nathannah

A WPLG photographer has been fired for side-hustling off the job with an Instagram/YouTube 'breaking news' channel using company resources.

No link to the YT channel here, but it is cringe and I see why The One and Only never allowed him in front of the camera.

1 hour ago, ATLNewsExpert said:

Maybe this needs it's own thread but Fairbanks Ak NBC affiliate KTVF has announced they are upgrading their graphics system and hence getting new graphics through commercials and asks for viewers patience. They seem to be getting the WMC/WTOC graphics and a new logo (don't know what the name of it is) so at least it is not honeycomb!

So they're coming up on dogsled through the Iditarod...hopefully the dogs don't get tired delivering that flash drive.

(yes I do know Fairbanks isn't on the route)

1 hour ago, KentBrockman said:

I guess it has to do with being HDTV, but I never understood why FOX did away with the box and went full-on bar. They invented the box, you’d think they would keep trying to make the box better and less obtrusive than trying to copy every other network with a score bar.

I assume they wanted to keep the box, but research shows older audiences need text in a large form; this is why golf fonts are absurdly large compared to other sports packages. Thus the bar was the compromise to both fit a 4:3 picture and accommodate text easily.

6 hours ago, GodfreyGR said:

What the heck is "divisive" supposed to mean?

If they mean the full-screen bar with wasted space they've forced onto College Hoops/BTN, then yes, this definitely meets that definition; I can't stand that bar at all.

The other thing I'm thinking is AR perspective despite most everyone being done with AR as the only ones who have benefitted are advertisers on the field or on sidelines (this won't happen in the NFL for now due to specific field rules disallowing that).

4 hours ago, TVNewsLover said:

My only issue with Demarco is he doesn’t seem to stay anywhere long. Not good if you’re grooming someone to eventually take over the mothership GMA. And not only does he not stay long, he’s been at all three networks on some level. Doesn’t scream loyalty either. 

This screams more 'a vacant white dude convinced the brass to get the promotion over him', or a bench with too much talent already (thus him being behind T.J.), rather than his talent being overlooked. I can't blame him; if a company doesn't respect his talent, he can go elsewhere, and that's something to respect.

2 hours ago, TVNewsLover said:

Because they want stability, and an 80-yr old isn’t gonna provide that. And a matter of correction, she works 4 days a week, as she has Mondays off.

It's also a news-focused program. If we were still in the Michael/Keke/Sara days, no brainer, go ahead and have Joy come in (not that any of those three had any scandals at all so this wouldn't even be happening without a pandemic forcing them off). But unless the only thing she's hosting is a "Joy's World" opinion segment or Steals & Deals...no, you don't want a comedian hosting a news show.

Demarco Morgan deserves the job, meanwhile. Been following him since his WISN days. Pay the man his due and let him lead a network show.

27 minutes ago, Glimmer said:

Dr. Phil to end after this season; CBS to offer a package of reruns with new wraparounds/updates for next season

OWN and YouTube carry multiple episodes/segment reruns both in authorized and unauthorized forms, so this isn't like Judge Judy where stations will easily capitulate because their only competition is Judy Justice or JJ reruns on Pluto TV most of the older audience doesn't know about to begin with.

Get ready for another gold rush of 3pm newscasts outside of CBSNS, because 'guest updates' and 'wraparound content' just feels like 'replacement for Rachael' content in deadzone timeslots where only the diehards will care (or the few who don't follow the 'cash me outside' girl online wanting their updates about her sanitized).

And I get the feeling the multiple investigative pieces about the show's BTS drama comparable to Ellen turned it into a lawsuit magnet neither McGraw or PG wanted to continue.

On 1/13/2023 at 8:04 PM, mrschimpf said:

I'm surprised it was Kelly who was open to it, though, probably because California's COL situation is overall painful, which is why she's in Montana when she can be.

And it seems we've found out the move isn't related to tax breaks or a change of environment; Kelly has a persistent LA stalker and just wants to get herself and her children the hell away from them.

On 1/25/2023 at 7:19 PM, Myron Falwell said:

Weigel has “CBS 58” Milwaukee and “ABC 57” South Bend and you don’t see them being embarrassed about those numbers because they invested in the stations and have tried. CBS never did that with WWJ for a garden variety of reasons, and wound up making “62” a tainted brand by negligence and inaction.

