NEOMatrix 1295 Posted June 24, 2014 Share Posted June 24, 2014 Sinclair was Our Lord and Savior Broadcast Group and Nexstar was My Little Pony. Oh, what a good time. Regarding WHTM to Media General... MG needs to overhaul everything. They need to pull a WATN. Seriously. Last I checked, WHTM usually outdoes WHP in the ratings but neither can compete against WGAL. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Breaking News 802 Posted June 24, 2014 Share Posted June 24, 2014 Sinclair was Our Lord and Savior Broadcast Group and Nexstar was My Little Pony. Oh, what a good time. Regarding WHTM to Media General... MG needs to overhaul everything. They need to pull a WATN. Seriously. Like the other posters I agree WHTM is #2 and even though it right down the street from WHP, I'm glad both stations will not be moving in together to become one. Media General will obtain the station and any upgrades hopefully cosmetics and some technology, but the station as a whole is not a bad shop. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Leavellebrett 85 Posted June 24, 2014 Share Posted June 24, 2014 When I said WATN overhaul, I just mean that they need to get rid of Empire, the 27 needs to go, just so a Media General crescent doesn't appear. A big reason why WHTM is doing well is because of their social media aspect. They have a large young crowd. WGAL has a large crowd with everyone, but aren't huge on social media. WHP doesn't have a large social media presence and their coverage isn't as good as WGAL and even WPMT. WPMT does very well in the market and has a large following in the eastern part of the market. WHP is more Harrisburg news and WPMT is more York-Lancaster-Lebannon news. The market is just so large that not every station can cover it as well as WGAL. And that goes to show just how good WGAL is. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Samantha 2878 Posted June 24, 2014 Share Posted June 24, 2014 When I said WATN overhaul, I just mean that they need to get rid of Empire, the 27 needs to go, just so a Media General crescent doesn't appear. I don't think MG would be creating any new crescent logos. Any new design for 27 would not look like it came from the early 2000s. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sanewsguy 509 Posted June 24, 2014 Share Posted June 24, 2014 A big reason why WHTM is doing well is because of their social media aspect. They have a large young crowd. Maybe they can pick up the WVTM "tablet" graphics then... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Leavellebrett 85 Posted June 24, 2014 Share Posted June 24, 2014 Maybe they can pick up the WVTM "tablet" graphics then... I still don't know how I feel about those. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Samantha 2878 Posted June 24, 2014 Share Posted June 24, 2014 Maybe they can pick up the WVTM "tablet" graphics then... Heh, didn't realize that this reunites these former sister stations (WHTM and WVTM). The rest of the Times-Mirror station group was KDFW, KTBC, KTVI, WETM and WSTM. The first three plus WVTM were sold to Argyle in 1994 (which promptly sold to New World, which not long after unleashed the Fox Surprise; WVTM was sold to NBC in 1996, while KTVI is now a Tribune station). Times-Mirror sold WSTM in 1986 to SJL, which then went to Federal, Raycom, Barrington and Sinclair. They also sold WETM that year to Smith Broadcasting, which then sold to Ackerley, then Clear Channel, Newport and now Nexstar. WHTM also went to Smith, but it was sold to Price in 1994 and then to Allbritton in 1996. It's the first time since 1986 that WHTM and WVTM have been commonly owned. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DirtyHarry 719 Posted June 24, 2014 Share Posted June 24, 2014 Sinclair was Our Lord and Savior Broadcast Group and Nexstar was My Little Pony. Oh, what a good time. Regarding WHTM to Media General... MG needs to overhaul everything. They need to pull a WATN. Seriously. MG is not the one to overhaul anything. They will make it worse (or at least more boring) than it is! I don't think MG would be creating any new crescent logos. Any new design for 27 would not look like it came from the early 2000s. Those are some of the ugliest damn logos in all of television. The only crescent logo that looks halfway decent is the WFLA logo. The rest of them look like the receptionist was playing with fonts on the computer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CircleSeven 1944 Posted June 24, 2014 Share Posted June 24, 2014 MG is not the one to overhaul anything. They will make it worse (or at least more boring) than it is! Wait until Sadusky takes helm at MG. Look how he's been doing with the LIN stations. LIN is merging with MG. I'm hoping it would give the stations, including the legacy MG stations more leeway. And if you've looked at many of the legacy MG stations, they've been doing tons of overhauling. It may not look good to some, but its great that they are finally making the investments. I wouldn't say that a few years ago. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TennTV1983 743 Posted June 24, 2014 Share Posted June 24, 2014 When I said WATN overhaul, I just mean that they need to get rid of Empire, the 27 needs to go, just so a Media General crescent doesn't appear. I don't think MG would be creating any new crescent logos. Any new design for 27 would not look like it came from the early 2000s. Just as long as it doesn't look like it was thrown together in PowerPoint like WJHL's current logo. