Sinclair...Again

[CircleSeven 1945]

 

My24 is now MyTV Baltimore, according to their website....

 

http://www.my24wutb.com/

 

And they dropped the Worldnow site to one of Sinclair's similar-looking sites.

[CircleSeven 1945]

And according to the website, it stated its current address. I'm not too sure if they've now have changes its master controls from the Vegas hub to its own masters. But I still think in the not-to-distant future, 24 will eventually move to Woodberry to meet up with 45 & 54.

[Thundershock MN 169]

I think the next several months will determine the fate of Sinclair in St. Louis and KDNL as an ABC affiliate.

 

I know...many of you have fantasized for years about ABC moving either back to KTVI or over to KPLR...It just didn't seem right for ABC to be in such a lousy situation where their parent company all but drove KDNL into the ground by killing newscasts and outsourcing many functions to other cities, namely Columbus, Ohio.

 

Sinclair will have a choice...

...either they will buy KTVI (and possibly KPLR) THIS will give them a local property to run KDNL with, using LOCAL employees and producing LOCAL newscasts. They could even swap KPLR and KDNL, giving ABC the real estate it deserves and had before KTVI switched to FOX. ABC's patience is probably thin after close to two decades of poor ratings in STL, so this could be an opportunity to trade up.

With this, Local TV is for sale, and this could trigger Tribune to sell off some assets, especially with their creditors calling the shots now post-bankruptcy. St. Louis could be a market they want to divest themselves of...

Sinclair can easily step in and combine KDNL with KTVI/KPLR. With the damage inflicted already, this would give a chance to localize the station again.

 

Then again, KDNL may be a thorn enough in Sinclair's profile that they could put it up for sale. They've done it in Providence and Lansing....the only question is who would want KDNL? It's current state would require ownership that could either have the resources to run the station (Gannett?) or invest heavily in a facility that would be a self-sustaining TV station. Perhaps the buyer for KTVI may be willing to invest through some kind of deal.

I doubt Tribune would be interested...this would only be their second ABC affiliate (and they do such a wonderful job of running the one they already have!)

 

Just some thoughts, but it does seem closer to reality than ever before...

I don't see Sinclair selling KDNL. It's a larger market and would almost assuredly be making a decent profit with the way it's run. Providence (WLWC) and Lansing (WHTV) were a result of Sinclair's stated desire "to lessen our exposure to MNT and CW stations, particularly in markets where we do not have a duopoly structure with a 'big four' network." All the stations Sinclair offered to Fox (WSTR, WTVZ, WLFL/WRDU, KVCW/KVMY) were offered for this reason, too. WSTR has since been paired with recently purchased CBS affiliate, WKRC. The only stations Sinclair would potentially be looking to devest are stations that fit that profile. So, right now that leaves these stations fitting that profile:

WTVZ - Norfolk

WLFL/WRDU - Raleigh - Durham

KVCW/KVMY - Las Vegas

WTTO(WDBB)/WABM - Birmingham

WVTV/WCGV - Milwaukee

And, for completeness although I don't see Sinclair parting with them due to market size:

WTTA - Tampa - St. Petersburg

WUCW - Minneapolis - St. Paul

 

WRT newscasts on KDNL. Operating under the theory that their afffliation agreement with ABC contains a "newscast clause" that leaves these options:

1. Purchase KTVI(/KPLR by way of the LMA) and fold their operations into KDNL. This would be a worst case scenario for folks in the STL market as it could potentially leave them with only 2 tv news voices. The KMOV/KSDK combo & the combo of KTVI/KPLR/KDNL. That said I think the valuation of the Local TV properties makes it much less likely for a Sinclair purchase. Therefore, I see this as the least likely option.

2. Partner with another station in the market. Again that basically leads you to the KTVI/KPLR combo. Depending on who purchases KTVI(/KPLR by way of the LMA) this may or may not be an option.

3. Partner with a sister station hire and few reporters at KDNL to file reports. Picture something along the lines of the old KUTV - WTVX arrangement. Sinclair will soon have 2 respected ABC affliates in the Pacific Time Zone, KATU & KOMO. So, in theory KDNL could partner with either KATU or KOMO, allowing them to produce the newscasts from their facilities with reports from the field reporters in STL. And, due to the time zone difference the newscasts could potentially be done live with little to no disruption to KATU or KOMO's newscasts. Right now if I was hazarding a guess I'd think some variation of this is most likely.

4. Restart an in-house operation. As I stated earlier in the thread, this could be a bit of a bessing in disguise. If ABC has a "newscast clause" written into their agreement w/ KDNL/Sinclair (which I think they do) this could essentially force them to restart an in-house operation if they can't find a new partner. And, the "marketplace" that caused KDNL to abandon their newscasts has changed drastically since then. The consolidation in the STL market could present an opportunity to gain a foothold this time around.

5. Beg ABC to release them from said "newscast clause." If ABC did finally put this into the affliation agreement I'd be shocked if they let them out. Especially when it appears ABC allowed them to do the bare mininum amount of news in order to get the "newscast clause" into the affliation agreement.

 

EDIT: Corrected Norfolk station's calls

[CircleSeven 1945]

I don't know when this happened. But it appears that KMTR has dropped the Inergize Digital webpage, in favor of the Fisher's Broadcast Interactive design. I don't think this will last long, once Sinclair comes into the fold later this year.

[Thundershock MN 169]

 

No it isn't! You didn't know that SBG owns this site? *sarcasm*

 

 

No... This banner from a few years back is proof:

 

 

It's all within reach....of the hands of David Smith & Sinclair Broadcast Group.

[hathawaynson2 38]

 

It's all within reach....of the hands of David Smith & Sinclair Broadcast Group.

 

hmm...I wonder about that sometimes!

 

 

 

I don't see Sinclair selling KDNL. It's a larger market and would almost assuredly be making a decent profit with the way it's run. Providence (WLWC) and Lansing (WHTV) were a result of Sinclair's stated desire "to lessen our exposure to MNT and CW stations, particularly in markets where we do not have a duopoly structure with a 'big four' network." All the stations Sinclair offered to Fox (WSTR, WZTV, WLFL/WRDU, KVCW/KVMY) were offered for this reason, too. WSTR has since been paired with recently purchased CBS affiliate, WKRC. The only stations Sinclair would potentially be looking to devest are stations that fit that profile. So, right now that leaves these stations fitting that profile:

WZTV - Nashville

WLFL/WRDC - Raleigh - Durham

KVCW/KVMY - Las Vegas

WTTO(WDBB)/WABM - Birmingham

WVTV/WCGV - Milwaukee

And, for completeness although I don't see Sinclair parting with them due to market size:

WTTA - Tampa - St. Petersburg

WUCW - Minneapolis - St. Paul

 

WRT newscasts on KDNL. Operating under the theory that their afffliation agreement with ABC contains a "newscast clause" that leaves these options:

1. Purchase KTVI(/KPLR by way of the LMA) and fold their operations into KDNL. This would be a worst case scenario for folks in the STL market as it could potentially leave them with only 2 tv news voices. The KMOV/KSDK combo & the combo of KTVI/KPLR/KDNL. That said I think the valuation of the Local TV properties makes it much less likely for a Sinclair purchase. Therefore, I see this as the least likely option.

