WJZY set

[Nelson R. 569]

18 minutes ago, tyrannical bastard said:

A big reason that Charlotte has 5 news operations is because of how Bahakel has held on

The only reason...

[Mrtraveler01 738]

On 12/29/2021 at 6:57 AM, jero23 said:

I'm well aware of all of this. WJZY hasn't been that situation in ratings since 2016. The move was not because of the previous years. It's because they wanted back into Milwaukee and finally into Seattle.  I've said that Fox will come back as they see someone else building up WJZY then reap the benefits of that investment. 

 

Charlotte can support 5 news operations. That's not WJZY's problem. Similar sized and smaller markets such as Orlando have 5 news operations.  If they stick to something with branding and with proper investment then it will be fine. 

 

Orlando only has 4 English language news operations (WESH/WKCF, WKMG, WFTV/WRDQ, WOFL/WRBW).

 

Charlotte is a unique market and its because of WCCB.

[TheRolyPoly 2409]

3 hours ago, Mrtraveler01 said:

 

Orlando only has 4 English language news operations (WESH/WKCF, WKMG, WFTV/WRDQ, WOFL/WRBW).

 

Charlotte is a unique market and its because of WCCB.

Ahem... Spectrum News 13 says hello.

On 9/13/2021 at 7:29 PM, AaronQ said:

From this vid you can see parts of the set. 

 

 

I know this is somewhat old but... I see you peaking-a-boo, Raycom Sports!

[rfnc07 0]

7 hours ago, TheRolyPoly said:

Ahem... Spectrum News 13 says hello.

 

I know this is somewhat old but... I see you peaking-a-boo, Raycom Sports!

You can't see it on the video, but WBTV is right across the street, too.

[tylerSC 61]

On 12/22/2021 at 9:31 PM, TexasTVNews said:

'JZY should have stuck with "FOX Charlotte News".

They should remain FOX46 as that is a strong and familiar branding. It identifies both the FOX affiliation and the channel you are watching. They could add Queen City News as a subtitle if they choose, but that still may alienate viewers in the suburban communities, mountains, and Upstate SC who do not identify with Charlotte, and prefer to avoid the association with crime, traffic, and higher taxes. The new set is nice, and the news product has been expanded and improved. But the rebranding is a very bad idea. They should remain FOX46, not the idiotic Queen City News which sounds like some amateur community publication.

[CLT-DCA-ORF-PTI 87]

7 hours ago, tylerSC said:

They should remain FOX46 as that is a strong and familiar branding. It identifies both the FOX affiliation and the channel you are watching. They could add Queen City News as a subtitle if they choose, but that still may alienate viewers in the suburban communities, mountains, and Upstate SC who do not identify with Charlotte, and prefer to avoid the association with crime, traffic, and higher taxes. The new set is nice, and the news product has been expanded and improved. But the rebranding is a very bad idea. They should remain FOX46, not the idiotic Queen City News which sounds like some amateur community publication.

I can't even begin - I am still confused on air because you hear all three (!) newscast titles on the station now. FOX 46 News, Queen City News is coming, and FOX Charlotte News Tonight at 10. I am so lost, because the open and the anchors say FOX 46 News at 10, but its advertised as FOX Charlotte News. This is a mess. Not to mention Queen City News (IMO) is a stupid name for a viewing area that encompasses two states. I was looking forward to seeing a nice refresh for 46, but this is garbage. I know part of it is the de-emphasis on "FOX" but, honestly, why not just keep the same branding, or even better, stick with FOX Charlotte branding, it was WCCB previous branding, might as well use it. 

I do not see this sitting well in the market.I'm sure by May there will be three more names for the newscast. 

[tyrannical bastard 3948]

I was hoping the new branding would have launched by now.  What's the next marquee event (by FOX) when this could happen?

 

Or (with a nod to John Landis) should we see what happens next Wednesday?

 

Or at this rate, just call it Fox 46 Charlotte Queen City News and be done with it?