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rusty Muck 4167 Posted June 24, 2014 Share Posted June 24, 2014 I don't think MG would be creating any new crescent logos. Any new design for 27 would not look like it came from the early 2000s. Those are some of the ugliest damn logos in all of television. The only crescent logo that looks halfway decent is the WFLA logo. The rest of them look like the receptionist was playing with fonts on the computer. KALB is probably the only station that took the standard MG crescent logo, and made it worse. Much, much worse. And WKRG is right behind in the ugly factor... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
susquvalleywgal 494 Posted June 24, 2014 Share Posted June 24, 2014 I do not work for WGAL. Man do I wish, but I do not. WHTM needs overhauled in EVERYTHING. Personally, I would like to see then get the pkge that WATE has and Always Worth Your Time as their theme. Great theme. But WHTM needs fresh talent. Talent that does not make them look like asses. Weather should not have 'Celebrity birthdays' in with it and clip art as weather fronts. Traffic should not have side comments about how the other news anchors look or jokes about their age. Talent should not have ego trips. That's why I want the ax to fall. To me, I believe they need to ditch the ABC27 logo and go back to WHTM News Center days. Let's hope that MG learns from the mistakes that this station is doing. I'll believe it when I see it. -- Matt Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheTalk 1 Posted June 24, 2014 Share Posted June 24, 2014 Well if you prefer your news from the 1970's news team then that's your choice I suppose. I do not work for WGAL. Man do I wish, but I do not. WHTM needs overhauled in EVERYTHING. Personally, I would like to see then get the pkge that WATE has and Always Worth Your Time as their theme. Great theme. But WHTM needs fresh talent. Talent that does not make them look like asses. Weather should not have 'Celebrity birthdays' in with it and clip art as weather fronts. Traffic should not have side comments about how the other news anchors look or jokes about their age. Talent should not have ego trips. That's why I want the ax to fall. To me, I believe they need to ditch the ABC27 logo and go back to WHTM News Center days. Let's hope that MG learns from the mistakes that this station is doing. I'll believe it when I see it. -- Matt Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CircleSeven 1944 Posted June 27, 2014 Share Posted June 27, 2014 The amendment is finally up. Sinclair is asking the commission for a waiver in which they would operate WCFT/WJSU & WCIV for within a period of 60 days after consummation to fully transition its programming from those stations to the Sinclair stations (WABM & WMMP respectively), including informing the public 30 days notice to rescan their TVs, after the shutoff. It was also said on the foot note that Cunningham Broadcasting's WDBB Bessemer will also carry the ABC programming on the subchannel to serve the western sections of the viewing area as well. Because they know they won't get the FCC grant by that July 27th date, they're going to ask the FCC for a waiver to operate WHTM after closing, while the deal with Media General is pending. They will compose "Hold Separate Agreement" to maintain operations for WHTM, between the time the Allbritton sale is consummation, until the consummation of the deal with MG. As they terminate the WTAT LMA, Sinclair will have a 6-month transitional service agreement. Certain programming, equipment and other contrtact will be transfered to Cunningham, but Sinclair will continue to sublease WTAT's tower space, and will lease certain transmitter space & associated equipment "on an arm's length basis", as it says on the foot note. EDIT 12:19am/EDT: the WHTM to MG paperwork is now posted. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
news89 467 Posted June 27, 2014 Share Posted June 27, 2014 I hope the FCC says NO.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Samantha 2878 Posted June 27, 2014 Share Posted June 27, 2014 It was also said on the foot note that Cunningham Broadcasting's WDBB Bessemer will also carry the ABC programming on the subchannel to serve the western sections of the viewing area as well. That's a step and obviates the technical reception concern I had in Tuscaloosa. But OTA viewers in rugged eastern Alabama still get the shaft, particularly since WJSU was a VHF signal. While I personally do not agree with the application as proposed, this should go through the Commission. I did notice that SBG expects to enter into a Consent Decree with the Department of Justice to require it to sell WHTM, similar to the one under which Gannett agreed to sell KMOV separately last year. They will need to do that before consummation: tomorrow marks one full month before the Outside Date, so they will have 30 days to obtain FCC approval, obtain FTC/DOJ approval, and then close. (I did not get this mailed to me, like I have most other items in this case.) