Jump to content

CBS affiliation moving to Tribune's WTTV


The Frog

Recommended Posts

 

Of course what is being referred to here is the license holder name. Sometimes it is done to keep a respective trademark active.

 

 

Gannett's changed license holder names. All of a sudden in the last year or so KUSA is connected to "Multimedia Holdings"...I mean really? they were always owned by Gannett. (in modern history at least.)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Replies 386
  • Created
  • Last Reply

 

Gannett's changed license holder names. All of a sudden in the last year or so KUSA is connected to "Multimedia Holdings"...I mean really? they were always owned by Gannett. (in modern history at least.)

 

KUSA's license holder has been "Multimedia Holdings" for years.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I notice at the closing credits of their newscast, they still say Lin Corporation copyright. Does anybody know what the deal with that? Now with WTTV/CBS 4 being the new affiliate they block out on sports if you watch it live on the computer, but now WISH can air sports content live on the net. Did that have anything to do with being a CBS affiliate?

As has been noted the license holder (or, subsidiary) name is being used in the copyright slug.

 

They inserted a new "parent" entity at the top of the company. So, Lin & the 'old' MG (and their respective subsidiaries) became wholely owned subsidiaries of 'new' MG. Think of it kind of like a family tree.

 

They could eventually just change the names of the subsidiaries (or, license holders.) Or, reorganize and roll some of those subsidiaries up into each other. However, as Myron Fallwell pointed out it is sometimes done to maintain trademarks. And, depending on how things are organized tax implications could come into play with the latter scenario.

 

I personally think too much is made of what the copyright slug says. In the grand scheme of things it really doesn't matter.

 

To your second question. I'm surprised that any station streams the sports portion of their newscast. Their was/is a thread over in Sports Center where this was discussed and I rambled ad nauseum. Why they are doing it now when they weren't I have know idea. I doubt they have all the clearances to do do. Maybe, CBS did audits of affiliate streams. And, I can't imagine they switched streaming platforms/software. Maybe, someone just screwed up. Or, it's the old "it's not breaking the rules unless you get caught" and they don't care now. IDK.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

 

Separate newscasts doesn't equal separate newsrooms.

 

They are running WTTV/WXIN like the other Tribune duopolies. The field reporters (/photogs) are shared. They maintain one combined newsroom. The only thing that's separate are the anchor teams (and producers) allowing each station's newscast to have it's own look and feel.

 

The only report I saw that even insinuated that they would be totally separate was an IBJ report early on. Either they themselves or their unnamed source were misinformed or misunderstood the information given to them.

 

WTTV/WXIN is moreso being run like a lot of Big Three duopolies owned by companies like Nexstar, Sinclair and NPG. The major difference is that the separate competing newscasts model hasn't really been tried in a market the size of Indianapolis, and is rare outside of markets 60 and below. But I think that the fact that Tribune invested heavily in WXIN in recent years may have played a part in why they chose to create a separate news department for WTTV rather than use the traditional mode for Fox-Big Three duopolies by sharing a news operation and having newscasts air in non-competitive timeslots.

 

In essence, why no one has tried this with such a duopoly until Tribune did it in Indianapolis and what seems to be Sinclair doing it in El Paso until now is beyond me. Fox is a major network and has been effectively since 1994, so the fact that not a lot of its duopolied/SSA'd stations do news simulcasts or run news operations that compete with their ABC, CBS or NBC sister stations seems odd when you consider models like KTAB/KRBC, WJXX/WTLV or WBRE/WYOU, where two Big Three stations air news at the same time, either using a repurposing model or through simulcasts.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

 

Since we have some TVNT'ers in Indy there are couple things I'm kind of curious about. First, was their any real promotion about "the switch" (ads, billboards, etc)? From afar it seems to me that most of the information was left to be disseminated by the local media and, there wasn't a real campaign to educate viewers. Second, does WTTV-DT2 have any branding, imaging, or logo, etc?

 

Yep! CBS4 has billboards (which all seemed to have appeared on the 31rst) all over the city. They all say "________ (Insert CBS Show or Bob, Debby or Chris here) has a new home featuring their picture and the CBS4 logo. I've seen several times when they ironically end up adjacent to a WISH-TV billboard that says "WISH-TV Today. Tomorrow. Always" featuring the anchor team.

 

4.2 has taken on the "Indiana's 4" branding in every way. The station that formerly appeared on WTTV 4.1 prior to 2015 has essentially just moved to 4.2 minus the CW programming.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Yep! CBS4 has billboards (which all seemed to have appeared on the 31rst) all over the city. They all say "________ (Insert CBS Show or Bob, Debby or Chris here) has a new home featuring their picture and the CBS4 logo. I've seen several times when they ironically end up adjacent to a WISH-TV billboard that says "WISH-TV Today. Tomorrow. Always" featuring the anchor team.

