Scripps to launch national/local 4PM live program this fall

[Samantha 2878]

 

Out of the English-language stations sign-on to sign-off, KNXV is ranked fourth. In terms of news ratings, they have no winning time slots (KTVK does better in the morning and evening, but ranks #5 sign-on to sign-off, and at least KPHO can claim they win at 10pm on occasion when CBS has a popular lineup). Funny thing is that "The List" is produced out of KNXV.

 

If it wasn't for Scripps' dysfunctional management, KNXV would be the biggest beneficiary from the impending merger of KPHO and KTVK's news departments.

 

Especially since KNXV's news and imaging strategy over the past 12 to 18 months has been to copy KPHO.

[TVIntheDesert 183]

 

Especially since KNXV's news and imaging strategy over the past 12 to 18 months has been to copy KPHO.

 

In other words, copying something that isn't really working, but being bolstered by the popularity of CBS primetime.

 

However, I thought KPHO seemed to be taking a cue from Scripps-inspired graphics with its new on-air look. Besides, Scripps did use them at WPTV before the company-wide standardization.

[tyrannical bastard 3464]

 

Part of WEWS' decline was attributed to the group wide ABC deal, where "Morning Exchange" was moved to 9am-11am to clear "GMA." Now mind you, that was their signature show, and a show that spawned not only GMA, but other existing breakfast television programs - local, national and international - copied almost every single aspect of the show. (Why no one at WEWS thought of splitting the show in half and running it from 6a-7a and 9a-10a is beyond me.)

 

Then WJW underwent a drastic rebrand in late 1995 where all aspects of their CBS-era "Newscenter" branding were stripped for "ei8ht... IS... NEWS!" which included a retooling of their entire morning news output into one singular, news-and-talk newscast. That took off like a rocket, and to this day WJW still leads the market in the breakfast television department. (It's worth noting that in that retooling, WJW cancelled "Good Day Cleveland," which was a knockoff of "Morning Exchange" in the 7a-9a timeslot which debuted a bit before their defection to Fox. Moreover, everyone on "Good Day," including hosts Bill Martin and Stephanie Schafer, were retained.)

 

You also had WKYC, which was still trying to break free of the stigma of having been a poorly-run NBC O&O, that hired Romona Robinson after WOIO/WUAB let her go. That station was already in a long journey into respectability, and hiring Romona was a much-needed shot in the arm.

 

Plus WEWS tragically lost Nev Chandler, and then went through succeeding sports anchors in alarming fashion for the next 15 years before finally settling on the Andy Baskin/Mike Cairns/Andre Knott tandem. It's also understandable as to why it took forever for them to replace Ted Henry, but having no set lead anchor team in the 6 and 11 newscasts for well over a year is beyond me.

 

And that's not counting 19 Action News, which has had their 11pm news buoyed almost totally by CBS' strong prime time lineup, regardless of what WOIO runs in that time period.

 

WEWS's decline is multifold and went beyond any cosmetic, personnel or programming changes. That doesn't mean that Scripps should be absolved from blame, because they shouldn't be. But a lot of problems were and are beyond their control.

 

WEWS's decline has been slow as well....going all the way back to 1977 and the launch of NewsCenter 8. WJW was able to bolster their fortunes slowly over the years while WKYC remained lost in third place.

It was back in 1997 when due to NBC's success WKYC started to win time periods. By then, WEWS was bleeding viewers and about to launch an overhaul of their news product the following spring. In 2002, WKYC took a gigantic leap in the ratings thanks to Dr. Phil airing at 5pm against WEWS and WJW. This helped them at 6pm and permanently broke them out of the third place finish they've had since the NBC days. When WOIO took hold of time periods, WEWS slipped into 4th and has been swimming near the bottom ever since.

 

When Scripps dumped Wheel and Jeopardy, and lost the Ohio Lottery to WKYC (which they recently regained, the only constant of their history went out the window. Aside from mornings and late-night programming, their schedule remained CONSTANT with Oprah at 4pm from 1986 to 2011 and Wheel/Jeopardy in access for their entire existence. Had it not been Scripps forcing them to dump these shows, they would still be on WEWS today most likely.

 

Interestingly enough, they had an issue back in 1997 when they got the rights to the Martha Stewart show. They shoehorned it into the "Morning Exchange" by airing it at 9:30am during TMX's 9-11am run. It was branded as "Martha in the Middle." This only lasted a few months and Martha (and Gayle King's show which WEWS bumped to latenights) went to WJW where they aired together.