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CircleSeven 1944 Posted June 27, 2014 Share Posted June 27, 2014 I hope the FCC says NO.. I hope the same. I'm not a fan of this measure of turning TV stations off. But what other choice do they make, when that outside date is about to hit 30 days from now? If there was no outside date, they probably would've fought on with their first proposal and want to keep everything on the fold. This is the reason why many folks in Alabama & South Carolina's Lowcountry should know about this now and complain so they can get their say about this. Just like they're proposed to get the word out to tell the public notice to rescan and shit, folks need to know about possibly losing ABC News 4 on Channel 4 or ABC 33/40 in the hard to reach sections of their big viewing area. But since I'm not expecting that, other avenues is that they could still ask questions/concern about WTAT, despite their pitch to not have any ties with them. But besides all of that, it looks like the greenlight is eminent, and it really sickens me that they would finally win their biggest prize in the nation's capital. Those folks better get their resumes ready at WJLA. I've said very early in this thread when the Fisher acquisition was about to be announced, I stated that they went into unchartered territory, when it came to KOMO 4 & KATU. I say the same thing for WJLA, and their cable News Channel 8. Those three stations would've been better off being acquired by these other experience broadcasters that care for the style and integrity of these stations, and not these fools. If I had my way, I would've made them divest these three alone, to preserve the integrity, stability, and credibility of these stations. It will be a very dark day in the nation's capital should the FCC greenlights this deal and let them close it out. SMMFH!! ________________________________ OK, this might not be related to the Allbritton deal, but it might affect another related deal. It appears that Tallahassee's WTLF has been off the air since May 29 due to power failure, and have filed a silent STA. Here's the description of why they filed the STA: REASON FOR STA AS EXPLAIEND IN ITS NOTIFICATION OF SUSPENSION OF OPERATIONS, WTLF WS FORCED TO SUSPEND OPERATIONS ON MAY 29, 2014 DUE TO A POWER FAILURE. LICENSEE BELIEVES THAT IS HAS IDENTIFIED THE CAUSE OF THE PROBLEM, AND HAS HIRED A TECHNICIAN TO REPAIR THE FAILED EQUIPMENT. THOSE REPAIRS WILL NOT BE ABLE TO BE COMPLETED WITHIN THIRTY DAYS OF THE STATION SUSPENDING OPERATIONS AND, AS A RESULT, LICENSEE NOW REQUESTS STA TO REMAIN SILENT. The reason that it has some significance is that WTLF was proposed to be assigned by Deerfield Media, part of the Sinclair/New Age deal, which is still pending, and since they'd made the deal on 9/25/13, the outside date would be after September 24. Now the CW's programming is multiplexed on WTLH's 49.2 subchannel and has done so in coincide with WTLF. I don't know if this just happened in the "spur of the moment" or not, but the timing of the cease of operations coincides with the rest of the station shutdowns after the FCC made that rule to ban JSAs. It would be interesting to see what they're going to do with the plans in Florida to get that New Age deal greenlighted. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bobvick 9 Posted June 27, 2014 Share Posted June 27, 2014 It will be interesting to see what we in the Birmingham market end up with. ABC 68, ABC 17, ABC 36, ABC 33/40 on Channel 17 and 68 or ABC Birmingham. Probably the best bet would be to just leave it alone, ABC 33/40, ABC 17 might be nice though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tyrannical bastard 3464 Posted June 27, 2014 Share Posted June 27, 2014 WDBB does solve the absence of WCFT. It has a higher Maximum ERP than WCFT (350kw vs 300kw) but only uses 164kw versus the 291kw that WCFT is pumping out. It pumps out a pretty comparable signal, when looking at TV Fool, probably a little higher around the extreme fringes. The losers will be the eastern half of the market who have come to count on WJSU to bring ABC and James Spann to their neck of the woods. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skbl17 188 Posted June 27, 2014 Share Posted June 27, 2014 East Alabama will truly get the shaft if this amendment is approved. All those people living in Gadsden, Anniston, Sylacauga, and Talladega would be screwed out of an over-the-air ABC affiliate if WJSU leaves the air. WDBB may be good for the western half of the state and the Birmingham metro, but that's it. Subchannels wouldn't do aside from antenna users and a few cable viewers, and cable providers stick subchannels in random positions in the 100+ tier on the program guide. Who would take WJSU's place? - Not WSB-TV. They barely acknowledge Cleburne County's existence (and it's in the Atlanta market) and Randolph County (also in the Atlanta market) may as well be Atlantis, except that Atlantis gets more attention. There's a reason why Randolph County residents have been petitioning Nielsen to be assigned to either Columbus or Birmingham, instead of Atlanta. - WTVC-TV might, but if they do, it would only be Cherokee County, Alabama, as it's close enough to Chattanooga that it may work. The only hope I see for ABC viewers in east Alabama (aside from cable service) is if WEAC-CD becomes an ABC affiliate. Aside from