Sinclair Broadcast Group - General Discussion

[atlnews2 591]

KDNL hasn't broadcast news for over 15 years. What else would they have to post other than Allman's rants?

 

I would have thought they would have at least been retweeting show accounts (both ABC and syndicated) to promote the shows they air. Talk about not giving a damn about your ratings

[Samantha 2895]

I would have thought they would have at least been retweeting show accounts (both ABC and syndicated) to promote the shows they air. Talk about not giving a damn about your ratings

 

I'm surprised there aren't network social media promotion plans.

 

Now they have zero tweets. On said account, they boast, "KDNL-TV, ABC30 is St. Louis's leader in news and entertainment."

 

I actually help run a Twitter account with more followers than KDNL. They have 3,309. (Compare: KPLR has 26,945; KMOV has 109,585; KSDK 228,249; and KTVI 233,243)

[Eat News 4745]

I would have thought they would have at least been retweeting show accounts (both ABC and syndicated) to promote the shows they air. Talk about not giving a damn about your ratings

 

You know what the kids say...

"Nobody tweets for Free....dude."

[Samantha 2895]

You know what the kids say...

"Nobody tweets for Free....dude."

 

You'd think the network would want to see stations actively tweeting about their entertainment shows. But with 3,300 followers, it likely does not matter.

 

I'd be curious to see if there are any ABC affiliates in the top 100 with fewer followers.

[nomadcowatbk 149]

I'd be curious to see if there are any ABC affiliates in the top 100 with fewer followers.

what about CBS, FOX, or NBC affiliates in the top 100 with fewer followers?

are there any ABC (or CBS, NBC, FOX) affiliates where the CW or MNTV affiliate ranks higher than them? $inclair claims KDNL is ranked 5th, below CW affiliate KPLR, it had the Cardinals and Blues games before most of them moved to cable, doesn't have any sports now

[Mrtraveler01 738]

what about CBS, FOX, or NBC affiliates in the top 100 with fewer followers?

are there any ABC (or CBS, NBC, FOX) affiliates where the CW or MNTV affiliate ranks higher than them? $inclair claims KDNL is ranked 5th, below CW affiliate KPLR, it had the Cardinals and Blues games before most of them moved to cable, doesn't have any sports now

 

WPGH only has 772 followers and WUTV only has 229. Other Sinclair stations with no news departments (both are outsourced to the NBC affiliates in their respective markets).

 

https://mobile.twitter.com/fox53wpgh

 

https://mobile.twitter.com/fox29buffalo?lang=en

 

But WXLV has slightly more, they have 1,516 followers.

 

https://mobile.twitter.com/ABC45TV

 

Definitely shows the importance in having an internal news department when it comes to have a strong-performing station.

[Breaking News 825]

Sinclair is a big ABC affiliate, plus ABC hasn't been a player in St. Louis since the affiliation went from KTVI to KDNL back in 1995 (prior to Sinclair owning KDNL)...that's nearly 23 years now. ABC essentially not mattering in St. Louis has become the status quo. The ratings and potential money ABC has lost over the years because of a lousy St. Louis affiliate apparently hasn't mattered too much. To my knowledge, ABC has never made even a halfway serious attempt to find a new St. Louis affiliate. In defense of ABC, the station deck in St. Louis has been stacked against them: No way KMOV or KSDK were going to switch; KPLR was owned by Acme for a number of years and tied to the WB; KPLR became the CW affiliate and Tribune is heavily tied to that, etc. Add to that, if the Sinclair-Tribune deal goes down, ABC will be dealing with Sinclair anyway. ABC's best hope would be to end up on KPLR with the CW being sent elsewhere. The only real alternative outside of Sinclair would be for ABC to strike up a deal with Weigel, who just bought KNLC and made the station a full-power Me-TV affiliate. I really can't think of a logical reason why ABC's ratings would be better on KNLC than KDNL.

 

ABC apparently tried harder to get off of KTVI back in late 1988 or so when the network was upset about KTVI's lousy ratings at the time (plus ditching the 6PM local news for "Geraldo"). ABC had a meeting with Koplar (then-owner of KPLR) in New York that was supposedly about the technology of interactive TV, but the subject of an ABC affiliation for KPLR was apparently on the table. ABC didn't realize just how bad things were going to get just a few short years later.

 

So was ABC considering dumping KTVI before the 1995 switch? When it was announced in the 1990s just like the CBS affiliates jumping to find new homes. Did ABC consider KPLR at first in 1994, because I'm sure when ABC saw that this would happen and they could of bought KPLR like CBS did with Atlanta and Detroit. Did KTVI really dump 6pm news to run Geraldo? Also the Party Machine didn't last a season.