Since they added WDJT to my cable system, it's been just either '9' or '605' in the Roledex of my mind so I knew where to tune, and now it's just 'CBS 58' because that's what they've been every day since December 1994 and never changed the branding. Their first priority was to get established, then build a news division; on that front they've been very successful and now you nearly forget that CBS bounced around 6, 12 and 18 for so many decades, and they've got a good syndicated schedule.

Meanwhile, WWJ has just...kinda existed. They just pass through CBS-owned content in syndication and outside of a few Lions games here and there and watching CBS, there's really been nothing to keep you there because 2, 4 and 7 are always there in their niches. Same when they purchased WKBD and made it just another bland UPN/CW station. And it's either 62 CBS, CBS Detroit, CBS, WWJ, CBS 62...never any consistent branding. And it didn't help that CBSNS had old guard management at the Westinghouse stations that wasn't changing a thing any time soon, or dysfunctional idiots with battling egos who bought stations to get into a golf club, and in Detroit, just never really tried.

Still ended up a better result than getting WADL as an affiliate, though; that entire station is a headache and a half as it is now. Imagine having to fight them every few years on affiliation terms.

2 hours ago, CraigViewer said:

I can probably count the number of times on one hand that I have watched Channel 13 over the past decade or so.

And those occurrences were likely limited to when the Rams and Chargers were scheduled on Fox at the same time and got a KCOP bump (and really who was watching them early on specifically for the Rams or Chargers?). It really is sad how depreciated the 'sixth station' in a market has become just by its schedule or offerings.

On 1/18/2023 at 10:29 PM, CraigViewer said:

In many ways, Channel 13 basically has been Fox 11 Plus for a long time now.

And with that, Fox has finally found a way to finally deal with their worst case of triskaidekaphobia. Though the decline of KCOP from being a proper competitor to KTTV, and now just being both a glorified .2 and ATSC3 lighthouse is one of the saddest things to happen to a TV station.

2 hours ago, CircleSeven said:

The FCC has just proposed a fine of $504k to Fox for a violation of using EAS tones outside of an actual emergency.

I believe this was the incident in question.

I mean it predicted the Eagles in 2022 perfectly, so in that way, the promo did serve its purpose in warning the NFC East about the Eagles (along with just...Eagles fans).

But yeah, the fine is justified, if just a little high (it's more of a $100k violation than $500k for me). Just use a generic Morse Code alert next time, Fox Sports.

As we talk about a station group that hates streaming in 2023, it feels appropriate that their broadcast automation is also overly-aggressive and cut off the last few minutes of Fox's Accused premiere last night on several Nexstar stations, which the network really wanted to get eyeballs on. Just another thing for Rupert to add onto the 'I Do Not Like Dealing With This Company' checklist he's kept since the network pulled their Indiana affiliations from Nexstar.

On 1/22/2023 at 5:08 PM, nickInRoseville said:

so i was getting ready to watch the 49ers on fox 40 in sacramento. i have youtube tv, and i COULDNT WATCH THEIR PREGAME NEWS so if you have youtube tv heads up, nexstar stations may be blocking news access to you

I think this is likely just a technical error (I really hope so).

32 minutes ago, NEOMatrix said:

ie… WUAB could go back to its pre-CW scheduling (CLE43 II: Electric Boogaloo).

The Mannix and Cannon fans who have their shows pre-empted on WOIO's .2 would love this to happen. Of all the places to burn off MyNet, why choose the Me sub?

4 hours ago, CLETVFan said:

Both Paramount and Warner Bros Discovery have their own streaming services.  They both don't need The CW at all.  "All American" can easily move to either of the services.

It's part of the CW's old Netflix deal so it would easily move there without issue. I do think that Nexstar only really renewed not based on the loyalty of the show (which is great since it has a just as loyal spin-off), but to avoid minority scrutiny if they didn't have a 'black' show somewhere.   This is a company that's had major issues with their minority-owned shells, after all.