[Rusty Muck 4167]

The programming execs for Scripps operate out of KNXV. Sure, Phoenix is a big market, but the stations here act medium-sized. I was scratching my head when KNXV made a programming shuffle last month swapping around "RTM," "The List," and "LAA." Everyone here can agree that "LAA" is a better executed show than "The List," but KNXV put the latter as the ABC prime-time lead in. It's no "ET," "Extra," or "Inside Edition." Hey, it's not even "OK! TV" (which is mainly seen overnight on unwatched independent stations).

Honestly, had their in-house programming initiative been launched AFTER the McGraw-Hill stations were taken into the fold, I betcha that KMGH would have been the originating station instead of KNXV.

 

And it wouldn't surprise me if "The List" eventually moves it's base over to KMGH.

 

Not that it would have any effect on the quality of the programs, but still.

[MidwestTV 1173]

Random question that's somewhat related; how do parent companies decide which stations will house centralized things? Meaning how did Scripps decide that WRTV(?) would house all master controls and that KNXV would be the home of their programming execs? I've assumed that it always had something to do with the size of the station.

[Thundershock MN 169]

They only have two stations in the Pacific Time Zone (KGTV and KERO). It's interesting that KGTV will not be airing this new show, I wonder why. Maybe KGTV jumps into the 4pm news bandwagon on their own and provides some content to KERO?

That's why I found it odd they didn't pick one of those two "true" pacific time zone stations to test on as well. IDK, maybe I'm reading into it too much and, KNXV can serve that purpose for them. That's why I'm hoping someone with knowledge of KMGH's facilities comes by with insight. I suspect they only have one control room.

 

"It's a one-of-a-kind broadcast that connects viewers with minute-by-minute social media interactions and plugs in to trending topics that have both national and local impact. We're looking for broadcast producers that LOVE social media..."

 

Oh GOD. Not only was that one of the corniest, least professional recruiting videos I've ever seen, it was also awkward as hell. It almost sounds like Right This Minute being taken to the extreme.

 

Surpisingly, the "social media" thing doesn't bother me all that much. If it's executed well its not that bad. WCCO recently dumped sports at 5pm for a "social media" segment titled "What's Trending." Although it's probably better described as more an arts and entertainment plus social media segment. I'm usually annoyed by the use of social media in newscasts. But, it's actually well done and tolerable. Plus, it makes better use of the time as sports at 5pm is really a big waste.

 

And let's be honest it's a 4pm newscast so there is only so much you can do with it. Therefore it's likely to be heavy on the "fluff" anyway. So, it will likely be that plus "tell us what you think" segments. I really don't see an RTM clone.

 

So is the general consensus here that Scripps is slowly destroying their stations and they may or may not realize it?

 

No, I don't see it that way. It kind of annoys me. But, I understand why they're doing what they're doing.

 

Honestly, had their in-house programming initiative been launched AFTER the McGraw-Hill stations were taken into the fold, I betcha that KMGH would have been the originating station instead of KNXV.

 

And it wouldn't surprise me if "The List" eventually moves it's base over to KMGH.

 

Not that it would have any effect on the quality of the programs, but still.

I kind of disagree. I really think if "The List" wasn't housed at KNXV that this new 4pm newscast would have been housed there. Nothing against KMGH but, I think KMGH was chosen a little bit by default. The time zone difference required to produce this live at 4pm local in every time zone made it likely this was going to be produced out west. A four hour window of 2pm-6pm MT or 1pm-5pm PT is less likely to have conflicts with other productions in the building. If they were to use an ET station that would mean producing this from 4pm-8pm ET meaning a studio and/or control room may be occupied. So, that likely left KMGH & KGTV as their two options to house this "4pm newscast" since KNXV was already occupied with "The List." And, I presume KMGH has larger facilities than KGTV. That's my guess at least. Maybe I'm way off base as I stated in the first paragraph. But, it seems like such a random choice that there has to be some reason.

 

Random question that's somewhat related; how do parent companies decide which stations will house centralized things? Meaning how did Scripps decide that WRTV(?) would house all master controls and that KNXV would be the home of their programming execs? I've assumed that it always had something to do with the size of the station.

WRTV was/is the hub for the old MGH stations. So, again another default decision. it's easier to build that out and bring the "old" Scripps stations in then relocate the whole operation. WFTS was at least partially chosen as one of the Scripps traffic hubs due to having an open floor. And, KNXV was at least partially chosen as the other traffic hub because their location out west would allow them to provide support later in the day. I presume the programming execs having offices at KNXV is due to location with "The List" being there and RTM is also being filmed in the Phoenix area.

 

As illustrated with the Scripps example above most of the decisions are unique to each station groups situation. It could be location, access to talent, cheap labor, space or that stations "prestige" within the group. So, although they seem random there is usually a reason based on the goals and needs of each of the various station groups.

