tylerSC

Yes the look is good and the new set is very nice, modern and sleek. It is just a mistake to drop FOX46 as their channel identity. On the first day they used a rotating logo bug with both FOX46 and Queen City News. They should have continued with that. Since FOX46 is the channel identity and Queen City News should be the title of the newscast. It should be "from FOX46 in Charlotte, this is the Carolinas own Queen City News." This incorporates both the legacy channel brand as well as the promotional title of the newscast.

The upgraded and expanded news product is good. The new set is an improvement. But the rebranding is ill advised and unnecessary, and seems a bit juvenile in its approach. And could alienate viewers in the DMA outside of Charlotte. They should retain FOX46 has a strong identifying brand and just add Queen City News as a subtitle if they are so determined to do so. That would be the best combination of the legacy brand and a new marketing strategy.

I wish you would persuade them to remain FOX46. Most folks seem to have a negative reaction to Queen City News and think it is a bad idea. And they haven't changed their FOX8 in Greensboro or their FOX56 in Lexington, Ky. This just seems juvenile and stupid.

They should remain FOX46 as that is a strong and familiar branding. It identifies both the FOX affiliation and the channel you are watching. They could add Queen City News as a subtitle if they choose, but that still may alienate viewers in the suburban communities, mountains, and Upstate SC who do not identify with Charlotte, and prefer to avoid the association with crime, traffic, and higher taxes. The new set is nice, and the news product has been expanded and improved. But the rebranding is a very bad idea. They should remain FOX46, not the idiotic Queen City News which sounds like some amateur community publication.

Maureen O'Boyle returned to the anchor desk at WBTV tonight, after an extended absence of over 2 months. No explanation given but just a welcome back. I guess just a personal leave but all seems well and glad to see her back.

What has happened to Maureen O'Boyle at WBTV? She has been off the air for over 2 months and no apparent explanation. She is missed and hope all is ok. Must be some sort of extended leave.

Antop 800SBS, Antop 400BV, and Marathon Plus are similar variations of the same antenna. Good compact design with good reception reliability. With a UHF flat panel and VHF dipole and indoor stand. The 800SBS has an internal amplifier with adjustable gain, whereas the 400BV allows for an external amplifier. The Marathon has a built in amplifier but does not have adjustable gain. Larger antennas that perform well include Clearstream 4V/4MAX from Antennas Direct, and the classic 8bay antenna from Channel Master, model 4228HD Extremetenna.. The Channel Master is optimized for UHF but can also receive High VHF in strong signal areas. But in some cases you may need to add a separate VHF antenna for reliable performance along with the 4228 for UHF.

Also at WCNC in Charlotte anchor Bill McGinty signed off and announced his retirement after 32 years in the news business. Sounds like a sudden move not previously announced, but it seemed it may have been his choice and not a Tegna decision. He was at WCNC for 10 years as an afternoon and fill in anchor and consumer/ investigative reporter, known for his Get McGinty reports. Sad to see good, strong seasoned talent depart WCNC.

Yes Carolyn Bruck is back, after her 2nd extended leave of absence in several years. Not sure if it was for health or personal reasons, or contract negotiations. But nevertheless she had developed a popular following, and had a good relationship and chemistry with coanchor Ben Thompson on the early show. Not sure why she was moved to evenings, but I guess it would be considered a promotion of sorts. I hope Sarah French remains on the morning news as she is a talented journalist and anchor, and has also developed a good rapport with Ben Thompson. Sarah was originally the evening anchor before moving to mornings to fill in for Carolyn. Now the flip flop may be permanent, as Vanessa Ruffes seems to be the new nighttime anchor.

WBTV-3 already puts a very strong signal into much of Western NC and Upstate SC, well beyond the official Charlotte market. In fact their signal comes in strong just like a local channel in Spartanburg and extends into Greenville. But of course WHNS will bring more Upstate SC focused news as WBTV focuses more on the main Charlotte metro.

And I am not sure why they spent all the time and money building a nice new set only to have the talent doing live stand up shots from the parking lot and calling it a "satellite center." You can see the big dishes in the background. But seems a bit phony baloney to me. We never see any wide shots from inside the studio, nor the use of monitor walls or any other aspects of the new set. Just the tight shot of the 2 anchors in front of the video wall. Seems like they would showcase more. And a bit confusing as they are still using the FOX46 branding but some of the promos say FOX Charlotte. Looks like they can't make up their mind. But I would prefer them to remain FOX46.

So far we have only seen a limited view of the 2 anchors sitting at the main desk in front of the big monitor screen that shows a live view of the skyline. Would be nice to see more of the set. And perhaps they will eventually use the nice monitor wall seen in that above YouTube video. Seems to be a slow transition so far without any publicity.

At 4:00 they were in the new studio. But still old FOX graphics and FOX46 branding. Maybe they did have last minute change of mind. We'll see. As for the studio, so far it has a big monitor wall behind the desk with what may be a live cam pic of the Charlotte skyline. Need to see a bit more.

