wabceyewitness

It is more likely that he gives up the 11pm.

Liz is on at 11, too, along with Joe. They have not just the weekend morning and noon issue, but the expectation that Bill will soon scale back and give up at least one newscast.

Agreed. A majority of people going to Times Square are NOT going to see the Good Morning America studio and a majority don’t even realize that’s where Good Morning America is. WABC is also not an attraction in Lincoln Square. Lincoln Center is the main attraction. The street side WABC studio is kind of cool walk by for some, most others don’t even care or know that it exists there. I’m sure the local residents and business owners will miss seeing the staff from ABC and WABC each day, but that’s about it.

I’m surprised that the GMA staffers are surprised! Yes, Disney originally said GMA would remain in Times Square but, with a brand new Disney/ABC building being built downtown, how long did they really think that would last?

Radio could be it! Bill Evans just posted a photo of him and Ken together. Perhaps Ken is jointing Bill’s radio station in Sag Harbor?

If his social media is any indication, former WABC anchor Ken Rosato is gearing up for a return to TV. We’ll know soon where he’s headed.

Good.

Cool to see Rhiannon on WABC at 10am. Guessing they are short staffed today for fill in anchors from local. Also to note — the 10am set was lit in breaking news red/blue for the A block before reverting to yellow/blue later in the show. Nice to see, 12 years later, how versatile they realized their studio is.

too bad that he is leaving… I am assuming he approached station management and asked for different hours but they did not offer it or could not reach an agreement.

WABC launched weather graphics on a Friday evening.

Have to agree. Kudos to the producers and station management for going out on a limb and trying something truly new and refreshing for EWN. It feels like a local version of GMA combined with “Live”. Honestly didn’t expect much when they initially announced it. Thought it would be just another standard newscast with some extra fluff like “First @ 4” but the same old EWN format, music, graphics and staging. Love the content, staging, music, graphics etc. It’s great local, live, morning television.

I understand what @MorningNews is saying. In the NYC market, these types of newscasts really do not successfully exist outside of GDNY and, like what they said, WABC could put a repeat of the 6am show on at 10am and the ratings would be fine. So, you have to wonder, if that’s the case, how long will station management continue pouring resources into a show that would do well and be profitable regardless of the format? That said, I think the consensus here is that this is a nice and fresh attempt at something different for WABC. Based off the first show, it’s being executed well. Hopefully it’s so successful that the format sticks and becomes an outlier compared to the traditional newscasts.

Yep. The new broadcast doesn’t need to be top rated or a hit (though I’m sure WABC would love that). It just needs to fill time, cost less to produce than licensing another syndicated show and turn a profit.

Sounds like it will be a lighter and different broadcast based on the promo for it (“Same team. New vibe.”) and how they opted to say “hosted by…” rather than “anchored by” in the press release.

They’ve actually been making an effort to make them when official changes happen, like Mike Marza joining weekends. Usually the only broadcasts that don’t have a talent open are 5pm and 11pm. Talent opens exist for them but aren’t aired for viewer retention.

Yes, Brittany Bell is now doing the 4:30am, 5am and 5:30am weather going forward. Sam Champion is doing the 6am, 10am and Noon.

Behind the scenes of the new morning show promos being made. Posted on Instagram by one of the stylists that works with WABC. https://www.instagram.com/reel/CwSaHVqLUIx/?igshid=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==

It says the 10am show debuts Sept. 11 but I wonder what that means for WABC’s 9/11 memorial coverage. That usually does not conclude until noonish.

I wonder if there is room to declutter the opens a bit. I’ve been watching WLS since the new package debuted. As a whole, it’s great and I’m excited to see it implemented at other stations, but there is A LOT happening in those opens that distracts the eye from the actual newscast name and brand.

They’ve been using that for a few weeks now. It’s, apparently, not part of the new package. Just a random graphic they generated with the new abc7 logo.

As I’ve said previously, “budget constraints” was not the real reason here. Just days later, WABC posted a new position for a general assignment reporter. https://jobs.disneycareers.com/job/new-york/wabc-general-assignment-reporter/391/50243402752

that would make sense since they were second to start using the wx graphics after WLS. Following that pattern, WPVI may come sometime after WTVD. Wonder how long it will be for KABC, WABC and KTRK.

Disney has definitely been making cuts but they are planned out. He had a new ABC ID card in hand and was in the payroll system. The budget line for his job didn’t just suddenly disappear overnight.

I’d be surprised if they pick up Jim Rosenfield. Maybe it was just a courtesy like when they tested Don Dahler with Lori Stokes before promoting Ken. They have enough talent to fill the weekday spots and will need someone for weekend mornings. That doesn’t seem like a spot for Jim. … and Mike Marza as Bill’s successor? That should be David Novarro.

Pretty sure “budget constraints” was not the real reason.