WPLG & ABC Parting Ways

[T.L. Hughes 881]

The one wrinkle here is, given the reason cited by WPLG management for dumping ABC, it’s a “broken clock” situation ripe for FCC Chairman Brendan Carr to intervene in his apparent “borderlining on abusing his authority” way of handling certain matters (an issue that Disney would’ve experienced at some point, given Carr’s governance style as chairman so far and Trump’s gripes with ABC that the network tried to paper over with his lawsuit that they settled after his election).

 

From The Desk’s story on the switch:

Quote

The situation involving WPLG and Disney appear to confirm concerns raised by Brendan Carr, the Chairman of the Federal Communications Commission, that the entertainment giant was demanding more money from its current affiliates in exchange for continued rights to its ABC network programming.

 

In a letter sent to Disney CEO Bob Iger last year, Carr — who was not chairman at the time, but who was already promised the position by then-President Elect Donald Trump — wrote that his office had received complaints that Disney was “attempting to extract onerous financial and operational concessions from local broadcast TV stations under the threat of terminating long-held affiliations.”

 

“The [FCC] has long been concerned about the balance of power between networks and affiliates, and has recently noted that the upward trend in reverse compensation is evidence of growing national network power over the local affiliates,” Carr complained. “Reported restrictions on negotiating carriage on streaming platforms and provisions that restrict a station’s ability to compete for local sports rights are further evidence of this growing imbalance…it calls into question the extent to which some national programming networks are able to influence station operations, and whether the various terms of network affiliation agreements could unduly inhibit the ability of local broadcast TV stations to make programming decision that best reflect the needs and interest of their communities.”

 

Edited March 20 by T.L. Hughes

[atlnewsfan03 78]

2 hours ago, SDHIll1980 said:

 

Along those lines, I wonder if ABC did pursue WSFL for an affiliation given the relationship between the Alphabet and Scripps.  That said, good for WSVN if they can handle it, but we'll wonder long they'll keep ABC and Fox on their signal.

I also wonder if ABC has made any kind of offer to buy the South Florida station.

[EVVTV12 141]

2 minutes ago, atlnewsfan03 said:

I also wonder if ABC has made any kind of offer to buy the South Florida station.

I wonder if Disney wanted to buy WPLG, but someone in Omaha said no or wanted more money. 

[MD TV 253]

The only time ABC has made any tv station transactions since 1985 was buying (and later selling) WTVG and WJRT. I doubt they showed any interest in WPLG.

 

In any case, I'm getting the feeling what's happening here is gonna be more common in the years ahead.

[channel2 977]

9 minutes ago, MD TV said:

The only time ABC has made any tv station transactions since 1985 was buying (and later selling) WTVG and WJRT. I doubt they showed any interest in WPLG.

 

In any case, I'm getting the feeling what's happening here is gonna be more common in the years ahead.

 

Hell, if you want to get technical, those are the only stations that ABC or its corporate parent at the time has ever bought. CapCities did make an equity investment into Young Broadcasting, but Disney sold that interest in 1998.

 

I feel like not enough is being said about what a bad, bad sign it is that WPLG is losing ABC because they literally can't afford to be an affiliate anymore. The fact that WPLG doesn't have scale to fall back on (anymore) is part of it, but still. If a station owned by Berkshire Hathaway cannot or will not cough up increasingly-onerous reverse compensation fees, how long will it be before the time bomb goes off for the big chains?

[Horizon 262]

WSVN has formally announced the adding of ABC to its affiliation lineup on the air.

 

 

 

WPLG also announced the ending of its ABC affiliation on TV.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OF4ISfI7QJU

 

 

Edited March 20 by Horizon

[Recovering Producer 207]

I’m old enough to remember when NBC tried to sell WTVJ to what was The Washington Post company at the time to form a duopoly with WPLG in 2008, which would have been the first top 20 with two of the big 4 English language networks under common ownership. That felt wild and ominous for the future of the business then. 
 

17 years later the business model is so dramatically different this feels like a “yeah something like this was bound to happen in a market that size eventually” moment. 

 

Yet another network switch in a market where change has been pretty constant. 

[T.L. Hughes 881]

31 minutes ago, channel2 said:

I feel like not enough is being said about what a bad, bad sign it is that WPLG is losing ABC because they literally can't afford to be an affiliate anymore. The fact that WPLG doesn't have scale to fall back on (anymore) is part of it, but still. If a station owned by Berkshire Hathaway cannot or will not cough up increasingly-onerous reverse compensation fees, how long will it be before the time bomb goes off for the big chains?