[Nelson R. 569]

29 minutes ago, tyrannical bastard said:

I was hoping the new branding would have launched by now.  What's the next marquee event (by FOX) when this could happen?

 

Or (with a nod to John Landis) should we see what happens next Wednesday?

 

Or at this rate, just call it Fox 46 Charlotte Queen City News and be done with it?

It’s just going to be Queen City News (Fox Charlotte outside of news) and it begins next Monday. I like the Fox 46 Charlotte Queen City News. Good Day Charlotte is going to become Queen City News Now.

[Mrtraveler01 738]

On 1/3/2022 at 2:10 AM, TheRolyPoly said:

Ahem... Spectrum News 13 says hello.

 

 

Whoops my mistake! In that case, Charlotte actually has six news operations since Spectrum News is in Charlotte too.

[tylerSC 61]

15 hours ago, Nelson R. said:

It’s just going to be Queen City News (Fox Charlotte outside of news) and it begins next Monday. I like the Fox 46 Charlotte Queen City News. Good Day Charlotte is going to become Queen City News Now.

I wish you would persuade them to remain FOX46. Most folks seem to have a negative reaction to Queen City News and think it is a bad idea. And they haven't changed their FOX8 in Greensboro or their FOX56 in Lexington, Ky. This just seems juvenile and stupid.

[Nelson R. 569]

16 minutes ago, tylerSC said:

I wish you would persuade them to remain FOX46. Most folks seem to have a negative reaction to Queen City News and think it is a bad idea. And they haven't changed their FOX8 in Greensboro or their FOX56 in Lexington, Ky. This just seems juvenile and stupid.

Yeah it seems like WJZY is the guinea pig again, like they were when Fox Television Stations bought the station and they went to the Hey, Hey Carolinas soft news format. But they are more competitive this time and at least they are not doing soft news so time will tell.

[tylerSC 61]

On 1/4/2022 at 2:22 PM, Nelson R. said:

Yeah it seems like WJZY is the guinea pig again, like they were when Fox Television Stations bought the station and they went to the Hey, Hey Carolinas soft news format. But they are more competitive this time and at least they are not doing soft news so time will tell.

The upgraded and expanded news product is good. The new set is an improvement. But the rebranding is ill advised and unnecessary, and seems a bit juvenile in its approach. And could alienate viewers in the DMA outside of Charlotte. They should retain FOX46 has a strong identifying brand and just add Queen City News as a subtitle if they are so determined to do so. That would be the best combination of the legacy brand and a new marketing strategy.

[Nelson R. 569]

Inaugural Queen City News intro

[KRAP-TV 146]

2 hours ago, Nelson R. said:

Inaugural Queen City News intro

 

It doesn’t seem all that bad.

 

#DeepThoughts

 

[Griffin 0]

Looks great! 

[tylerSC 61]

On 1/11/2022 at 11:05 AM, Griffin said:

Looks great! 

Yes the look is good and the new set is very nice, modern and sleek. It is just a mistake to drop FOX46 as their channel identity. On the first day they used a rotating logo bug with both FOX46 and Queen City News. They should have continued with that. Since FOX46 is the channel identity and Queen City News should be the title of the newscast. It should be "from FOX46 in Charlotte, this is the Carolinas own Queen City News." This incorporates both the legacy channel brand as well as the promotional title of the newscast.

[Nelson R. 569]

Just now, tylerSC said:

Yes the look is good and the new set is very nice, modern and sleek. It is just a mistake to drop FOX46 as their channel identity. On the first day they used a rotating logo bug with both FOX46 and Queen City News. They should have continued with that. Since FOX46 is the channel identity and Queen City News should be the title of the newscast. It should be "from FOX46 in Charlotte, this is the Carolinas own Queen City News." This incorporates both the legacy channel brand as well as the promotional title of the newscast.

I agree. And kept Fox 46 outside of newscasts (syndicated programming bugs).

[Nelson R. 569]

1 hour ago, tylerSC said:

It is just a mistake to drop FOX46 as their channel identity.

