FOX/UPN/CW with Eyewitness News or Action News

[newsteam13 395]

Used to be that Eyewitness News and Action News was only reserved for just CBS, ABC and NBC affiliates. It began in Philadelphia in the 1960s. Al Primo launched Eyewitness News in 1965 at KYW (now CBS3), and then Mel Kampmann launched Action News at ABC6 WPVI in 1970. Those two formats became widespread ever since.

 

But since the late 1990s, there are some FOX, UPN and CW affiliates that used the longstanding Action News or Eyewitness News formats. Some FOX stations had used the Eyewitness News name since the 1970s, when those stations used to be with CBS, ABC and NBC.

 

Let's start with Eyewitness News AND Memphis. WHBQ FOX13 the first FOX station to do so in 1995, calling themselves FOX13 Eyewitness News. This was after WHBQ switched from ABC to FOX that year, and along with that, carried the Eyewitness News name that's been in use since the 1970s. Next up, WLMT CW30 alongside sister station WPTY ABC24, where WLMT called their show CW30 Eyewitness News (as WPTY had ABC24 Eyewitness News). Before that, WLMT was UPN30 Eyewitness News.

 

Of course, there were FOX O&O stations that carried over their Eyewitness News name from their previous networks. For instance, the former CBS affiliates that already had Eyewitness News from the getgo. WJBK Detroit was FOX2 Eyewitness News, WAGA Atlanta was FOX5 Eyewitness News and WTVT Tampa was FOX13 Eyewitness News. This was after FOX bought former CBS, ABC and NBC affiliates from New World in 1994.

 

Now for the Action News. WALA in Mobile and Pensacola used FOX10 Action News. This was after WALA switched from NBC to FOX in 1996, and Channel 10 had the Action News format since the 1980s. Before KMAX was sister station to KOVR CBS13, and while channel 31 was UPN in 1998, their newscast was titled UPN31 Action News.

[rkolsen 1684]

Fascinating read, but remember do not make this a list thread. You can discuss the brand just list that x in y used it for z number of years before xx picked it up again.

[DetroitTVNews 66]

Another example: WKBD Detroit used UPN Action News from 2002, when WXYZ took over production of their 10 PM newscast, to 2005, when it was cancelled.

Current example: since 2014, MNTV affiliate WMYD (same market) uses the name 7 Action News on TV 20, because, as before, WXYZ produces their newscasts.

[NEOMatrix 1299]

Another example would be in Cleveland, when WUAB used Action News until it became "# Action News" (in this case, "43 Action News"). About 2004 or 2005, Raycom unified the branding under "19 Action News", where it stayed until 2015.

[Eat News 4745]

"UPN Action News"?

Or as the local six year olds would say...,

"You Pee in Action News"

C'mon...every market has one..

We used to pay promo people good money to avoid problems like that.

[AJClementeFan69 477]

I don't think there's ever been an example of a Fox or otherwise affiliate becoming EWN/AN as a Fox affiliate.

The new world stations using the EWN brandings (WTVT/WJBK/WAGA) inherited over. In fact, none of them initially branded as "Fox # Eyewitness News" until about 1996. The "Fox # EWN" brand became, whether it was intended to or not, a transitional brand to full Foxification.

1 minute ago, AJClementeFan69 said:

I don't think there's ever been an example of a Fox or otherwise affiliate becoming EWN/AN as a Fox affiliate.

The new world stations using the EWN brandings (WTVT/WJBK/WAGA) inherited over. In fact, none of them initially branded as "Fox # Eyewitness News" until about 1996. The "Fox # EWN" brand became, whether it was intended to or not, a transitional brand to full Foxification.

Otherwise the only examples of it currently are duopolies (think of WFOX/WJAX, the Nexstar duopolies that brand as "Eyewitness News", etc.)

[LVForward 94]

And what about Action News founder WPVI producing a nightly 1 hour news broadcast on phl17 a Tribune-owned MyNetworkTV affiliate and Eyewitness News founder KYW/CBS3 producing a 30 minute news broadcast nightly on WPSG - CW Philly?