Howard Beale

Hearst's KSBW (Salinas, California) is boasting about being number one in the ratings, but if this is a W -- as the kids say -- it's a lowercase W. You can read the station's press release here, but let's get beyond the usual spin and look at the actual numbers cited. For reference, Nielsen counts 230,950 households in the Monterey/Salinas market, and parenthesis represents the total share of the entire market...not just people who happen to be watching TV news. 12 pm: 6,100 households (.02%) 5 pm: 15,100 households (.06%) 6 pm: 17,500 households (.07%) 11 pm: 8,500 households (.03%) Saturday AM: 8,500 households (.03%) Sunday AM: 7,900 households (.03%) Saturday & Sunday PM: 13,400 households (.05%) A win is a win I suppose, but wow, not even one out of ten households in the market bother to watch the top-rated TV news station.

Atlanta Fox O&O WAGA eliminated its investigative reporting team after nearly 50 years. Yes, we're talking nearly 50 YEARS of existence, which predates WAGA's flip to Fox. More info: https://www.ajc.com/arts-entertainment/2025/06/like-a-death-in-the-family-fox-5-atlanta-eliminates-i-team-after-48-years/

CBS is not in a buying mood. Blame the looming Skydance merger and the threats from the Trump administration. Plus, TV stations aren’t the license to print money like they once were. CBS is content to turn a small station it already owns into a CBS-branded O&O. Will it be a serious competitor in the Atlanta market? I doubt it. CBS gave up on being competitive in Atlanta after it lost longtime affiliate WAGA in the 1994 switch to Fox. As for WANF becoming a "WHDH-like juggernaut?" History would say otherwise. WHDH already had good ratings when it went independent. WANF and its predecessors never had good ratings, and the overall trend of fewer people watching TV in general doesn't bode well for the future -- no matter how much money Gray shovels into WANF.

What incentive would CBS have to purchase WANF? Gray poured a lot of money and resources into WANF and would likely not sell unless it was for a LOT of money. CBS is also not in the mood or the shape to go on a buying spree right now.

The NFL still requires it...for now. That may very well change in 2029 if the NFL feels such a change is in its best interests.

Gray doesn't really have a choice. To be fair, neither do any other broadcasting companies. They can't cut the cord and abandon traditional broadcast TV because that's where they've tied up their money, by investing in infrastructure and technology, and by relying on retransmission fees and --- to a lesser extent for some companies -- advertising revenue. Broadcasters missed the boat when it came to adopting a digital news and programming strategy that could also be effectively monetized. I also think what Gray is doing at WANF is a sign of what's eventually to come for broadcasters. Networks really don't need affiliates anymore. Certainly not as great a need as what existed in decades past. The time will come when the networks get rid of affiliates and rely solely on their streaming platforms. Affiliates will then either sink or swim. Those that do swim will rely on a heavy mix of local news and local programming. But the long-term sustainability of such a plan is in doubt. In 2029, the NFL can opt out of most of its TV contracts, and if it does so, then so goes what is perhaps the biggest reason why people still watch broadcast TV.

The difference between WSVN in 1989 and WANF in 2025 is viewers. WSVN succeeded because the "if it bleeds, it leads" format was unique, and it drew in plenty of viewers during a time when you had few other choices for news. Today, you can get your news from almost any local source on your phone. Who needs to watch traditional TV news anymore? Very few people do, and the ratings prove it. Here's what Broadcasting & Cable had to say about Atlanta ratings in 2023: That's pretty bad when you realize that Atlanta has, per Nielsen, 2.7 million TV households. I've no doubt that WANF will do fine in a post-CBS era. Gray has an incentive to ensure the station succeeds. My point is that WANF and Gray are doubling down on more news in a legacy format that is losing viewers and revenue.

It's a little too late for Byron Allen to recoup what he spent for those stations. Even if the FCC totally deregulates TV broadcasting, Allen's stations are about as appealing to purchase as a rusted-out Ford Pinto. Plus, Allen Media gutted its stations to absolute bare minimums, and in some cases, the company doesn't even own the physical property. Anyone who's crazy enough to buy an Allen Media station will have to effectively un-Allen the stations by undoing the damages caused by hubbing master control, weather, etc. Kind of like what Gray had to do when it bought the Meredith stations and had to undo Meredith's dumb decisions.

