All About Allen...

[TheRolyPoly 2358]

22 hours ago, norcalTVfan said:

I just watched via NewsOn and it appears just 11a and 4p are shared. The Medford station still has morning (5a/6a) and evening newscasts (5p/6p/11p). So it’s not as bad as it could be yet. 

 

I saw in a NewsActive3 video that they're also sharing weekend mornings (8:00-9:00am).

[Big Rollo Smokes 260]

It looks as though TheGrio is dead. Long live TheGrio.

 

FTV Live reported it today, and the website backs it up: Program listings are gone. 

 

Never thought I would say this, but Byron Allen is officially the biggest broadcast grifter of the century.

[Dave Lampstein 98]

And to think this schmuck wanted to buy TEGNA or ABC

[nathannah 2401]

1 hour ago, Big Rollo Smokes said:

It looks as though TheGrio is dead. Long live TheGrio.

 

FTV Live reported it today, and the website backs it up: Program listings are gone. 

Still seeing it on Spectrum with its automated Sony sitcom schedule, but that might just to be fill the last of the Black News Channel contract for them. That, or they somehow can't pay the fee for program listings.

Edited January 2 by mrschimpf

[T.L. Hughes 881]

2 hours ago, Big Rollo Smokes said:

It looks as though TheGrio is dead. Long live TheGrio.

Sounds like that unlike TWC en Español, TheGrio’s shutdown might not have been announced in advance. Here in OKC, KTUZ 30.5 (which replaced KOCO 5.6 as Oklahoma City’s affiliate well over a year ago, is showing a frozen image of what might be the network ID), instead of a replacement diginet (like Movies!, the only national Weigel network not available locally, as KOCO and KTUZ/KUOK carry the rest).

 

Also, Allen has shut down four networks in a year (This TV, Pattrn, TWC en Español and now TheGrio) and five in the last three (including the 2022 shuttering of Weatherscan). With these network shutdowns, layoffs and newscast consolidations, is it possible Sinclair’s mismanagement of FanDuel Sports Network (which Allen also part-owned and had came out of bankruptcy proceedings just a couple months ago) is contributing to its financial problems, on top of whatever mismanagement AMG has done to itself?

Edited January 2 by T.L. Hughes

[TheRolyPoly 2358]

I think AMG needs to sell their stations and stop producing most of their low budget programming. It's becoming pretty obvious within the last year or two that they can't do broadcasting right.

[EVVTV12 141]

Once again, Terre Haute has been hit hard. Long time anchor Patrece Dayton and Chief Meteorologist Kevin Orpurt will be out of the station on Thursday. It has been reported that ND Susan Dinkel will become Regional ND. 

[TheRolyPoly 2358]

53 minutes ago, EVVTV12 said:

Once again, Terre Haute has been hit hard. Long time anchor Patrece Dayton and Chief Meteorologist Kevin Orpurt will be out of the station on Thursday. It has been reported that ND Susan Dinkel will become Regional ND. 

 

This is the final straw for me.

 

I've officially lost all respect for Allen. I hope they sell soon because Allen has no place in broadcasting.

[newsn8te 200]

6 hours ago, EVVTV12 said:

Once again, Terre Haute has been hit hard. Long time anchor Patrece Dayton and Chief Meteorologist Kevin Orpurt will be out of the station on Thursday. It has been reported that ND Susan Dinkel will become Regional ND. 

It broke my heart seeing this confirmed. Everyone was expecting, but it doesn’t make it easier.
 

I grew up watching WTHI and I was lucky enough to work with both for a couple of years. Patrece trained and mentored me. Both are amazing souls and talented individuals that are loved deeply by their colleagues and the community. 
 

WTHI will never be the same….
 

 

[tyrannical bastard 3931]

I could have sworn that TheGrio was still running ads on their Weather Channel Roku app as recently as last week, promoting all of the sitcoms they carry.

 

Even if it was still running ads for a dead network, that's probably about as Allen Media as you can get....

...aside from cheaping out on toilet paper and gas for station vehicles.

[Glimmer 281]

TheGrio still seems to be running on cable, at least on my Spectrum service in Milwaukee 

[nathannah 2401]

Meanwhile the Weather Channel's Deep Water Salvage is going into syndication next fall (likely in the weekend graveyard slot), but you wouldn't know that from their spin of it as an 'all-new HD series'.

 

And yes, Spectrum still has TheGrio and I completely agree that what they did to WTHI has been a travesty. Tony Hulman is spinning in his grave.

Edited January 14 by mrschimpf

[EVVTV12 141]

15 minutes ago, mrschimpf said:

Tony Hulman is spinning in his grave.

During the Hulman years, WTHI had a strong lead in the market. Cause the Hulman had this little race track in Indianapolis, they made a little money off of it and spent a good amount of money and resources for WTHI-TV and radio. They had the first live trucks in Terre Haute, more anchors, reporters, a farm reporter, and nice sets. WTWO was so bad that at one point, the opening credits logo was the welcome sign in the lobby. 
Today, WTWO is putting on a better product than WTHI and is starting to grab more people. 

[MidwestTV 1229]

Allen Media is letting go ALL local meteorologists at ALL stations and looks to hub local weather forecasts out of the Weather Channel in Atlanta.