And this is why 

[Guest]

On 1/16/2022 at 8:34 PM, Nelson R. said:

I agree. And kept Fox 46 outside of newscasts (syndicated programming bugs).

It's a master control issue, they're still trying to work out the bugs no pun intended because master control is giving the station the runaround that they aren't involved with making those changes even though the station has no way internally to make those changes. This is why you should never hub master control, ever. The syndie bugs are also sporadic, they appear on some programs but not all of them. Also the Top of the Hour ID bug also still hasn't changed.

On 1/16/2022 at 9:44 PM, Nelson R. said:

And this is why 

It's a transitional period. By the middle of the year, the FOX 46 brand will be completely gone. God willing.

[Guest]

I've mentioned this before in Discord. Over 2 years of market research went into the rebrand. Also, the brand "FOX 46" is and was seen as a joke since FTS botched the relaunch as a FOX affiliate and made the station a complete joke. Secondly, the station has never been taken seriously even in its years as both a UPN and WB affiliate.

 

Thirdly, Charlotte is an odd market because research has shown viewers are completely turned off by UHF channel numbers, likely because of previous blunders with 36 in the 1970s and 1980s, plus the slow rollout of cable penetration in the mountainous northwestern part of the viewing area. WBTV and WSOC and their spots on the dial were always the easiest to pick up over the air and that's why TVs are still glued to them.

 

WCNC went back to 36, yes that's true, but the Carolina's NewsChannel 36 era was actually pretty tumultuous for them and led to a sharp ratings decline. The blame was the brand. That's why every UHF station in Charlotte refuses to brand with channel number. WCCB, WCNC, WMYT (brands by cable channel 12), and now WMYT's sister WJZY. Is it stupid? Yes. Does it matter now in the age of streaming and digital TV? Absolutely not. Does it still turn viewers off to watch a double digit local channel? Unfortunately in Charlotte, yes.

 

Fourthly, Charlotte-Mecklenburg County and a couple other counties in the viewing area skew liberal and blue. Because of this, anything tied with FOX is seen negatively because viewers don't and will never understand there is ZERO connection with local FOX affiliates and FOX News Channel. So because of this, WJZY is distancing themselves as much as possible from the FOX name and limiting the FOX name to network programming and network promos. An internal source I have at WJZY says that it's not even confirmed that they will even keep the FOX Charlotte name depending on how well the QCN brand is received. Also, with how disappointing the FOX network has been in the last few years, it begs the question how long FOX network actually has as a network. This is purely Speculatron, but I doubt the network will exist in the next 20 years unless they make some drastic changes, go all in on streaming, and get some better programming outside of sports. Losing their entertainment division to Disney has completely fucked the network over. Plus, with them losing TNF to Amazon, it also puts their other sports programming in potential jeopardy if streaming sports takes off and pays off when it comes time to re-up. Yes, FOX potentially could be outbid by Amazon for NFC rights and it would be 1994 all over again, though this time FOX is CBS.

 

Fifthly, change is inevitable. Nothing is guaranteed. And with channel numbers now virtually meaning absolutely nothing especially with changes on the horizon with ATSC 3.0 and the world of streaming, it makes no sense for a station that has NEVER done well branding by its channel number to not ditch it and try something new.

 

One thing I'm not understanding is why WMYT is still branded as My12, but I am also privy to the fact that WMYT is an also-ran and program dump for WJZY and therefore isn't seen as worth putting any effort into. I'd question how much of a future the station has and if it will even exist within the next 5-10 years.

[tyrannical bastard 3948]

I wonder if Nexstar has tried to change the call letters of WJZY.  Looking around the call sign database,  a lot of good possibilities are already taken (WQCN, WQCT, etc...)

That should have happened, especially with all of the turmoil since FOX took over the station, and working those calls into branding would help forge the station ahead of it's past.

