As CBS Cancels Syndie 'Probst', Affiliates Scramble to Fill Slot in Fall of '13

[ABC 7 Denver 1552]

From TVNewsCheck.com (http://www.tvnewscheck.com/article/65508/the-scramble-begins-to-fill-probst-slots)

 

NBC Owned Television Stations President Valari Staab isn’t talking about how the station group will replace Jeff Probst now that syndicator CBS Television Distribution has canceled it. But a spokeswoman for NBC Owned Television Stations said that Probst’s daytime slots will likely go to a combination of NBCU’s Access Hollywood Live, Disney-ABC’s Who Wants to Be a Millionaire, Warner Bros.’ Bethenny and Sony Pictures Television’s Queen Latifah, although she cautioned that schedules and timeslots are still being finalized for the fall.

NBC airs Probst on eight of its 10 stations and is thought to be in line for a fall 2014 NBCU talk show with Meredith Vieira, if that comes together. But that leaves a big hole in fall 2013 on NBC O&Os like WNBC New York and KNBC Los Angeles, where Probst is the lead-in to hits NBCU’s Steve Harvey and Warner Bros.’ Ellen.

 

Those holes will start to fill up fast.

Bethenny, which is cleared in big markets on Fox stations, will likely replace Probst on NBC’s KNTV San Francisco at 2 p.m. where it’s the lead-in to Harvey and Ellen. The station has picked upBethenny but has not yet announced its plans for Probst’s slot.

Latifah, which is cleared in major markets on CBS Television Stations, is expected to take Probst’s 2 p.m. time slot on WVIT Hartford, Conn.

Some non-NBC-owned stations will also replace Probst with Latifah, including Scripps’ NBC affiliate WPTV West Palm Beach, Fla., at 3 p.m.

NBCU’s Access Hollywood Live, now in its third season and currently airing in about a quarter of the U.S., will likely add additional NBC Owned, Fox and Hearst stations in the fall.

Meantime, Disney-ABC’s Millionaire airs on ABC-owned stations in major markets. But it doesn’t own stations in some of the NBC-owned markets. Meredith Vieira is leaving Millionaire and there has been speculation that Cedric the Entertainer will replace her, but Disney-ABC has not officially announced a new host.

Survivor host Jeff Probst debuted his daytime show last fall as something of a modern-day Phil Donahue Show, where he got out into the audience to get their take on topics. The show never took off, though. In the week ending Feb. 3, it ranked near the bottom of syndicated talk shows with a 0.7 household rating and a 0.4 women 25-54 rating.

1. What station is 'Probst' on in your market? Do you know with what they are going to fill the available time slot? (I'm trying to understand market clearance)

 

2. Is everybody that is leaving Today getting there own talk show now? Katie Couric, now Meredith Viera? Al already has Wake-up with Al on TWC and is doing Today (for some reason I think Al is going to stay with Today until he dies and maybe even past that). Matt Lauer will most definitely get a talk show after Today(... which I guess is called tomorrow, lol). Thoughts on who else will get a talker?

 

3. So many talk shows are coming and going, does anybody thing there could possibly be financial opportunity in, let alone room for, a talk show network?

[Big Country News 435]

How about a totally wicked and out of the ball-park idea: NEWS. HARD AND WITHOUT FLUFF.

[CircleSeven 1944]

Probst was here on WBBM. In the first few weeks it was aired at 2pm, after As The World Turns. But right around the Holidays, it was later moved to 1:07am, placing the Judge Judy repeats from a few seasons ago back to its 2pm slot. So WBBM knew that show never got the numbers, especially since Steve Harvey was also on that slot on Channel 5 (side note, the last program that was taped at Channel 5 that was on that timeslot was Jerry Springer talkshow almost 15 years ago), and Inside Edition & Jeopardy on Channel 7 (which was moved one hour earlier to occupy Katie's new talk show at 3pm). I'm not too sure what they will occupy at 2pm this coming fall.

 

I think this heavy amount of talk shows is because they are trying to find the next top talker after Oprah and so far to me, the one's that last the longest like Dr. Phil will be the one ones that will prosper. The ones that get no traction, like Probst & Ricki Lake, will be dumped fairly quickly. Ricki would've probably be kept for another season, if Fox wouldn't acquired new shows like Bethanny Frankel & keeping Wendy Williams & Dr. Oz. It just too crowded in a few markets. I think many of these talk show host have different opinions and different topic that fit a specific demo. But with so many in one plate, no one can digest through all of these in one solid platter. And before you know it a couple of more show won't come back another season, like Ricki Lake & Jeff Probst.

