Sinclair...Again

[CircleSeven 1955]

Notice how you left out this sentence I quoted from Mr. Seabers:

 

He characterized the plan to keep the stations autonomous as “extremely unusual,” not only here but across the country. “Normally, when you have a duopoly in a market, you use your same talent and same news resources.”

 

He mentioned a situation in Columbus, Ohio, where Sinclair owns “an ABC station and a Fox. The 10 p.m. news runs on the Fox station and you have a similar newscast running on the ABC station at 11 p.m.”

 

“But we're not going to do that here,” he added. “We're a company that likes to do the right thing, and in this case we think this is the right thing.”

I don't think CircleSeven liked that very last sentence.

 

At first, I was pondering why I didn't add it on there. Now since you mention it. Yeah, I'm pissed off. Because Mr. Seabers is a hypocritical bastard. I mean we expect what was going to happen sooner or later, but damn!, You don't go on and say that oh we're not going to merge news ops. on channels 4 & 29, like I've done in Columbus, and then five months later, you're going to change your tune. That's not fair for the people that might be losing their jobs now. If you knew that you were going to plan on consolidate in late fall of last year, before the Newport deal was consummated the next month, he might as well say, or he should have said back then, 'hey, in the coming months we will be merging operations with these two channels, but as of right now, we will be keeping both news operations separate for now'. He could've said that and not going "quasi-" about it. So yeah I didn't like it one bit, because of what he said. But what do you expect? It's Sinclair were talking about. But that's not the reason why I didn't add that quote on there.

[DirtyHarry 727]

 

Simple google search. Also found out that WJBF/WAGT run their own master control, because the company that installed the master control at the new Television Park posted a picture on their website.

http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,27328064

 

The WSYX hub was found out through a former master control operator's Linkedin page: http://www.linkedin.com/pub/steven-thompson/54/939/55a

I found out that WHAM was hubbed at WSYX from this site: http://www.cnyradio.com/2013/05/31/potw-the-hub-with-all-its-spokes-2011/

Also, you can read station EOE reports to see if "Master Control Operator" is a position they hired for. That also answers it a little bit.

 

 

KDNL's weather cut-in's during Good Morning America also originates(ed) from the WSYX Studios.

 

Sinclair was initially against centralized master control, feeling that the bandwith costs and the confusion factor of running so many stations from one place outweighed any cost savings. Media General does a neat thing with master control where they have all the stuff downloaded and sitting on an actual server located at the station. The centralized hub manages a database which triggers what goes on at the station on their server, but they monitor what is going on from WCMH. Don't know all the specifics, but guessing this takes the bandwidth issue out of the equation and makes the system more reliable.

 

 

 

 

Hold on to your seats, because the situation in San Antonio is just getting started. It'll be interesting to see what Sinclair does here. I haven't liked many of the changes they have done with WOAI, and I don't think most viewers are going to like what they do with WOAI in the end. It's going to get ugly if you ask me...

In Dayton, Sinclair operated out of both the WKEF and WRGT buildings for many years until recently taking over the old WBDT building. Supposedly, much of what they needed for HD was already in place since Dayton was the site from which "The Buzz" was produced each day and the studios were larger than what would normally be expected from a CW-station.

 

I can think of these issues with the WOAI building:

 

1. Ancient building.

 

2. Downtown location - not so convenient for either clients or employees. Rebuilding a facility in a downtown location is also very expensive due to all the extra hoops you have to jump through.

 

3. Building may be leased - e.g. the KEYE building is leased and was for sale for many years. Didn't look like it was in the best part of town.

 

4. The KABB building situation may be temporary (see previous post about what they did in Dayton).

 

 

5. Real estate way to valuable for a TV Station.

[DirtyHarry 727]

 

I read somewhere, forgot where, that Sinclair was not going to renew its contract with Nexstar to operate WUHF when it expires at the end of the year. That gives Sinclair some time to move WUHF's masters to Columbus (they're currently done at WROC's facility).

 

Since "LIN-TV" came from "Louisville-Indianapolis-Nashville", the company's original bases of operation in radio, Sinclair original bases were "Baltimore-Pittsburgh-Columbus", with Baltimore (WBFF) and Columbus (WTTE) being started from scratch.

 

What is that in today's dollars, a $200 million freebie or something? What's the old saying about turning $1 into a million being impossible, but $1 million into $10 million being inevitable?

 

 

 

What I do predict though, is that once Sinclair consolidates, no doubt there will be layoffs. I'm sure the main anchor teams will stay intact, but behind the scenes staff will consolidate.

 

As I mentioned before in the WTTE example, Sinclair usually takes care of its own people and is pretty loyal to them. Many longtime employees of the company here, including GM Dan Mellon who moved to Columbus after Sinclair sold KOVR. Many of the WOAI people, however, may find themselves expendible, but thats the way things work when you get bought out.

 

Bottom line: KABB people are safe unless you are incompetent and they will pick and choose from the WOAI people or thin out the ranks through attrition.

 

That's one of the reasons I am skeptical when I hear all the whining about Sinclair. If it was such a bad place to work, they wouldn't have so many 20-year employees here (including on-air talent).

 

*** I believe Lisa Colbert did the cut-ins for KDNL. Here's her recent send-off tribute, leaving after 11 years to be a stay-at-home mommy. Crappy companies don't keep employees for 11 years.

 

http://www.abc6onyourside.com/shared/news/features/good-day/stories/wsyx_friday-lookback-at-lisa-colberts-career-5341.shtml

 

 

 

The anchors will remain I think but when the expensive personalities at WOAI contract come up for renewal and they refuse to take a pay cut, they will be shown the door.

