MediaZone4K

16 hours ago, TexasTVNews said:

 

I hope it replaces The Talk; I hated that show ever since. I had a vision of what the lineup would look like.

 

10AM (ET) - LMAD

11AM (ET) - The Price is Right

12PM - Local News

12:30PM - Y&R

1:30PM - B&B

2PM - The Gates

 

In case you forgotten, CBS pulled the plug on two legendary soaps (GL & AWTW) in '09 and '10. And for game show fans like me,

in case you might remember CBS did a pilot for ($1,000,000) Pyramid in '09, but it was passed up... twice!

I think they'd want to sandwich The Gates between Y&R and B&B, so it gains the carryover audeince from Young, and people won't change the channel to stick around for Bold. It has been argued that Bold maintained the #2 position for so long because it follows Y&R in eastern time markets. 

The Talk has just become a cookie cutter pc opinion show that CBS also uses to promote it's other products. In the beginning, it was a better alternative to the over politicized "The View", but the show also fell off in quality. IMO "The Real" ended up being better than both shows.

1 hour ago, Abraham J. Simpson said:

Always be skeptical of echo chambers that can be in both real life and social media. No argument men watch soaps, my dad watched Y&R on videotape with my mom until he died. But let’s also look at the ads being bought. While some are to a degree not gender specific, that tends to be the older-age ones. And the more gender-relevant ads that do pop up are skewed to females. Men listen to adult contemporary radio, but the ad buys from agencies are for the female audience.

 

People who don’t like The Talk are happy to see it go, sure. But CBS is going to have the data that backs up whether enough people do like it—ok, enough women, if we’re being honest—and the degree to which it overlaps and varies from the soaps. 

Totally fair. I was even going to write "not to sound echo chamberish..." but I didn't lol. 

9 hours ago, Big Rollo Smokes said:

 

To piggyback on this:

 

I assume that all of the posters here are men, just as I am. Y'all/We aren't even in the main demographic age-wise or gender-wise for The Young and the Restless or The Talk, and most of you probably don't watch either show. I don't watch either, either. So, to say that Y&R and/or The Talk should be cut in half or altogether canceled outright is short-sighted and silly. Especially as both shows still make money for the network even if viewership levels aren't what they were at each show's peak.

 

With that said, I will be surprised if this proposed soap makes it beyond the developmental stage, let alone to CBS. And if it does, it's a prime candidate for streaming. (I was going to say BET, but who knows if it'll be owned by Paramount Global a year from now.)

Fair point, but I think the concerns about the state of both shows cross gender lines. As a male who loves soaps and grew up in a household filled with women who watched soaps, I know plenty of women be it on social media or in person who have complained about the quality of both shows, and would not be sad to see The Talk get cut or drastic measures made to improve Y&R/B&B.

3 minutes ago, Georgie56 said:

Women make up almost half of the NFL fanbase.

Even better!

Love this idea but if daytime television's target audience is women, how many will support this show? 

Y&R definitely needs to be cut to a half hour. "The Talk" can go or be trimmed. It isn't good anymore but at least it's not another newscast. 

If this show doesn't affect any existing program, would affiliates accept another network hour?

What's even more surprising is that Proctor & Gambel — who famously pulled the plug on Another World because of money — is in on the talks. If money is a concern--Is five days weekly too expensive in this era?

Pardon me for breaking convention but  I'd cut B&B to Mon-Wed and put Propposed Soap on Thu-Fri. Keeps both budgets smaller with fewer scripts to write, and less filler cast needed. B&B struggles as is to write a week of dialogue without heavy repetition. Their episodes are literally copy and paste. 

23 minutes ago, Nelson R. said:

Or it could replace The Talk.

 

Maybe CBS returns 12:30 to affiliates and moves Y&R to 1 and B&B to 2 and puts the new soap at 2:30 (if it’s 30 minutes). If it’s an hour it would likely just go right in at 2 ET. 

Should it happen, It would be best for that program to be kept to 30 minutes given the budgetary constraints of the medium. 

On 2/29/2024 at 9:01 AM, Abraham J. Simpson said:

I graduated high school in 1988. And I’m freaking old as dirt. What I did back them matters not a bit, nor does the fact that back then it was a big fish in a bigger pond. 