[MichiganNewsGraphicsJunkie 909]

4 minutes ago, MidwestTV said:

Allen Media is letting go ALL local meteorologists at ALL stations and looks to hub local weather forecasts out of the Weather Channel in Atlanta.

So when severe weather strikes, will we get coverage or will we get reruns of Storm Stories?

[GoldenShine_10 92]

32 minutes ago, MichiganNewsGraphicsJunkie said:

So when severe weather strikes, will we get coverage or will we get reruns of Storm Stories?

 

Chapter 11 is likely lurking for them.

[newsn8te 200]

I’ve been told that big changes are coming to WTHI on Tuesday. From my understanding the station will be merging with WLFI and WFFT. 

 

Basically a ‘Wisconsin News Now’ in Indiana. 
 

 

[nathannah 2401]

I just don't see how you adapt the Weather Channel Radio model to TV at all; they get on during emergencies on radio and do fine there, but radio weather outside full service and all news has become one of the lowest priorities (either just by tossing TV audio or just having the EAS butt in and get back to Hannity), which is why Weatherology is thriving now.

 

Replacing local forecasters with staff in Atlanta already overwhelmed by so many other network and station commitments is going to bite them hard. And we may be entering a dark age for stations and the FCC. Like Townsquare and Alpha just turning in licenses and refusing to sell to someone who will put effort in, I'm very scared.

 

Also, Allen runs the state TV network for WIAA high school sports, so I feel like that's next to be in the lurch and Sinclair (who carries the network in Milwaukee) or FanDuel may have to jump in last minute for the hockey and basketball tourneys.

[GraphicsMan 109]

3 hours ago, GoldenShine_10 said:

 

Chapter 11 is likely lurking for them.

Obviously broadcasting is not his thing, either he doesn’t wanna go big budget or he’s a shoestring media owner. Instead of getting investors to buy big networks how about you reinvest in what you currently have. If he wanted to go into broadcasting maybe buy a few tv stations, every broadcast group started small he grew really fast and obviously wasn’t ready for it. Some will say we’re being hard on him because he’s black, when the truth is he’s just not a good broadcaster and that’s okay.

 

I tell ya this I do not want to be a television station owner it seems stressful. If I did own a television station maybe a few stations I wouldn’t want to be a major owner. Because there be more shoestring budgets and it would be less stressful and profitable they’re are many station owners who own only a few stations and there profitable and they can do virtually whatever they want. I’d have general manager at all stations, and probably no news programming at all unless the network demanded it. My dream would be to own a Telemundo station, maybe give that a news department.

Edited January 16 by GraphicsMan

[mre29 1513]

4 hours ago, GraphicsMan said:

I tell ya this I do not want to be a television station owner it seems stressful. If I did own a television station maybe a few stations I wouldn’t want to be a major owner. Because there be more shoestring budgets and it would be less stressful and profitable they’re are many station owners who own only a few stations and there profitable and they can do virtually whatever they want. I’d have general manager at all stations, and probably no news programming at all unless the network demanded it. My dream would be to own a Telemundo station, maybe give that a news department.

 

Noticias suficientes para hacer feliz a la red.

 

That's Spanish for "Just enough news to make the network happy." You're welcome.

 

[newsn8te 200]

I put together a montage of the first newscast at WTHI without Patrece and Kevin. It’s an interesting format that has been in place over the past couple of weeks. 
 

There is a lot of information in the description of the video such as the back story and details on more changes happening at the station as soon as next week. 

 

Edited January 17 by newsn8te

[TheRolyPoly 2358]

I know he won't listen to this, but Allen... SELL NOW. Its obvious AMG can't manage anything for shit. At this point, anyone is better than them.

[tyrannical bastard 3931]

6 hours ago, TheRolyPoly said:

I know he won't listen to this, but Allen... SELL NOW. Its obvious AMG can't manage anything for shit. At this point, anyone is better than them.

Could Allen become the first company to ever have its stations seized or shut down involuntarily by creditors?  That's what it seems like where things are heading...

 

I think it's happened in select cases but never on a grand scale like this.

Edited January 17 by tyrannical bastard

[GodfreyGR 650]

1 hour ago, tyrannical bastard said:

or shut down involuntarily

Could they shut them down in the literal sense? Or would the creditors likely create a proxy company to keep the stations on air and a going concern in the short term while new buyers are found?

[nathannah 2401]

9 minutes ago, GodfreyGR said:

Could they shut them down in the literal sense? Or would the creditors likely create a proxy company to keep the stations on air and a going concern in the short term while new buyers are found?

Look to the Equity bankruptcy and WLNE circa Great Recession for a little insight; they didn't shut down right away, but just let unpaid expenses and payroll claims escalate to such a dangerous level they start losing programming outside the network, then staff who are tired of them, and eventually it gets to actual satellite transmission, then IP, newswires, then the network finally gets to the point of revocation and then you're down to a sky cam shot until THAT contract gets revoked too. Allen at least has fallbacks, but viewers will NOT be happy to see 15 year-old car, pet and media junket shows in prime time.

Edited January 17 by mrschimpf