 

The best anchors who have come to this town (strictly from the standpoint of theatrics and presentation skills, that is - don't know anything about their "reporting" skills), have been rejects from larger markets. Sinclair hit a home run when they hired Bob Kendrick from Denver. WBNS hired Kristin Hartman from WBBM in Chicago. The best anchor team ever in Columbus was the legendary Doug Adair and Mona Scott (his then wife) from WKYC in Cleveland when it was still Market 10 or 12. Listen to how he used to do the news ... it is like hearing someone "sing". He was just so interesting to listen to.

 

All mid market stations should follow this same model when it comes to anchors, if you ask me.

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UliIxEBoy6c

 

The video is worth watching until the end, especially the first story and Poltergeist story, which begins at about the 6:30 mark. I just love hearing how Doug Adair talks, and he always used to be quick with a funny quip.

[Rusty Muck 4374]

Alright, looks like KBTV has in fact moved in with KFDM. This post may be a little heavy on the picture side, but it illustrates that the two are IN FACT consolidated.

 

Sheldra Brigham (Fox 4 Main Anchor) posted this on her facebook a couple months ago:

 

And now they have a new promotion going on (photo courtesy Jessica Guidry's facebook page):

 

But I don't think this arrangement has boded well with many in the market (where KFDM is the two-ton gorilla and has been for ages). Some of the comments from viewers on Facebook:

 

 

Furthermore:

KFDM and KBTV share a morning newscast now. There has been mixed reaction from viewers:

 

I remember seeing this back in May, but it somehow slipped past by me. But this actually doesn't surprise me at all. KBTV's studios were in the Parkdale Mall in the northeastern part of town, while KDFM has been in their studios for several decades... so they save on lease costs from the mall right off the bat. Plus KFDM is obviously the senior partner in the duopoly.

 

This might not have been possible had KBTV remained an NBC affiliate, but who knows?

 

Of course, KBTV's original Port Arthur studios (as KJAC) were destroyed by arsonists several years ago.

[sanewsguy 511]

 

In Dayton, Sinclair operated out of both the WKEF and WRGT buildings for many years until recently taking over the old WBDT building. Supposedly, much of what they needed for HD was already in place since Dayton was the site from which "The Buzz" was produced each day and the studios were larger than what would normally be expected from a CW-station.

 

 

I can think of these issues with the WOAI building:

 

1. Ancient building.

 

2. Downtown location - not so convenient for either clients or employees. Rebuilding a facility in a downtown location is also very expensive due to all the extra hoops you have to jump through.

 

3. Building may be leased - e.g. the KEYE building is leased and was for sale for many years. Didn't look like it was in the best part of town.

 

4. The KABB building situation may be temporary (see previous post about what they did in Dayton).

 

 

5. Real estate way to valuable for a TV Station.

 

The WKEF and WRGT buildings just happened to be right next door to each other (literally). That is not the case with WOAI and KABB. WOAI is downtown, KABB is near the Medical Center, about a 15 minute drive from each other. The WBDT building just happened to be available because LIN bought WBDT and consolidated their operations at WDTN's facilities. So rather than let a nice, rather large broadcast facility go to waste, Sinclair decided to buy it and move their Dayton operations there. I don't think it was already HD-ready though since The Daily Buzz has been produced in Florida since 2004.

 

The points you make about WOAI's building?

1. Ancient building.--I won't argue with this one. About time they move out. The building wasn't even built for broadcasting, let alone be designed to be used for more than a hundred years.

 

2. Downtown location - not so convenient for either clients or employees. Rebuilding a facility in a downtown location is also very expensive due to all the extra hoops you have to jump through.-- They easily could have relocated WOAI somewhere else and then rebuild a building on the same property. But knowing it's Sinclair that won't happen. The city is so pro-downtown development it's probably a lot easier to build downtown than anywhere else right now. Once WOAI moves, this will leave KSAT (ABC) and KLRN (PBS) as the only two stations in or near downtown, and KSAT isn't going anywhere anytime soon--they are constructing an addition to their building right now. KENS and KABB are literally are stone's throw from each other, while KWEX is locating even further north (in what is probably in or near SA's population center). KVDA is also a distance from downtown. Never understood why TV stations locate downtown anyways, because, as you mention, it is not convenient for employees or advertisers, especially when most of the businesses that advertise are not located downtown and most of the people who work probably do not live downtown.

 

3. Building may be leased - e.g. the KEYE building is leased and was for sale for many years. Didn't look like it was in the best part of town.---No, Sinclair (through San Antonio Television, LLC) owns both the WOAI and KABB buildings so this is not a factor.

 

4. The KABB building situation may be temporary (see previous post about what they did in Dayton).---This is unrealistic in S.A. This is no facility here on the level of the old WBDT where they could possibly relocate to. KENS' old studios were attached to the local newspaper who in 1994 built their new plant inside of the space that used to house the KENS studios. So that isn't an option. KSAT has always been at the same studios. KWEX is planning to demolish their current facility once they relocate. And KVDA has always been at their studios as well. On top of that KABB's original downtown studios have since been demolished and replaced with a parking lot. Had the News 9 or TXN buildings never been converted to office space, they would've been better places to locate. So where would they go? I think what happened in Dayton was a one-off thing and it won't happen in San Antonio. Why would Sinclair invest in remodeling KABB's current studio to accommodate two news operations if they're going to turn right around and leave eventually? And trust me, the KABB studio is TINY, can barely even fit KABB. It needs a lot of work done to it to bring it up to par. This was because, when they moved there in 1992, KABB was a small independent station without a news operation so it suited them fine. When they launched news in 1995, they had to extensively remodel the place to even fit a news operation. The rest is history.

 

5. Real estate way to valuable for a TV Station.---Exactly. Sinclair can sell this and make easy cash.

 

 

As I mentioned before in the WTTE example, Sinclair usually takes care of its own people and is pretty loyal to them. Many longtime employees of the company here, including GM Dan Mellon who moved to Columbus after Sinclair sold KOVR. Many of the WOAI people, however, may find themselves expendible, but thats the way things work when you get bought out.