[Breaking News 825]

Life at KOMO 4 with Sinclair it a good read and with all the things going on in the Sinclair culture.

https://crosscut.com/2018/04/how-life-changed-komo-when-sinclair-came-seattle?utm_source=Crosscut+weekly+two+ads+-+April+7&utm_medium=email

[nomadcowatbk 149]

So was ABC considering dumping KTVI before the 1995 switch? When it was announced in the 1990s just like the CBS affiliates jumping to find new homes. Did ABC consider KPLR at first in 1994, because I'm sure when ABC saw that this would happen and they could of bought KPLR like CBS did with Atlanta and Detroit.

 

the Koplars, who owned KPLR at the time, were never interested in selling until the late 90s when they sold it to Jamie Kellner, it also had the Cardinals and Blues that would have pre-empted a lot of ABC programming, KDNL had just formed a news department before it switched to ABC under a local company that $inclair later bought

[Breaking News 825]

the Koplars, who owned KPLR at the time, were never interested in selling until the late 90s when they sold it to Jamie Kellner, it also had the Cardinals and Blues that would have pre-empted a lot of ABC programming, KDNL had just formed a news department before it switched to ABC under a local company that $inclair later bought

 

KDNL was owned by River City which owned WSYX, KOVR, WLOS until all stations were brought by Sinclair in the mid 90s. KDNL newscast wasn't bad. Was the Koplars even interested in being an ABC affiliate which was more high profile vs WB or being an Indy outlet?

[nomadcowatbk 149]

Was the Koplars even interested in being an ABC affiliate which was more high profile vs WB or being an Indy outlet?

 

they probably weren't interested since they had Cardinals and Blues games and WB didn't program 7 nights a week like ABC

[J1975am 208]

I'd be curious to see if there are any ABC affiliates in the top 100 with fewer followers.

 

I found one: KLAX-TV in Alexandria, LA. 686 followers!

 

https://twitter.com/KLAXTV

[J1975am 208]

I'd be curious to see if there are any ABC affiliates in the top 100 with fewer followers.

 

Oops!! Forget my last post; didn't see the "top 100" part! Sorry!

[MidwestTV 1232]

Can I put this year? There are so many Sinclair threads I don't know anymore.

 

http://www.ftvlive.com/sqsp-test/2018/4/22/ouch

[T.L. Hughes 883]

Sinclair's KidsClick block has a new (second) network home, TBD. The network began airing the block on Monday (May 7), and will air it weekdays from 6:00 to 9:00 a.m. ET and weekends from 7:00 to 10:00 a.m. As a result, TBD will also begin airing its E/I programming for a half-hour daily at 9:00 a.m. weekdays and 10:00 a.m. weekends (instead of in 90-minute blocks on Saturdays and Sundays only). Even though the block has been added to one of Sinclair's in-house multicast networks, KidsClick will continue to air on This TV, at least, for now.

 

BTW, how come Sinclair hasn't tried to syndicate KidsClick to CW, MyNetworkTV and independent stations outside of the group's portfolio? The 2018-19 season would be the best opening to offer it to other stations.

[tyrannical bastard 3942]

WSYX has a new website.

 

It's a much simpler, more mobile-friendly layout than the current template. It appears WSYX is the only station with it as of now....not even WTTE has it yet.

[TheRolyPoly 2393]

WSYX has a new website.

 

It's a much simpler, more mobile-friendly layout than the current template. It appears WSYX is the only station with it as of now....not even WTTE has it yet.

 

Its better than the previous design IMO.

[ColDayNews 438]

WSYX is one of Sinclair’s few bright spots.

[Eat News 4745]

BTW, how come Sinclair hasn't tried to syndicate KidsClick to CW, MyNetworkTV and independent stations outside of the group's portfolio? The 2018-19 season would be the best opening to offer it to other stations.

 

Kids programming is taking a dive on TV just like he rest of traditional appointment TV.

 

Maybe there is not much interest.

[dman748 1256]

WSYX has a new website.

 

It's a much simpler, more mobile-friendly layout than the current template. It appears WSYX is the only station with it as of now....not even WTTE has it yet.

Looks a lot nicer than what the previous look, hopefully that look gets applied to the rest of the Sinclair group (including the soon-to-be former Tribune stations)

[rkolsen 1684]

I have a question about the TOTG station IDs. Sinclair sold off WUTBs license completely (instead of just selling the spectrum and channel sharing) and now airs on WBFF’s 45.2.

 

I’ve noticed that their TOTH legal ID for 45.2 (MyNetwork) just says “WBFF.2 Baltimore”. Now I never seen an ID like that and am wondering if it is technically legal within FCC guidelines? I realize PSIP data now makes IDs irrelevant but I am still under the impression that it needed to be the call sign, channel number, and city of license.