2. Partner with another station in the market. Again that basically leads you to the KTVI/KPLR combo. Depending on who purchases KTVI(/KPLR by way of the LMA) this may or may not be an option.

3. Partner with a sister station hire a few reporters at KDNL to file reports. Picture something along the lines of the old KUTV - WTVX arrangement. Sinclair will soon have 2 respected ABC affliates in the Pacific Time Zone, KATU & KOMO. So, in theory KDNL could partner with either KATU or KOMO, allowing them to produce the newscasts from their facilities with reports from the field reporters in STL. And, due to the time zone difference the newscasts could potentially be done live with little to no disruption to KATU or KOMO's newscasts. Right now if I was hazarding a guess I'd think some variation of this is most likely.

4. Restart an in-house operation. As I stated earlier in the thread, this could be a bit of a bessing in disguise. If ABC has a "newscast clause" written into their agreement w/ KDNL/Sinclair (which I think they do) this could essentially force them to restart an in-house operation if they can't find a new partner. And, the "marketplace" that caused KNDL to abandon their newscasts has changed drastically since then. The consolidation in the STL market could present an opportunity to gain a foothold this time around.

5. Beg ABC to release them from said "newscast clause." If ABC did finally put this into the affliation agreement I'd be shocked if they let them out. Especially when it appears ABC allowed them to do the bare mininum amount of news in order to get the "newscast clause" into the affliation agreement.

 

Is this your theory? if so, it sounds very attractive! :lol:

[Thundershock MN 169]

Oops...Sorry about the calls in my original post I meant to put WTVZ/ Norfolk, not WZTV. I went back and corrected this error.

 

 

Is this your theory? if so, it sounds very attractive! :lol:

 

The first paragraph regarding CW/MNT stations being sold isn't really a theory. David Smith stated "Any sales under the option agreement would be in line with our current focus to lessen our exposure to MNT and CW stations, particularly in markets where we do not have a duopoly structure with a 'big four' network." at the time they gave Fox the option to purchase 6 of those stations. The press release where he stated this is linked in my last post, it's in the third paragraph. Since, those statements where made of the 12 CW/MNT stations that were not duop'ed with a "big four" station (all mentioned above): 2 have been sold, 6 have been optioned for sale but not exercised on. So, I don't think it's that hard to make the leap that if the station isn't paired with "big four" affilate it could potentially be devested. Provided of course Sinclair doesn't eventually acquire a "big four" station to pair with the stations listed, like they did with WSTR/WKYC.

 

The second part relating to KDNL newscasts I guess could be a labeled as a theory. It's more a reading of tea leaves if you will. Earlier in the thread, I pointed out that I think it's common knowledge that for whatever reason KDNL's agreements with ABC have never contained a "newscast clause", if you will. However, I'd bet a chunk of money there is some sort of "newscast clause" written into the latest agreement between Sinclair & ABC. I don't think it's a coincidence that less year after the agreement was signed both of Sinclair's ABC stations without news (KDNL & WXLV) either launched or announced that they will have news. Granted both were via news share agreements with KSDK & Time Warner Cable. But, I'd be shocked if Sinclair did this on their own without some sort of persuasion. This is coupled with Raymie's post listing some language from other ABC affiliate argreements as an example. So, One could connect the dots and come to the conclusion that KDNL's affiliate agreement contains some form of "newscast clause." Operating under the premise that it is fact, I listed the options available to them.

[Viper550 268]

 

It's all within reach....of the hands of David Smith & Sinclair Broadcast Group.

 

So when will the forums get the Sinclair graphics? (make it a child theme of IP.Board Default and that would be hilarious)

 

 

Oops...Sorry about the calls in my original post I meant to put WTVZ/ Norfolk, not WZTV. I went back and corrected this error.

 

The first paragraph regarding CW/MNT stations being sold isn't really a theory. David Smith stated "Any sales under the option agreement would be in line with our current focus to lessen our exposure to MNT and CW stations, particularly in markets where we do not have a duopoly structure with a 'big four' network." at the time they gave Fox the option to purchase 6 of those stations. The press release where he stated this is linked in my last post, it's in the third paragraph. Since, those statements where made of the 12 CW/MNT stations that were not duop'ed with a "big four" station (all mentioned above): 2 have been sold, 6 have been optioned for sale but not exercised on. So, I don't think it's that hard to make the leap that if the station isn't paired with "big four" affilate it could potentially be devested. Provided of course Sinclair doesn't eventually acquire a "big four" station to pair with the stations listed, like they did with WSTR/WKYC.

 

The second part relating to KDNL newscasts I guess could be a labeled as a theory. It's more a reading of tea leaves if you will. Earlier in the thread, I pointed out that I think it's common knowledge that for whatever reason KDNL's agreements with ABC have never contained a "newscast clause", if you will. However, I'd bet a chunk of money there is some sort of "newscast clause" written into the latest agreement between Sinclair & ABC. I don't think it's a coincidence that less year after the agreement was signed both of Sinclair's ABC stations without news (KDNL & WXLV) either launched or announced that they will have news. Granted both were via news share agreements with KSDK & Time Warner Cable. But, I'd be shocked if Sinclair did this on their own without some sort of persuasion. This is coupled with Raymie's post listing some language from other ABC affiliate argreements as an example. So, One could connect the dots and come to the conclusion that KDNL's affiliate agreement contains some form of "newscast clause." Operating under the premise that it is fact, I listed the options available to them.

 

This entire industry has been turning into a giant game of Risk, but there's a balance of power that needs to be maintained. Meanwhile; if WMYD can have a 10 pm show produced out of Fort Wayne, and if so and so can have a newscast produced out of a studio in Davenport, Iowa (talking to you, INN), Seattle to St. Louis is feasible.

