MediaZone4K

Deborah leaving Inside Edition felt imminent. Mary Calvi is hosting most of the times I happen to catch the show.

All good. And yes, the lack of public availability of ratings is unfortunate.

I mentioned that several times. Please read the full post... This is supposed to give us an idea of where things were in recent years not exactly where they are today. Let me go back and put that at the top of the post to again emphasize that.

** it's hard to find data from 2024 or 2025, the latest I can find is from 2022. If this gives any idea of recent market standing... WSVN was at last check no longer market leader, and they're already in competition with WPLG. Based on the latest numbers from Nexttv (if we trust them) WPLG tops the English language stations in overall households in several time slots, with WSVN coming in second but competing for the demo. The Spanish language stations however appear to be averaging at #1 & 2 overall in the ratings in multiple slots. WFOR is in better standing than I thought they were, coming out as # 1 in english 11 PM. I have a family member that lives in So Flo who didn't even know there was a Channel 4 if that's any indication of their market standing. They separated WTVJ's numbers so it's difficult to ascertain their average standing. I would like to see something more recent, but 2022 is the latest I can find. https://www.nexttv.com/news/local-news-close-up-south-florida-holds-the-keys-to-successful-local-news (2022 Ratings)

I hope they use the 7 to 11 AM block to do a lighter morning show (like Good Day Orlando), instead of all hard news. It's surprising that in a place as active and vibrant as South Florida, there was no light morning newscast in the overlapping Miami or West Palm Beach markets, until WPEC added ARC Florida recently. WOFL 35 in Orlando is a great example of a station using creative formatting to fill heavy news output.

news overload! but they really have no options.

The last time I recall that happening was 2011 under Maurice and Kristine. Can't speak to today. I would love to see the latest NYC numbers. Stations and talent often claim to be number one all the time, but it could just mean in a specific demographic, time period or slot. Prime example, I've heard people at WSB calling it the "number one station in the country", but last time I checked that was WABC.

In the era of streaming, do television networks still need to air 24 hours of programming? Does overnight paid programming, sitcom reruns, local newscast rebroadcasts, or network news overnight shows, make a substantial profit? agreed. I miss James Corden, too bad it came out that his show was more expensive to produce than the profit it turned.

The corner angles of the set look nice. The whole thing however is not that impressive. It's the same old same old: massive video wall panels and a barren floor space

Having watched and visited, Today is on the plaza for a brief segment at the top of the 8am hour and maybe 1 segment at 8:30, in its four hour runtime. The only time they really heavily utilize the plaza is for concerts.

Wow, Times Sq will no longer host any morning show with CBS Mornings also gone. Does GMA still use an indoor audience on the second floor? If so, I hope they continue that in the new building. Even Today hardly utilizes its plaza audience anymore.

Rare footage — to me at least. Pre FOX 5 Rosanna Scotto on WABC!

You beat me to it. Syndicated options aren't much better. Cheap Byron Allen Court shows like The Verdict with Judge Hatchett, countless Family Feud reruns, Pictionary? Some stations have stooped as low as having paid programming blocks on weekdays. I totally agree that all the good stuff is on streaming while broadcast primetime goes for the generic procedural types. When I overcome my cynicism and actually watch some broadcast primetime shows they're not half bad. ABC's Doctor Odyssey for example. The problem is, shows like that don't encourage me to give them a chance to begin with, because they look like recycled crap.

First Coast News uses Good Morning Jacksonville despite the NBC station being their lead product which simulcasts on ABC. WABC calls its 10am newscast Eyewitness News Mornings at 10, despite Mornings being CBS's AM branding. While it's common practice for local stations to brand their morning newscast in line with the national AM newscast, I don't think it's a requirement or an expectation.

Cox has some good stations, WSB among them. I would hate to see Nexstar ( which according to those who work in the industry pays the lowest) come in and cheapen those stations. I wouldn't mind Hearst taking over. I've heard part of the reason why Hearst has such a good reputation is that it doesn't endlessly acquire stations like the other groups, so it isn't spread too thin. Moreover, they have assets outside of television, so they aren't solely dependent on tv revenue.

Part of the reason I question if WSVN will eventually go for a full ABC affiliation, is the thought that a big three affiliation is greater/more prominent than a Fox. Does that still hold true (especially for CBS after the 1994 realignments)?