[broadcastfan9751 140]

I have a question about the TOTG station IDs. Sinclair sold off WUTBs license completely (instead of just selling the spectrum and channel sharing) and now airs on WBFF’s 45.2.

 

I’ve noticed that their TOTH legal ID for 45.2 (MyNetwork) just says “WBFF.2 Baltimore”. Now I never seen an ID like that and am wondering if it is technically legal within FCC guidelines? I realize PSIP data now makes IDs irrelevant but I am still under the impression that it needed to be the call sign, channel number, and city of license.

 

WUTB is channel-sharing with WBFF, according to Rabbitears, but apparently it no longer airs MyNetworkTV. According to WUTB's Q1 Children's TV Report, it currently airs TBD.

 

Section 73.1201(b) of the FCC rules, which deals with station identification, has this part about the content of station IDs:

 

(1) Official station identification shall consist of the station's call letters immediately followed by the community or communities specified in its license as the station's location; Provided, That the name of the licensee, the station's frequency, the station's channel number, as stated on the station's license, and/or the station's network affiliation may be inserted between the call letters and station location. DTV stations, or DAB Stations, choosing to include the station's channel number in the station identification must use the station's major channel number and may distinguish multicast program streams. For example, a DTV station with major channel number 26 may use 26.1 to identify an HDTV program service and 26.2 to identify an SDTV program service. [...]

 

(2) A station may include in its official station identification the name of any additional community or communities, but the community to which the station is licensed must be named first.

 

So "WBFF 45.2 Baltimore" would be a compliant ID, but "WBFF.2 Baltimore" is not.

[nathannah 2413]

BTW, how come Sinclair hasn't tried to syndicate KidsClick to CW, MyNetworkTV and independent stations outside of the group's portfolio? The 2018-19 season would be the best opening to offer it to other stations.

 

They're picking up the literal dregs of kid's programming, stuff that does fine in Europe but no sane kid or parent in America will tolerate (this is the third attempt to make Oggy & The Cockroaches happen in the States after it bombed on Fox Family and Nick after the dumb 'naked woman in a picture' controversy that killed it off Nick). That, and there's virtually no ad inventory and it's all promos after a year; the only reason Garfield stayed on in syndication for years was because General Mills picked up the bill for the Program Exchange and ran their ads on it. You have to think inside of most Sinclair stations that pick it up, they're pretty annoyed because that could easily be infomercial money they're losing on yet another Hunt Valley experiment.

 

WUTB is channel-sharing with WBFF, according to Rabbitears, but apparently it no longer airs MyNetworkTV. According to WUTB's Q1 Children's TV Report, it currently airs TBD.

 

Schedule shows it's still carrying a full syndicated schedule; TBD is DT3. And as far as the station ID issue, the calls and COL are all that are needed, so anything that contains the words 'WBFF' and 'Baltimore', no matter what, that's a legal ID. It could read 'This is the secondary subchannel for WBFF, My TV Baltimore', and that's legit. Radio though requires calls then COL just because of the medium.

[channel2 978]

With regards to KidsClick, it really doesn't help that WarnerMedia, Disney, Viacom, and Comcast own about 90% of the worthwhile stuff aimed at that demographic anyway and probably won't let them touch most of it. (Though Warner Bros., because Time Warner was a dysfunctional mess, has long shown a willingness/obligation to loan out the Ruegger and Timm/Dini shows, I am not sure they'd loan out their Looney Tunes/MGM/Hanna-Barbera crown jewels to anybody, or if that stuff is "too old" or what)

[The Frog 429]

I really miss the days when networks programmed Saturday morning cartoons. With the chance that the FCC is going to do away with E/I rules, there just might be a glimmer... but realistically the networks would just boot Litton and give the time back. More infomercial wasteland on a once vibrant daypart... am I getting old?

 

KidsClick isn't clicking because the programming isn't there. Neither is the timeslot or the station clearance. You need easily accessible exclusive original programming, something that'll pull kids away from cable and streamers... you need popular, recognizable IP. As mentioned above, most of the good stuff is locked down with Warners, Disney, Viacom, etc. But what about the toy companies? You've got the Mattels and Hasbros of the world.

 

Hasbro in particular... they recently purchased the Power Rangers franchise. They've got Transformers, G.I. Joe, that pony stuff and other IP all ripe for new cartoons. Would a Big 4 network dare take the plunge in a post-E/I world? Imagine a block with the Hasbro machine behind it. Now, there's no guarantee it would work, but that's how you give it a fighting chance in today's world. KidsClick just ain't cutting the mustard, brother.