[tyrannical bastard 3504]

 

I don't see Sinclair selling KDNL. It's a larger market and would almost assuredly be making a decent profit with the way it's run. Providence (WLWC) and Lansing (WHTV) were a result of Sinclair's stated desire "to lessen our exposure to MNT and CW stations, particularly in markets where we do not have a duopoly structure with a 'big four' network." All the stations Sinclair offered to Fox (WSTR, WTVZ, WLFL/WRDU, KVCW/KVMY) were offered for this reason, too. WSTR has since been paired with recently purchased CBS affiliate, WKRC. The only stations Sinclair would potentially be looking to devest are stations that fit that profile. So, right now that leaves these stations fitting that profile:

WTVZ - Norfolk

WLFL/WRDU - Raleigh - Durham

KVCW/KVMY - Las Vegas

WTTO(WDBB)/WABM - Birmingham

WVTV/WCGV - Milwaukee

And, for completeness although I don't see Sinclair parting with them due to market size:

WTTA - Tampa - St. Petersburg

WUCW - Minneapolis - St. Paul

 

Aside from WTTA and WUCW, every single one of these stations are in markets where companies are looking to divest stations or have stations that COULD be divested in the future...

 

WTVZ - could be triopoly bait should Sinclair get their hands on WTKR/WGNT.

 

WLFL/WRDC - as of now, no one else is selling in Raleigh/Durham. The closest possibility of a sale is if ABC decides to sell WTVD. They already use their news department to produce a 10pm show for WLFL. I highly doubt Capitol would sell themselves to Sinclair...as they are firmly established in Raleigh with WRAL and have separtate operations for WRAZ in Durham, and especially since they sacrifced their Charlotte stations to FOX in order to keep FOX on WRAZ and not moving back to WLFL.

 

IF Sinclair sells WLFL/WRDC, Media General (owner of WNCN) could be a suitor for either one or both stations, but their experience with duopolies and SSAs is limited (even post-merger with Young). It could be a way to expand the reach of WNCN. Otherwise, Sinclair will likely be keeping them or divesting them to another owner entirely.

 

KVCW/KVMY - If Landmark ever decides to sell KLAS, and Sinclair buys them...

 

WTTO(WDBB)/WABM - Should Sinclair get their hands on ABC 33/40, although the result would be a very complicated sextopoly of three stations (WBMA/WJSU/WCFT, WTTO/WDBB & WABM) Since WBMA is low-power, only 5 of the stations are full power. WDBB could be sacrificed to another owner (U of Alabama?) if it has a better coverage area than WUOA-TV. End result, it would give 33/40 more stations to air more news on to compete against WBRC.

 

WVTV/WCGV - Should Sinclair get their hands on WITI, it would give them a news department. Since WITI is FOX, this would rule out doing a 9pm show on either station. Consolidation with WITI could happen, or Sinclair could divest to another owner...

[Thundershock MN 169]

 

Aside from WTTA and WUCW, every single one of these stations are in markets where companies are looking to divest stations or have stations that COULD be divested in the future...

 

WTVZ - could be triopoly bait should Sinclair get their hands on WTKR/WGNT.

 

WLFL/WRDC - as of now, no one else is selling in Raleigh/Durham. The closest possibility of a sale is if ABC decides to sell WTVD. They already use their news department to produce a 10pm show for WLFL. I highly doubt Capitol would sell themselves to Sinclair...as they are firmly established in Raleigh with WRAL and have separtate operations for WRAZ in Durham, and especially since they sacrifced their Charlotte stations to FOX in order to keep FOX on WRAZ and not moving back to WLFL.

 

IF Sinclair sells WLFL/WRDC, Media General (owner of WNCN) could be a suitor for either one or both stations, but their experience with duopolies and SSAs is limited (even post-merger with Young). It could be a way to expand the reach of WNCN. Otherwise, Sinclair will likely be keeping them or divesting them to another owner entirely.

 

KVCW/KVMY - If Landmark ever decides to sell KLAS, and Sinclair buys them...

 

WTTO(WDBB)/WABM - Should Sinclair get their hands on ABC 33/40, although the result would be a very complicated sextopoly of three stations (WBMA/WJSU/WCFT, WTTO/WDBB & WABM) Since WBMA is low-power, only 5 of the stations are full power. WDBB could be sacrificed to another owner (U of Alabama?) if it has a better coverage area than WUOA-TV. End result, it would give 33/40 more stations to air more news on to compete against WBRC.

 

WVTV/WCGV - Should Sinclair get their hands on WITI, it would give them a news department. Since WITI is FOX, this would rule out doing a 9pm show on either station. Consolidation with WITI could happen, or Sinclair could divest to another owner...

 

Exactly. I made the comment "Provided of course Sinclair doesn't eventually acquire a "big four" station to pair with the stations listed, like they did with WSTR/WKYC." in my follow up post to hathawaynson. But, I didn't feel like breaking down each market with what's available. However, pending the outcome of the various sales (or potential sales), if they don't go Sinclair's way, these particular stations could be jettisoned like WLWC & WHTV.

[CircleSeven 1945]

 

Exactly. I made the comment "Provided of course Sinclair doesn't eventually acquire a "big four" station to pair with the stations listed, like they did with WSTR/WKYC." in my follow up post to hathawaynson. But, I didn't feel like breaking down each market with what's available. However, pending the outcome of the various sales (or potential sales), if they don't go Sinclair's way, these particular stations could be jettisoned like WLWC & WHTV.

 

I remember when they stated that their primary focus was on the big-4 last year, at the time of the Fox affil agreement. My thinking of why they sold WLAJ to a proxy, and WLWC to a speculator was because they probably don't have another station to form a (virtual) duopoly to support it, or it's not making enough money, since that station is the/one of the lowest rated stations in the market. It's obvious that Sinclair wanted multiple operations and of course want one of the big-4 to support it. Nexstar was wise in going to central Cali and acquire KGPE, but I never thought they would acquire KSEE. But since both were ranked #4 & #5 in the San Joaquin, they didn't have to jam that Mission card.

 

But with an unprecedented 140 stations, they're at a point of "too-big-to-fail" status. I don't truly think Sinclair will unload any stations, even if some of those sold stations from Local TV, LLC, Allbritton stations don't come their way. It would be highly wise (and it would please the whole lot of people for them) to do so, since they've now acquire their biggest asset KOMO 4 & KATU. And with their portfolio looking the way it is, it doesn't look right. It looks like a tale of 3 different companies, rolled into one (the old Sinclair, the post M&A stations and those shells). Hell if they acquire WTKR/WGNT, it would be good faith for them to give Gannett WTVZ, so they have a third MyN duopoly (after Atlanta & Denver). But I even fine that doubtful.

