Station to Station
Station to Station covers the odds, ends, ups and downs of the local television business across America
Some Miami Stations Cover Car Chase, Some Don't
The blog SFL TV was surfing the Miami TV universe during an A.C. Cowlings-esque high speed car chase covering three counties today, and gives WFOR and WSVN high marks for their coverage. SFL TV wasn’t so enthused about WTVJ and WPLG, which he says stuck with soap operas. SFL writes: Correct me if I’m wrong, but isn’t the basic duty of local news station’s to keep ...... Read More
Comments (1)Harpo Reaches Out to "Valued Partners"
As news broke Nov. 19 that Oprah Winfrey will end her syndicated talk show in 2011, many stations that broadcast The Oprah Winfrey Show learned about Winfrey’s decision via a memo from her company, Harpo Productions. The full memo, from Harpo President Tim Bennett, follows: Dear Friends: Over the past several weeks, my team and I have had conversations with many of you to help address your ...... Read More
Comments (1)Fox Sports Sets Sites On Local
Since the local television world isn’t quite competitive enough, Fox Sports Net is entering the fray with regional sports sites that look to compete with local ESPN sites and, of course, station sports reports. PaidContent.org says the rollout has been quietly going on for a few weeks. Says a Fox Sports spokesperson: “Our plans were underway long before ESPN rolled out their sites.&# ...... Read More
Comments (0)The Dave-ness of Letterman
A few of us had the opportunity to attend the taping of Letterman yesterday–the first time I’d seen it in many years. (Last time I went, Richard Harris regaled Dave with great carousing-with-Peter-O’Toole stories, and afterwards, my sister and I sat at the bar at McHale’s next to an angry whiskey-sipping Irish dwarf in a green suit who was there to promote one of t ...... Read More
Comments (1)WRC's 'Local' Show Out of NY
Interesting story in the NY Observer about WRC Washington’s Daily Observer program, which is comprised of bits from across the NBC media spectrum–NBC News, Weather Channel, CNBC, etc. The segments are edited in New York, sent to master control in Washington, and the program is hosted by a rotating cast of staffers at WRC. Most of Daily Connection’s “breezy” conte ...... Read More
Comments (0)Playing Jax
We have B&C’s first-ever Market Eye profile of Jacksonville coming out in Monday’s issue. DMA #47 sounds like a lively place–beaches everywhere, a growing population, and a lot younger marketplace than what one might expect from Florida. As one GM told me, the transplants come to Jacksonville not so much to retire, but to live the bulk of their years.Station-wise, itȁ ...... Read More
Comments (0)NY Mag Blasts 'Beleaguered' Peacock
NBC–and Jeff Zucker in particular–are certainly no strangers to being savaged in the media. But a big story in New York Magazine, “Will Somebody Please Save NBC?”, is one of the more brutal looks at the Peacock network’s current plight, and how it got there. Mark Harris writes: When you step back for a broader view, things get even worse; they devolve from ...... Read More
Comments (0)WXII Doing the Honorable Thing for Vets
It being Veterans Day and all, we thought it appropriate to mention the story we have in the new B&C about WXII Greensboro-Winston Salem’s “Triad Flight of Honor” program, which sends World War II veterans from the #46 DMA to Washington for a full day of meeting with their Congressmen, seeing the various war memorials in the nation’s capital, and spending quality ti ...... Read More
Comments (0)Did Raycom Buy KGMB Honolulu?
Raycom kicked in $22 million as part of its deal to run KGMB in Honolulu, reports the Honolulu Star-Bulletin. Pesky reporter Erika Engle went over the SEC filing and said it appears that $22 million went from Raycom to KGMB owner MCG Capital. Does that make it a sale, or, as Raycom boss Paul McTear has said, an asset exchange? A sale would require regulatory approval and would certainly give ammun ...... Read More
Comments (2)GM of the Year--Last Chance to Score Major Points With Boss Man/Boss Woman
I have to say, I’m extremely pleased to see the number of nominations we’ve gotten in our second annual running of the Station General Manager of the Year. We’ve got some truly good candidates that were on our radar screen, and some who were not, representing markets big and small, coastal and landlocked, affiliated and indie. I am a bit surprised, however, by the lack of fema ...... Read More
Comments (0)Who's the Real Revenue Leader in Cincy?
We’ve got a profile of the Cincinnati market this week, where the Bengals look like they’re for real, Issue 3 related to casino gambling was passed, and the revenue race between WCPO and WKRC really could not be any closer. I wrote of WCPO: “Scripps’ ABC affiliate won an extremely close revenue race in 2008, according to BIA Financial, its $41.28 million just nosing out ...... Read More
Comments (0)You May Have Heard--It's Sweeps
Yes, that autumnal bacchanal known as November sweeps kicked off last night. I’ve got an interesting story on sweeps and stations in Monday’s issue. I hear a lot about how sweeps are a thing of the past for many–with detailed ratings info available each day in a growing number of markets, it’s sweeps every day, they say. So I asked a big bunch of general managers: does ...... Read More
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