Which makes it highly ironic that Sunbeam agreed to ABC’s terms when it only has three more stations than BH Media has. Granted, the Ansins’ non-broadcast assets are primarily held in real estate, but if Berkshire Hathaway, whose investments pale in comparison was unwilling to pay, why were the reverse comp terms palatable enough for Sunbeam?

Edited March 20 by T.L. Hughes

[Greggo 351]

Is there any syndication that isn’t currently airing in Miami? WPLG only has Kelly & Mark, Wheel, Jeopardy and 48 Hours. Yes, they’ll add a lot of news — like 7-9a and in primetime — but they are going to need to make several pickups to fill in the holes. (Hopefully no crappy Byron Allen court shows!) 

Edited March 20 by Greggo

[VulcanSphere 8]

Whoa, this is a... shocking (dis)affiliation news.

 

Considered the strong position of WPLG in Miami-Ft. Lauderdale market but again this is TV business. Just like WJXT and CBS separation two decades earlier.

 

Still, congrats to Sunbeam and WSVN for landing ABC on their subchannel.

Edited March 20 by VulcanSphere
Spacing and other grammar matters

[texastv 6]

This change is very seismic.  I remember when WTVJ and WCIX (now WFOR) was changing channels in 1996 and viewers were lost.  Glad that WSVN is planning on a marketing campaign because it could be something similar, this time around.  

[AaronQ 279]

I did not have that on my bingo card. 

[NYAZSporty 123]

2 hours ago, TheRolyPoly said:

Here's another thing...

 

WPLG will fill up ABC programming with news.

 

WSVN will have to decide which simulcasts will go on 7.2 and which will be exclusive.

 

Get ready for the cable/satellite paperwork that'll be discussed to find out where ABC will be located while WPLG stays on 10 more likely.

Shouldn't be too hard to find a channel for ABC Miami the way the TV dial is down there (unless a provider in the northern portion of the area also gets channels from WPB).

[TVNewsLover 774]

ABC on Channel 7, it’s almost like it’s meant to be. I wonder if WPLG will make a play for the FOX affiliation when that agreement is up. 

[SDHIll1980 99]

1 hour ago, Recovering Producer said:

I’m old enough to remember when NBC tried to sell WTVJ to what was The Washington Post company at the time to form a duopoly with WPLG in 2008, which would have been the first top 20 with two of the big 4 English language networks under common ownership. That felt wild and ominous for the future of the business then. 
 

17 years later the business model is so dramatically different this feels like a “yeah something like this was bound to happen in a market that size eventually” moment. 

 

Yet another network switch in a market where change has been pretty constant. 

 

I was reminded of that when I was on the TNC Discord in the midst of the WPLG/ABC discussion, and I mentioned it.  I remember the story when both stations reported on their newscasts on the evening that particular news broke...it was pretty seismic back then.

[TheRolyPoly 2358]

1 hour ago, Recovering Producer said:

I’m old enough to remember when NBC tried to sell WTVJ to what was The Washington Post company at the time to form a duopoly with WPLG in 2008, which would have been the first top 20 with two of the big 4 English language networks under common ownership. That felt wild and ominous for the future of the business then. 
 

17 years later the business model is so dramatically different this feels like a “yeah something like this was bound to happen in a market that size eventually” moment. 

 

Yet another network switch in a market where change has been pretty constant. 

 

That was wild and I remember that announcement very well. I think today's news though tops it.

[SDHIll1980 99]

1 hour ago, Greggo said:

Is there any syndication that isn’t currently airing in Miami? WPLG only has Kelly & Mark, Wheel, Jeopardy and 48 Hours. Yes, they’ll add a lot of news — like 7-9a and in primetime — but they are going to need to make several pickups to fill in the holes. (Hopefully no crappy Byron Allen court shows!) 

 

Weekends especially, and given the current outlook of the syndication market, it's not a whole lot available beside those AMG shows (two of which they already carry--Kickin' It and Comics Unleashed) and the off-network procedural dramas like the The FBIs, S.W.A.T., the Chicago-verse, The Rookie, and 9-1-1.