 

So anything is up in the air. It would be a giant shock if Sinclair sell anymore of their stations to a different entity (and I'm not talking about assigning them to their shells), while they're still in the buying move. The big question will become, which stations will be assign to that Chesapeake Television subsidiary. And will they finally start an in-house news ops at WPGH 53, since they don't mind having all that capital buying stations left and right?

[sanewsguy 509]

 

And will they finally start an in-house news ops at WPGH 53, since they don't mind having all that capital buying stations left and right?

 

Probably not. Much much cheaper just to pay Cox to do it for them. And I'm sure Sinclair gets to keep most, if not all, the ad revenue sold during the 10PM news since they're the ones selling the ads on Fox 53.

 

If Sinclair restarts WPGH's news department, they would have to upgrade everything to HD. New equipment, new set, new personalities. Yeah, too expensive compared to just having Channel 11 do it.

[tyrannical bastard 3504]

Now that Local TV LLC is off the market....I'm thinking Sinclair is going to be VERY aggressive....Allbritton could be one of their targets. A bidding war could ensue over WJLA with ABC.

[A3N 996]

Now that Local TV LLC is off the market....I'm thinking Sinclair is going to be VERY aggressive....Allbritton could be one of their targets. A bidding war could ensue over WJLA with ABC.

WJLA will be too expensive for Siclair to afford, if they sell the group piecemeal then I can see them taking the smaller stations. Also, doesn't ABC have to approve of any potential owner when an ABC affiliate is purchased? I'm not sure if Sinclair is on any of ABC's sh*t list, but if they are, then getting WJLA will be a moot point as ABC can always decide to strip the affiliation away.

[Rusty Muck 4265]

 

WJLA will be too expensive for Siclair to afford, if they sell the group piecemeal then I can see them taking the smaller stations. Also, doesn't ABC have to approve of any potential owner when an ABC affiliate is purchased? I'm not sure if Sinclair is on any of ABC's sh*t list, but if they are, then getting WJLA will be a moot point as ABC can always decide to strip the affiliation away.

 

Unless something changed, Allbrittron has publicly stated that they are going to sell WJLA/NC8 and the rest separately. And I would think ABC will do whatever it takes to get WJLA.

[CircleSeven 1945]

Probably not. Much much cheaper just to pay Cox to do it for them. And I'm sure Sinclair gets to keep most, if not all, the ad revenue sold during the 10PM news since they're the ones selling the ads on Fox 53.

 

If Sinclair restarts WPGH's news department, they would have to upgrade everything to HD. New equipment, new set, new personalities. Yeah, too expensive compared to just having Channel 11 do it.

I understand what you have stated. But check this out. I'd stated this twice before, but I'll say it again.

 

For the past 21 months, they spent nearly $2B in M&As. One of those acquisitions included WPXI's adjacents in the Alleghenies and in the Ohio Valley, and add that both have news operations. But they already own a duopoly in the big city, involving a big-4 station and a MyNet and that big-4 station don't have an in-house news operation.

 

Wouldn't it be wise to spend that some of that $2B in capital to restart an in-house news ops, in an already competitive market where there's no clear #1 in Western Pennsylvania? I find it completely asinine for one company to have two adjacents of a big city have in-house news, but in the big city itself, you have to go to the former owner of the adjacents to produce the news, not to mention, they have the capital too?!! And not only in Pittsburgh but in Tallahassee, St. Louis, & even Greensboro (let's not think about the Local TV LLC, which is happily now officially 'a foregone conclusion'). The only thing that I saw Sinclair done right at this point, was buying a dying antenna manufacturer. If they're gutsy to buy TV stations with well-established news gatherings, why not come back and re-start in-house news clubs with the stations you already own?

 

Now that Local TV LLC is off the market....I'm thinking Sinclair is going to be VERY aggressive....Allbritton could be one of their targets. A bidding war could ensue over WJLA with ABC.

WJLA will be too expensive for Siclair to afford, if they sell the group piecemeal then I can see them taking the smaller stations. Also, doesn't ABC have to approve of any potential owner when an ABC affiliate is purchased? I'm not sure if Sinclair is on any of ABC's sh*t list, but if they are, then getting WJLA will be a moot point as ABC can always decide to strip the affiliation away.

Unless something changed, Allbrittron has publicly stated that they are going to sell WJLA/NC8 and the rest separately. And I would think ABC will do whatever it takes to get WJLA.

I bet you the Sinclair clan is uber-pissed that they're not going getting any of the Local TV stations! So there's no doubt they're going to be madly-aggressive with the Allbritton stations now. I stated on the earlier thread, that even though its a slight possibility that ABC could do it, if Sinclair acquires it, I doubt that ABC would yank its longest-tenured affiliate. I would never picture seeing CBS on channel 7 and ABC on channel 9 in DC. That wouldn't be right at all.

 

Now should Sinclair lose this round, maybe they should take the Milton Grant's and do us all a favor and end their overly growing buying spree. There's several Barrington stations that needs the infrastructure to go High Definition. Maybe they need to tend with that. But something tells me they'll probably try to snag more smaller groups, and throw it to the new Chesapeake bin, like some of the remaining Pappas stations (sans WLGA, KAZA & WIWN).

[Samantha 2878]

Given Sinclair's stated preference to reduce its non-Big Four duopoly markets, all I can see for them from Pappas are KCWI/KDMI (which would pair with KDSM) and Pappas's true prizes: NTV in Nebraska and KSWT in Yuma. And I think DMA 165 is a little small, even for the hyenas at Sinclair. (Their current smallest market station by DMA is 159, WTOV Steubenville-Wheeling.)

[sanewsguy 509]

 

Given Sinclair's stated preference to reduce its non-Big Four duopoly markets, all I can see for them from Pappas are KCWI/KDMI (which would pair with KDSM) and Pappas's true prizes: NTV in Nebraska and KSWT in Yuma. And I think DMA 165 is a little small, even for the hyenas at Sinclair. (Their current smallest market station by DMA is 159, WTOV Steubenville-Wheeling.)

 

Once they close on Barrington their smallest station will be WLUC in Marquette, MI (DMA 180). So it's not far fetched. Those stations can be absorbed into their "Chesapeake TV" subsidiary.

 

 

For the past 21 months, they spent nearly $2B in M&As. One of those acquisitions included WPXI's adjacents in the Alleghenies and in the Ohio Valley, and add that both have news operations. But they already own a duopoly in the big city, involving a big-4 station and a MyNet and that big-4 station don't have an in-house news operation.

