nycnewsjunkie

…in the 1990s.

It’s a bit ironic that NBC is the first traditional “Big Three” network that is rumored to want to do this. Ed Ansin must be smiling from the Great Beyond and thinking, “I told you so.” This move would make sense for both sides. The networks see streaming as their most important commodity, while the affiliates view local news in the same regard due to the ad revenue. The networks can focus on their OTT platforms, while the local affiliates can focus on pumping out more local content.

According to SBJ, this was a one-off transaction due to “an aggressive and willing buyer,” and it isn’t necessarily a harbinger for the sale of other NBC RSNs. Monumental reportedly plans to merge NBCS Washington with their existing streaming service.

I mean, these particular talent opens aren’t going to be around for very long anyway, so this is much ado about nothing imo.

They don’t look that far off from the “NOW” and CBS News streaming graphics, and they look to be using the new CBS font, so it seems plausible. They’re only 2ish weeks away from debuting that newscast, though I imagine they’ll be ironing out any kinks over that period

Damn…when stations are even outdoing WSVN in terms of news hours, you know things have gone crazy. Then again, I suppose this isn’t a new development, so it’s not as shocking as it might have been years ago. SW Florida stations must be raking it in when it comes to ad revenue.

Nice catch! It’s difficult to make out the graphic on the lower left, but the title of the show seems to be “WCCO The 4.” The “WCCO” logo they’re using in the top left of that graphic seems to correspond with this one: EDIT: I also could’ve just read the article first and confirmed the title. I guess that’s what I get for reacting too fast.

I see your point and I understand what you mean now. I don’t know how many similar media critics there are out there, but perhaps it would’ve been better to re-tool Reliable Sources with a new face instead of junking the show entirely. In some ways, I suppose having zero independent media critics on staff at all carries its own set of negative and even dangerous implications, and a “just the headlines” strategy doesn’t have to include dumping media critics entirely.

You must’ve watched a different Brian Stelter than I’ve watched. For nearly its entire run under Stelter and Jeff Zucker, Reliable Sources was a PR machine for CNN disguised as a media analysis program. While they rightfully pointed out instances in which Fox News lacked journalistic ethics, I can’t remember the last time they seriously scrutinized their own network for blatant bias and lapses in judgement. Not to mention, in June the show only averaged 79k in the 25-54 demo. People should’ve seen this move coming from miles away. You mention Ted Turner, but even he mentioned that today’s CNN needed to tone down the opinion. Letting Stelter walk is a start.

That’s old news, no? Frank stated it himself in January, and it was established when KTVU moved Mike Mibach to the evening/late news in April. He’s been “officially out” for a while now. I’m surprised TVSpy posted this as if it were a new development just because of a Facebook update.

I guess it depends on the specifics of the new programming. I’m not sure affiliates are going to want to air NewsNation, for example, given that they may soon be home to both Chris Cuomo and Bill O’Reilly. If Nexstar is just planning on putting out cheap older-skewing programs and leftovers from Paramount/Warner, I guess it wouldn’t be as big a deal (especially since it’s just 2 hours per night).

Thing is, it was a success…a financial one. A post in the NewsNation thread explained that they’ve saved lots of money by cutting syndicated programming and replacing it with its own, cheaper to produce programming. From Nexstar’s last Annual Report: Don’t get me wrong, nobody’s watching NewsNation, but that’s secondary to the fact that they’re making more money on the network by virtue of 1) paying less for the programming and 2) owning the ad inventory. I don’t like it one bit from a programming standpoint, but I’d expect the same thing for The CW under Nexstar. You mean that you wouldn’t want to see a Guy Fieri special replace the Arrowverse on your station? Blasphemy! /s Seriously though, you can add Hearst to that mix too.

It depends on the market. They aren’t going to yank it off a station like WISH, for example, when they have both the CBS/Fox affiliates in Indianapolis. Same goes for WCCB. I don’t think anyone was suggesting that Nexstar would/should replace every established network affiliation with a network like the CW. Any suggestion of such a thing would be asinine. In the case of stations like WGN and KRON, however, it would make some sense. First, it’s not like they’ll be alienating CBS when CBS/Warner are selling the majority of the network over to Nexstar anyway. The CW is a non-core asset for them. Second, it’s true that WGN gave up the CW “for their own self-interests,” but those interests had to do with local sports broadcasting rights that had to be moved to other stations to accommodate CW programming. As I previously mentioned, WGN no longer has local sports rights, and the CW would give WGN two hours of programming that their company (Nexstar) owns. Finally, in KRON’s case, why would Nexstar spend on a MyNet affiliation when they’ll now have their own network to program? It’s the same reason why NewsNation is dumping reruns for their own talk shows. Of course, there’s no guarantee Nexstar will want to switch all of its independent/MyNet stations over to the CW, and it’s highly unlikely they would do it right away. This is pure speculation. That said, it’s not a far-fetched possibility.