 

Sorry, it’s 2024, and being “number one” among three surviving and limping contenders is hardly trophy worthy. CBS could plop a polka music show on its schedule a guaranteed it will be number one in the category of broadcast polka music shows. 
 

Im looking at what matters: sellable audience eyeballs. If CBS can make enough bucks to wring some more life out of an ancient cast and recycled plots, props to them. But can we acknowledge that model is much closer to its end than its beginning? The world moves on, and no advertiser or media buyer is looking at what happened in the Regan administration era to place ad buys today. 
 

 

Welp...

https://variety.com/2024/tv/news/cbs-naacp-soap-opera-the-gates-bold-and-the-beautiful-writer-1235932548/

If it goes forward this would be the first new daytime soap since Passions in 1999. Hopefully, it succeeds, but it needs to not be written like any crap that's on soaps now. I'm honestly shocked. 

Surprisingly, MSNBC aired a good chunk Trump's Super Tuesday speech, despite past objections to giving him a platform for inaccuracy. I also noticed network NBC was the only one of the big three to air the speech.

Moreover, NBC called Trump's performance a landslide

MSNBC mildly labeled it as "victories".

Obviously NBC attempts to stay more neutral then their cable counterpart, but it was still surprising to see.

On 3/1/2024 at 2:33 PM, T.L. Hughes said:

 

Simone Jameson has reportedly been let go by WXIX, over these photos that she posted following a boxing workout on her station-branded social media.

 

(Note: FTVLive has posted several stories lately about reporters, like Jameson, who posted photos to their work accounts that most people, especially those outside the news business, would normally post to their personal social media.)

this is why think reporters should get a *separate* friends only social media where they can post almost whatever they want. Keep your public profile clean and brand related.

EDIT: and block your job from seeing your IG story, maybe even block them totally if you can. 

5 hours ago, badabing said:

The problem with the WCBS operation is not the anchors— the anchors are familiar faces now. It is the massive churn of reporters. Part of the reason why WABC thrives is because their reporters don’t spend a few years at the station on the way to something else. 

Agreed. In hearing from reporters, constant turnover usually equals unimpressive pay, a toxic work environment, or burnout from being overworked. WABC appears to have the most reporters with a 20+ year tenure. They must have great pay and a decent working culture.

16 minutes ago, bc485 said:

So sorry to hear the news about Dana Tyler and Dick Brennan, especially Dana, given her tenure at the anchor desk. She survived a lot of format and management changes over the years and has been an evening anchor for over 30 years!

 

Also, how boring to have Maurice and Kristine at 6. It was weird to have Dana and Dick there only for a half hour at 6, but better than the same anchors from 5-6:30. 
 

Bad decision in my opinion. 

My thoughts exactly.  Instead of having Mary & Chris who start work pre 4:30am doing the noon, they could have used Cindy Hsu or Dick & Dana, all of whom get only 30 minutes of airtime. 

On 2/29/2024 at 4:09 PM, Vlad said:

I agree with you MediaZone, the set is a bit dated now at this point having been in use since 2012. The studio can certainly use some updates, but we have to remember how horrible their set always was even before they moved to the street studio in 2012. So I still think 'Abysmal' is a bit harsh, to say the least. They are the only station in New York to have a street studio which to me beats any other station in NY. That alone is quite amazing. Their current streetside studio, despite now being just over 10 years old, is still country MILES away better than what they had before. Their previous studio was also cramped, small, and (even burned down) only to be rebuilt again. 

 

The issues you pointed out with the camera and graininess are quite possibly rooted in two things:

 

1. They are still on 720p (two steps below 4K), so they are not able to get the best picture quality because for some reason ABC and Disney opted for 720p during the HD rollout of the late 2000s rather than 1080i which allows for better lighting and picture quality. Most people won't notice the difference between 720 progressive and 1080 interlace, but 1080 is still more pixels and thus better quality. I'm not sure if ABC will ever upgrade to 1080i but that is certainly a limiting factor.

