space to operate and maintain, along with most still being stuck on the 50s-era lighting that made a television studio a sauna despite being able to junk the CRTs. With syndication still lively, sets in the past were used five-six hours, tops, so looks were put over comfort (and don't forget the stupid late-10s 'standing' trend). The other thing was that those first HD sets were just built to 'pop' on an HD screen, or you had stations like Young building a very cheap default template where the only customization available was some glass inserts, your slogan, and a couple of beauty shots. Now you've got flat LED screens, light bars, quieter and more efficient AC cooling, and with syndication dying court show by court show, those sets are getting up to twelve hours of use, you gain a lot of that space back where lighting, duratrans and screen hardware were taking up space, and the gaudy design trends of the HD launch era have long settled down. You're looking for any way to both save money and make sure a set isn't going to wear out from multiple shifts, and it's better to junk a set that's costing more money just to light and keep active than a new one heavy on LED screens and light bars, is designed for actual people, and has more overall flexibility to be used for social stuff.

I do love that more and more, stations are acknowledging that and just either setting aside a separate space entirely for weather (as WITI has), putting it in a space behind the big screen (the new common Hearst setup) or just showing the plain old weather office where all the equipment runs.

I have been indeed seeing it default to dark mode for Twitter links (which I have on for my devices).

Along with this, Spectrum has just launched all of their news channels (outside the NY1 Road and Rail channel) nationwide on the Spectrum TV apps (mobile and STB) in the 2200s channel tier. They had been only available through the Spectrum News mobile app previously, so at least they're more widely available, if not through traditional cable.

I meant more of a future question as to whether they'd take a lower-cost OTA feed over the current cable channel. Obviously Altice and Spectrum still carry the Oxygen cable network, but would they dump it next RTC go-around with Comcast if it's available for free over-the-air (along with a further cut in their already declining original programming budget)?

There's just too many cable networks that could easily be a streaming service option, so I'm glad NBC is cutting weight on this (it seems like they only ever carried it because of pressure from the IOC president, not any viewer demand). And it pretty much seems like Oxygen going OTA in O&O markets means that network is next. But it shouldn't be on NBC and Disney alone to cut useless networks (there Disney XD and Junior are a Spectrum or Comcast RTC contract away from leaving the air going by the international wind-downs for D+). There are several networks literally only existent to carry two prime series with no reruns, and then 90s sitcoms for the other 166 hours, and the output of VH1 and MTV2 can easily be merged onto MTV without any viewer revolts. Same with a lot of Discovery's networks and TruTV, and FYI and Vice could go for A&E, while WeTV at this point could be an AMC+ hub.

Dario Melendez moved from Bally Sports Wisconsin to the vacated WISN-TV sports directorship a couple months ago; it's now a de facto 'trade' as WISN's Stephen Watson is taking Melendez's exact former hosting position at BSW. No word on compensation, draft picks, or a player to be named later .

You can just see this staff cursing about KMOV getting a new building, and they're stuck in this nightmare maze of four buildings which are jerry-rigged together and keep having new add-ons every few years, with a fifth across the street because they somehow ran out of room in that four-building centipede!

WITI has consistently aired every hearing, so you can add them to this list. And yet even with advance notice, CBS and ABC are like 'yup the soaps are still on' as they have been since COVID news conferences started. I still don't understand why they don't put "TBA" in listings to avoid calls; even the most 'no TV ever' guy knows when soaps air.

Which means KMBC is one of the few Central Time stations to carry it live with the East Coast. I wonder if there will be more changes like this, because I know a few stations that would be better off airing it at 11 (cough*WBAY*cough).

Hopefully one of the requirements is the new information is part of the public domain; the Nielsen maps being under copyright has always been frustrating.

I do hope a call letter change is also considered; they've meant nothing for so long except longtime failure from a short-lived initiative. I could see them using a variant of "46 News Now" like WXIX, or because Gray owns it, "First Alert 46"/"CBS46, Your First Alert Station".

I'll give RTM this; when every talk show was a bomb right out of the gate in the mid-10s, it helped Disney figure out what to do with 3pm after FABLife laid a rotten egg before they could sign Tamron; it's saved many a timeslot, and for many stations, it kept the lights on where a newscast couldn't or a court show/advertorial would look low-rent. But it was always a transitional program between bringing viral videos to a wide audience before they most viewers just knew where to seek them online without the handholding, making it superfluous.

Part of it can be seen on Google StreetView; they have to have reserved parking in front of the building and keep other vehicles such as a mobile unit that can't fit in the garage outside. For security alone that's a nightmare to keep an eye on and worry about, and if I-44/55 is closed and you have traffic jammed up there? It's a mess. With Maryland Heights, a few cameras and some fencing takes care of all that, and access out is much more reasonable...plus all that natural light. It's pretty much a dead ringer for the new WMTV building, which Gray has favored of late.

The background...why?! This gives me 'Family Video VHS tapes in front of the window for years and years' sun-weathered vibes. I know WAGM has always been low-budget no matter the owner, but the set should be reversed; an LED background on the back (even a cheap Roku TV would be fine!), and they can put some kind of still on the desk.

We have an update to the WZMQ side of things; Lilly is leasing a downtown Marquette building to serve as their studio for an expanded news op.

I know, I'm just shocked that Window to the World put all this work to keeping the license active, and then just turned it back in without any rhyme or reason? I think we'll find out more in the next few months, as there's always something odd going on with WTTW. And I could've seen VCY America pay plenty for the license to extend their programming into Chicago.

So did WITI (it was specifically scheduled in their EPG), though of course they had to air the entertainment lineup after the 10 p.m. news despite it all being reruns.

WYCC is now officially gone, with its 'channel' being replaced by PBS World on 11.5 (I hope 20 days isn't enough to be considered a double-post).

It was totally that decision because police injuries to that station are what they seem to relish covering deeply the most.

I saw this last night on a 10pm show, where a few other important stories which were developing were 'but first, breaking news!'ed for a minor car accident during a police chase...that happened at 5pm and was long cleaned up . If you as the viewer knows the other stories rundown deserved prominence, the news organization has failed to do its job. And highlight pieces from other reporters. I cannot stand only having a few on-camera reporters these days; it makes your organization look too insular and limiting.

Another silent dump of MyNetworkTV; WACY is done with the network as of today in the Appleton/Green Bay market and replaced it with Dateline and Monk reruns. Apparently WFRV is picking it up on one of their subs, but I'm not seeing anything on their schedule yet.

We've still got stations with the searchlights, non-standard text (Boston 25) and some using the Fox logo vertically like KXRM, so I do wish Fox would give them some logo guidelines; though I do laud stations like KHON and WSVN to sticking with no Fox logo. I don't really mind KOKI's logo at all (they do need a graphics update but it's a Cox station so don't count on it).