Of course. By “chopped” I mean being axed from the network. I’m sure they’ll fit right at home on Paramount+ and Warner/Discovery’s streaming service.

Wouldn’t be surprised if WGN returned to the CW as well. They only went independent to accommodate sports, and considering that sports rights aren’t coming back anytime soon, it makes sense to run CW programs. On the subject of programming, you can bet there will be massive cuts with the “same strict financial standards” and all, but considering that Paramount and Warner/Discovery still hold interest, I can’t imagine them going full-on “NewsNation on Free TV” just yet. I would expect the network to still air some shows produced by Paranount/Warner, but the quality/budget of those shows might be diminished. Besides, the CW is a low priority for them anyway (hence, the sale), and anything that drew an audience is being chopped.

I could be wrong, but I don’t think they aired this on Ch. 7 proper, just on streaming. Still, you’d think they’d at least get a better angle of the parade.

Jeffrey Toobin is out.

Awful Announcing reports that in 2023, CBS will keep its 3:30pm SEC window to fulfill its remaining broadcast commitments to that conference. CBS’ final year of the SEC will be concurrent with their first year of Big Ten football.

I actually didn’t realize that about the combined cost, so I stand corrected. And I completely agree that those games aren’t being “banished” at all, even though (at least until those streaming services see further growth) the ratings for those games will be lower than those on, say, ESPN, it still beats being tied to cable for all of it. Live sports should substantially increase subscriptions to those services, and a relatively small player like Peacock could definitely use the boost.

It’s a shame they relegated John Elliott to weekends. He actually brought some gravitas to the morning show that was (and is) sort of lacking. Don’t get me wrong, I’ve got nothing against Chris, Mary, and Elise, but they would be just as serviceable in any other time slot given how generic WCBS is these days. As for “CBS News New York Now,” WLNY isn’t even acknowledged in the title, and the bulk of the newscast is just called “Now.” Keep in mind, this is a cheap revenue generator disguised as a local newscast, and it’s not meant to be competitive or local. The title’s a mouthful, but it’s not like anyone’s watching. Finally, a set and video wall do not a good newscast make. In general, CBS stations in their comparatively smaller markets (Pittsburgh, Minneapolis, Baltimore) tend to perform better than their larger sister stations due to having consistency, personality, and recognizable faces. Their larger stations have slick presentation, but there is absolutely nothing notable or original about their newscasts. And the ratings prove it. Here’s hoping the new 9am hour with Cindy changes that perception. She’s well-deserving of the promotion given what she’s been through, and it looks like she’ll be bringing some originality to the 9am hour.

That seems like the most likely outcome, given the gradual increase in news hours at WABC (and all the other stations for that matter.) WNBC does that right now with Maria LaRosa (morning), Dave Price (midday/4pm), and Janice Huff (night), and I’m surprised it’s taken this long for WABC to follow suit. Also, it allows for more flexibility on days when Sam Champion is either working for the network or down in Miami.

That’s true…until you realize that you’ll have to pay for both Paramount+ and Peacock, in addition to the existing streaming services you pay for to watch non-sports programming (Amazon, Disney+, Netflix, etc.) In many cases, it will add up to $60 a month anyway. Price is becoming less of a factor when it comes to streaming services; saying that these streaming services are “affordable” is somewhat true compared to most cable services, but that’s a bit of a stretch for a lot of people. The real advantage with streaming services is that you aren’t tied down to a contract like cable/satellite, so you can cancel when the season’s over without extra fees.

Sorry if I didn’t make myself clear, but Ros Atkins is a journalist at the BBC, not a talk show host. That said, I generally agree. I’m not a talk show person, but I can appreciate that Oprah really built up a successful show with a large audience during her era. I don’t think any of the more established personalities have come close, and the demand for that kind of show has decreased. I’m sure Jennifer Hudson, for example, will do fine, but she won’t garner the audience she might have ten years ago. The only comparison to these shows on the local level are pay-for-play shows, but those are about as interesting as watching paint dry imo.

Hopefully it at least looks better than what they have now. The current studio is big, but it has lots of wasted space and it even looked a bit outdated when it was new. The set it replaced was small, but it at least looked better imho.

Per FTVLive, WHBQ Chief Meteorologist Joey Sulipeck is out. He had been suspended by the station after making racial remarks toward Draymond Green on social media. The move comes shortly after Imagicomm’s takeover of the station from Cox.