That shouldn't matter. WSVN still uses Today in Florida which (correct me if I'm wrong) was a title it got during its NBC affiliation days. WTVJ calls their AM newscast NBC 6 News Today to differentiate. It's ironic that WSVN is often called the model Fox affiliate despite distancing itself from the Fox brand. Yes the business is changing... but as people have said before, I don't see ABC being content on a sub channel long-term in a top 20 market. If this were a smaller market, the CW or My Network TV, perhaps. We may be looking at another shake up in the next few years.

In light of the WPLG/WSVN affiliation changes here are some classic videos of Miami/Ft Lauderdale's previous shakeups. 1988 Swaps 1995 WTVJ/ WCIX-WFOR channel number switch. 2008 WPLG-WTVJ failed duopoly attempt

Speaking of out and back in....has anyone been following the awkwardness since Jess Hilarious returned to The Breakfast Club from maternity leave? Jess was picked to replace Angela Yee as she was a popular social media comedian. Shortly after getting the job Jess announced her pregnancy and went on maternity leave. During Jess' time off, her fill in, producer Loren LaRosa (ex TMZ) outperformed her according to listener comments on all of their broadcast platforms. Since Just returned, Loren remains only during Jess' segments, and consistently fills in for her. This ultimately lead to Jess calling out the show's producers on social media, then an on air mediation of the situation. This dilemma reminds me of the Today transition from Deborah Norville to Katie Couric: tension between a new host and her sub following maternity leave. While I respect Jess Hilarious' feelings on this situation, I'm surprised this wasn't addressed behind the scenes in an HR meeting rather than on air. Simple solution: bring Loren on as a fourth host. Several other radio shows like Steve Harvey have more than four hosts.

When I say ashamed of being a Fox affiliate, I mean they appear to distance themselves from the Fox and Fox News brands. I've never seen them refer to carrying Fox on air. I've hardly ever seen them air a Fox News package and if they do the anchors re-track it. I never see them take network cut ins ... there was a time they even partnered with CNN to air their coverage for a national event that happened. While WSVN may have a good business relationship with Fox, as your post says, they seem to dislike that negative Fox connotation.

Someone here questioned if WPLG would vie for the Fox affiliation should that ever become available. In many ways, Local 10 News news has the Fox tone that 7 News paved the way for... only now their news product is better than WSVN's, and I would argue it's the best English language product in the Miami DMA. Local 10 News is very fast paced, high story count, and tabloid, with an emphasis on live shots, and spot news...much like 7 News. Should FOX ever migrate there, it would be a perfect fit. *Speculation... we'll cross that bridge if we get to it. Overall WPLG is a great station and I hope it continues to do well after it becomes an independent like WJXT.

Miami is one of the most unstable markets for network affiliation. This is just shocking. WSVN seems to be ashamed of being affiliated with Fox, so I can see them wanting to become the full-time ABC affiliate. Exactly my question, does ABC want to be relegated to a sub channel? I would imagine they just simulcast newscasts. Where does ABC go if it wants a full channel? WSFL, a less popular station with a high dial number? If ABC ever goes to its own full channel they might want to start a news department --if it lacks one. The south Florida television market would then be saturated with roughly seven english major broadcast stations in one signal area (Counting WPB) What syndication options are left? WPLG is already a news intensive operation...to fill programming holes they wont be too far off from KTLA's news output.

I used to wonder why some TV stations avoided big numbers in their brands... some even branding with their single digit cable position: example WZVN & WBBH. Perhaps your reasoning is why. I don't think it's a problem, especially if a station wants viewers to immediately know where they can find the station on the TV dial... of course in the age of digital, that importance is diminishing.

Agreed. Incase VR ever becomes the full time set...I'm split on it. On the one hand, it's unique and innovative, and a break up from the traditional anchor desk, video wall studios that we see. I like seeing them on CBS News 24/7, but for some reason they look odd on the local level to me.

As we ponder what happens with the anchor musical chairs, Disney just posted a WABC anchor reporter opening on LinkedIn. I know some jobs technically have to post an open position --- even if they're hiring internally. It could also mean they're hiring from the outside, most likely for the weekend morning slot.