 

Wouldn't it be wise to spend that some of that $2B in capital to restart an in-house news ops, in an already competitive market where there's no clear #1 in Western Pennsylvania? I find it completely asinine for one company to have two adjacents of a big city have in-house news, but in the big city itself, you have to go to the former owner of the adjacents to produce the news, not to mention, they have the capital too?!! And not only in Pittsburgh but in Tallahassee, St. Louis, & even Greensboro. If they're gutsy to buy TV stations with well-established news gatherings, why not come back and re-start in-house news clubs with the stations you already own?

 

 

Yes, the Pittsburgh market is VERY competitive, I won't argue with that. But Sinclair to me seems like the kind of company that won't invest in their stations unless they absolutely have to (reactive rather than proactive). They won't start up 10PM news unless Cox tells Sinclair "we're done. Make other arrangements for your 10PM news on Fox53." I'm sure Sinclair will then try to beg WTAE (their only other option since KDKA already has a 10PM news on WPCW) to do the 10PM news for them. If for whatever reason they say no, then I'm sure at that point Sinclair would start up the news in Pittsburgh again. They have the money, sure. But I'm sure "Massa David" wants as much as possible to himself. I wouldn't be surprised if his blanket, pillow, cover, and mattress were made out of money since his company has so much of it. Point is, Sinclair isn't going to restart news unless they have no other option.

 

As far as them buying the outlying stations from Cox, well, Cox happened to put them on the market. Sinclair wanted them. The price was reasonable. Nobody else really wanted them. Perfect sense and really has nothing to do with WPGH's news share agreement with WPXI. Furthermore, Cox made significant investments in both WTOV and WJAC (as well as KFOX) before selling them so they tend to put out a better quality product than one would expect for those size markets. Requires no major investments by Sinclair so I'm sure they love that.

[Daybreak 270]

It feel's like this Barrington transaction with Sinclair should have already taken place. I wonder what's the hold up??

[CircleSeven 1945]

Once they close on Barrington their smallest station will be WLUC in Marquette, MI (DMA 180). So it's not far fetched. Those stations can be absorbed into their "Chesapeake TV" subsidiary.

Actually, their smallest station will be KTVO in Kirksville, MO (DMA 200). You were close with WLUC, there will be the second smallest.

 

Yes, the Pittsburgh market is VERY competitive, I won't argue with that. But Sinclair to me seems like the kind of company that won't invest in their stations unless they absolutely have to (reactive rather than proactive). They won't start up 10PM news unless Cox tells Sinclair "we're done. Make other arrangements for your 10PM news on Fox53." I'm sure Sinclair will then try to beg WTAE (their only other option since KDKA already has a 10PM news on WPCW) to do the 10PM news for them. If for whatever reason they say no, then I'm sure at that point Sinclair would start up the news in Pittsburgh again. They have the money, sure. But I'm sure "Massa David" wants as much as possible to himself. I wouldn't be surprised if his blanket, pillow, cover, and mattress were made out of money since his company has so much of it. Point is, Sinclair isn't going to restart news unless they have no other option.

 

As far as them buying the outlying stations from Cox, well, Cox happened to put them on the market. Sinclair wanted them. The price was reasonable. Nobody else really wanted them. Perfect sense and really has nothing to do with WPGH's news share agreement with WPXI. Furthermore, Cox made significant investments in both WTOV and WJAC (as well as KFOX) before selling them so they tend to put out a better quality product than one would expect for those size markets. Requires no major investments by Sinclair so I'm sure they love that.

That's exactly why many have showed less gratitude for Sinclair because of doing the less heavy lifting, unless they are forced to, like you said. Yes, Cox have done a superb job investing into WTOV on the west & WJAC on the east. I look at it as a cluster-form. WTOV & WJAC blended well because WPXI was their anchor. Sinclair on the other hand cares for revenue, so they can continue to vacuum all that revenue dough out of those stations. WPGH is not the anchor, under any stretch.

 

I feel that if you have the adjacents that you own that have in-house news, and they can't have an in-house on 53, then they can't be continuing buying new stations left and right and not do the heavy investing into the stations you already own? It's almost like a tale of three different companies rolled into one. I don't think we'll see any consistency with the Sinclair stations, unless they come with a brand new unified graphic package, and then it wouldn't work if you have a 2nd television station that have news, case in point Mobile/Pensacola and Beaumont.

 

 

 

It feel's like this Barrington transaction with Sinclair should have already taken place. I wonder what's the hold up??

 

I stated this earlier, but it took close to 5 months to get FCC approval of the LIN/New Vision deal and it was consummated 10 days after that. There's also no objections filings for the Barrington station either. Since it was filed on March 18, it should be getting the greenlight any day now. And if it doesn't get approve for another several weeks, once it does gets approval, more in likely it would be consummated quickly.

[sanewsguy 509]

 

Actually, their smallest station will be KTVO in Kirksville, MO (DMA 200). You were close with WLUC, there will be the second smallest.

 

Oops, sorry. Forgot all about KTVO.

 

 

I feel that if you have the adjacents that you own that have in-house news, and they can't have an in-house on 53, then they can't be continuing buying new stations left and right and not do the heavy investing into the stations you already own? It's almost like a tale of three different companies rolled into one. I don't think we'll see any consistency with the Sinclair stations, unless they come with a brand new unified graphic package, and then it wouldn't work if you have a 2nd television station that have news, case in point Mobile/Pensacola and Beaumont.

Love how you brought this up. I live in one of the markets where there are two Sinclair news producing stations. I'll create a new thread in the near future about that because I have quite a bit to say, but in short, the experience has been interesting to say the least. Graphically, I could see Sinclair getting a new group package next year (maybe Hothaus, yes they have the money) rather than just continue to refresh what is essentially a ten year old package. I think they will also get new music (hopefully "Unity" from inthegroove is their new theme). WOAI has a Hothaus package from 2009 they are still using. They looked great when they first when HD, but they've modified the crap out of them so much they look awful now. The package in the demo on the Hothaus site is not necessarily what they're suing now. They're using the basic templates but they've done their own thing with it now. The Sinclair pack isn't much better but the KABB graphics guy (yes, they have one person who creates all their in-house graphics, and that's a vast majority of their stuff) sure knows how to take a great idea or package and make it look like absolute garbage. I think WOAI will just continue to modify their graphics for a while or create something in-house. KBTV and WPMI have fairly new packages so that shouldn't be a problem for now.

