MediaZone4K

On 2/7/2023 at 11:05 AM, Chopper4 said:

I agree.   WCBS has the best set.  And lighting.  I find it is the most polished set.  

 

And the worst set is WNBC.   That lucite table is horrendous.  It's not a desk, it's a table.  

It sucks how WNBC has fallen aestetically because studios 6B and 3C were gorgeous. 3K, especially since they changed desks and moved to standing, is awful. But ABC 7 --the #1 local news station in the country -- looks pretty bad. Their set and HD quality looks cheap. At least WNBC has decent graphics. 

Overall for the number one market, NY is really lacking in terms of set design. 

On 2/7/2023 at 11:19 AM, BluesNews said:

I think WPIX’s new set is great for the space they have to work with. Is it by far the best in NYC? No, but it doesn’t need to be. It needs to be the best for WPIX’s use and for the space they have to work with which honestly seems like it’s not much.

 

So far it looks based off the limited images we have to be utilizing the space way better than the previous set did, and is arguably the best use of studio space since the 2000s set. It’s sad it took them well over a decade to get a decent space to do the news, but it looks like they finally will have it.

 

The previous set did not age well and was a poor attempt at getting them back into a studio space after the failed newsroom era. That three-wall small-market set was never right for NYC, but was probably very cheap given Tribune’s money woes towards the end. It still amazes me that DailyMailTV used that set and made very little modification to it to use it. Quite frankly, I’m glad it’s gone.

Agreed that this is WPIX's best studio design since the WB 11 main set and morning kitchen set era. 

On 2/6/2023 at 8:25 AM, Geoffrey said:

 

Is this the best set in NY?

Nope. I'd give it maybe 4th place so far. WCBS is still the best. Subtle, clean and sleek. Lighting isn't to harsh, so the anchors look smooth not washed out. The video walls don't look washed out by the HD either. The main desk video wall has a nice window pane set up similar to their mid 90s set. Their couch area has some decent physical detailing.

If I had to rank the market sets: WCBS > WNYW > WNJU > new WPIX (based off shots) > WNBC> WABC. 

After some consistent watching, the CBS 46 format was better IMO. It felt like a struggling station had finally found a format that flowed well with some decent talent like Shon Gables, Rick Folbaum and Thomas Roberts when he was there.

If the ANF branding was in preparation for a supposed affiliation drop, then the name change was understandable. If not, the modern CBS 46 format and brand was fine.

Aesthetically, the graphics and studio aren't than great in comparison to WSB and WXIA.

Maybe its me, but ANF anchors really appear to use hand gestures alot when speaking. Perhaps its a technique that came with the rebrand. 

22 minutes ago, tylerSC said:

Just bring back All My Children and be done with it. Susan Lucci hinted of a possible reboot recently as a proposed project by Kelly Rippa and husband Mark Consuelos. I miss the New York soaps. Don't know why we need Good Morning America in the afternoon.

I wish. But the cost is why they wont do it. Any soap reboot would need to be 30 mins with a slimmed cast to be cheaper to produce. It's crazy how unstable the timeslot has been since.

On 2/3/2023 at 3:58 PM, TheFizzle21 said:

There was a point in time in 2018 or 2019 that I thought to myself and realized....there's hardly any scripted TV shows on television that people want to see, mainly because, as someone alluded to earlier, these companies put their money where their mouths are, and that's with the streaming services. I mean...is it safe to say all these big 4 networks have outside of reality, news, and sports are their legacy shows? NBC with their Law & Order trifecta...ABC and Grey's Anatomy...CBS continuing on with NCIS after all this time....Fox with two Sunday night animated comedies in Family Guy and The Simpsons, I guess? One thing's for sure, nobody I know is flocking to the TV for the newest ABC drama or CBS' next big comedy led by a well-known actor. This leads me into my next point.

 

Appointment television. I miss the hell out of it, or at least what comes with it. When I used to watch Chuck on NBC, I had quite a number of days where I'd hop on Twitter and follow along with everyone watching the show at the same time. I did this with a few other shows and a quite often once I found subreddits in Reddit for my favorite shows. That level of camaraderie is something you can't replicate with a Netflix or Disney+ show that rolls out new episodes at 3am on a Wednesday or Friday. While this isn't going to take away from whether or not people enjoy a series, appointment TV is something that'll rarely be seen, or at least not in the droves that it would lead to if you had to tune into a show at 8 or try and watch a DVR recording a week before the next episode.

