GodfreyGR

So... Getting that we will have no major visual changes other than Lester being swapped out for Tom, which makes sense since graphics package is still new enough. Nice touch to add Brian Williams in the mix... NBC has a history of conveniently omitting host tenures of some shows the network sees as a blemish to the franchise...

I’ve watched Wheeler for years and the special one-hour farewell is more than fitting. Included a proclamation and key to the city of Fargo from Mayor Mahoney, a city snow plow plow being renamed the “Wheeler Weather Peeler”, and the entire current weather team on hand in the studio.

Why don't more utilize an "a-la-carte" packaging option? I mean, Disney kind of does with Hulu/D+/E+, but in my home for example, Peacock is used only for those pesky NFL games they do only streaming for (aside from the Olympics...). Cash grab?

NBC has Peacock, CBS has Paramount+, the list goes on. Now Fox is jumping in with the launch of Fox One ahead of the NFL Season. They're housing Fox News, Fox Business, Fox Weather, Fox Sports, FS1, FS2, Deportes, FOX Local and Fox network all under one house. So is Hulu just going to be primarily ABC after this summer? https://www.fox.com/foxone/

Which throws me for a loop when I watch, but small potatoes. Did they do that just for the ease of simplicity knowing they're getting the new graphics package eventually (which, if history keeps up, there will likely not be any network logos on that logo), or would it have been just as easy for them to take the entire ABC logo out and place the Fox logo in?

Former KSTP met Wren Clair is resurfacing across town at KARE.

This, and it's been this for almost a year. If you look at the KOTA Facebook, they have used an affiliate-less logo in the profile pic since August 2024, around the same time they folded the KEVN/"Black Hills Fox" branding into the KOTA Territory banner. Looking on Wayback.org, I had to go to June 2024 to find a KOTAtv.com homepage that had the ABC logo adjoining the call letters.

This, and if you look at the tour of the building they give in the newscast, the logos on the glass panels in the production/weather/newsroom areas alternate "WVUE8" and "Gray". The same segment, I noticed "WVUE8" and "FOX8" were used almost interchangeably. Are they in tandem? It is transitionary? Not enough evidence to speculate long-term from what I watched.

That is fair- I could have phrased my last remarks better. Indeed there are challenges for virtually all Fox affiliates getting confused for the cable network- and many ownership groups take different approaches to embracing and deflecting. As for the FB comments, I always remember what one of my managers once told me- that for every comment on socials, there are more followers that were thinking the same thing but just didn't post it (admittingly, I am that type of person when scrolling through FB or X. Here? a bit of a different story.)

The comment section on @TheRolyPoly's FB link has some people calling out the dropping of FOX for the call letters already... And most are not kind. Hopefully someone is reading the early speculative feedback! Agree that when you're on top of the mountain, you need to indeed innovate and stay ahead of the game, but don't blow up what you're known for (read- the branding, the logo) Isn't a Fleur-De-Lis in NOLA like hiving a lone star on just about anything in Texas? Lots of local and regional pride that goes along with it.

Looks on par with the updates across the O&O's as they still work on phasing out the searchlights in the logos (KMSP recently redid their opens as well). Overall the stills with the FOX outline behind the logo give me "2010's WBBM 15 years later" vibes.

Which honestly makes me appreciate it even more TBH...

Every step and element of a set- from the first design meeting through the final light being plugged in is about money. Larger owners, like Nexstar for example, can get away with the same "set in a box" being mass produced which allows for some of the little design touches to become attainable in the budget. A much smaller company like Cowles, the owner of KHQ, has to pick and choose with the budget they likely have. They chose tech and an overall set that they likely hope will last as long as the old set did for them.

Beat me to it! John has become legendary in Fargo-Moorhead! Unlikely they find someone willing to make the area their entire career. (Although it is a fun market for forecasting!)

Long time KOTA meteorologist Eric Gardner has passed away at 60-years-old. He had been with the station since 2002. https://www.kotatv.com/2025/04/29/eric-gardner-longtime-meteorologist-with-kota-territory-news-passes-away/