 

Bottom line: KABB people are safe unless you are incompetent and they will pick and choose from the WOAI people or thin out the ranks through attrition.

 

You do make good points here. But that's because these people are willing to make significantly less than those who work at most other groups. When they get bought out by Sinclair, many good personalities leave for better paying opportunities in larger markets because they know when their contracts get renegotiated, they will either have to take a pay cut or be shown the door. WOAI has lost a lot of good people, not necessarily on-air people. The main anchor teams in the mornings and evenings remain for now, and I see them staying unless they are willing to take a pay cut. Ron Oliveira probably didn't want to take the pay cut, that's why he was axed. Once Beamer's contract comes up for renewal, either he takes a significant pay cut or leaves. 13WHAM recently renewed Don Alhart and I'm sure he has to take a significant pay cut now that Sinclair owns the station and management knows a legend like him won't be able to leave quietly. WHAM is also a solid #1. In SA, they may throw Beamer to the curb since they are #5 (behind KSAT, KENS, KABB, and KWEX). Mike Valdes has been at KABB forever but makes a lot less.

 

I think WOAI is using attrition to thin out the ranks like you said. Nobody has gotten fired, but WOAI's positions aren't getting filled as they come up. KABB continues to fill positions. Grace White was promoted to weekend anchor so they had an open reporter position come up, which they quickly filled with Erin Nichols, who happens to be a former KABB intern and worked at KBTV (another Sinclair property) before they consolidated with KFDM.

 

Now that you bring up KOVR's old GM moving to WSYX, this happens ALL THE TIME in the business. Usually when an old owner sells out to someone else the old company's management leaves and the new owners bring in their own people. Mainly because that company's people is familiar with that company's operating procedures and principles. I'm sure Sinclair runs their stations far differently than CBS which is why he left. He probably went to WSYX, because like I said, he's familiar with how Sinclair wants their station run rather than bringing in an outsider. John Seabers was KABB's longtime GM (1999-2012) before he got promoted to a Group VP role with Sinclair. When Sinclair bought out WOAI, they fired WOAI's GM Jackie Rutledge and named Seabers the GM since he's familiar with Sinclair principles. Same can be said with WKRC's Jon Lawhead (previously a Sinclair Group VP and WSTR GM) who took his current job after they fired Les Vann.

 

So you may be right about Sinclair treating their longtime employees better than those who used to work for other companies before they got bought out. I don't think many of the former Titan, Barrington, or Freedom employees will leave their respective stations since those companies are very similar to Sinclair and don't pay their employees well either. Newport is a different animal, they never invested in their stations for the most part, but they purchased very nice and expensive equipment for their stations and paid their people pretty well.

 

 

That's one of the reasons I am skeptical when I hear all the whining about Sinclair. If it was such a bad place to work, they wouldn't have so many 20-year employees here (including on-air talent).

 

I wouldn't say they're a bad place to work per se, but they compensate significantly less than most other broadcast companies (I think even Nexstar is somewhat better about paying their employees what they deserve). Those 20-year employees are probably perfectly content with not making a whole lot. To them it may not be about money. Or they may be married to a spouse who makes far more so they don't truly need the money. They may be fine having a gig in their hometown. They may not want to relocate since they may be raising families. I don't know. There's all kinds of reasons they have longtime employees. The ones who tend to leave Sinclair anyways are only concerned about their career and the amount they make rather than quality of life. Most of the on-air and behind the scenes staff at KABB are born and bred San Antonians. They are from here and don't plan on leaving anytime soon. WOAI is a different story. Their employees tend to be a mix of hometown folk, and a lot of out-of-towners. The latter are likely the ones to leave. I think that plays a lot into it.

 

KABB/WOAI's Ted Garcia is a perfect example of someone a Sinclair station would hire . He used to work at KSAT here before moving to KFMB and later KTLA. As he told the local newspaper in 2010 when he moved here:

 

So, why the dramatic change? In his younger years, it was all about the job and market size, Garcia explained in a phone chat. Now, in his early 40s, "I care more about the quality of life," he said, "and the quality of life in San Antonio far surpasses that in Los Angeles."

Those three sentences explain most young TV news reporters concisely.

 

The best anchors who have come to this town (strictly from the standpoint of theatrics and presentation skills, that is - don't know anything about their "reporting" skills), have been rejects from larger markets. Sinclair hit a home run when they hired Bob Kendrick from Denver. WBNS hired Kristin Hartman from WBBM in Chicago. The best anchor team ever in Columbus was the legendary Doug Adair and Mona Scott (his then wife) from WKYC in Cleveland when it was still Market 10 or 12. Listen to how he used to do the news ... it is like hearing someone "sing". He was just so interesting to listen to.

Yeah but here in S.A. the rejects from larger markets we get here are bad. Like Jeff Goldblatt, can't stand his delivery and he's the main reason I don't watch them. Mat Garcia and Sarah Forgany suck as well.

[tyrannical bastard 3951]

IF WPMI/WJTC were to consolidate with WEAR/WFGX, it would pose some major issues...

 

Mobile and Pensacola are almost 70 miles apart, same goes with each station's facilities (although the transmitters for all 4 stations they own are located within miles of each other east of Robertsdale, AL).

 

Running WEAR and WFGX out of Mobile would be next to impossible out of WPMI/WJTC's building. They lack the space to house two more stations, let alone a separate studio for WEAR to do their thing...

Plus, since WEAR has always been a Florida station, and largely ignored news from Mobile for most of their history, it would be in their best interest to stay put in Pensacola.

 

Even for WPMI/WJTC to move to Pensacola, they concentrate their efforts in Mobile and Baldwin Counties in Alabama, and provides a very viable alternative to WALA and WKRG in Mobile. Moving to Pensacola would jeopardize their efforts in Mobile, and the intent to buy them may very well be an attempt to leverage success on the "other" side of the market.