 

Also, if Sinclair insists they have a graphics hub (they have one now in their corporate HQ building), they really should relocate it to KUTV in Salt Lake City. They created their entire graphics pack they're using now and have put out some amazing stuff comparable to even Hothaus. The Maryland isn't very good with putting out whole graphics packs.

[CircleSeven 1945]

Not necessarily. As the local newspaper reported back in December after the acquisition closed:

 

NBC affiliate WOAI-TV and Fox affiliate KABB-TV recently became sister stations under one owner: Maryland-based Sinclair Broadcast Group.

 

Yet, the two will remain competitors with separate news staffs, according to WOAI's recently appointed general manager, John Seabers.

 

“You will not see changes in the products. You will not see merged news operations. You will not see reporters and anchors switching from one station to the other,” Seabers said in a phone chat Tuesday from the downtown offices of WOAI, which remain quite a distance from KABB's base of operation at 4335 N.W. Loop 410.

But they will be consolidating operations in one common location later in the year.

 

WOAI will be moving to KABB's current building off of NW Loop 410 and Babcock Road sometime during the fourth quarter of the year, said John Seabers, Sinclair's group manager who oversees both stations. The anchor teams at both stations will remain the same, but the stations will be consolidating news assets.

 

“You'll see more of a bleeding of reporters back and forth,” Seabers explained. “We don't have to send duplicate reporters and camera persons to the same story. Therefore, we'll have resources to send for another story. We'll be able to create a lot of new, different and varied content that I don't think any other news station in town has the opportunity to do.”

OK, this has gotten way off topic and I'm done now.

 

 

 

That's okay. I'm placing it in the right place.

 

But what did I say back in December?

 

I don't buy anything Sinclair says. There one of those folks that will wait until everything is died down and then they'll start quietly consolidating before everything comes to light, before you even see it. But then, I see a situation in West Palm Beach that WTVX (or its LPs) haven't moved to where WPEC 12 is. So they might follow through with what they're saying this time. The Mobile-Pensacola thing is safe, but I don't think Beaumont is as lucky, however. KBTV might end up moving to where KFDM, sooner or late.

 

It's shocking to even hear Sinclair saying that they're not consolidating in the new stations, while Nexstar is almost for certain that they're going to have consolidations up in Little Rock.

......And when that fire occurred at WOAI earlier this year?

 

But you know what? I was thinking yesterday and thought someone could of possibly deliberately do that so Sinclair wouldn't have to pay the bills for two facilities. I said couple of months ago after they'd announce that operations would stay the same for both WOAI & KABB, that I don't buy anything Sinclair says. If the fire would've been worst, that would've been Sinclair's time to shine to start consolidating. Maybe they don't want a huge backlash in killing alot of jobs away at least right now, unlike we heard from the Nexstar acquired stations where layoffs have already occured. But I'm not holding my breath on this 'status quo', keeping separate ops. In my gut feeling. consolidations will come in a snap of finger. Just be patient. It's gonna happen.

So even though, consolidation didn't immediately happen (unlike Nexstar what Nexstar did in Little Rock, etc.) and I kind of did leave some room in case they did keep both separate facilities at least for a good length, and they did, I knew it was a matter of time, before they start to consolidating. It was mostly a matter of when, instead of if. But isn't WOAI is a bigger facility, than KABB? Now with this happening, I still going to leave a little doubt that it will happen in tip of the of Florida Panhandle (Mobile/Pensacola), but the question remains, when will KBTV & WTVX move to the KFDM & WPEC facilities, respectively? Questions also remain whether WUHF will renew its LMA with WROC or move the station to WHAM, which I think the latter will happen soon. And whether KDBC will keep its LMA with KTSM, or form a new LMA with KFOX, as it said in this article, and I think the latter will happen on that too.

 

And there's absolutely no use for WUTB being at that their current facilities anymore, since they don't air any news (they used to simulcast WTTG's news when Fox owned it) and WBFF isn't planning on adding news on there. So, they might as well pack they stuff and move the MC to Woodberry with 54 & the flaggy 45.

 

And I'd completely forgot to mention about when they will finally consolidate, when I'd mention about Sinclair's inconsistencies on my previous post on this thread. You might as well say, since channels 4 & 29 will consolidate, it would be completely shocking if both don't have a unified or similar graphics package in the future. I wonder what they're going to do with the WOAI building when it gets vacant?

[sanewsguy 509]

OK, here goes the world's longest post.

 

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.

 

Anyhow,

I don't buy anything Sinclair says. There one of those folks that will wait until everything is died down and then they'll start quietly consolidating before everything comes to light, before you even see it. But then, I see a situation in West Palm Beach that WTVX (or its LPs) haven't moved to where WPEC 12 is. So they might follow through with what they're saying this time. The Mobile-Pensacola thing is safe, but I don't think Beaumont is as lucky, however. KBTV might end up moving to where KFDM, sooner or late.

 

It's shocking to even hear Sinclair saying that they're not consolidating in the new stations, while Nexstar is almost for certain that they're going to have consolidations up in Little Rock.

Sinclair may have said they're keeping the operations separate, but according to some friends who work at both stations, the plan since November has always been to consolidate. It was not a matter of if, it's matter of where and when? Several scenarios were thrown out from what I've been told: WOAI's building becomes the new location for both stations (don't forget CW35, so actually three stations). KABB's building becomes the new sales building for both stations while WOAI's becomes the new operations building. Or, Sinclair just builds an entirely new building for their stations (I didn't believe the last one for a split-second because of how cheap they are). KABB's building is so small there were never plans to use it fully. That is, until the fire at WOAI happened in March. Sinclair was going to go ahead and do the consolidation down there. They were throwing around the possibility of repairing the building. Again, I never believed that one either. About a month later, the plans were announced to move sales to a nearby office building and heavily remodel the KABB building to accommodate WOAI. I'll go into detail on that shortly.

 

But then, I see a situation in West Palm Beach that WTVX (or its LPs) haven't moved to where WPEC 12 is. So they might follow through with what they're saying this time. The Mobile-Pensacola thing is safe, but I don't think Beaumont is as lucky, however. KBTV might end up moving to where KFDM, sooner or late.

Surprised WTVX and LPs haven't moved in with WPEC already since for them it's mainly a matter of just moving master control and their sales reps into space at WPEC. It shouldn't take this long, especially since WWHO has already moved in with WSYX just down the road. As for KBTV, they have already moved in with KFDM (EDIT: They are consolidated. See the post below). Since Seabers also oversees the Beaumont stations (due to him being a group manager for Sinclair's Texas properties), they probably want to use this as a model for when they have to do it in San Antonio.