[A3N 996]

I agree. Aside from building/space, you also have to take into consideration which stations are unionized, wages and the cost of doing business in that state. KGTV is a union shop, so presumably the costs to add more responsibilities are greater than WRTV or KNXV. In the future, this could change since Scripps seems to think very highly of KGTV but in order to do so, they would need a bigger building. Would be nice if they moved their company HQ to San Diego...

[C Block 1488]

Eh, KMGH has a big-ish building (it's a five story high rise) but not a ton of studio space. They have a decently-sized studio, but probably nothing that could house two things at the same time. The set is also going on 11 years this spring, so they'll either have to spruce something up there, or I wouldn't be surprised if this were a roving newsroom style show like Right This Minute, TMZ, or even PIX.

 

As for format, I wonder whether it'll be anything like KMGH's fairly successful morning show - lots of small bits of news and viral things taken from online presented by an ensemble cast, most of whom do so without a teleprompter in front of a plasma screen in any random place they can find (studio or not).

[justin2kx 229]

 

 

As for format, I wonder whether it'll be anything like KMGH's fairly successful morning show - lots of small bits of news and viral things taken from online presented by an ensemble cast, most of whom do so without a teleprompter in front of a plasma screen in any random place they can find (studio or not).

 

As you just said that, i just saw via tvnewscheck the videos showcasing how KMGH morning show is different and vying to be successful. For anyone checking out how different the morning show is through promos, all 'not your typical', the theme:

 

(weather)

 

(news)

 

(traffic)

[IndyNewsGuy 13]

 

Random question that's somewhat related; how do parent companies decide which stations will house centralized things? Meaning how did Scripps decide that WRTV(?) would house all master controls and that KNXV would be the home of their programming execs? I've assumed that it always had something to do with the size of the station.

 

Here's your answer...because they were already doing it.

Command center being built at WRTV will run 19 stations

http://www.ibj.com/command-center-being-built-at-wrtv-will-run-19-stations/PARAMS/article/47461

[ns8401 846]

Well the 4pm show has a name:

"The Now", it starts Sept. 8th. To make room for it WXYZ will move "Doctor Oz" to 10am starting Sept. 8th. "Lets Ask America" moves from the 730 slot in favor of "The List" on Sept. 9th, Meredith Viera goes in at 3pm and "The Doctors" goes to WMYD or gets canned. A 7-9am newscast begins on WMYD in August.

 

http://www.crainsdetroit.com/article/20140622/NEWS/306229975/channel-20-deal-will-bulk-up-tv-ad-buys-watchers-say

[MidwestTV 1173]

 

Well the 4pm show has a name:

"The Now", it starts Sept. 8th. To make room for it WXYZ will move "Doctor Oz" to 10am starting Sept. 8th. "Lets Ask America" moves from the 730 slot in favor of "The List" on Sept. 9th, Meredith Viera goes in at 3pm and "The Doctors" goes to WMYD or gets canned. A 7-9am newscast begins on WMYD in August.

 

http://www.crainsdetroit.com/article/20140622/NEWS/306229975/channel-20-deal-will-bulk-up-tv-ad-buys-watchers-say

 

"The Now"? Might as well call it "Right This Minute" or "Right Now."

[CircleSeven 1944]

 

"The Now"? Might as well call it "Right This Minute" or "Right Now."

 

"The Now", huh? I don't see any long term strategy or benefit for this name.

[MidwestTV 1173]

KSHB seems to be "test-running" the format of what "The Now" will be like. Check it out now if you can.

 

http://www.kshb.com/livevideo

 

Lots of stuff taking place in the newsroom.

 

I should clarify that this is me purely speculating. I came to that conclusion based on their anchor saying something along the lines of "this is your first time joining us on camera here! She'll be a part of "The Now"..." so I assumed this newscast was to be some type of indication of what The Now might be.

[ns8401 846]

KSHB seems to be "test-running" the format of what "The Now" will be like. Check it out now if you can.

 

http://www.kshb.com/livevideo

 

Lots of stuff taking place in the newsroom.

 

I should clarify that this is me purely speculating. I came to that conclusion based on their anchor saying something along the lines of "this is your first time joining us on camera here! She'll be a part of "The Now"..." so I assumed this newscast was to be some type of indication of what The Now might be.

The only thing that might be like is the local cut ins, remember KMGH gets the honors of having the bulk of the show based there. So most of the show will not have anything to do with those local people or the local stations. At least that's what it looks like on paper.

[TVIntheDesert 183]

Starting this evening, KNXV is expanding their 6pm news to an hour. "The List" moves back to 4:30, probably since "Right This Minute" is moving to KSAZ in the fall.

[TheRob 920]

I will have to watch this afternoon, since KSHB is already using "The Now K.C." on social media. It sounds like a soft launch to get viewers familiar with this clumsy name before the real launch later.

