Hurricane Milton

[MichiganNewsGraphicsJunkie 947]

Wall-to-wall coverage already popping up ahead of Hurricane Milton.  Hearst's WBBH/WZVN are once again combining their teams.  In this pic, you see WZVN's Jesslyn Ferentz using WZVN graphics in WBBH's studio.  

Edited October 7, 2024 by MichiganNewsGraphicsJunkie

[Spring Rubber 714]

The Weather Channel still has the AMHQ team live as of 1pm ET. I haven't seen them use this schedule for any storm coverage since they moved to the current schedule.

 

The only thing I'm thinking is that maybe their plan is to stay live one hour later until 2am ET tonight, to avoid bringing in an overnight crew like they normally do from 1am-5am ET if they were to stay live all night.

[GodfreyGR 687]

5 hours ago, MichiganNewsGraphicsJunkie said:

Wall-to-wall coverage already popping up ahead of Hurricane Milton.  Hearst's WBBH/WZVN are once again combining their teams.  In this pic, you see WZVN's Jesslyn Ferentz using WZVN graphics in WBBH's studio.  

I'm kind of surprised that with the new graphics that there wasn't a plan for a combined logo. I get that Hearst doesn't do the "combined" branding (ex: like Gray does with Dakota News Now, Valley News Live, etc)- but something where for emergency coverage like a hurricane showed the NBC2 and ABC7 logos side by side? Is it because viewers in the area already subliminally know the two are co-owned (or more likely don't care when a Cat 5 is headed their way?)

[MichiganNewsGraphicsJunkie 947]

1 hour ago, GodfreyGR said:

I'm kind of surprised that with the new graphics that there wasn't a plan for a combined logo. I get that Hearst doesn't do the "combined" branding (ex: like Gray does with Dakota News Now, Valley News Live, etc)- but something where for emergency coverage like a hurricane showed the NBC2 and ABC7 logos side by side? Is it because viewers in the area already subliminally know the two are co-owned (or more likely don't care when a Cat 5 is headed their way?)

I'm surprised as well.. It would make more sense... It's kinda like Indy's WXIN/WTTV -- they have 2 completely different news operations but share some resources... They easily could've puuled a KCBS/KCAL 

[tyrannical bastard 4019]

If Southwest Florida is affected (again), it will be another test of the WINK facility, as they even took on water from Helene. 

At least the other stations have out of town resources to fall back on if they have to abandon their facilities.

 

Given the vulnerability of Tampa and St. Petersburg, how much at risk are their stations there?  WFLA may be in a bad spot, so I'd bet they get WKRG or WMBB on standby to help out with coverage.

[MediaZone4K 2237]

SW Florida cant catch a break, Especially considering recovery from Hurricane Ian is still relevant.

 

I wonder if Fox 4 will go live like their counterparts in Tallahassee, instead of a Scripps cast. I remember them going wall to wall during Ian prior to the Scripps cast cuts.

[TheRolyPoly 2559]

2 hours ago, tyrannical bastard said:

If Southwest Florida is affected (again), it will be another test of the WINK facility, as they even took on water from Helene. 

At least the other stations have out of town resources to fall back on if they have to abandon their facilities.

 

Given the vulnerability of Tampa and St. Petersburg, how much at risk are their stations there?  WFLA may be in a bad spot, so I'd bet they get WKRG or WMBB on standby to help out with coverage.

 

WTSP is in a super bad spot. They're in St. Petersburg, even worse. More likely they'll have to go inside WMOR's studios again.

[MediaZone4K 2237]

Interestingly I'm seeing WBBH WZVN Fort Myers go wall to wall, but (correct me if I'm wrong) I don't see any Tampa stations doing so (yet). Ironically, Tampa/Sarasota is supposed to be the market that gets a more direct hit.

Edited October 8, 2024 by MediaZone4K

[tyrannical bastard 4019]

This morning, It looks like Tampa is beginning to ramp up coverage.  Generally, stations in a direct path of a hurricane tend to go wall-to-wall at least 24 to 36 hours out from landfall. 

 

Currently all stations (WFLA/WTTA, WTSP, WTVT, WFTS and WWSB) are carrying the Ron DeSantis press conference.  I don't know about WMOR since they aren't carried on YouTube TV.  Anyone in the area know if they are simulcasting either Orlando or Fort Myers coverage?

Edited October 8, 2024 by tyrannical bastard

[GodfreyGR 687]

37 minutes ago, tyrannical bastard said:

I don't know about WMOR since they aren't carried on YouTube TV.  Anyone in the area know if they are simulcasting either Orlando or Fort Myers coverage?

Looking at their website, they appear to be relaying WESH.

 

That said, as a weather nerd watching way up north, WESH has been doing a tremendous job so far (and what I am currently streaming in my office)- WFTV and WKMG have also been solid.

[tyrannical bastard 4019]

10am check on Tampa/St. Petersburg/Sarasota.

 

Only WFTS and WWSB are on the air now.  WWSB has their 10am/10:30am newscast and WFTS is pre-empting Morning Blend. 

Everyone else is in normal programming.  Even WFLA is status quo with Daytime.

 

Did CBS ever have a newscast of any sort in recent years (even piped in from somewhere else?)  No news of any kind is on WTOG.

 

Meanwhile in SWFL, WBBH/WZVN is wall-to-wall and WINK is simulcasting WXCW's 10am newscast.  WFTX is in normal programming.