 

2. I do agree with you that WABC's set/studio lighting has never been optimal. It's always been just fair. They've always had issues with lighting and contrast. One thing they could do that is cost-effective is simply invest more in their lighting to squeeze more life out of the current studio till they move downtown later in the decade. It would certainly add more life to their aging set.

 

Overall, I think WABC has come a very long way with its on-air appearance. It's taken them up until now really to get it right. With a couple of tweaks to the lighting and cameras, they can easily enhance their studio's look. And right now with the new group package,  it's possibly the best look they've ever had. At the time it was pretty dated and antiquated and arguably the worst in the market. I don't think their current set is all that bad, is it on par with the rest of the O&Os, I think it is actually. All the other O&Os have newer updated sets so naturally they are more modern but WABC's new studio is on the horizon with the big move for ABC downtown so I'm willing to bet they will exceed our expectations when they move down there. I hope they go with a nice futuristic "White and Blue" look similar to CBS, rather than the dark blue hues we commonly associate them with. Would be a refreshing more modern look for them.

Thank you for articulating that respectfully. Everyone is entitled to express their opinions, the key is doing so politely and not being a keyboard warrior, unlike 24994J who consistently disrespects users on these boards despite being a moderator. 

5 hours ago, 24994J said:

 

"This is what I mean."
 

We know what the set looks like. Screenshots don't prove your point.

Ah yes, your daily dose of condescension and talking to people any way you want in these threds.

. "We?" Speak for yourself.

IMO This picture is a perfect illustration of poor grainy lighting compared to the more brightly lit, slicker looking appearence of Mornings on 10. Poor lighting compared to the sets of the competition even.

On 1/14/2024 at 8:07 AM, MediaZone4K said:

Now, time for that abysmal set to get updated when they move HQ. With WNBC's news upgrades, the Eyewitness News set is officially the worst in market.

On 1/16/2024 at 1:49 PM, Vlad said:

I have to constructively disagree with you MediaZone about WABC's current set being abysmal.

 

This is what I mean by abysmal. Even if the set isn't great the lighting would elevate it like the Mornings on 10 look does. 

20 hours ago, bgiesing said:

TBF, just cause it's "renewed though 2028" doesn't mean it will be "on CBS through 2028", they could very easily have a clause just like with Days to move to streaming at a later date.

Or of course, they could can the other one to free up the hour instead. Alongside the announcement, TVLine was told this

So like maybe B&B is only renewed for one more year while the more popular Y&R stays on for 4. 

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Personally, I'm of the mind that yeah I do think there's too much news hours even if yes, most people don't watch all the hours and aren't getting "fatigued" from it. I personally would want them to be more like say BBC internationally where daytime hours include stuff rarely shown on broadcast television over here and are instead locked to cable/streaming like cooking or home improvement shows BUT I can't deny Daily has been a success (and personally I find it to be my favorite, just the right mix of more upbeat morning news and serious primetime news without going too far in each direction) and like, most people nowadays have options. Even before streaming, most people could switch to any of the 100s of cable channels if they didn't want to watch what the big networks were showing and especially now with streaming, there's literally thousands of other options if you don't want news at noon.

It's 2024, basically everyone has decent internet and already streams content, you aren't forced to watch NBC (and the others) if you don't want news. Hell, go watch YouTube even, you don't even need a 30-60 minute scripted drama during that time frame. 

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Side-Note: Why have they not put Daily on demand yet like almost all of their other news shows. Kinda hard to watch the one you prefer when it's literally not available. NBC News Now of course streams it but not everyone can watch live that exact second and the only stream that allows going back into the VoD is the YouTube version but they delist that meaning if you don't save the link, it's impossible to watch.
 

Every other NBC News show from the mainstay TODAY to Nightly and including other News Now ones like Top Story, Stay Tuned, etc. you can stream on-demand on either YouTube, NBC.com, Peacock, or via Podcast. I get Daily is a bit unique in that there's 4 separate hours but nobody is saying you have to save all 4 of them, like already Nightly is only the West Coast edition on demand so like just pick one of the 4 hours and make that the on demand version.