2 hours ago, nickInRoseville said:

LIV golf is sportswashing

Honestly outside the Saudi Arabia stuff, LIV is pretty much just those who would usually migrate to the Senior/Champions Tour just trying to find a new place to play for money, because they have both egos and don't want to make way for new golfers and go gently into that good night and refuse to give up their past glory. Or younger golfers who just want to participate in the big tournaments and hate that they have to play in other tourneys like the St. Jude and Memorial to earn their way, or be on the PGA money list or be eligible for the FedEx Cup. It is 100% the Sour Grapes League and they just found the worst sucker of all to finance it, and the most desperate broadcaster to show it; it says something that Scripps or Ion didn't even bother or Fox let the paper company behind MyNet do so either.

I don't forsee CW stations really boycotting it outright, but if they have weekend afternoon programming that already works, they might just bump LIV to overnights if it attracts a really lousy demographic and ratings. Their weekend advertising base is already poisoned enough with Weekend Adventure's geriatric bent, and the Has-Beens and Never Weres of Golf aren't moving that age down any at all.

The big problem overall is that "KCBS" has just become a jumbled mess ever since whichever guy at KNX-TV decided 'KCBS should be on our flagship station and we don't care that they've been on that San Fran station for decades'. It was the beginning of the end for channel 2's branding because for whatever reason, KCBS in SFO kept their call letters and come 2002, you had a brand manager's nightmare in LA where KCBS-TV, KCAL-TV, KNX, KFWB, and KCBS-FM all had different brands that never were united very well at all.

KFWB eventually got shafted and KNX and KCBS-FM became Audacy properties (along with KCBS-FM), but it still left open that it's only in 2023 that CBSNS is getting around to finally one-branding their local news operation, a thing that should have been done either in 1984 when KNXT-TV became KCBS-TV, or in 2002 when KCAL because CBS-owned.

At this point, stick with KCAL. CBS in LA=entertainment, sports or national news (the only thing that cares about KCBS-FM's calls is the FCC and PPM as it's 'Jack FM' to a normal person). KCBS may have been there longer, but KCAL has established themselves as a news brand.

3 hours ago, MD TV said:

There is discussion over moving production of The Kelly Clarkson Show to the NYC area:

 

https://variety.com/2023/tv/news/the-kelly-clarkson-show-production-east-coast-1235489006/

 

Can't help but think that NBCU's Connecticut facility is an option.

With all the talk about NBC's late night future and Seth Meyers becoming Lorne's heir apparent at SNL, Studio 8G could open up, or they could redo 6A and eradicate the last traces of Megyn Kelly. New York would happily offer tax subsidies to support Kelly because there's no way she tapes at Stamford without making her and any guests extraordinary offers to deal with the drive up I-95 in a way Steve Wikos guests tolerate.

I'm surprised it was Kelly who was open to it, though, probably because California's COL situation is overall painful, which is why she's in Montana when she can be.

2 hours ago, jase said:

Since his contract expires next year and baring any more serious allegations, my guess is that he survives this and retires. There doesn't appear to be enough currently to justify dismissal. 

He's 50-ish, so he'll probably become some other company's problem down the line. He'll likely get hush money since his behavior is incredibly toxic (the 'speaking to employees without sarcasm' item is pretty much so many toxic bosses), but there's a reason we remember "Chainsaw Al" Dunlap, George Pullman, and a certain Twitter head while the good executives are only mentioned in business classes.

34 minutes ago, TVNewsLover said:

Wonder if KTRK will pick up Wheel.

The ABC deal was what they needed to go down the line with the rest of their stations to know it's going on; depends on if Stegna General negotiates for KHOU, or if it's Coxpollo that'll have to do it and if they don't bite, there's still the possibility of Fox and Graham trying to make a better deal for their stations before ABC can try there.

Now that we know things are a go in the biggest markets, it'll be interesting to see if some of the carriage aberrations like WSYT do have a renewal shot or if Imagicomm doesn't bother and shoves it off to Sinclair or Nexstar to replace it with The Bible Game or something. And if this new deal includes a much more streaming-friendly window for same-week or same-month replays while respecting existing station rights.

4 hours ago, GodfreyGR said:

Variety reports that Chris Licht is planning more changes at CNN- revamped daytime lineup and *gasp* no more sitting behind a desk, among other things...