WCIQ-TV (Mount Cheaha), which is a PBS/APT affiliate, WEAC is the only other active over-the-air television service in that part of the state. Currently, WEAC is a FamilyNet affiliate, and I don't know if their owners would be interested in an ABC affiliation. They do have a very small, but active, news operation. Who knows. Someone else could try and launch a new full-power ABC affiliate in Anniston. It could "succeed" like WNEG (now WUGA) did as a CBS station in northeast Georgia, or as WJSU itself did as a CBS affiliate. It may fail. I don't know if anyone has the willpower and resources to pull off something like that in this day and age. WABM may even apply to set up broadcast translators. I don't know if Sinclair would go for that, though. Also, what would happen to the staff at ABC 33/40 when the station closes down? That is my biggest question, and a question that other local stations will have to solve. I can see most of them transfer to WABM, but I don't think that they all would... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tyrannical bastard 3464 Posted June 27, 2014 Share Posted June 27, 2014 Tallahassee will be the next thorn when the New Age deal is reviewed by the FCC. If the Cunningham deal with WTAT is ever greenlighted, I could see them getting WTLH as their next stand-alone station. WCTV already provides their newscasts, so some kind of SSA with them could earn them better favor with the FCC. Aside from KDNL, there's WTWC, the longtime Sinclair bastard stepchild on THIS side of the Mississippi. The Tallahassee market is very strange, especially given that is a very backwoods place for a state like Florida, AND that it's the state capital! WCTV is one of those stations that owns the market by a GIGANTIC margin, and can do so by broadcasting color bars. WTWC is the fifth station in a 2 station market. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
montydavis 7 Posted June 28, 2014 Share Posted June 28, 2014 It will be interesting to see what we in the Birmingham market end up with. ABC 68, ABC 17, ABC 36, ABC 33/40 on Channel 17 and 68 or ABC Birmingham. Probably the best bet would be to just leave it alone, ABC 33/40, ABC 17 might be nice though. I don't it really matters what they call it. Most viewers are either satellite or cable subscribers, in which they would find these stations on varying channels anyway. Most likely they will keep the branding the same for familiarity purposes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Samantha 2878 Posted July 1, 2014 Share Posted July 1, 2014 New application in Broadcast Applications is a TOC of WTAT-TV from Feddora, Inc., to Charleston (WTAT-TV), LLC. That first company is correctly spelled. Both of these entities have addresses at the WBFF/WNUV building in Baltimore, where Cunningham is also headquartered. They are subsidiaries of Cunningham and the move is being done as part of an internal restructuring. It appears Feddora was historically part of Sullivan Broadcasting and had a bunch of the Glencairn/Cunningham stations like KOKH, WMYA, WVAH and WRGT. (It does make you wonder...how can Cunningham be a separate entity if its headquarters are at the WBFF/WNUV building?) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DirtyHarry 719 Posted July 1, 2014 Share Posted July 1, 2014 Also, what would happen to the staff at ABC 33/40 when the station closes down? That is my biggest question, and a question that other local stations will have to solve. I can see most of them transfer to WABM, but I don't think that they all would... I don't know why this is such a difficult concept for some of you guys to wrap your heads around. Everything about ABC 33/40 will remain in place, they are just changing channel numbers and maybe what they call the station. The news operation is what brings value and advertising dollars to the station. Sinclair is not going to gut that because news brings in revenue and it can also be repackaged and shown on other stations in the market. As Myron and I said before, this is a lot like the famous CBS/NBC swap in Miami. WTVJ pushed a button and suddenly they were on Channel 6 (instead of Channel 4), and WFOR simultaneously pushed a button and they were on Channel 4. Everything else about WTVJ and WFOR stayed the same. The didn't have to swap buildings, desks, personnel, etc. All they had to do is hang up "NBC 6" and "CBS 4" signs in their existing quarters and send their signals to the new WTVJ and WFOR towers, respectively. If you still don't understand, think of it as being like when they move channels around on the Cable TV box. TV Land is still TV Land regardless if it's on Channel 36 or Channel 242. I'm sure there will be some cuts because that's the way a change in ownership goes and Sinclair tends to be loyal to their employees, so they probably will keep their staff. But by and large you will see the same thing on ABC 68 that you used to see on ABC 33/40. It will just be on another signal. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Samantha 2878 Posted July 1, 2014 Share Posted July 1, 2014 The WHTM application for transfer of control is up. The structure spins WHTM into WHTM Acquisition, Inc. which is the Media General component. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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