 

I believe Katie Couric on ABC & Steve Harvey on NBC will be mainstays, as they will grow accustomed to its growing viewership in a timely manner. The rest of these new shows will probably live out its days, and if they get lucky after season one, they won't see season two. But I am tired of this talk show craze. I'm not even that happy with the new syndie offerings this coming fall. It's going to be the same load of crap we've been dealing with now.

 

Stations that don't have nothing filled, they can also put a Byron Allen court show, or even another comedy show as a last resort. Like anyone want to watch those.

[ABC 7 Denver 1552]

How about a totally wicked and out of the ball-park idea: NEWS. HARD AND WITHOUT FLUFF.

God dammit, I like you! The problems are that 1) It costs more 2) It's risky (considering lawsuits and even information value) 3) It doesn't sell.

 

I love hard news. I love international news. My favorite news programs at the moment are CBS This Morning and the PBS News Hour. They more closely aligns with my information digestion than other programs. I've never watched talkers because they are stupid (There, I said it.)! But will your average (and admittedly somewhat 'softer' American) watch the truly informative? I don't know. Stations are still trying to be sold on this one.

 

I believe CNN was this at one point. But now they are going to debut reality programming? C'mon!

 

The investigative journalism of the 50s' and 60s' is pretty much gone and we are left with white fluffy cotton. Fun to look at and play with, but in the end, you are going to put it into the dryer and it will clump and ball up and be no fun anymore. Better to have the Rubik's Cube of Journalism (Investigative).

[24994J 5276]

How about a totally wicked and out of the ball-park idea: NEWS. HARD AND WITHOUT FLUFF.

Please here me out on this, but it's this idea that made "Good Afternoon America" so appealing to me over the summer.

 

Now, it was 95% fluff, but it was (at it's core) the spin-off of a "news" show (I use the term loosely). When the Aurora shooting happened in July, it was so refreshing to have that hour of HARD news on a network in daytime. I'm not a talk show watcher, but I'd be willing to tune into a week or two of stupidity/garbage for the occasional glimmer of serious, yet undramatized coverage.

[ABC 7 Denver 1552]

Please here me out on this, but it's this idea that made "Good Afternoon America" so appealing to me over the summer.

 

Now, it was 95% fluff, but it was (at it's core) the spin-off of a "news" show (I use the term loosely). When the Aurora shooting happened in July, it was so refreshing to have that hour of HARD news on a network in daytime. I'm not a talk show watcher, but I'd be willing to tune into a week or two of stupidity/garbage for the occasional glimmer of serious, yet undramatized coverage.

Ok yeah. Maybe it's just me because I live in Denver. But that one hour got seriously depressing and repetitive real quick. I'm emphasizing here that I was completely inundated with the story from every angle. Besides network coverage, that's all any market in my entire state would talk about. Srcew sports! Weather what?

 

I know it happened and I know it sucked. My brother was in another theatre not 5 miles away watching the same movie at the same time! My point is that there is an entire country, an entire planet of events happening now and now and... Do you get what I'm saying? I'm not blaming you! That hour of hard news must have been very informative and helped you feel empathetic for our state (Thanks, btw. The gift basket was delicious! )

 

But without this story, isn't there enough hard news for GAA to cover without tragedy? I've been watching a lot of NOVA lately. When is that last time you've seen science stories unrelated to health or cloning in the news?

 

There is so so so much stations do not cover. Collectively, we have not seen even 1/3rd of the knowledge the world has to offer.

 

Sorry for digging in. It seems that few people understand the definition of hard news the way I do.

[24994J 5276]

Ok yeah. Maybe it's just me because I live in Denver. But that one hour got seriously depressing and repetitive real quick. I'm emphasizing here that I was completely inundated with the story from every angle. Besides network coverage, that's all any market in my entire state would talk about. Srcew sports! Weather what?

 

I know it happened and I know it sucked. My brother was in another theatre not 5 miles away watching the same movie at the same time! My point is that there is an entire country, an entire planet of events happening now and now and... Do you get what I'm saying? I'm not blaming you! That hour of hard news must have been very informative and helped you feel empathetic for our state (Thanks, btw. The gift basket was delicious! )

 

But without this story, isn't there enough hard news for GAA to cover without tragedy? I've been watching a lot of NOVA lately? When is that last time you've seen science stories unrelated to health or cloning in the news?

 

There is so so so much stations do not cover. Collectively, we have not seen even 1/3rd of the knowledge the world has to offer.

 

Sorry for digging in. It seems that few people understand the definition of hard news the way I do.

No, I totally get what you're saying. The event in Colorado, and I'm merely using it as an example, proves that hard news can be done successfully and/or effectively in the daytime hours if given the chance. Don't quote me on this, but I think many of Katie Couric's affiliates are peeved because they were led to believe that they were getting a more current and topical talk show, something that could take on breaking news and the day's top stories (as necessary). Instead, they got an Oprah knock-off that is about as far from newsy and up-to-date as you can get.