This is both a win and a loss for Gray. The win? Gray gets total control of WANF and can basically run whatever it wants. What’s going to fill those extra hours? More news and more locally-produced programming, which will lead to more advertising revenue, since WANF doesn’t have to share with CBS. It can also treat WANF as a testing ground of sorts for the rest of its stations. Plus, it’s not like CBS’ ratings did WANF any wonders. The loss? Gray is doubling down on a format that is losing viewers and revenue. Unless you’re a baby boomer who takes the prescription medicine advertised on the commercials during the evening news, you’re probably not watching local TV. WANF’s ratings are also a distant third or fourth place. Few people are watching. It’s been that way ever since Meredith ran and mismanaged the station. No amount of “more local news” and “more local sports programming” will change that.

ESPN’s new all-access streaming service is good news…unless you’re a cable or satellite provider, or one of the many broadcast TV companies that rely on said providers. ESPN is probably the last big reason why most people still subscribe to cable or satellite TV. Now that ESPN is putting everything on its new streaming service, I suspect the holdout subscribers have a very good reason to cut the cord for good. That’s obviously bad news for cable and satellite providers. It will also set off a domino effect that means bad news for broadcast TV companies that rely mostly on retransmission revenue from said providers. Cable and satellite providers now have more leverage to say no when broadcast companies seek higher fees come negotiation time. Some companies are feeling the squeeze as I type. For example, Scripps reported a $10 million quarterly loss “as a result of declining legacy pay TV subscribers.” Gray reported a $2 million drop in retransmission revenue in its latest quarterly report as well. These losses are very small compared to the revenue both companies made. However, with ESPN’s newfound devotion to streaming media, the omnipresent threat cord cutting poses to local TV is going to get worse. It's yet another reason why 2025 is a bad year to be in linear broadcast TV.

Gray has a job opening that may suggest the company might pull a TEGNA and consolidate its creative services marketing departments. The job opening is for a video editor/producer for Gray Creative Group, which “handles the marketing and content initiatives support for all Gray-owned and operated TV stations.” I’m not 100% convinced that Gray will pull a TEGNA here. When Gray bought out Meredith, the company had to rebuild the local creative services departments that Meredith eliminated in a “make ourselves look better to prospective buyers” cost-cutting move prior to the buyout. It makes me wonder if Gray Creative will just fill in gaps at local stations that can’t hire marketing producers.

Two things of note involving TEGNA: The company has a job opening for a “director of content” to oversee its Florida stations, WTSP Tampa and WJXX/WTLV Jacksonville. FTVLive reported a few days ago that TEGNA planned to effectively merge both stations, so it looks like the company is making good on that plan. Another interesting note: WJXX/WTLV GM Tim Thomas’ LinkedIn profile shows he is now the GM at WTSP as well. Also, TEGNA CEO Mike Steib seems to be in a selling mood. In a phone call with industry analysts, he said, “We are buyers of anything that’s a fit for our mission and our company. And if there’s anything someone wants to buy from us at a price that is more than it is worth to our shareholders, we’re interested in selling it.” TEGNA might be in a buying mood if the FCC does loosen or eliminate the ownership cap, but I think TEGNA knows it can make more money by selling stations to the likes of Nexstar or Sinclair.

Graham Media might be trying out a new way of managing stations. Per Rick Gevers, Graham’s WKMG in Orlando, Florida will not hire a new general manager, and “department heads [will] report to their corporate supervisors.” It reeks of Scripps and its station manager concept, where many stations replaced GMs with an existing department head who added “station manager” to their job title…while still running their respective department. The common link here? Sean McLaughlin, the ex-Scripps news VP who landed at Graham.

How many people total are watching? Having 46% of the audience sounds impressive, but if the total audience size is -- for example -- 10,000 people, then big whoop. Ratings no longer matter as they once did. Broadcasters typically earn more-than half of their annual revenue from retransmission fees versus core advertising. Who needs to fight for viewers when you're getting the same check every month from the cable companies?

Let’s talk about something that’s a little more substantial… Scripps recently released its latest financial report after a nearly one-month delay, and we finally know why. The company needed the time to basically shore up its debt and kick the can a bit further down the road. Even the delay itself didn’t buy Scripps enough time to have a financial report worth praising. Here’s the total numbers for 2024 (with 2023 in parentheses for comparison) for Scripps Local Media: Core advertising: $552.2 million ($598.8 million) Political ad revenue: $342.8 million ($32.9 million) Retransmission/distribution revenue: $764 million ($752.3 million) Political ad revenue clearly saved the Scripps budget, because core advertising took yet another hit. Retransmission revenue grew from the previous year, but not by much. Scripps doesn’t have too much leverage against cable and satellite companies as some of the bigger competitors do. But it’s also possible that the cable and satellite companies have little juice left to squeeze out. In short, Scripps is somehow still afloat, but the boat is definitely leaking. Former KSTP news director Kirk Varner questions whether the bad news at Scripps could be a sign that some TV stations may eliminate local news altogether in 2025.