21 stations/14.15% of U.S.
With a new station on the air in Fresno, Calif., Pappas Telecasting has a serious appetite for first-run. Pappas' KFRE-TV Fresno, Calif., an LMA, has been broadcasting since Jan. 1.
"We're still looking for product," says Debbie Sweeney, senior vice president, director of programming for Pappas. Tied up with the logistics of launching KFRE-TV , Sweeney is now focused on finding the right shows. "I really haven't done any shopping for the station. I was going to wait until NATPE," she says.
The station has a strong interest in first-run because most of the off-net has cleared the Fresno market already, she says (Pappas owns Fox affiliate KMPH Fresno). Furthermore, Sweeney is likely to acquire programming for all time periods. K FRE-TV is a WB affiliate with a full-power signal. "It has a lot of potential, it's a big opportunity," notes Sweeney.
K BWB Des Moines, Iowa, is another new Pappas station, but Sweeney says it doesn't have as great a need for daytime shows. "We already have quite a bit of product for Des Moines."
As for the rest of the Pappas group, Sweeney says they are in good shape. "We're always looking for different things for our stations. But, I have not seen anything out there yet that is new that I would deem as a must-have," she adds.
The group is sticking with court shows. Judge Judy, People's Court, and Judge Mathias
have been working in daytime for many Pappas stations, especially KMPH Fresno, she says.
Access for Pappas is another area that is slated to remain intact. Many stations run Friends, Drew Carey, The Simpsons, Frasier,
and Seinfeld. She says Pappas is trying to determine where it will put the next cycle of Seinfeld. "We don't know whether it will go in the 6 to 8 p.m. block or the late fringe block," says Sweeney. Pappas is adding Everybody Loves Raymond
and King of the Hill
to its access line up.
