mre29 1340 Posted May 9, 2017 Share Posted May 9, 2017 Only reason they are is because they acquired the web team from Fishers in Seattle. When it was based in Baltimore, their websites looked like garbage. No, I meant Tribune's websites. And I remember the horrors of Sinclair's pre-Fisher websites. (I also remember the Fisher stations' pre-Sinclair websites. They were beautiful.) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rusty Muck 4164 Posted May 9, 2017 Share Posted May 9, 2017 Check out the comment section, Jamie Allman (host of The Allman Report) is trolling it. Real classy operation Sinclair is running here. We'll see ABC11 and the CW 11.2, while Jamie Allman Brother can toil away on the fetid carcass of KDNL under Armstrong Williams "ownership." Nice work if you can get it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GoldenShine9 1509 Posted May 9, 2017 Share Posted May 9, 2017 Another anti-Sinclair editorial, this time from the St. Louis Post Dispatch. Some inaccurate points there. They will not have 40% leverage over Fox (it will be 29%), and there are no connections between Fox and Sinclair like they claim. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
C Block 1487 Posted May 9, 2017 Share Posted May 9, 2017 Have any stations talked about the sale on air yet? WGN just did. Wait for a little bit of snark at the end of this reader on KDVR's Good Day Colorado: http://kdvr.com/2017/05/08/sinclair-to-buy-fox31-kwgn-parent-company-tribune-media-in-3-9-billion-deal/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Georgie56 3059 Posted May 9, 2017 Share Posted May 9, 2017 Wait for a little bit of snark at the end of this reader on KDVR's Good Day Colorado: http://kdvr.com/2017/05/08/sinclair-to-buy-fox31-kwgn-parent-company-tribune-media-in-3-9-billion-deal/ I think he has experience working for a Sinclair station. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CalItalian2 163 Posted May 9, 2017 Share Posted May 9, 2017 Randy Michaels and the late Kevin Metheny tried to turn WGN into a hard-ish conservative talk station in the mold of WLW. It was an unmitigated disaster... those moves turned off the vast majority of the audience without bringing any new audience in to replace it (which is what worked at WLW circa 1985). Plus the market already has more that it's fair share of conservative talk in WLS and WIND, both of which draw absolutely pathetic ratings. WGN has an interesting problem. They are practically the only remaining 24/7 all-local talk station east of the Mississippi (WLW does originate a few networked shows and runs taped replays throughout the weekend, but doesn't carry any syndicated shows per se). Now-former PD Jimmy DeCastro tried to modernize WGN's sound while also rehiring several popular long-time hosts dismissed by Michaels/Metheny, to varying degrees of success. WGN is trying to maintain a full-service format... and stuck on the AM dial as the lone radio property east of the Mississippi for Sinclair. Their future would have been murky to begin with, regardless of the owners. Jimmy deCastro was not the PD. He was the President/GM of WGN Radio. He was my GM while I was at KKBT in Los Angeles over 25 years ago. One of the few truly great radio managers still left. He left WGN in October (2016) because he knows what is going to happen. Sinclair will not keep the stand alone radio station. Watch. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tyrannical bastard 3444 Posted May 9, 2017 Share Posted May 9, 2017 No, I meant Tribune's websites. And I remember the horrors of Sinclair's pre-Fisher websites. (I also remember the Fisher stations' pre-Sinclair websites. They were beautiful.) Tribune has some pretty good websites. It's not that the current Sinclair ones are that bad, it's the fact that the video streaming downright SUCKS. Like Allbritton was, Tribune is a Livestream client (sans WGN). Sinclair's god-awful streaming skips around when it's live and can't replay like Livestream can. Even Nexstar has used Livestream to resurrect their live streaming efforts (WYOU/WBRE) and hasn't messed with Media General's prior use of it post-merger. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mrtraveler01 737 Posted May 9, 2017 Share Posted May 9, 2017 Check out the comment section, Jamie Allman (host of The Allman Report) is trolling it. Real classy operation Sinclair is running here. Jamie Allman also trolled the comment section of this article too. http://www.stltoday.com/business/local/sinclair-broadcast-to-buy-tribune-media-for-about-billion/article_738ae723-303c-52d0-b349-cecd5eedf922.html?mode=comments Remember, he is supposed to be a TV professional on a Top 25 market ABC affiliate (in addition to host of a local morning right-wing radio talk show). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ColtFromGulfcoast 695 Posted May 9, 2017 Share Posted May 9, 2017 Jamie Allman also trolled the comment section of this article too. http://www.stltoday.com/business/local/sinclair-broadcast-to-buy-tribune-media-for-about-billion/article_738ae723-303c-52d0-b349-cecd5eedf922.html?mode=comments Remember, he is supposed to be a TV professional on a Top 25 market ABC affiliate (in addition to host of a local morning right-wing radio talk show). Well, somebody is triggered. And I ain't talking about any of us. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rusty Muck 4164 Posted May 9, 2017 Share Posted May 9, 2017 Jimmy deCastro was not the PD. He was the President/GM of WGN Radio. He was my GM while I was at KKBT in Los Angeles over 25 years ago. One of the few truly great radio managers still left. He left WGN in October (2016) because he knows what is going to happen. Sinclair will not keep the stand alone radio station. Watch. Who would want ol' 720? iHeartMedia and Cumulus are desperately trying to avoid bankruptcy, and failing... so they're off the table immediately. Entercom is trying to complete their purchase of CBS Radio, and getting a third 50kW signal in their hands is an iffy prospect (Pai has wanted to eliminate sub-ownership caps in radio, thus making WGN a likely Entercom target... but that may be a long time from now). For the near term, and possibly the long term, WGN 720 will be in Sinclair's hands by default. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