(and for a treasure chest of more various Sinclair clips you can search that channel). The set you see is KFDM's secondary set and with the exception of Brian Glenn and Jessica Guidry, everyone in that clip is a KFDM personality (like the stand-in weatherman for Dana Melancon, that's actually Kerry Cooper). For clips of KFDM's primary set you can go to kfdm.com It looks very similar. I want to say they have already moved in because if you go to KBTV's site, fox4beaumont.com, you'll see they are already on this set. If you watch

, you'll see their old set is completely different. Sinclair has also reinstated a morning newscast on this station so they're at least putting some resources in this station unlike Nexstar.

 

Mobile-Pensacola probably won't consolidate nor is there any need to. WEAR tends to focus on Florida while WPMI pretty much focuses on Mobile and Southwest Alabama. This bias has gotten more evident because now WPMI does not have to send anyone to Florida to cover news and vice versa with WEAR sending anyone to Alabama. The two can just run each others stories regarding their respective regions so it's pretty nice.

 

It's shocking to even hear Sinclair saying that they're not consolidating in the new stations, while Nexstar is almost for certain that they're going to have consolidations up in Little Rock.

I think Nexstar is just far more open about it. It really took no effort for them to move. I'm sure in the time they were waiting for the FCC to approve the deal, they were busy remodeling KARK's facilities to accommodate KLRT. KARK is a hub for Nexstar so they were already get the Fox and CW signals in their master control room. They just had to install an area for KLRT and KASN which doesn't take much effort especially when they sold off KBTV (I don't know who masters KBTV now but they could be at the KFDM building. I know for a fact KABB doesn't master anything but KABB and KMYS. KLRT did the news from the KARK set their first two weeks at the KARK building but they now have their own look-a-like set. Nexstar wanted to get it over with. Sinclair doesn't seem to mind taking their sweet time. Sinclair doesn't have expertise with this unlike Nexstar who's been doing forever. They want to do this right.

 

But you know what? I was thinking yesterday and thought someone could of possibly deliberately do that so Sinclair wouldn't have to pay the bills for two facilities. I said couple of months ago after they'd announce that operations would stay the same for both WOAI & KABB, that I don't buy anything Sinclair says. If the fire would've been worst, that would've been Sinclair's time to shine to start consolidating. Maybe they don't want a huge backlash in killing alot of jobs away at least right now, unlike we heard from the Nexstar acquired stations where layoffs have already occured. But I'm not holding my breath on this 'status quo', keeping separate ops. In my gut feeling. consolidations will come in a snap of finger. Just be patient. It's gonna happen.

Nobody deliberately started that fire. SAFD later determined it was caused by an electrical short. This is more Newport's (and previous owners particularly Clear Channel and United Television) fault than Sinclair's for never taking care of the building. They may have a nice new master control room, a nice PCR, and two nice sets (one for Living, and an FX set for their news) but beyond that, the entire place is a time machine. The newsroom looks like it hasn't been remodeled since the 80's except for paint on the walls and new TV's they got after the DTV transition. The bathrooms haven't been updated since the 70's (hated to bring that up but I need to make my point). The halls were like going back in the 40's and 50's (the building retains much of the original setup it had while it also housed WOAI radio, now in a separate facility since 1976). So a lot of the old radio booths are still there with locks on the doors so nobody goes in. The lobby was the only "new" thing in that building. I wish United would've kept the station a couple new years so they could've built a nice new facility for them like they did KTVX (which opened in 2000 right before they announced they were getting out of the business). WOAI's building (as they revealed on a newscast the day of the fire) was built in 1905 (public records say 1972 but it is WAAAAAYYYY older than that, I don't know where they got that from). So it's about time they move. They should've left a long time ago.

 

 

So even though, consolidation didn't immediately happen (unlike Nexstar what Nexstar did in Little Rock, etc.) and I kind of did leave some room in case they did keep both separate facilities at least for a good length, and they did, I knew it was a matter of time, before they start to consolidating. It was mostly a matter of when, instead of if. But isn't WOAI is a bigger facility, than KABB? Now with this happening, I still going to leave a little doubt that it will happen in tip of the of Florida Panhandle (Mobile/Pensacola), but the question remains, when will KBTV & WTVX move to the KFDM & WPEC facilities, respectively? Questions also remain whether WUHF will renew its LMA with WROC or move the station to WHAM, which I think the latter will happen soon. And whether KDBC will keep its LMA with KTSM, or form a new LMA with KFOX, as it said in this article, and I think the latter will happen on that too.

 

In your first sentence I bolded, you basically stated what every other KABB and WOAI employee has told me.

 

As far as your second sentence, WOAI's building is about 45,000 square feet, while KABB is less than half that size. The plan is, from both the Express-News and what I've been told, to move sales into an office building behind the station. Then, to take the space where sales was and build a giant newsroom to house the two staffs. Then, to take KABB's existing newsroom and tear it out and then build a new studio and control room for WOAI. Unfortunately, I believe the "Living" set will have to go. KABB's facility is tiny compared to WOAI's. It only has one studio (although they have two smaller rooms they call "studios", but neither will be able to fit a full size set) and one control room, while WOAI's has one control room and two studios. If Sinclair knows what they're doing, I think they can fit WOAI's existing set in the building. KABB's current studio and control room as well as master control, creative services/promotions, commercial production, and engineering are all remaining at KABB's current facility, while traffic, sales, business, and administration move to the new sales office behind the station. WOAI's sales, business, HR, traffic (unlike KABB they do their own traffic in S.A., while KABB outsources to KOKH in OKC), and administration have been working out of KABB since the fire, and let me tell you, it's been cramped there. Construction was supposed to start immediately after May sweeps but I've been told that nothing has happened yet. If they want to move in by the 4th quarter, they better hurry it up and start.

 

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).

 

KDBC and KFOX will most likely operate in their own facility, that will be determined. KFOX's studios are in an office building while KDBC's old studios were sold to a local radio station who now uses the building as their new studios. I don't think KFOX's current facilities are ideal for consolidation so Sinclair may be, gasp, forced to build a new facility for the two. I can't see Sinclair paying soon-to-be Nexstar owned KTSM to run KDBC for them beyond one year or whenever the contract expires. So Sinclair better get moving.

 

 

And I'd completely forgot to mention about when they will finally consolidate, when I'd mention about Sinclair's inconsistencies on my previous post on this thread. You might as well say, since channels 4 & 29 will consolidate, it would be completely shocking if both don't have a unified or similar graphics package in the future. I wonder what they're going to do with the WOAI building when it gets vacant?