7 hours ago, Nelson R. said:

Maybe CBS does similar to NBC News Daily and schedules it at 12:30, 1:30, 2:30, and 3:30 ET for each continental time zone. That would allow for CT to keep their noon news without the new CBS Daytime News being delayed and Y&R could stay at 11am CT.

Y&R is in terrible shape writing and aesthetic wise but it still pulls an -old- audience and shockingly remains #1 against other soaps. Nostalgia has to be the reason because quality certainly isn't. 

Despite one of the better performing daytime shows being renewed for 4 years I'm suprised there's still talk about if CBS will put a newscast in the slot. 

Is CBS is rushing to add midday news as its national product (even the o&o local version) isnt a top performer outside of 60 Minutes and Sunday Morning? Younger demo maybe?

WCBS is making big changes with Dick Brennan and Dana Tyler being booted from the 6pm news as 5/11pm anchors Maurice & Kristine take over. Dick will go back to reporting as Dana is reduced to a fill in anchor or special contributor. Bad move.

https://www.nexttv.com/news/wcbs-new-york-changes-6-pm-team

I can only speculate if ratings are the issue. IMO Dick and Dana are good together so the national CBS O&O format is what I'd say the real issue is.

Let the record state that Andrea Grymes was also bumped from weekends.

Is WCBS doing that badly? Much like WNYW isn't the strongest Fox station despite being the flagship what CBS o&o's would you say are in better shape than WCBS.

Admittedly Dana isn't the strongest anchor these days (when solo) but this isn't is a solution at all. Maybe it's just me but don't viewers get tired of seeing the same faces on every newscast? That's Maurice and Christine at 5,6, (8 on WLNY?) and 11. I'd think you would want a veteran like Dana Tyler up against Chuck Scarborough and Bill Ritter in the same slot. 

Dick is great on air and deserves an anchor spot wether it's with Alice or Dana. 

If ratings ate behind this, Dana and Dick aren't the problem the dry CBS o&o format is. 

Devil's advocate, maybe this is for the better. There was pushback when Dana and Jim Rosenfield were booted from the 11 in favor of Maurice and Christine, but ratings improved.

So we'll see.

14 hours ago, nycnewsjunkie said:

What a horrible turn of events for Newshub and for New Zealanders. WBD has already been making cuts to its NZ division, but to close the entire newsroom is diabolical. A lot of good people are going to be out of work, and most importantly, it’s a disaster for New Zealand. TVNZ (the state-owned “public” broadcaster that operates more like a commercial channel in practice) is going to have a monopoly on TV news. What a joke.
 

I don’t know of too many healthy democracies with a lack of media diversity. You can’t adequately scrutinize people in power when there’s only one, state-owned outlet available to do it. I’m hoping there’s a way to save Newshub before June, but I wouldn’t bet on it.

The crumble of terrestrial TV appears to be global sadly.

Didn't know where else to post this. Does anyone follow the news in New Zealand? The soon-to-be-defunct Newhub and its competition 1 NEWS New Zealand are aesthetically gorgeous.  Would love for CNN to implement these looks for either Newsroom or News Central. New Zealand and Australia are the two countries I've seen whose news production is greater than or equal to that of the US.  Does anyone know the set designer?

Newshub (bottom pic taken from a 1 News story on them). This is very CNN with the color scheme. Love the slanted desks and the sloped single monitors. Reminds me of the National Telemundo set. This would also work really well on an NBC O&O with a blue and white color scheme. Thanks to ATL NEWS Expert for putting me on to this outlet.

1 News NZ. Love the Amazon Alexa looking desk. 

54 minutes ago, ATLNewsExpert said:

Huge bombshell out of New Zealand this morning (evening over there) as Warner Brothers Discovery announced proposals to completely SHUTDOWN "Three NewsHub", newsroom, all newscasts (6pm and late), everything, putting up to 300 employees at risk of loosing their jobs. 

 

The Deputy Prime Minister of New Zealand has called this move a "disaster" for New Zealand's democracy, as it leaves 1News as the only national TV news operation in New Zealand, however the reaction from the rest of the government has been minimal.

 

Also effected is the broadcast on "Sky Open", "News First at 5:30" which is produced by Newshub.