 

As for sharing, it seems to be coverage-based, WPMI sending Mobile stories to WEAR and vice versa with WEAR covering Pensacola for WPMI...For big stories, they have shared reporters with a reporter from the area being covered doing coverage for both stations.

 

If they ever wanted to join forces, I could see a joint 9pm newscast being staffed by both newsrooms airing on WJTC and WFGX (similar to what WSAZ does in Charleston-Huntington). Both stations would have an anchor in their home city, and at some point, each station would break away to cover their home territory.

 

The same could be said if Sinclair wanted to do a "lifestyle" show that served the entire market...but the way things are and seem to be panning out, they will remain separate operations.

[DirtyHarry 727]

 

 

 

 

As for sharing, it seems to be coverage-based, WPMI sending Mobile stories to WEAR and vice versa with WEAR covering Pensacola for WPMI...For big stories, they have shared reporters with a reporter from the area being covered doing coverage for both stations.

 

If they ever wanted to join forces, I could see a joint 9pm newscast being staffed by both newsrooms airing on WJTC and WFGX (similar to what WSAZ does in Charleston-Huntington). Both stations would have an anchor in their home city, and at some point, each station would break away to cover their home territory.

 

The same could be said if Sinclair wanted to do a "lifestyle" show that served the entire market...but the way things are and seem to be panning out, they will remain separate operations.

Nobody cares about the news in a city 70 miles away. Hell, even with Dayton being 45 miles away from Cincinnati, nobody really cares about what's happening in the other city either. Dayton still has Cleveland Browns games on the radio. For that matter, there aren't too many people who care about what's happening in their own city even.

 

Charleston and Huntington is a different situation because they are in the same state and have always been sort of sister cities. I don't think too many people in Portsmouth, OH however care about what's going on in Charleston and Huntington even being in the same market. I would almost guess they are more interested in TV from Columbus or Cincinnati, but probably not that much more.

 

 

Now when it comes to a lifestyle or entertainment program, you might be on to something. In the old days, Crosley and Avco broadcasting did quite a nice job with local and regional entertainment programs. Of course, they had the area supper clubs to draw from and the stars of that era were cut from a different cloth. Bob Hope and Paul Lynde had no problem going on a rinky dink show in Cincinnati and actually had interesting things to talk about. Can you say that about the average person who passes for a "star" today?

 

Check out this clip from Bob Braun with David Cassidy and Jack Hanna letting a goat run wild in the studio (with the goat taking a dump on the risers):

 

 

TV is too corporate, too perfect and lacks enough personality to pull something like this off and to have it be entertaining in 2013. That's why we have syndicated Maury Povich-type crap all over the place.

[DirtyHarry 727]

The other thing I was thinking about just now is how great LPTV is in the digital world. we have a Christian station here that has strung together 4 LPTV signals and hits the county seats in about 4 counties throughout Central Ohio. Three sub channels contain mostly preaching, but the fourth sub channel actually is kind of interesting. They often have local gospel singers in their studio. They don't have the best production value and I'm not the biggest gospel music fan, for some reason it's interesting to watch. It's like a throwback to the old local variety shows from the 1960s.

 

Such as this one:

 

[tyrannical bastard 3951]

I think for even a lifestyle show to work, it has to have the sponsorship that can cross the border.

 

Even the advertising between the Mobile and Pensacola stations is largely separate (even with car dealers and some Baldwin County dealerships advertising on WEAR). Alabamians tend to be drawn to their own state, their own beaches (Gulf Shores and Orange Beach), and whichever team they root for, whether it's in Tuscaloosa or Auburn. The only reason they would cross over to Florida is when the Powerball jackpot is at a record high, or to save a little money on things (since the sales tax is sky high in Lower Alabama...even on groceries!)

 

 

Floridians have little or no reason to leave Florida since they have their own beaches, their own lottery (since Alabama doesn't have one and will probably never have one), the Florida Gators (or FSU if you're closer to Panama City) and plenty of local businesses that only spend their money on WEAR and other stations on that side of the market.

[DirtyHarry 727]

Just in case anybody is interested in the link here it is:

 

http://www.coacb.org/COACB/About_Us/Entries/2012/1/21_Want_to_sing_on_TV.html

 

Their production value is cheap but I have to give them credit. Their content can be interesting sometimes when you're killing time late at night.

[DirtyHarry 727]

I think for even a lifestyle show to work, it has to have the sponsorship that can cross the border.

 

Even the advertising between the Mobile and Pensacola stations is largely separate (even with car dealers and some Baldwin County dealerships advertising on WEAR). Alabamians tend to be drawn to their own state, their own beaches (Gulf Shores and Orange Beach), and whichever team they root for, whether it's in Tuscaloosa or Auburn. The only reason they would cross over to Florida is when the Powerball jackpot is at a record high, or to save a little money on things (since the sales tax is sky high in Lower Alabama...even on groceries!)

 

 

Floridians have little or no reason to leave Florida since they have their own beaches, their own lottery (since Alabama doesn't have one and will probably never have one), the Florida Gators (or FSU if you're closer to Panama City) and plenty of local businesses that only spend their money on WEAR and other stations on that side of the market.

I was musing to myself one afternoon wondering if you could put together a local or regional talk show such as Bob Braun in this day in age. Back in the hey day Bob Braun was based in Cincinnati but shown live in Columbus, Dayton and Indianapolis, and for a little while even in Lexington Knoxville and Huntington.

 

I don't think the same model would work today both from the standpoint of the fact that there are no longer any supper clubs to draw guess from and the fact that nobody in Columbus is really going to be watching a cincinnati-based show.

 

But I was wondering whether there was a way to take the same show and just rotate the cities from where it is broadcast from. For example, one day the show might be taped somewhere in Cincinnati where you can find the public milling about, the next day in Dayton, and so on.