Appointment television was the best. The most recent instances I can recall were Empire on Fox, Shonda's TGIT on ABC and now the Dick Wolf blocks on NBC. Maybe this becomes the new trend: show creators taking over a single night on a network. 

We've probably discussed his before but the scripted cable series bubble has largely burst. There was a time AMC,  MTV, VH1, Lifetime, USA E! and others were clammoring to put out original dramas and comedies. Now aisde from HBO, Hallmark, BET,  and maybe TBS, non children aimed cable channels have largely stuck to reruns, live sports reality shows and movies. (Not counting Lifeime movies as a continuning series). 

TV networks probably thought that prestige programming might bring them noteriety or an audience, but I know alot of people who've heard of Schitt's Creek --from streaming -- but couldn't tell me it originated from the Pop! Network. 

Will *new episode* streaming sydication ever become a thing? A studio makes a show (that doesnt have a home network) avalible on multiple streaming platforms owned by different companies.

13 hours ago, TheRolyPoly said:

 

KTLA goes an hour further, 4am-2pm.

 

Also, I live in South Florida. That "1am newscast" is actually a repeat of their 11pm news, just like how WFOR and WTVJ repeat their 11pm newscasts just after 1:35am, while WSVN has their 11pm news repeat at 12:30 and 4:30am.

I like that WSVN repeats their 11pm at 4:30am. WNBC might as well do that at 4am. I hardly saw any live field reports until about 4:30am.

I question if there is enough of an audience up at that 4am hour to justify a live newscast. As someone who used to dread going to work at that hour, I also wonder about the crew and talent having to wake up that early every day. 

Just like the scripted cable series, soap opera and talk show bubbles, news overload is going to burst eventually. 

15 hours ago, TVNewsLover said:

As for Sam C on Fridays, it is technically his shift, but he has the day off. Probably similar thinking for the sports team.

 

Over on WPVI, there was a few years where Sarah had added Sunday evenings to her schedule leading her to have Fridays off (with a few rare exceptions), but she was still listed in the open, and her co-anchor continued to say Sarah’s off.

They could simply do a non talent open on days when those anchors are off.

On 1/3/2023 at 9:10 PM, VHSgoodiesWA said:

Do NOT get me started on cable TV. What was entertaining (Cubs games and Bozo on WGN, great movies and Night Tracks on TBS, Cartoon Express on USA etc.) has become a wasteland of binge-watching repeats, zillions of commercials (of which Limu Emu gets at least 1/3 of the airtime), and reality shows that keep getting worse by the year. TruTV aired 'Jurassic World' last night. The channel for live, rolling court coverage and analysis is now running not just hours of Impractical Jokers, but also MOVIES. What gives! Nickelodeon = zillions of SpongeBob repeats with oodles of commercials. Food Network = tons of food competitions, very few how-to cooking shows. Where art thou, Essence of Emeril, Barefoot Contessa, etc.? TWC spends all night running Highway Through Hell repeats (and all day on weekends) and once in a while, they will shove those away if there's major tornadoes. The ghosts of Dr. John Hope and Dave Schwartz haunt the studios, I bet. What was Chuck Roberts and Gordon Graham on Headline News 24 hours a day has turned into WEST WING repeats. Oh, and a zillion Forensic Files showings. Might as well call it TNT2 at this point. TLC's constant reality garbage, same with Bravo, USA, MTV, Discovery Channel. GSN's constant Harvey Feud repeats, too! Isn't he on a few other cable channels...TVLand maybe?

 

Honestly, I'd be fine only getting ESPN, ESPN2, and a few other sports networks a la carte. The rest of cable TV is garbage. Yes, that includes CNN/FOX News/MSNBC. 

 

Honestly, I stopped watching TV for the most part after the start of the pandemic. And for the most part, except for some sports, and maybe the local news, I haven't come back. I would rather watch a classic movie or Seinfeld repeat than 95% of what's on TV nowadays.

 

RANT OVER.

On top of all of this, cable companies have the nerve to charge into the hundreds for basic cable --while providing poor and slow customer service -- yet act puzzled as to why cord cutting is the new norm.