[MidwestTV 1173]

 

I will have to watch this afternoon, since KSHB is already using "The Now K.C." on social media. It sounds like a soft launch to get viewers familiar with this clumsy name before the real launch later.

 

It's almost unbearable for me to watch. If this is any indication of what "The Now" is supposed to be...then I don't think it'll last. Setting about half or so of the newscast in the newsroom is interesting, but the new format is too light and fluffy for my tastes. One thing's for sure, Christa Dubill's getting a workout going from the studio to newsroom. Where they have her set up in the newsroom and where the studio is are on opposite sides of the building and on different floors.

[Thundershock MN 169]

FYI - "The Now" soft launches tomorrow on KMGH and KSHB. Although, KSHB looks to have started a little early the "official" soft launch is tomorrow. And, like KSHB their sister station in Denver has also launched "The Now Denver" on social media.

[TVIntheDesert 183]

 

FYI - "The Now" soft launches tomorrow on KMGH and KSHB. Although, KSHB looks to have started a little early the "official" soft launch is tomorrow. And, like KSHB their sister station in Denver has also launched "The Now Denver" on social media.

 

This kind of sounds very similar to the show KNXV produced named "Now@(timeslot)," which was also social media driven, in 2010-11.

[Samantha 2878]

 

This kind of sounds very similar to the show KNXV produced named "Now@(timeslot)," which was also social media driven, in 2010-11.

 

Yeah, this is exactly what I see. It also explains why Scripps, which is a partner in RightThisMinute, opted to let Fox have it in Phoenix, the city where the show is produced.

 

(It feels like almost everyone in Phoenix has a hand in RTM. Scripps is a partner, KSAZ will air the show this fall, the production company is a whole boatload of KTVK vets, it's produced at KAET downtown, Gayle Bass appears on KTAR radio...)

[MidwestTV 1173]

A live stream for if you want to watch it: http://www.kshb.com/livevideo

 

Edit: What is this mess? The first seven minutes talking about the sale of Russel Stover and reading tweets about peoples' favorite chocolate. Lindsey Shively, the "host" I suppose you could call her, isn't looking at the camera because the teleprompter is off to the side of the free handing camera (which shakes too much). But, when things seem a lot more tame and what you would expect of a traditional newscast when they're in the studio. In the newsroom? It feels like a playground during the middle of recess.

 

I know the show has just been born, but it already is enough of a mess for me to not tune in again. I expect KCTV's ratings at 4pm to soar.

[ns8401 846]

A live stream for if you want to watch it: http://www.kshb.com/livevideo

 

Edit: What is this mess? The first seven minutes talking about the sale of Russel Stover and reading tweets about peoples' favorite chocolate. Lindsey Shively, the "host" I suppose you could call her, isn't looking at the camera because the teleprompter is off to the side of the free handing camera (which shakes too much). But, when things seem a lot more tame and what you would expect of a traditional newscast when they're in the studio. In the newsroom? It feels like a playground during the middle of recess.

 

I know the show has just been born, but it already is enough of a mess for me to not tune in again. I expect KCTV's ratings at 4pm to soar.

Scripps needs to learn that it doesn't have SNI attached to it and it has no syndication credentials. I just hope it doesn't tank the newscasts that follow it.

[CircleSeven 1944]

KMGH is about to start their show momentarily.

[TheRob 920]

Oof. I feel dizzy. I like the graphics, though. The graphics resemble a marriage of Gannett's tabs and Hearst's triangles. Red = news, orange = buzz and blue = trending.

 

If you missed the KSHB version, the format went something like this:

 

Overall: 99% newsroom, VO-heavy with a few visits to newsroom desks, off-the-shoulder camera with a teleprompter on the side (anchor looked to the side often). If you don't like the lead story, you're not coming back.

 

A.

local.

lead story lasted at least five minutes, with visits to two anchors at newsroom desks, plus web desk

Small weather chat at end

TRT 12:00

 

B.

local

1:00 weather in newsroom + chat

reporter looklive pkg

At :18, the anchor tossed to the "national desk" in Denver for a five minute segment of national VOs and tweets.

TRT 8:00

 

C.

More random VOs.

TRT 2:00

 

D.

1:30 of headlines

More VOs, mostly local

Another visit to the web desk

TRT 8:00

 

E.

More random VOs

TRT 3:00

 

F.

Random VOs

weather in the studio (3:00)

More VOs

TRT 8:00

 

G

VOs

At :55 the anchor tossed to the national desk again, which in turn tossed to the host of The List, which doesn't air in KC yet. This talkback lasted 2:00

More VOs

Direct toss to 5pm news