 

I wonder if there's a way to do an entertainment show in this manner where it is still local enough to generate local interests.

 

WCMH airs a local music show featuring music acts playing at the Lifestyle Pavillion on Sunday nights on channel 4 .2. That's what gave me the idea that you might be able to pick the same kind of venues within a region and put something on the air that might be unique.

 

They also show it in Youngstown and Pittsburgh, where they also have a venue.

 

LPTV and multicasting gives stations the opportunity to do things like this again if they are creative about it.

 

http://promowestlive.tv

[sanewsguy 511]

 

Nobody cares about the news in a city 70 miles away. Hell, even with Dayton being 45 miles away from Cincinnati, nobody really cares about what's happening in the other city either. Dayton still has Cleveland Browns games on the radio. For that matter, there aren't too many people who care about what's happening in their own city even.

 

Charleston and Huntington is a different situation because they are in the same state and have always been sort of sister cities. I don't think too many people in Portsmouth, OH however care about what's going on in Charleston and Huntington even being in the same market. I would almost guess they are more interested in TV from Columbus or Cincinnati, but probably not that much more.

 

Dayton is a separate media market from Cincinnati. Charleston-Huntington is the same media market. Mobile-Pensacola also happen to be in the same media market.

 

Dayton is large enough to justify being a separate media market unlike Mobile-Pensacola or Charleston-Huntington.

 

Enough said.

[tyrannical bastard 3951]

 

Dayton is a separate media market from Cincinnati. Charleston-Huntington is the same media market. Mobile-Pensacola also happen to be in the same media market.

 

Dayton is large enough to justify being a separate media market unlike Mobile-Pensacola or Charleston-Huntington.

 

Enough said.

 

Dayton remains a separate market because it was fortunate enough to be assigned 2 VHF channels before the FCC-mandated freeze. Locally owned (at the time) Cox Enterprises signed on WHIO and soon after, Crosley Broadcasting signed on WLWD (now WDTN) in 1949. Because of this strong foundation, Dayton was able to thrive as a separate market, although stations from Columbus and Cincinnati could easily be viewed in Dayton.

 

However, upstate in Akron (a larger city than Dayton that is 40 miles south of Cleveland), they were not able to secure their own VHF frequency, and had to settle for a UHF frequency station, WAKR (now ion station WVPX). It was affiliated with ABC and served the Akron/Canton area. No other station signed on in the area until the 1960s, so it was decided that Akron/Canton would be a part of the Cleveland market. Even 50 miles to the east, Youngstown had to settle for UHF stations, but managed to score two frequencies (WFMJ & WKBN), so it remained as a "UHF island" and later acquired a third station (WYTV).

 

As a result of having to play second fiddle to WJW (and later WEWS) with the ABC affiliation, WAKR never thrived and stumbled along as a secondary ABC affiliate until Paxson bought the station, shut down their news department, and stripped the ABC affiliation away in 1996. Akron is now one of the largest cities without a local newscast devoted to them.

 

Even Baltimore is one of these close cases where they can be served by DC stations, but has established stations to serve the market...

...and one of the stations that signed on there in 1971 is the entire reason we're having this discussion to begin with

[DirtyHarry 727]

 

Dayton is a separate media market from Cincinnati. Charleston-Huntington is the same media market. Mobile-Pensacola also happen to be in the same media market.

 

Dayton is large enough to justify being a separate media market unlike Mobile-Pensacola or Charleston-Huntington.

 

Enough said.

 

That's partially my point, but not completely. They are in the same market, they are sister cities, they are close to each other, they are in the same state and they are relevant to each other because their audiences have a similar interest. Ironton, Ohio is just over the border as is Ashland, KY. But once you get further out to Portsmouth, Ohio (52 miles from Huntington) and Athens, Ohio (also is/was in that DMA), they don't give a rats arse about West Virginia News other than the weather. Ohio News from either a Columbus or a Cincinnati station would be far more relevant to them especially stories involving state politics. This holds true even from the standpoint of loyalty to sports teams and sports coverage (both areas like Ohio State).

 

Cincinnati has similar dynamics, believe it or not. The Kentucky side of the market is very UK and SEC-oriented, but the Ohio side of the river has few, if any, fans of UK. Likewise, Ohio State does have a following in Cincinnati (more so in the surrounding Ohio counties than in Hamilton County), but as a second or third favorite team due to all the universities in the area and the big Catholic contingent loyal to Notre Dame. Now as to news, Cincinnati and Hamilton County is provincial and doesn't care much about either Ohio or Kentucky ... they are an island unto themselves. Once you get into Northern Hamilton County and the surrounding Ohio counties, they definitely identify with Ohio and couldn't care less about Kentucky news or sports.

 

Cleveland, OTOH, is all Ohio, both in terms of politics and Ohio State.

 

My point is that these DMA's which straddle state lines often don't make sense except in the immediate border areas. Markets grouped within state (as much as possible) are going to be more relevant for the viewer. Also easier to justify in this day in age since the OTA signals are less relevant. Thus, when you get too far out from Cincinnati into Kentucky, I think those markets are better served by Lexington stations than by Cincinnati Stations. But then again, this is driven by advertisers and not what the viewer is going to find most relevant.

 

Therefore, I agree with the sentiments above that Pensacola and Mobile can't be served adequately from the same location for the same reasons. I am using the same rationale above, plus having been to the Redneck Riviera, I agree there is a large divide between Mobile (which has a Mardi Gras and is only two hours away from New Orleans by car) and Pensacola. Some of the locals in Destin were referring to their area as "South Alabama", though.

 

(P.S. Believe it or not, Huntington is actually a very nice little city.)

 

 

 

Dayton remains a separate market because it was fortunate enough to be assigned 2 VHF channels before the FCC-mandated freeze. Locally owned (at the time) Cox Enterprises signed on WHIO and soon after, Crosley Broadcasting signed on WLWD (now WDTN) in 1949. Because of this strong foundation, Dayton was able to thrive as a separate market, although stations from Columbus and Cincinnati could easily be viewed in Dayton.