[Georgie56 3292]

In primetime, I see them going the KCAL route with live news from 8-11:35p nightly or make like KDKA+ and have news at 8p and 10-11:35p with a nightly sports show sandwiched in between at 9p.

Edited March 21 by Georgie56

[MorningNews 1437]

I don’t have enough knowledge about affiliate swaps but is this truly final? It’s almost unbelievable even.

 

How will WSVN manage newscast as a Fox and ABC affiliate? How does branding even work for that and why would ABC be willing to relegated to a sub-channel in a significant market? 

[Georgie56 3292]

3 minutes ago, MorningNews said:

I don’t have enough knowledge about affiliate swaps but is this truly final? It’s almost unbelievable even.

 

How will WSVN manage newscast as a Fox and ABC affiliate? How does branding even work for that and why would ABC be willing to relegated to a sub-channel in a significant market? 

 

I'm betting WSVN newscasts will be mostly simulcasted on 7.2.

[channel2 977]

I get the impression that all ABC cares about is WSVN's ability and willingness to pay the reverse compensation.

[tyrannical bastard 3931]

This move could be the future of television as we know it.

 

If it can happen in Miami, it can happen anywhere.

 

WSVN was the only logical choice since they are the only major station not owned by another network with a dominant news product.  I don't think ABC was willing to gamble with a Scripps station that can't even handle a newscast, yet alone a CW affiliation.

 

Probably the biggest irony of all is that ABC is pretty much going to force them to brand WSVN 7.2 as a network affiliate, unlike WSVN 7.1 being able to do for decades with Fox-less branding since losing NBC decades ago.

 

Maybe WPLG will be the next home of the CW when Paramount gets cold feet with Nexstar...again!

[J.W. Rodriguez 14]

Correct me if I'm wrong, but WPLG was the last station in Miami-Ft. Lauderdale to have not switched affiliations. As some of us remember, WTVJ switched from CBS to NBC in 1989 (since the latter bought them out two years earlier), and WSVN switched from NBC to Independence, then Fox that same year or so.

[T.L. Hughes 881]

13 minutes ago, J.W. Rodriguez said:

Correct me if I'm wrong, but WPLG was the last station in Miami-Ft. Lauderdale to have not switched affiliations. As some of us remember, WTVJ switched from CBS to NBC in 1989 (since the latter bought them out two years earlier), and WSVN switched from NBC to Independence, then Fox that same year or so.

Correction: WSVN switched from NBC to Fox, but marketed itself as an independent for the first couple of years with Fox because the network aired prime time programming only a few nights a week at the time. (Fox didn’t add children’s programming until 1990, and wouldn’t expand to a full seven-night-a-week prime time schedule until 1993.)

Edited March 21 by T.L. Hughes

[Recovering Producer 207]

1 hour ago, MorningNews said:

I don’t have enough knowledge about affiliate swaps but is this truly final? It’s almost unbelievable even.

 

How will WSVN manage newscast as a Fox and ABC affiliate? How does branding even work for that and why would ABC be willing to relegated to a sub-channel in a significant market? 

Their brand is far more (I know this is no longer reality) <Scott Chapin voice> 7 News </Scott Chapin voice> than anything else with the word Fox in it. So that’s not a huge deal. 
 

At the end of the day, when there’s an impasse with BH/WPLG and ABC, Mickey Mouse decided getting some money from an established Sunbeam WSVN operation on a .2  benefited them more than the cost of them establishing or supporting some other broadcast company scrambling for a solution for ABC to air on a much lesser known UHF OTA PSIP .1 and that station would be short on programming to fill off network hours. The network affiliate is a smaller piece of the viewership pie than it was, so Disney/ABC will take the money they can get from linear TV while it still has some value to them rather than spend to build their own as streaming tries to run out the clock in its fight against broadcast. 
 

Sunbeam saw a viable path to a second substantial South Florida revenue stream with minimal effort at least to start on a few months notice in a TV business reality of limited syndicated programming and less of it available every season. It’s an almost turnkey operation for weekdays if you just run ABC programming and 7news/Deco Drive simulcasts. I believe the only current gaps between the start of World News Now and the end of Nightline would be 3 to 4pm and 7 to 7:30pm. Even if they run the cheapest paid programming in those slots, it’s still revenue they weren’t generating before. 
 

WPLG’s plan come August is the most fascinating current unknown to the public part of this to watch moving forward. 

Edited March 21 by Recovering Producer