[ABC 7 Denver 1552]

No, I totally get what you're saying. The event in Colorado, and I'm merely using it as an example, proves that hard news can be done successfully and/or effectively in the daytime hours if given the chance. Don't quote me on this, but I think many of Katie Couric's affiliates are peeved because they were led to believe that they were getting a more current and topical talk show, something that could take on breaking news and the day's top stories (as necessary). Instead, they got an Oprah knock-off that is about as far from newsy and up-to-date as you can get.

And so, of course not quoting you, that is why Katie cleared a lot of the local markets. When the talker's contract comes up again, many may not renew. But as always, it depends on the average ratings.

[Jess 1110]

WCAU airs Probst at noon.

How about a totally wicked and out of the ball-park idea: NEWS. HARD AND WITHOUT FLUFF.

Nah. WCAU already airs that at 11am.

 

They'll probably pick up Access Hollywood Live or something.

[A3N 996]

WCAU airs Probst at noon.Nah. WCAU already airs that at 11am.

 

They'll probably pick up Access Hollywood Live or something.

It seems like the NBC O&O's are in a better position to fill the gap being left by the Jeff Probst show, since all they need is a program to hold them over for a year until the start of Meredith Vieria's talk show. As Hulkie mentioned, Access Hollywood Live is a strong possibility. Interestingly enough, KNSD dropped AHL in favor of Jeff Probst and they could potentially re-acquire it for next fall.

[TexasTVNews 1366]

KDFW FOX 4 airs Access Hollywood Live at 11am, and KXAS NBC 5 airs Probst at Noon. and to be even more frank, I rather see daytime game shows

and soap operas than to watch dumb and stupid talk shows (except maury povich).

[johnnya2k6 171]

In Fairbanks, Probst is on KXD, airing opposite Ellen DeGeneres on KTVF at 5:00.

 

But since they've been a monster in the syndie game show ratings as of late, I can see KXD picking up Family Feud once again; that way, Fairbanks would see 2 1/2 hours of game shows in the evenings on three stations: Feud at 5:00 on KXD, Jeopardy/Wheel of Fortune at 6:00 on KATN, and Who Wants To Be a Millionaire? at 7:00 on KTVF.

[MorningNews 1293]

Here in Houston, Probst airs on KPRC-TV Channel 2 at 2 PM. Pretty sure they'll look for a new game show to put in the slot. Plus Meredith's new show isn't for another year right?

[Ntropolis 593]

It's on WWAY at 10am here. They better find something good to replace it with because most of WWAY's daytime programming consists of infomercials...

[24994J 5276]

Here in Houston, Probst airs KPRC-TV Channel 2. Pretty sure they'll look for a new game show to put in the slot. Plus Meredith's new show isn't for another year right?

Right, anything with Meredith won't be until Fall of 2014...and a lot can change by then. I have to agree about Family Feud, it's in a good position to move up to higher-profile affiliate deals, versus the independents that seem to be the majority carriers of the show now. It's in the top 10 of daytime syndies, and Steve Harvey just signed a 3 or 4-year extension. Plus, if it's possible, some stations might consider picking up the 'Feud' to run side-by-side with Steve's talker.

[Glimmer 238]

Here in Milwaukee, WDJT aired Probst at 3pm until a little after Christmas when it was moved to 2:05am and replaced by Rachael Ray (which is having its third trip of duty on the station after being shuffled between WDJT and WMLW for its entire run). WDJT's picked up the Queen Latifah show for next fall, so I think that'll end up being the new 3pm show for them. It's gonna be interesting to see what moves WITI and WISN do for the fall since they're both gonna be down a show (Ricki and Anderson, respectively) next fall as well.

[jrh1985 56]

Here in Milwaukee' date=' WDJT aired Probst at 3pm until a little after Christmas when it was moved to 2:05am and replaced by Rachael Ray (which is having its third trip of duty on the station after being shuffled between WDJT and WMLW for its entire run). WDJT's picked up the Queen Latifah show for next fall, so I think that'll end up being the new 3pm show for them. It's gonna be interesting to see what moves WITI and WISN do for the fall since they're both gonna be down a show (Ricki and [b']Anderson[/b], respectively) next fall as well.

 

 

Anderson is leaving??? Why????? Is CNN getting in the way???? How long long has Anderson been on? I like Anderson Live better than his first show. We know WITI is doing some sort of 4:00 show in fall. I would like to see WISN to do a news or local show with that hour

[TheRob 920]

Probst aired on KSHB in Kansas City at 3:00. I'm sure Scripps will find something cheap as a replacement.