 

https://variety.com/2023/tv/news/cnn-daytime-overhaul-newsroom-headquarters-chris-licht-1235483637/

Because that worked so well and perfect and awesome for the BBC–oh, they're replacing them with new models because their robocam system is comedic. 

The problem is certainly not the sitting anchors, though I do agree that CNN's scenics since moving out of CNN Center can easily be compared to a market 150+ station. Back of a screen and fuzzy 720p or lower video is the only thing you ever see, or a 2000s faux brick wall aesthetic.

6 hours ago, CircleSeven said:

There's one more R&O today.

• WWDP (10 > 36)

I wish there was an ability to downgrade the terrible WRNN-owned stations to 200-watt AM daytimers instead of giving them better UHF signals.  Also this 'upgrade' applies to share/sister station WMFP, so yay, clearer ShopHQ and OnTV4U farther away, Boston!

I do wonder if KENV's upgrade would bring back a major network to that station, or at the very least making it a KMYU satellite. As for WMC, as Lizzo would say, 'it's about damned time'.

46 minutes ago, VHSgoodiesWA said:

Another one of those crappy channels now is Logo. What used to be a network for the LGBT community is now tons of old sitcom reruns, probably pitched and sped up for commercials. Very few BBC-sourced shows on BBC America nowadays, it wasn't that way 20 years ago. FYI runs The King of Queens and Storage Wars reruns instead of what used to be biographical shows.

FYI also aired what turned out to be a very discredited edition of Miss USA in October. Unless you are a pageant superfan, you would've never known it was on because FYI's budget is the same as A+E Network's budget for paper and cleaning supplies. And the only thing Viceland proved is that young people will not pay for content that's on YouTube for free.

I just don't understand why AMC consolidates around that sole channel and just cut things down to AMC and BBC World News. All of their networks don't really have a focus; BBC America has pretty much made way for Acorn and Britbox, WEtv just seems to be a CSI outpost, and IFC/Sundance are down to the Independent Spirit Awards and a few rare great shows like Sherman's Showcase.

I get more monthly out of my YouTube Premium subscription for $10.50 than I do for $150 of cable programming, which for me is basically sports, local news, a couple of talk shows I like, SNL, and some shows I just prefer to let accumulate on my DVR and watch later without commercials. Most of the time I just watch a local looping weather channel I can stream for free.

YouTube allows me to shift from Animal Crossing to football to old commercials to news opens to highway content to product reviews to Strong Bad to MLM takedowns to fun LGBTQ+ content and then odd rabbitholes like 'why is there a big NO SMOKING sign on supertankers' and dopey drivers on drivecams. And there's no bean counter to stop me from mainlining Caillou grounded videos for an entire night (it's trainwreck content), with not a commercial in sight.

2 hours ago, DJonNews said:

And how about speeding up any pre-2014 program to the point that they're PAL-pitched? Yes, it's syndication, and yes, you have to attract those advertisers, but at the cost of just trying to watch the show normally? Paramount Global is the only company I know that is a huge offender of such a practice. Ever wondered why the "Everybody Loves Raymond" episodes sound a bit off on TV Land? This is why.

I scanned by Great American Family one day during one of their Who's the Boss marathons done to waste time because they only care about existing during Christmas and Valentine's Day and Sony is happy to give them reruns for a pittance. The theme song was pitched to the point that Steve Wariner sounded like a eunuch, Tony, Angela and Samantha seemed to be on what Jessie Spano took for that one test and burning holes in the carpet as they did their scenes, and I could not understand much dialogue as even the captioning track was rushed. My spectrum brain noticed immediately and wished for everything to slow down. It was so disrespectful to the show, the actors, and the viewer, along with the creatives. All this...to shove in more ads.

53 minutes ago, CLETVFan said:

Has anyone noticed how channels like IFC, TLC and VH1 have become completely different than what they were 20 or even 30 years ago?  They are nothing more than networks with different acronyms.

VH1 just cut one of their four shows with a pulse, Drag Race, which is now on MTV to minimize that network's damage. It won't be long until the rest move there or BET.

And to be fair, MTV Classic and BET Jams/Soul still actually show music videos so they haven't moved from their original remits; I have no issue with them. It's the acronym networks that just plug in a VLC playlist of one show and call it a day.