 

 

Sad. Side track, but they could teach some of these US brands a thing or too about set and graphic design. 

Late to the party,  so CNN will have News CENTRAL and NewsROOM now? It's clear that NewsCentral will be the main dayside brand but how will this differ from Newsroom? I'm glad to see Newsroom still around but I'm surprised they didn't just MSNBC it and unite all of dayside headline coverage under one brand. 

5 hours ago, mre29 said:

So, is everyone only interested in talking about the CBS-owned stations? The original poster never specified that...

 

True...but the o&o have a single owner and the same format so it's easy to pinpoint what their issues are.

For the affiliates which have multiple owners, and multiple factors at play, it's more difficult to pinpoint why they aren't successful. Some posters have said it harkens back to the '94 realignments. Others have pointed out CBS affiliates do well in small and rural markets.

2 hours ago, carolinanews4 said:

For the CBS owned stations, I think comes down to a lack of budget and the resulting lack of identity. CBS O&Os historically have spent less than their ABC and NBC counterparts leaving them with fewer resources. To play catchup stations like WCBS and WBBM have gone through numerous rebrandings.

 

From a corporate standpoint, CBS has undervalued the "presentation" portion of TV news which has been reflected in the way they fund their local stations. They live in the Walter Cronkite era of storytelling. Admirable? Sure. But television is a visual medium and newscasts are built on a relationship with the viewer. I don't feel like CBS has ever truly embraced either of those things. The lack of investment was easier to hide in the 70s and 80s because everyone's presentation was crude. But as technology has evolved, CBS always seems to be playing catch-up. 

 

When Jeff Zucker cut NBC budgets in the early 2000s, WNBC went into their "WCBS era" where they lacked identity and money. The NBC O&O group launched Daily Connection which was a "newscast" that featured repurposed content from across NBCU properties. The pieces of the show were assembled in NYC and then fed to stations to be produced with local talent. (Sound similar to the equally generic CBS News Now broadcast from Texas?) Cost efficient? You bet. Compelling tv? Not at all.

 

WNBC eliminated Live at Five in favor of News4You and Extra. When that didn't work, WNBC played musical chairs with timeslots, anchors, and formats for years. WNBC their newsroom into a "Content Center" which was nothing more than a gimmick, like the gimmick WCBS tried in launching the short-lived CBS 2 Information Network. It was during this time when WCBS was able to move up to #2, not because Channel 2 was doing anything particularly compelling but because they offered stability where WNBC didn't.

 

Valari Staab, formerly with the ABC O&O group, has spent over a decade rebuilding the newsgathering resources of the NBC group. New radar technology, studios, increased digital resources, heck even new buildings have been added. CBS meanwhile appears to continue the "more with less" mantra that has been in place for over 40 years. While NBC was rebuilding, the ABC stations, with their well-defined local identities, have steamrolled everyone with a consistent and well-funded product. Meanwhile the FOX O&O group, with seemingly endless hours of local news, generates strong local revenue. 

 

What has CBS done? Slapped the last-place 'CBS News' brand onto their local stations. Most of the CBS stations lack the type of true community investment it takes to be a strong player. With audiences for linear TV newscasts continuing to shrink, one could argue it Is way too late for them to catch up. 

Thank you for clarifying that the WNBC situation was budget cuts. I wondered why they would wreck their solid news product in the mid-2000s, for all the crap you listed coupled with a sub par studio and worse graphics. News 4 really improved in 2012! 

I do however appreciate that CBS O&Os don't have a billion hours of news compared to their counterparts.

Focusing on WCBS, alot of their troubles stem from a mass talent firing and re-branding in 1996. They abandoned the good "Channel 2 News" format which boasted a tabloid feel and commanding news theme ---though the NY Times says it performed behind CH 4 & 7.

It was replaced by several rebrands, studio, talent and graphics changes, until they finally stabalized in 2007. 10 years of instability! In the last 5 or so years WCBS has lost some 'flavor' and I'm not sure where they stand in the ratings today.

"Channel 2 News" final era (1993-1996)

2 News (1996-1997). The set and graphics were fine. The music, format changes etc though...

"CBS News New York" generic pharmacy jingle 2023