 

However, upstate in Akron (a larger city than Dayton that is 40 miles south of Cleveland), they were not able to secure their own VHF frequency, and had to settle for a UHF frequency station, WAKR (now ion station WVPX). It was affiliated with ABC and served the Akron/Canton area. No other station signed on in the area until the 1960s, so it was decided that Akron/Canton would be a part of the Cleveland market. Even 50 miles to the east, Youngstown had to settle for UHF stations, but managed to score two frequencies (WFMJ & WKBN), so it remained as a "UHF island" and later acquired a third station (WYTV).

 

 

There is one difference between Cincinnati-Dayton and Cleveland-Akron you missed. Cincinnati and Dayton are about 55 or 60 miles apart and separated by Butler county. OTOH, Cleveland and Akron (and Canton) are in adjacent counties (Cuyahoga, Summit and Stark) and only 40 miles apart (30-ish miles from the transmitters in Parma). Plus, you have Youngstown stations which also send a signal over Akron (50 miles away), Canton and the exurbs of Cleveland. In other words, I think Youngstown (74 miles away) is really Cleveland's version of Dayton, not Akron.

 

Furthermore, Akron and Cleveland have enough of a connection that Cleveland stations can adequately cover Akron. It wouldn't work with Cincinnati and Dayton for a number of reasons, including being different types of cities (Dayton is heavy on the military and military technology due to Wright-Patterson AFB) and Cincinnati's provincial mentality. The only thing about Cincinnati people in Dayton care about is the Reds (and maybe the Bengals), the IKEA store, and the Nordstrom at Kenwood Mall. They have everything else they want or need in Dayton.

[DirtyHarry 727]

 

That's partially my point, but not completely. They are in the same market, they are sister cities, they are close to each other, they are in the same state and they are relevant to each other because their audiences have a similar interest. Ironton, Ohio is just over the border as is Ashland, KY. But once you get further out to Portsmouth, Ohio (52 miles from Huntington) and Athens, Ohio (also is/was in that DMA), they don't give a rats arse about West Virginia News other than the weather. Ohio News from either a Columbus or a Cincinnati station would be far more relevant to them especially stories involving state politics. This holds true even from the standpoint of loyalty to sports teams and sports coverage (both areas like Ohio State).

 

I know quoting yourself is bad form, but I just was wondering what people think about LPTV drop-ins in any city of any significant size in a far-flung market, both from the standpoint of boosting the OTA signal and from the standpoint of making things relevant for the local audience. UHF LPTV is actually pretty impressive, IMO and that got me wondering if an opportunity lies here. For example, in the Columbus market, I wonder if the opportunity exists to drop in LPTV translators in cities like Mansfield, Marion, Chillicothe, Washington, CH, Portsmouth and Athens (not sure which market it's in now - it was in the Columbus DMA and then it wasn't).

 

It seems that with today's technology you might be able to use these translators as a means to be able to cut away and do local segments in those cities, making things more relevant to the viewership there AND maybe generating more revenue through more localized advertising. What do you think?

[sanewsguy 511]

TV stations are going to cover where the ratings are, not the entire market. As sad as it sounds, the stations are licensed to serve in or near the city of the license. The San Antonio market is a perfect example of this. The S.A. market has roughly 880k TV households. A vast majority are located in San Antonio and the immediate surrounding areas. But the market is rather large as the image below illustrates:

You see the brown area? Anything in blue the San Antonio stations almost completely ignore from their local newscasts. WOAI regularly mentions them in their "4-Zone Forecast" (if you think it sounds stupid, it is) and KSAT regularly sends a reporter there if the situation warrants. KABB, KENS, WOAI, and the Spanish stations NEVER go there unless it is a BIG story or there is high school football (that is hugely popular in Texas, so that's the exception). Most days the only news is within Bexar County because, according to one friend, "that is where the ratings come from. We could cover Eagle Pass (in Maverick County) but that is not where the ratings are." The stations can't even be received there. Now, Corpus Christi is about the same distance from S.A. as Eagle Pass is but they are their own media market. The same can be said for Victoria. It all has to do with city size and potential TV households than anything else. Also note that the only advertisers on San Antonio stations come from the brown area, mainly S.A. and New Braunfels. The western counties don't advertise on San Antonio television at all because there's no need to. They know no one is going to drive all the way from San Antonio to visit them. S.A. has everything it needs within its city limits.

 

News coverage can be further broken up geographically in the city itself. More people tend to watch TV news in the lower educated, lower income, higher crime parts of the city (hate to use this but I have to make my point). Therefore the news tends to target West San Antonio the most, with South not far behind, since these parts of San Antonio have the most crime. The news almost avoids the north side (even if most of the stations have their studios there) because, quite frankly, not as much crime happens there. The people are more educated, and make more anyways. They tend to feel that TV news doesn't appeal to them, and it probably doesn't. Most of my friends (I live on the north side) don't watch the news because it is "boring and depressing" and to them, if they want news, they can look on their phone or CNN. Sure, they're not getting local news, but it is a dying business anyway. One more factor I can note is that people with less education tend to be the ones who want to "be on TV" therefore it is easier for news reporters to get SOT's from people on that side of town as opposed to the north, where people practically have an absolute dislike for any media and see them as an unnecessary burden.

 

The Charleston, WV stations probably focus on the immediate Charleston-Huntington are because that's where the ratings come from. Same can be said for Cincinnati not covering North Kentucky. If Dayton was a small city of less than 30,000 people then do you think they would be their own media market?

[Samantha 2895]

The Phoenix DMA is a bit the same. Except there's one (maybe two) counties in the brown and 9 more in the blue.