Loved South Park's take on this:

3 hours ago, MorningNews said:

Not trying to challenge your opinion but I’ve never really understood this take considering the alternatives are the equally sensational Today Show and to a lesser extent, a CBS program.

In all fairness all newscasts sensatonalize to a degree, especially in the mornings. Today is just as bad but their news product is slightly better.

CBS Mornings but moreso CBS This Morning had more news value, and even their fluff pieces were more informative. You'd get real sit down conversations with authors, athletes, creators and experts. CBS Mornings and the old CTM feels less dumbed down than GMA and less rushed than Today.

2 hours ago, Glimmer said:

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

I was literally going to add that I'm surprised Dr. Phil is still on the air in my earlier post about Rachael Ray, then I saw this today. Haven't watched it in years but thats another major player gone from daytime. Judge Mathis, Judge Millian, Pat Sajack & Vana White continue to hold on. 

1 hour ago, MorningNews said:

What’s unfortunate about it for anyone but NBC?

 

Michael’s promotion to GMA was a directive by Robin IIRC and an attempt to assemble a more dynamic cast after the departure of Sam and Josh and the failed experiments of Tony Reali and Jesse Palmer. At one point the lineup was Robin, George, Amy, Lara and Ginger which while each incredibly strong in their own regards is not a particularly dynamic ensemble. 
 

ABC has somehow made the Michael appointment work really well. He’s still by far the weakest of the ensemble but somehow it works. Robin and George have also become a classic duo. Amy was a perfect fit for the show as well and TJ made a lot of sense too. Losing those two and Cecilia is going to be a tall task to rebuild.

Its unfortunate in my opinion that GMA's excessively tabloid brand of "shocking breaking video" journalism remains at the top of the AM ratings, which means the show will stay the way it is for the forseeable future.

Michael brings a good energy but he might be better suited as a sports/feature anchor than a main co-anchor. Part of that however would fall into Lara's role.

11 hours ago, CLETVFan said:

Josh Elliott had a great thing going with GMA before he went to NBC, then CBS, then...what is he even doing now?

The grass isn't always greener on the other side. Popularity in one place doesn't always translate to another. Michael Strahan is lucky his popularity with Kelly is working out on GMA. I wonder what prompted them to add him as a main anchor assuming that the show was still beating Today at the time?

NBC poaching Josh Elliott was probably intended to deal a blow to GMA, but --unfortunately-- it's still the number one morning show. 

2 minutes ago, MorningNews said:

Lara has been presenting the play of the day several times of the last few weeks even with Michael there. It’s the first time they’ve had her appear regularly in the first hour in several years.

Lara's role has been really undefined and sporatic since Josh left and especially since Michael joined.

On 1/16/2023 at 10:32 AM, TVNewsLover said:

https://pagesix.com/2023/01/11/rachael-rays-talkshow-may-be-coming-to-an-end/amp/
 

Looks like this might be the last year of Rachael Ray. Could see the east cost ABC O&Os starting a newscast at 3pm, and moving GH to 2pm.

I sometimes forget that Rachael is still on the air, and have seen almost no promo or buzz surrounding her show lately. She's lasted really long though. I remember her taking over Tony Danza's old talk show slot in my market. 

On 1/17/2023 at 11:13 AM, Glimmer said:

The Drew Barrymore Show has been renewed for a fourth season

I'm actually surpised by this. Drew seems nice enough but she really oversells her exuberance and cheeryness. Her set is beautiful though and NYC local stations ---even Today or GMA-- should take notes. Especially her "Drew's News" set. Its the best set of any talk show on the air right now next to Jennifer Hudson and Kelly Clarkson.

On 1/17/2023 at 5:13 PM, CLETVFan said:

Craig would be welcomed as there are less sitcoms/comedy shows in syndication.

Craig needs to return to the Late Late Show since Corden is leaving.

Not sure where to post this...Why exactly are CBS O&Os less successful than than Fox, ABC and NBC stations? Does the 1994 realignment where CBS lost NFL rights --and subsequently affiliates--to Fox tie into this? I've also heard Westinghouse ownership cited as a reasoning. It's an interesting contrast as CBS has been king of daytime and primetime for several years now. 