Lindsay Clein may end up anchoring the noon news and 4pm as apparently Page Fehling is leaving at the end of the month. According to front page story in today's Observer. Supposedly family reasons but the revolving door at Nexstar continues.

They are still heavily running FOX46 news promos Sunday night. So we'll see if they indeed change to FOX Charlotte on Monday. Maybe they wised up and decided to stay FOX46 as they are well known.

Looking forward to the new set, but do not care for the rebranding. They should stay FOX46 as they are well known. And what has happened to Lindsay Clein? Seems like an abrupt departure for no good reason. But that seems to be the Nexstar pattern lately at WJZY.

Well I hope they reconsider and keep the branding FOX46 instead of changing to FOX Charlotte. And I hope the Nexstar graphics look good because I think the current FOX graphics look very good an don't necessarily need to be changed. But i know they often change graphics when a new set debuts.

Cherokee County is officially Greenville-Spartanburg/Asheville market, but Charlotte TV signals are very strong and carried on cable there. WBTV, WCNC, and WJZY broadcast from 2000 ft. towers in Gaston County west of Charlotte, so they put a very strong signal into Upstate SC that reaches into portions of Greenville County where I formerly resided in Mauldin before moving to Spartanburg County. WSOC and WCCB also reach Spartanburg if you have a decent antenna, and WSOC also has a translator on Crowder's Mtn. that reaches Spartanburg. I'm not sure how news ratings measure antenna viewers, and they probably no longer include out of market viewers beyond the official DMA.

Well if you use an antenna, most Charlotte signals are easily received in Spartanburg, especially WBTV, WCNC, and WJZY. And WSOC and WCCB also come in. WSOC even has a translator for an additional signal. And WBTV especially is super strong just like a local signal. So there is overlapping coverage if folks choose to watch. But cable/sat services dropped Charlotte years ago, despite antenna availability. Ironically 13-WLOS from Asheville is difficult to receive, and it is the primary DMA. But I get ABC via WSOC very easily.

Ted Phaeton may have overlapping viewers from Upstate SC as he moves from one studio on I-85 up to another, as he is leaving WHNS-21 FOX Carolina to join WJZY in Charlotte. Both WHNS and WJZY overlap antenna signals in Spartanburg County and parts of Greenville County. He has previously hosted morning news and weather on WHNS. I guess he will be the replacement for Nick Kosir, the popular "dancing weatherman" who departed. Now I wonder if a Charlotte station will try to lure evening anchor Cody Alcorn from WHNS, as he is one of the more popular GSP/AVL personalities.

Lazy, bland and generic. Doesn't provide an identifier for what station you are watching. Both the channel number and call letters are missing. Only the national network is identified. Not sure how this helps them promote a local news product that is just now gaining some traction, new set or not. Not a fan of this new branding. I like the current FOX graphics package that Nexstar inherited, but I guess they will change that too. And I am speculating we may see all the big changes on Tuesday.

The strongest legacy analog branding is indeed Channel 3 and Channel 9, with 18, 36, and 46 a bit weaker. And WBTV does identify more by the call letters, although the 3 remains prominent in the logo. I would say Channel 9 used by WSOC is the most prominent channel number branding. And the Circle 9 logo is classic, and one of the first and best looking in the country. However, WJZY has always been well known as Channel 46, so I don't quite understand why they would want to drop this identifier. I guess they don't want to look like a FOX O&O anymore, I don't know. But their current FOX logo and graphics package looks good, so I am sorry to see them change it. And Nexstar kept FOX8 for WGHP in Greensboro and did not change to FOX Triad. So this is a bit inconsistent. And they changed CBS North Carolina back to CBS17 for WNCN in Raleigh, so these changes at WJZY seem like a step in the opposite direction. FOX46 is stronger and more familiar, depicting both the national affiliation as well as the local channel identity.

They probably want to de-emphasize FOX based national reporting in favor or Nexstar regional reporting or their NewsNation brand. But they should keep the familiar FOX46 identifier. FOX Charlotte is very generic and does not indicate or promote the channel/station you are watching.

Well looks like I will be disappointed with the rebranding. New promos indicate the FOX46 logo is being replaced by FOX Charlotte, which was previously used by WCCB back when they had the FOX affiliation. Disappointing since WJZY has always been known as channel 46, from the independent days and through the UPN and CW eras. While 46 does not quite have the legacy branding of WBTV channel 3 and WSOC-TV channel 9, it is still familiar, especially to those of us who watch via an antenna. I generally dislike when stations drop their channel numbers from their branding. I was also disappointed when WCNC dropped 36. Looks like the current FOX46 logo and FOX graphics will soon be retired, which is disappointing as they look good. I agree with the upcoming new set and studio, but not the total rebranding. And I guess the new set should finally be coming soon, as September is almost upon us.

The Today Show had the best combination of personalities with Matt Lauer and Katie Couric and then Matt Lauer and Meredith Viera. But Ann Curry was an excellent reporter and news anchor. And I miss Kathie Lee Gifford on the 4th hour, and I appreciate the way they allowed the legend Regis Philbin to make guest appearances. But I agree the best morning show now is CBS This Morning.