 

The sheer size of the DMA is part of the problem. Flagstaff's two hours away. Add more for Kingman or Show Low or even Globe. Sure, the Phoenix stations maintain translators there, but it's just so large. A few areas probably get and consume more news from other markets. In Window Rock, I think ABQ is the TV market for part of the Navajo Nation. Kingman's closer to Las Vegas than Phoenix. Arizona Strip (north of Grand Canyon) or Page? They'll watch SLC stations. There's even splitoff from parts of Pinal and Greenlee counties that may lean toward Tucson. (Example: TVbD's Walls and Balls for KGUN listed San Manuel in Pinal County.) Maricopa County contains Phoenix and pretty much all its suburbs, while the remaining Phoenix suburbs (far out) are in Pinal County, which also has a few other cities (Florence, Coolidge, and Casa Grande, which is 30 miles out from the edge of the Phoenix metro on I-10).

 

Only a few things drag reporters out of Maricopa and Pinal counties: snow, wildfires (never seen more media in Prescott in 15 years of watching PHX news) and the occasional piece of hard news. Advertising rarely ventures out of Maricopa County (lone exception: political). And what coverage of northern Arizona there was on TV has been scaled back. KNAZ, now a full satellite of KPNX, used to have its own newscast (for decades, no less), but that was axed in mid-2008.

[Thundershock MN 169]

 

KDNL's weather cut-in's during Good Morning America also originates(ed) from the WSYX Studios.

 

Sinclair was initially against centralized master control, feeling that the bandwith costs and the confusion factor of running so many stations from one place outweighed any cost savings. Media General does a neat thing with master control where they have all the stuff downloaded and sitting on an actual server located at the station. The centralized hub manages a database which triggers what goes on at the station on their server, but they monitor what is going on from WCMH. Don't know all the specifics, but guessing this takes the bandwidth issue out of the equation and makes the system more reliable.

 

Umm...This really isn't all that unique. Most modern MC systems are "IT based solutions" like this versus old school "broadcast engineering" systems.

 

Media General uses a hub and spoke system. The servers are housed at the stations and controlled/monitored via the two hubs in Columbus,OH (NBC stations) or Spartanburg,SC (CBS, ABC & CW stations). They are divided that way as it much easier to have stations that have the same affilation grouped together. Timing breaks and syncing is much easier when everyone is on the same clock. As a "backup" the servers can also be controlled locally in the event of a failure in the WAN, etc.

 

Gannett operates a very similar system. To the best of my knowledge their hubs are divided the same way: Jacksonville,FL (NBC & ABC stations) and Greensboro,NC (CBS stations). The big difference being that Gannett employs "centralized monitoring". The local stations are still responsible for downloading the programming/commercials to their servers. The only time the hubs are solely in control is overnights and weekends. So, the local stations operate more in a "support role" vs. "backup role" when compared to MG.

 

FSTG (Fox & MNT o&o's) employs the same idea but, takes it to the extreme. They house their servers within a pretty large data center in Las Vegas. Hence, why that locale was chosen for the hub. The MC operators are co-located within the data center. To the best of my knowledge all of the data (programs, commercials, etc.) is housed on Las Vegas servers so, it's more "cloud like" if you will. For example, they only ingest one copy of your favorite syndicated show, say "The Big Bang Theory", and play it out over the 10 (or whatever number) stations that are airing it in the group versus recording it 10 times at each individual station. Items can be "offloaded/backed up" to the local stations if need be. The local TOC's serve more as "backup" in the event of a wholesale failure.

 

Bringing this back to Sinclair...They are old school broadcast guys vs. computer/IT guys. And, although the line has been blurred between "traditional" broadcast engineering and IT they are kinda stuck in their "old school" ways. That is more the reason in my mind they really haven't done much "hubbing" in their group.

[tyrannical bastard 3951]

Ohio does have some quirks in television markets....two more examples include Lima and Zanesville.

 

Lima is the home of WLIO-TV...the longtime NBC affiliate that has served the area. Another company, Metro Video Productions signed on a low-powered FOX station back in the late 1980s-early 90s. The same company later signed on low powered CBS and ABC stations, much to the chagrin of local viewers who were accustomed to receiving stations from Dayton and Toledo to fill the void. Lima is far enough between Dayton and Toledo to support itself as its own market, and the local economy supported the additional stations.

Fast forward to 2008, and Metro Video productions announced a deal to sell out to Block Communications (owner of WLIO). The result would be one company controlling all 4 affiliations in the market, using full-powered WLIO (NBC & FOX) and re-making WOHL into a Class A- digital station (ABC & CBS). I believe this is the only instance of this in the entire country, but is perfectly legal since it only involves 1 full power station.

 

Zanesville is the home of WHIZ-TV (NBC). Owned by the same family that signed them on in the 1950s, they serve the city of Zanesville (about 50 miles east of Columbus) and count Muskingum County as the only county in their DMA. The market is completely surrounded by the Columbus DMA, and Columbus stations supplement WHIZ on the cable and satellite lineups (WCMH is absent though). If WHIZ were to go away, so would the Zanesville market.

[GoldenShine9 1513]

 

The Phoenix DMA is a bit the same. Except there's one (maybe two) counties in the brown and 9 more in the blue.

 

The sheer size of the DMA is part of the problem. Flagstaff's two hours away. Add more for Kingman or Show Low or even Globe. Sure, the Phoenix stations maintain translators there, but it's just so large. A few areas probably get and consume more news from other markets. In Window Rock, I think ABQ is the TV market for part of the Navajo Nation. Kingman's closer to Las Vegas than Phoenix. Arizona Strip (north of Grand Canyon) or Page? They'll watch SLC stations. There's even splitoff from parts of Pinal and Greenlee counties that may lean toward Tucson. (Example: TVbD's Walls and Balls for KGUN listed San Manuel in Pinal County.) Maricopa County contains Phoenix and pretty much all its suburbs, while the remaining Phoenix suburbs (far out) are in Pinal County, which also has a few other cities (Florence, Coolidge, and Casa Grande, which is 30 miles out from the edge of the Phoenix metro on I-10).

