nycnewsjunkie

I imagine they’ll fix those bugs before the launch of TNF. A national audience will be judging Amazon’s first real foray into sports (the Yankees broadcasts are basically Amazon broadcasting a YES-produced event) so the incentive will be there to iron out any glitches to make a good first impression. Also, many of those issues (like 720p resolution) may originate with YES, not Amazon.

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).

To be fair, “changing viewer habits” is going to be a legitimate excuse. Many of CTV’s viewers are about to change their viewing habits right now after hearing this news.

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.

Well, that was possibly the most moronic media move of the decade, and we’re only a few years in. Lisa LaFlamme was more than a worthy successor to Lloyd Robertson. She anchored the newscast with the same level of gravitas and professionalism that Lloyd did. Bell Media truly has inmates running the asylum. Yes, there are times when cuts need to be made, but you don’t cut a popular sports anchor (Dan O’Toole), shut down a popular radio station (TSN Vancouver), and fire your top anchor without a damn goodbye! If Bell thinks they can cut their way to success, they’re in for a shock when the viewers go to Global in droves. Also, if the CBC is listening: Your biggest competitor just gave you the gift of a lifetime. Put Lisa LaFlamme on The National.

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.

I don’t have a pic, but the Jets broadcast (produced by WCBS) used the new CBS graphics.

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.

They also updated the logo bug. The “CBS3” logo stays on screen throughout the show, while a barely readable “CBS News Philadelphia” logo appears underneath it (alternating with the “Streaming Now” text)

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.

From the looks of that press release, Dice will continue his work a corporate pilot while being on staff as an occasional contributor. This expansion isn’t as crazy as it looks. Given that Alabama (and Tupelo, for that matter) can be tornado-heavy during the summer, having extra meteorologists on staff can’t be a bad thing. I find it notable that stations around the country seem to be expanding their staff of meteorologists as of late, though I guess it’ll take time for many people to get used to. For instance, when WABC expanded to five meteorologists, people immediately jumped to the conclusion that someone was leaving.

So Fox and CBS essentially keep their current prime college football windows, while NBC gets back into college football (not counting Notre Dame) for the first time in ages. And I’m sure ESPN is more than happy with their monopoly on the SEC. Speaking of Notre Dame, one must wonder what the future of their program will be in light of these new TV deals. With the increasing consolidation occurring in college football, I imagine ND will link up with a conference (most likely the Big Ten) sooner than later. EDIT: It’s also worth noting how the costs of these rights have increased. If the networks are willing to shell out more money for games that aren’t as strong, it shows that the networks need the sports leagues more than the sports leagues need them.

My dad has fond memories of that “behind the bag” sequence, and Vin’s call made it really special. Of course, there was also his call of Hank Aaron’s home run record. The Braves just happened to be playing the Dodgers that night, and even though he was the announcer on the opposing team, he knew the gravity of the moment.

KYW launched those with their new set. Given the projected fall launch and the fact that we’ve just hit August, it makes sense that they’re all starting to transition now.

The deal has closed.