 

Eventually I do see them having a consolidated look and branding ("San Antonio's Newscenter" could be a good guess). But these two stations target drastically different audiences. Watch a current KABB newscast then compare it to a WOAI newscast. Very different in terms of the look and feel between the two. Also, the two stations use completely different production systems. Sinclair uses Chyron systems, Ross Overdrive, and iNews while Newport used VizRT, a lower end version of Ignite (WPTY using Overdrive was an exception), and ENPS. KABB also uses Weather Central products for weather while WOAI uses TruVU Max. Furthermore, KABB uses Panasonic cameras while WOAI uses JVC. So it's vastly different. WOAI being forced to do their newscast at KABB was interesting because most of WOAI's staffers had no idea how to use KABB's equipment.

 

I will post the newscast from that day on YouTube eventually because it's interesting how it all played out. KABB's equipment doesn't work with WOAI's graphics. Outside of the open and bumpers, which didn't play properly anyways since it's designed for Vizrt system and not a Chyron, they were forced to go with the Sinclair graphics. KABB's weather people had to present the forecast so WOAI had to give their people the day off. WOAI's music wasn't in KABB's system so they had to use out-of-place production music for bumpers (KABB doesn't use "Daily News" anymore for the most part).

 

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. The only time KABB and WOAI's news overlaps is weekday mornings 5-7 AM and the morning cut-ins during Today (the local weather cut-in during Al Roker's segment is pre-taped). At 4:30 AM, and 5, 6, and 10 on WOAI, and 9PM on KABB, there is no overlap. WOAI uses a full control room to produce news (director, assistant director, producer, technical director, sound operator, graphics operator, and prompter operator) plus camera operators, while KABB only has a director, assistant director, producer, and prompter operator PLUS robotic cameras since they rely heavily on automation. In short, WOAI will probably move to Overdrive when they consolidate. Sinclair can then lay off most of the production staff.

 

The current station's reporters and photographers will probably remain as just one large news team since that's how they seem to treat it now.

 

The news helicopter WOAI and KABB use ("SKY4") will eventually go. WOAI loves the helicopter and they have been putting huge emphasis on it lately. But it's no secret Sinclair hates news choppers. Only reason they've managed to keep it so long is because a local car dealership, World Car, currently sponsors it which takes most of the costs associated with operating the chopper off Sinclair's hands.

 

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. Randy Beamer will probably be cut for sure. Sinclair does not care about loyalty. Look at what they did to Ron Oliveria at KEYE. Michael Valdes makes A LOT less than Randy Beamer too and has been with KABB since 1995. Beamer has been with WOAI since 1989 (and in S.A. since the 80's, previously with KENS) so that won't bode well with a lot of people. Hopefully Beamer is smart and takes the pay cut. It just won't be News 4 without him. Elsa Ramon will probably stay on too as the main anchor. But I see Delaine Matheiu getting the axe, I mean ALL she does is anchor the 5pm news, nothing else (except very occasionally she'll report). Mornings will stay the same and weekends they will probably use one weather person for both stations but I see the anchors and sports guy being kept. WOAI is very personality-driven so it'll be hard to cut a lot of on-air people. Most of the cuts will be behind the scenes.

 

One last thing I'll note, WOAI and KABB will retain separate "news directors" but also have a "Director of News for San Antonio" who will be above them and oversee both stations. Yeah, don't know how that'll work... WOAI doesn't even have a news director right now.

 

And before I forget, to answer the poster's question. Sinclair plans on selling the building. The riverfront property is assessed at over $5 million dollars. So it is very valuable land WOAI is on. More apartments in downtown San Antonio I guess... KWEX (Univision) is about to leave their only address they've ever had to move to a new facility on the rapidly growing Northwest part of town. KWEX is also on riverfront property and has already sold the land to a developer and is leasing it until they move, at which point, they will raze the building to build apartments. Some local residents have voiced opposition saying that the KWEX building should be deemed historic since that was the site the first Spanish language station in the country originated from. I imagine they move in the next month since the STL tower is already up and the satellites are already on the building. Thank god Univision decided to build something from the ground up unlike another company *cough* Nexstar and WATN *cough*. With KENS being sold to Gannett on top of this, very exciting time for S.A. media right now.

 

Alright, I'm done.

[TennTV1983 758]

KDBC and KFOX will most likely operate in their own facility' date=' that will be determined. KFOX's studios are in an office building while KDBC's old studios were sold to a local radio station who now uses the building as their new studios. I don't think KFOX's current facilities are ideal for consolidation so Sinclair may be, gasp, forced to build a new facility for the two. I can't see Sinclair paying soon-to-be Nexstar owned KTSM to run KDBC for them beyond one year or whenever the contract expires. So Sinclair better get moving.

In the case of KDBC and KFOX, Sinclair may end up moving the two stations into a vacant building either in a business/industrial park (think WZTV in Nashville, whose facilities are located at MetroCenter, and WATN in Memphis) or one formerly occupied by a big box retailer (think WJBF/WAGT in Augusta) that can easily be converted into studio and newsroom space to accommodate their needs if the goal is to have the two under one roof by 2014. It's both time and cost effective for them to do so as opposed to constructing a new facility from the ground up, which probably wouldn't even be ready by late next year when you factor in zoning, land acquisition, building codes, environmental work, and so forth.

[sanewsguy 509]

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:

Sue Louviere Ryder This is just weird to me.

 

 

 

 

 

Wednesday at 12:16pm via mobile

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Patrick Work Yea it's not the same.

2 hours ago

 

 

 

 

 

Furthermore:

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

 

 

 

 

 

Cheryl Killebrew After 15yrs of watching every morning, I have changed. Just can't seem to like anything but Dan.

July 1 at 6:03am via mobile · 1

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Peggy Qualls I thank the show has changed for the best, and it is better to watch local program with local people than world news and just different and much better. like the format also.

2 hours ago

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Tammy Laughlin Cornwell Love road trippin & the show being on until 9am

2 hours ago via mobile

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Susie Marble This is the cream of morning shows. They don't just keep repeating the news over and over! Human intrest stories, layed back, this day in History, Ugly Mug contest, Astros tickets give away, much more. I love Dan Brown.

 

 

 

 

2 hours ago

 

 

 

 

 

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...

 

Take a look at

for example. Notice the inclusion of both the KABB and WOAI logos. Interesting. Especially since I've never even seen this promo air on KABB. They started airing this last month. The flooding in the promo occurred on Saturday, May 25. Many national outlets picked up this story and was one of the top stories that day (the Washington State Bridge Collapse was the other big story that day; must've been a slow news day).