[WCX-TV 17]

Wall-to-Wall coverage started last night here in the Orlando DMA as well with most stations going thru the night last night.

[NYAZSporty 141]

1 hour ago, tyrannical bastard said:

Did CBS ever have a newscast of any sort in recent years (even piped in from somewhere else?)  No news of any kind is on WTOG.

 

Yes, WTOG until August of last year, as they winded down CW affiliations in their owned markets (including Detroit, only to return last month) had Tampa Bay NOW which was produced by CBS O&O WFOR in Miami. Now, newscasts for former CW affiliates from CBS are pretty much now just in markets where they have a sister CBS O&O station.

Edited October 8, 2024 by NYCsporty

[MediaZone4K 2237]

As of Tuesday evening, non stop coverage in Ft Myers and Orlando, Tampa apparently not.

 

Perhaps this is to allow station employees a chance to tend to their families and belongings? 

[tyrannical bastard 4019]

I don't understand the lack of coverage in Tampa.  Not even on screen weather warnings.  WWSB is the only station that has them constantly and WTSP is the only one to have a crawl. 

 

Everyone else is basically status quo with the occasional cut-in.

 

Even from a business sense, local storm coverage would be an ample opportunity to run the plethora of local political ads.  The Orlando and SWFL stations are enjoying that opportunity greatly. 

 

It doesn't make any sense.

 

Edit:  Basically every Waffle House location in the Tampa / St. Petersburg area down to SWFL is closed. 

If that's the case, this storm is going to be BAD.

Edited October 9, 2024 by tyrannical bastard
Waffle House index

[nathannah 2493]

Don't forget that Orlando has stations with sister stations that they can overflow to (Fox had enough time to get the DVR recordings moved from WOFL to WRBW for one, WFTV shifted to WRBQ and WESH and WBBH already pushed their schedules to their .2s). There's no point to exhaust staff until the last possible moment and outside WFLA's Nexstar trash IT having to work around Perry's 2 hour delay, all of them have robust streaming presences to push coverage to for now.

[Spring Rubber 714]

Both The Weather Channel and Fox Weather dropped live coverage overnight. To see this on the night before landfall is just bizarre. We're in a different era now of non-24/7 coverage I guess.

[MediaZone4K 2237]

10 hours ago, tyrannical bastard said:

I don't understand the lack of coverage in Tampa.  Not even on screen weather warnings.  WWSB is the only station that has them constantly and WTSP is the only one to have a crawl. 

 

Everyone else is basically status quo with the occasional cut-in.

 

Even from a business sense, local storm coverage would be an ample opportunity to run the plethora of local political ads.  The Orlando and SWFL stations are enjoying that opportunity greatly. 

 

It doesn't make any sense.

 

Edit:  Basically every Waffle House location in the Tampa / St. Petersburg area down to SWFL is closed. 

If that's the case, this storm is going to be BAD.

 

Agreed. 

 

The Internet's 24/7 news cycle makes non-stop storm broadcasting somewhat unnecessary.

 

Conversely, storm coverage is the draw factor for local stations especially in natural disaster prone areas like Florida. Unless Tampa outlets are using relaxed coverage as an opportunity to evacuate and let the staff tend to their lives, this is puzzling.

 

Even more peculiar:  the markets getting the outer effects of the storm, not the market getting landfall are going wall to wall?

 

This might be a domino effect. Once one Tampa station decides to go nonstop, the others might follow to be competitive.

Edited October 9, 2024 by MediaZone4K

[tyrannical bastard 4019]

Tampa may finally be going wall-to-wall with coverage.  All stations are on live now.

 

It looks like WTSP is on a virtual set.  I wonder if they have relocated their staff elsewhere in the area (WMOR) or out of town?

 

The southward shift may be a blessing for Tampa/St. Petersburg but could be devastating for Sarasota.

 

Hopefully WFLA will begin live-streaming soon.  They also have their "WFLA NOW" digital stream that's only on their website.

Edited October 9, 2024 by tyrannical bastard

[Jase 1065]

10 hours ago, Spring Rubber said:

Both The Weather Channel and Fox Weather dropped live coverage overnight. To see this on the night before landfall is just bizarre. We're in a different era now of non-24/7 coverage I guess.

 

It's been a taxing couple of weeks, so I can understand them working in some down time, if you will, for their respective teams (both on the ground and in studio). There's only so much that can be said/done until the storm makes landfall. 

[TVLurker 216]

10 hours ago, Spring Rubber said:

Both The Weather Channel and Fox Weather dropped live coverage overnight. To see this on the night before landfall is just bizarre. We're in a different era now of non-24/7 coverage I guess.

I guess reruns are more cost-efficient than covering a hurricane with life changing repercussions.

[nathannah 2493]

WMOR has now shifted to a WBBH simulcast; their Very Local channel is doing the same since that cluster's VL presence has not launched yet. 

[tyrannical bastard 4019]

It looks like WWSB has evacuated their facility and set up a makeshift studio elsewhere.

(Lakewood Ranch)

Edited October 9, 2024 by tyrannical bastard
temp studio location

[GodfreyGR 687]

4 hours ago, tyrannical bastard said:

Hopefully WFLA will begin live-streaming soon.

They appear to have. Also simulcasting on 93.3 WFLZ-FM (iHeart top 40)

[Recovering Producer 221]

WINK anchors moved to Gateway at approximately 3:30 PM. 
Meteorologists still at Palm Beach Blvd.