[WXmanTim 88]

Anderson's show failed to catch on with viewers. That's part of the reason why they switched to the "live" format this past fall, but that didn't work either.

 

As for Probst, KPRC-Houston (in all their infinite "wisdom") jettisoned "Ellen" to pick up his show (at 2pm). For their part, KHOU was smart enough to snap up "Ellen" to replace "The Doctors" at 3pm.

 

Honestly, I felt Probst was doomed from the start. The pre-debut promos they aired all last summer did nothing to explain to viewers what kind of show he was going to have, but was instead centered around "introducing" him to viewers.

 

Um...after nearly 15 years on Survivor, name recognition is not something he really has to much worry about.

[MorningNews 1293]

Anderson's show failed to catch on with viewers. That's part of the reason why they switched to the "live" format this past fall, but that didn't work either.

 

As for Probst, KPRC-Houston (in all their infinite "wisdom") jettisoned "Ellen" to pick up his show (at 2pm). For their part, KHOU was smart enough to snap up "Ellen" to replace "The Doctors" at 3pm.

 

Honestly, I felt Probst was doomed from the start. The pre-debut promos they aired all last summer did nothing to explain to viewers what kind of show he was going to have, but was instead centered around "introducing" him to viewers.

 

Um...after nearly 15 years on Survivor, name recognition is not something he really has to much worry about.

I didn't understand why they did this either. I mean does Probst air on mostly NBC affiliates around the country? Maybe that's why they picked it up and dumped Ellen.

[lazynetjunkie 34]

Probst was here on WBBM. In the first few weeks it was aired at 2pm, after As The World Turns. But right around the Holidays, it was later moved to 1:07am, placing the Judge Judy repeats from a few seasons ago back to its 2pm slot. So WBBM knew that show never got the numbers

The Judge Judy reruns do in fact pull in much higher numbers than Probst ever did..

[news89 467]

Here is my local stations synd line up: Sorry for the long thread.

ALL the Local Youngstown Stations carry synd programming in HD if available.

WFMJ NBC (21) Locally Owned

5-7am Local News

7-9am Today (First 2 Hours)

9-10am Live with Kelly and Michael

10-12pm Today (final 2 hours in HD)

12 News

1230 who wants to be a millionaire

1 Days Of Our Lives

2 Judge Judy

3 Dr Phil

4 Anderson Live

5 Ellen

7 -8 Inside Edition and Family Feud

 

WKBN CBS 27 (LIN TV)

5-7 News

7-9 CBS This Morning

9-10 The Doctors

10-11 Lets Make Deal

11-12 Price Is Right

12 News

12:30 to 3p CBS Daytime

3-4 The Jeff Probst Show

4-5 Dr Oz

5 News

530 Jeopardy Repeat

7-8 Wheel and Jeopardy

 

WYTV ABC 33 (Vaughan Media, LLC, operated through SSA by LIN TV)

5-7 News

7-9 GMA

9-10 Rachel Ray

10-11 Steve Harvey

11-12 The View

12-1 Dr Oz (repeat)

1-3 ABC Daytime

3-4 Ricki Lake

4-5 Katie

5 Extra

530 News

7-8 ET and omg insider

[CircleSeven 1944]

The Judge Judy reruns do in fact pull in much higher numbers than Probst ever did..

I was refering to Probst show, thus moving it to the graveyard slot. I remember almost a decade prior, before Rachael Ray started her show, channel 2 aired the Judge Judy repeats from a few seasons ago on the 2pm hour, then airing the current season's show at 3pm. Fast forward to just probably three seasons ago, move the new Judy shows at 4pm (now to go inline with WCBS & now KCBS) to have it as a lead-in for the 5pm news.

 

I think the only other station that aired the Judy repeats daily was KIII 3 in Corpus Christi. I think it was in 2010.

[trev57 46]

Here in Milwaukee, WDJT aired Probst at 3pm until a little after Christmas when it was moved to 2:05am and replaced by Rachael Ray (which is having its third trip of duty on the station after being shuffled between WDJT and WMLW for its entire run). WDJT's picked up the Queen Latifah show for next fall, so I think that'll end up being the new 3pm show for them. It's gonna be interesting to see what moves WITI and WISN do for the fall since they're both gonna be down a show (Ricki and Anderson, respectively) next fall as well.

I know that WITI is picking up the Arsenio Hall show this fall, but I believe that's going to be a late night show. Maybe they will air that at 11:05 after Seinfeld and move Extra up to replace Ricki.

[ABC 7 Denver 1552]

Is there a contractual requirement that Wheel and Jeopardy air together, on the same network, in the same hour?