 

Only a few things drag reporters out of Maricopa and Pinal counties: snow, wildfires (never seen more media in Prescott in 15 years of watching PHX news) and the occasional piece of hard news. Advertising rarely ventures out of Maricopa County (lone exception: political). And what coverage of northern Arizona there was on TV has been scaled back. KNAZ, now a full satellite of KPNX, used to have its own newscast (for decades, no less), but that was axed in mid-2008.

 

Flagstaff and St. George, UT could easily split off into separate markets if they had been larger before recent growth...

[GoldenShine9 1513]

 

Ohio does have some quirks in television markets....two more examples include Lima and Zanesville.

 

Lima is the home of WLIO-TV...the longtime NBC affiliate that has served the area. Another company, Metro Video Productions signed on a low-powered FOX station back in the late 1980s-early 90s. The same company later signed on low powered CBS and ABC stations, much to the chagrin of local viewers who were accustomed to receiving stations from Dayton and Toledo to fill the void. Lima is far enough between Dayton and Toledo to support itself as its own market, and the local economy supported the additional stations.

Fast forward to 2008, and Metro Video productions announced a deal to sell out to Block Communications (owner of WLIO). The result would be one company controlling all 4 affiliations in the market, using full-powered WLIO (NBC & FOX) and re-making WOHL into a Class A- digital station (ABC & CBS). I believe this is the only instance of this in the entire country, but is perfectly legal since it only involves 1 full power station.

 

Zanesville is the home of WHIZ-TV (NBC). Owned by the same family that signed them on in the 1950s, they serve the city of Zanesville (about 50 miles east of Columbus) and count Muskingum County as the only county in their DMA. The market is completely surrounded by the Columbus DMA, and Columbus stations supplement WHIZ on the cable and satellite lineups (WCMH is absent though). If WHIZ were to go away, so would the Zanesville market.

 

Having the stations all in one roof in such small markets actually makes some sense, since they are probably only large enough to support one local newscast and full operation. I'm surpised WHIZ hasn't put other network affiliations on its subchannels, maybe it has a deal with other Columbus stations?

[mre29 1521]

FSTG (Fox & MNT o&o's) employs the same idea but, takes it to the extreme. They house their servers within a pretty large data center in Las Vegas. Hence, why that locale was chosen for the hub. The MC operators are co-located within the data center. To the best of my knowledge all of the data (programs, commercials, etc.) is housed on Las Vegas servers so, it's more "cloud like" if you will. For example, they only ingest one copy of your favorite syndicated show, say "The Big Bang Theory", and play it out over the 10 (or whatever number) stations that are airing it in the group versus recording it 10 times at each individual station. Items can be "offloaded/backed up" to the local stations if need be. The local TOC's serve more as "backup" in the event of a wholesale failure.

I assume that a station's own local news programs are not sent to the hub before going out on the broadcast signal/cable feed.

[Mrtraveler01 738]

 

Having the stations all in one roof in such small markets actually makes some sense, since they are probably only large enough to support one local newscast and full operation. I'm surpised WHIZ hasn't put other network affiliations on its subchannels, maybe it has a deal with other Columbus stations?

 

I think it has more to do with the fact that WHIZ is locally-owned and probably doesn't have the kind of money to start a subchannel. That and the Columbus stations are so heavily viewed in Zanesville that locals would probably react negatively if WHIZ were to start say a CBS subchannel and take WBNS off the cable and satellite lineup there.

 

I wonder how much it costs to run a network subchannel anyways?

[DirtyHarry 727]

I think it has more to do with the fact that WHIZ is locally-owned and probably doesn't have the kind of money to start a subchannel. That and the Columbus stations are so heavily viewed in Zanesville that locals would probably react negatively if WHIZ were to start say a CBS subchannel and take WBNS off the cable and satellite lineup there.

 

I wonder how much it costs to run a network subchannel anyways?

Zanesville is about 60 miles away from Columbus so doing what they did in Lima might actually make some sense.

 

I don't think it would cost a lot of money to multicast. all you would need to do is to throw up a point two signal on channel 18, and fire up an LPTV for the other two signals. The Littick family had enough money to move their FM station to the outskirts of Columbus, and purchase two FM stations in the Zanesville area as a replacement. So I'm sure they have the money to pull off what they did in Lima.

 

*** Edit to add: WLIO is also essentially "locally owned", being owned by Block Communications (Toledo Blade) out of Toledo.

[Thundershock MN 169]

I assume that a station's own local news programs are not sent to the hub before going out on the broadcast signal/cable feed.

Not really, per se. It's all one big "system." If the time cue is set at 16:59:59 to switch playout to studio output for the 5pm newscast that's what happens. And, your studio automation being part of the "system" is synced for the same time cue of 16:59:59. So, that will start and fire the intro to your news program. It's kind of a fuzzy answer as once it enters the WAN as it can be monitored remotely. It's not really sent to the hub. But, the hub can remotly monitor/control the playout through the "system." That's kind of an oversimplfied laymans explanation.

 

If you would like more info on how it all works. FTSG uses Miranda iTX the pdf of the key applications provides a good flow chart on how everything enters and exits the "system." Florical, who Media General uses for their MC automation provides a pretty good laymans break down of the different operational modes used in centralization. Gannett mostly uses what they refer to as "control & monitoring" as I discribed above. FTSG's system is closest to what they term as "centralcasting." But, the spokes (or individual stations) load most of the local commercial content into the system. And, they are equipped to perform MC operations, if need be.

 

Sorry to go OT. I figured I'd try to answer this question since it was directed at me. This thread has gone a little of the rails the last few pages anyhow. And, I did try to tie it all back to Sinclair in my last post. So, I guess that counts.