 

Trying to de-brand a FOX affiliate is a tough order that's never really seemed to work.  Look at "Boston 25".  Unless a station had a prior strong brand or logo like KCPQ "Q13", WSVN or KTVU, it's an even tougher task at hand.  Fox was so bullish on co-branding, it seems like there is no other way to brand a station.

 

 

[carolinanews4 376]

On 1/3/2022 at 10:52 AM, tylerSC said:

They should remain FOX46 as that is a strong and familiar branding.

 

If FOX46 was such a "strong" brand then the station wouldn't be doing so poorly in the ratings. I get that people don't like Queen City News, but let's not pretend like FOX46 was a powerhouse brand. The station has struggled since the day their news operation went on air. There is no doubt that their product has improved tremendously but there's still a stench associated with the FOX46 brand. This was a market research based decision. If the research shows your brand is strong, you don't change it. If your brand has a negative perception then you try to reinvent yourself...quickly.   

[MichiganNewsGraphicsJunkie 915]

I think we can all agree that change is hard to accept, whether there's good intention or not... it's like the local grocery stores.  They're constantly remodeling, moving things around, etc... Everyone hates it, but eventually gets used to it or decides to go someplace else... I think this is a good example of that.. 

[Guest]

On 1/19/2022 at 9:29 PM, tyrannical bastard said:

I wonder if Nexstar has tried to change the call letters of WJZY.  Looking around the call sign database,  a lot of good possibilities are already taken (WQCN, WQCT, etc...)

That should have happened, especially with all of the turmoil since FOX took over the station, and working those calls into branding would help forge the station ahead of it's past.

 

Trying to de-brand a FOX affiliate is a tough order that's never really seemed to work.  Look at "Boston 25".  Unless a station had a prior strong brand or logo like KCPQ "Q13", WSVN or KTVU, it's an even tougher task at hand.  Fox was so bullish on co-branding, it seems like there is no other way to brand a station.

 

 

They did consider changing the call letters of WJZY to WYQC but they threw that decision out in the 11th hour. 

18 hours ago, carolinanews4 said:

 

If FOX46 was such a "strong" brand then the station wouldn't be doing so poorly in the ratings. I get that people don't like Queen City News, but let's not pretend like FOX46 was a powerhouse brand. The station has struggled since the day their news operation went on air. There is no doubt that their product has improved tremendously but there's still a stench associated with the FOX46 brand. This was a market research based decision. If the research shows your brand is strong, you don't change it. If your brand has a negative perception then you try to reinvent yourself...quickly.   

^ THIS

16 hours ago, MichiganNewsGraphicsJunkie said:

I think we can all agree that change is hard to accept, whether there's good intention or not... it's like the local grocery stores.  They're constantly remodeling, moving things around, etc... Everyone hates it, but eventually gets used to it or decides to go someplace else... I think this is a good example of that.. 

The only people that seem to be complaining about it are TVNTers and local news junkies. I've heard from my source that they have actually had viewers send emails and call and use the correct name, which is astonishing given the fact people don't pay fucking attention.

 

"I need help from QC News..." "Hey Queen City News..." "Is this Queen City News?"

 

I'm shocked it caught on as quickly as it did. The station is also supposedly launching a massive area wide promotions campaign in February. Billboards, bus wraps, benches, cable spots, radio spots, etc. They're going to stick random "Qrown" stickers up at bars with QR codes on them... I mean they're trying to get as many eyes on this as possible.

 

Now if only they can work out the technical issues...  

[tylerSC 61]

I am curious if this rebranding a year later has made a bump in the ratings. I still think they could have added Queen City News as the newscast branding but kept FOX46 as the station identity. Something like "From FOX46 Charlotte, this is the Carolinas' Own Quen City News." Best of both worlds.

 

And nobody has mentioned, but back in November they made a modification to their new set,  in time for election coverage. The main anchor desk was moved away from the large video wall and placed in front of the wall monitors that used to be the stand up area. Now the large video wall is the new stand up area and interview area, as well as the weather wall. Not sure if this is an improvement or not, but just a change that was made.