At least it's good they are making a strong push "post switch." I was mostly curious if they did anything prior to the switch. I get the impression there wasn't much in that respect.

 

I guess it surprises me a little bit. The 2002 switch here between KMSP/WFTC had a four month campaign (billboards, ads, tv specials, etc.) in the summer leading up to the switch. Now, this was an "in house" switch between duopoly partners. And, was in the works for a time prior to it actually taking place. So, that helps I guess.

 

And, it seems like WTTV's hands were tied a bit with what they could and couldn't do. But, it seems to me that everyone involved could have done a better job educating viewers about the switch.

 

4.2 has taken on the "Indiana's 4" branding in every way. The station that formerly appeared on WTTV 4.1 prior to 2015 has essentially just moved to 4.2 minus the CW programming.

So, they just moved the old branding, imaging, etc. over to 4.2 lock, stock and barrel then.
Link to comment
Share on other sites

 

 

And, it seems like WTTV's hands were tied a bit with what they could and couldn't do. But, it seems to me that everyone involved could have done a better job educating viewers about the switch.

 

For whatever reason, CBS4 did not exist prior to Jan 1. The station was referred to at WTTV-4 after the announcement of the switch in August. There was a radio commericial for Indy's New Year Eve party downtown, and at the end it listed the sponsors including "CBS4" it was quickly changed to "WTTV-4" shortly after airing.

 

There were news stories from other outlets including FOX59, between August and the launch, but not any official promotion prior to Jan 1.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

 

For whatever reason, CBS4 did not exist prior to Jan 1. The station was referred to at WTTV-4 after the announcement of the switch in August. There was a radio commericial for Indy's New Year Eve party downtown, and at the end it listed the sponsors including "CBS4" it was quickly changed to "WTTV-4" shortly after airing.

 

There were news stories from other outlets including FOX59, between August and the launch, but not any official promotion prior to Jan 1.

 

Legally, CBS was tied to WISH until Jan. 1. Tribune couldn't say anything publicly about CBS4 until the switch when WISH's exclusivity to CBS was terminated.
Link to comment
Share on other sites

For whatever reason, CBS4 did not exist prior to Jan 1. The station was referred to at WTTV-4 after the announcement of the switch in August. There was a radio commericial for Indy's New Year Eve party downtown, and at the end it listed the sponsors including "CBS4" it was quickly changed to "WTTV-4" shortly after airing.

 

There were news stories from other outlets including FOX59, between August and the launch, but not any official promotion prior to Jan 1.

Legally, CBS was tied to WISH until Jan. 1. Tribune couldn't say anything publicly about CBS4 until the switch when WISH's exclusivity to CBS was terminated.

Someone here posted a link to an article where the news talent stated during an interview to promote WTTV's newscast they were prohibited from referring to CBS4.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

 

Legally, CBS was tied to WISH until Jan. 1. Tribune couldn't say anything publicly about CBS4 until the switch when WISH's exclusivity to CBS was terminated.

 

Is that something with CBS?

 

I remember when KSWB stole the Fox affiliation from XETV, KSWB was airing tons of ads promoting Fox 5 leading up to the affiliation switch.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

 

Is that something with CBS?

 

I remember when KSWB stole the Fox affiliation from XETV, KSWB was airing tons of ads promoting Fox 5 leading up to the affiliation switch.

 

The same thing happen when WCCB lost there Fox affiliation to WJZY but maybe there were some restrictions in the agreement.
Link to comment
Share on other sites

 

Separate newscasts doesn't equal separate newsrooms.

 

They are running WTTV/WXIN like the other Tribune duopolies. The field reporters (/photogs) are shared. They maintain one combined newsroom. The only thing that's separate are the anchor teams (and producers) allowing each station's newscast to have it's own look and feel.

 

The only report I saw that even insinuated that they would be totally separate was an IBJ report early on. Either they themselves or their unnamed source were misinformed or misunderstood the information given to them.

 

 

Since we have some TVNT'ers in Indy there are couple things I'm kind of curious about. First, was their any real promotion about "the switch" (ads, billboards, etc)? From afar it seems to me that most of the information was left to be disseminated by the local media and, there wasn't a real campaign to educate viewers. Second, does WTTV-DT2 have any branding, imaging, or logo, etc?

 

I've noticed some advertising, but only recently. 4.2 uses the old Indiana's 4 logo with the "Indiana's" banner removed.
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.


×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

We have placed cookies on your device to help make this website better. You can adjust your cookie settings, otherwise we'll assume you're okay to continue. By using TVNewsTalk you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.