Will WCBS eventually drop the "2" from its branding?

Jimmy Kimmel throws back to his first monolouge from 2003. Cool to see Ted Koppel introduce him; ironic as JLK pushed Nightline back a half hour years later.

My take is this. You dont have to include channel numbers in station branding. "CBS Miami" is more unique than the multitude of CBS 4s. However, channel number should be referenced, in some way, assuming tv is still the dominant medium for news consumption. One way to do that:

Example:   CBS News Detroit Logo

                    WWJ-TV | Channel 62 

This might be especially useful for higher channels like WWJ in Detroit. Someone without cable may not know what dial CBS is and might not take the time to flip as far up as 62 on their OTA television.

With location based branding, indicating call letters becomes less important for distinguishing purposes (there's only one CBS Detroit) than the actual tv channel on which to find the station. 

On 1/18/2023 at 12:56 AM, TheRolyPoly said:

15 and a half hours. That's how many hours of news KTLA would air every single weekday if this goes through. 4AM-2PM, 3-7, and 10-11:35PM.

 

The only other outlets in the Southland that do more hours of news than KTLA every weekday... is KNX News - 97.1 FM. KTLA would actually TIE (yes, your hearing this right) Spectrum News 1 SoCal for the second-most local hours of news every weekday on either radio or TV (SN1 SoCal is on 5AM-7PM plus half-hour installments at 9:30pm, 12 Midnight and 1:00am. They air other stuff during other hours like L.A. Times Today, L.A. Stories, etc. Yes, I did check the schedule myself.).

At this point KTLA might as well become an all day local news channel like NY1 minus the CW's two hour pimetime block. The only difference is NY1 and News 12 are live for about 30 minutes per daypart, then rerun that show until the next live newscast. Stations like KTLA are repeating the same news over and over again, but live. 

I know stations want to collect the ad revenue but this is extreme. I question how newsrooms --especially field reporters-- feel about having to fill the excess airtime. 

The new local station trend is apparently being on at ANYtime someone wakes up, and just continue into the noon newscast. Basically 4am-1pm. Who knows, 3:30 am might be the next frontier. WPLG Miami is the most extreeme I've seen with a 1am newscast. I wonder if it's shot live or pre-recorded? 

What a shame. I wonder if they will be able to come back from this.

3 hours ago, Drew said:

They are both good anchors but their future is now in cable news only at least for several years since the broadcast networks will not touch them. I wonder if their buyout of their contract will still have a non complete clause for a year or so. Amy should have stayed with NBC News Group. 

 I really think Amy would have been a solid successor to Ann Curry had she reamined at NBC. 

Starting at (10:04) BET, MTV, VH 1 Coverage of 9/11 via CBS

BET Tonight (non CBS) coverage of 9/11

NBC News OJ Verdit Coverage featuring Tom Brokaw in Studio 1A. Looks like they had an alterante backdrop with the blue background saying "NBC News" instead of "Today".

https://amp.tmz.com/2023/01/13/tj-holmes-amy-robach-lawyer-up-abc-investigation-relationship-gma/

I'm surprised this angle hasn't been analyzed here yet, but TMZ is reporting that TJ Holmes' lawyers could launch a racism lawsuit if he or Amy is terminated. I was surprised it took this long for the black man in trouble for sleeping with white woman optics to come in to play in this case.

I know that the point is to de-emphasize channel numbers because people are watching on multiple platforms.

Is it safe to assume however, that television is still the dominant way people consume local news? If so, there should be at least some reference to channel numbers so people know where to find the station. One way might be to include the station's channel number along with the call letters that are usually placed below the station's logo. 

Example:     CBS News Los Angeles

                      KCBS-TV | Channel 2 

This might be especially useful for higher up double digit channel numbers like WWJ 62 in Detroit. Someone without cable may not know what dial CBS is and might not take the time to flip as far up as 62 on their OTA television. 

Don't know if this was reported already but Mark Traub the male voice heard laughing in the background on "Today" died last month. RIP, been hearing that voice for years and never thought to look up who it could be.

Today in History: Jan 22 1973: Roe v Wade Passed & President LBJ Dies. Cronkite's team put that filmed obituary versy fast assuming it wasnt publicly known that Johnson was on his last days.

Historic Moments in color!