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/

It's outside of Scripps, but having "Specialists" worked out well for KSTP in the 1980's when they we're #1... How much longer is station groups having their "alerts" going to be a thing? Noticed this on Monday with the storms in Southern Minnesota- Most Twin Cities station issued their "(insert branding here) Alert Day" ahead of the weather and hyped it up all weekend long... Then the day before and day of, the same stations are talking about the importance of staying calm. Eliminate the sensationalism and confusion. Let the NWS do their watches and warnings, relay those.

Debated between putting this here or in the SportCenter, but at 90 years young, Lee Corso is calling it quits after almost 40 years at ESPN. Final telecast will be August 30, and ESPN says special programming will air in the days leading up to it. Saturday mornings during Football Season won't be the same. https://www.espn.com/college-football/story/_/id/44713375/lee-corso-sign-college-gameday-analyst-august

KMSP will be airing select twins games this season… given how the twins session is starting, not sure if the station regrets the move yet. Edit: Gray will also be broadcasting the games region-wide. Remember Gray does not have a station themselves in the MSP market. https://www.fox9.com/sports/mn-twins-games-fox-9-2025?fbclid=IwZXh0bgNhZW0CMTEAAR1eA2zlyEKDMBDYW2GTmqWDogIqF_2bR_nu6otq-TQZnuTtdpfVfK8LydQ_aem__CmSu6glaIU_kg-PeeyVPQ

I'd add Drew Carey and Wayne Brady to the list... CBS still leads in daytime, correct?

I agree with this, but @nathannahdoes make a valid point previously that suggests this cut, plus all the other cutbacks at CBS, equals one heck of a sad equation.

Did I miss something? When did CBS ditch their TS Studio?

Can't speak for the other affiliates, but I've noticed that KMSP and KVRR have begun treating the Friday night news like the weekend- with weeknight anchors/mets working Sunday-Thurs and the Weekend crew on Friday/Saturday. Is it reactionary to the network? Fox does have a decently strong Sunday with the Animation Domination block as lead-ins compared to the Friday/Pre-emption situations.

Given the current financial situation at the Lighthouse, I could see Disney steering clear for calmer waters. If Scripps goes down, it's pandora's box who will end up with what. At least with WSVN they know what they are getting into.

I wouldn't say "lazily". Strategic might be a better descriptor. Here in Minnesota (for when WCCO uses the CBSMN branding), greater MN is simply different Minneapolis/St. Paul- the communities are different, the politics are different, the people are different, and 'CCO has KCCW in the northern part of the state that serves a great deal of viewers OTA who are 3-4 hours from Minneapolis; and for what it's worth also does a decent job in balancing the stories and wx between the metro and Greater MN. That made "Minnesota" smarter for them to use than Minneapolis-St. Paul in this case. Even the major newspaper, the Star Tribune, just rebranded late last year as "The Minnesota Star Tribune" (and it's the Minnesota Twins, Minnesota Vikings, Minnesota Wild... The list goes on). Then you have the O&O's in the markets that LOVE their city and much of the region revolves around what's happening in said city- Philly, Pittsburgh, and Baltimore instantly popped into my head as examples for that.

I already like it better than the actual CBS package.