channel2 869 Posted May 9, 2017 Share Posted May 9, 2017 How has Sinclair treated KOMO radio? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ColtFromGulfcoast 695 Posted May 9, 2017 Share Posted May 9, 2017 Who would want ol' 720? iHeartMedia and Cumulus are desperately trying to avoid bankruptcy, and failing... so they're off the table immediately. Entercom is trying to complete their purchase of CBS Radio, and getting a third 50kW signal in their hands is an iffy prospect (Pai has wanted to eliminate sub-ownership caps in radio, thus making WGN a likely Entercom target... but that may be a long time from now). For the near term, and possibly the long term, WGN 720 will be in Sinclair's hands by default. Does Alpha Media or Townsquare own any properties in Chicago? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
broadcastfan9751 136 Posted May 9, 2017 Share Posted May 9, 2017 Does Alpha Media or Townsquare own any properties in Chicago? Alpha owns several stations in the suburbs, although I don't think any of them cover Chicago itself. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ColtFromGulfcoast 695 Posted May 9, 2017 Share Posted May 9, 2017 Alpha owns several stations in the suburbs, although I don't think any of them cover Chicago itself. Are you talking about like non-ranked submarkets? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DonDonP1 113 Posted May 9, 2017 Share Posted May 9, 2017 Here hoping FOX will get Q13 since they've been wanting an O&O in Seattle. Agreed. More than that: let's Fox would buy not just KCPQ, but KZJO as well. I, too, have been hoping for more than one network-owned TV station in the Greater Seattle Area. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tyrannical bastard 3444 Posted May 9, 2017 Share Posted May 9, 2017 Jamie Allman also trolled the comment section of this article too. http://www.stltoday.com/business/local/sinclair-broadcast-to-buy-tribune-media-for-about-billion/article_738ae723-303c-52d0-b349-cecd5eedf922.html?mode=comments Remember, he is supposed to be a TV professional on a Top 25 market ABC affiliate (in addition to host of a local morning right-wing radio talk show). Ouch. I'd love to see the look on his face when Sinclair "trades up" to KTVI. This is a no-brainer. If they spin them off, they are damn fools! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CalItalian2 163 Posted May 9, 2017 Share Posted May 9, 2017 Who would want ol' 720? iHeartMedia and Cumulus are desperately trying to avoid bankruptcy, and failing... so they're off the table immediately. Entercom is trying to complete their purchase of CBS Radio, and getting a third 50kW signal in their hands is an iffy prospect (Pai has wanted to eliminate sub-ownership caps in radio, thus making WGN a likely Entercom target... but that may be a long time from now). For the near term, and possibly the long term, WGN 720 will be in Sinclair's hands by default. iHeart is trying to negotiate a pre-packaged bankruptcy. That would free them to acquire WGN and give them talk stations in the top 3 markets (along with KFI Los Angeles and WOR New York). KFI is one of the top 10 billers in America. I can also see Salem or Hubbard. I don't see the ownership caps in radio being lifted anytime soon regardless of what Pai would like to see. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ColtFromGulfcoast 695 Posted May 9, 2017 Share Posted May 9, 2017 iHeart is trying to negotiate a pre-packaged bankruptcy. That would free them to acquire WGN and give them talk stations in the top 3 markets (along with KFI Los Angeles and WOR New York). KFI is one of the top 10 billers in America. I can also see Salem or Hubbard. I don't see the ownership caps in radio being lifted anytime soon regardless of what Pai would like to see. Speaking of Hubbard, why have they been silent on the television front? They were said to be interested in Tribune way back in 2012 but fast forward to today and Sinclair has it. Maybe they'll get a few spinoffs? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
channel2 869 Posted May 9, 2017 Share Posted May 9, 2017 They're private and family-owned and probably don't want to take on a ton of debt. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
broadcastfan9751 136 Posted May 9, 2017 Share Posted May 9, 2017 Are you talking about like non-ranked submarkets? Nielsen considers the Alpha stations in the Chicago suburbs to be part of the Chicago radio market because most(if not all) of the stations are licensed to communities in the Chicago market, even though the stations don't primarily target Chicago itself. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ColtFromGulfcoast 695 Posted May 9, 2017 Share Posted May 9, 2017 They're private and family-owned and probably don't want to take on a ton of debt. Understandable. The only conflict I can see them taking would be St. Louis (either KPLR/KTVI or KDNL) and I say that because they have radio stations in STL. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ColtFromGulfcoast 695 Posted May 9, 2017 Share Posted May 9, 2017 Nielsen considers the Alpha stations in the Chicago suburbs to be part of the Chicago radio market because most(if not all) of the stations are licensed to communities in the Chicago market, even though the stations don't primarily target Chicago itself. I gotcha. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ABC 7 Denver 1552 Posted May 9, 2017 Share Posted May 9, 2017 Sinclair would be pretty stupid not to keep Tribune's graphics team the same way it kept Fisher's web team. Let's not forget how beautifully done the packages for KTLA and KCPQ were as well. Heck even the WTTV/WREG/WTKR package is a good example of how you can make a graphics package for multiple markets without making it so plain and generic. As far as 720 WGN is concerned, remember that Sinclair also owns KOMO AM/FM in Seattle and so far they haven't done too much damage to it as of yet (Anyone in Seattle have any better insight into this than I would?) KTLA and KCPQ are made by Hothaus. WTTV/WREG/WTKR and the Fox package are made by a company called 5dotFive. No graphics are hubbed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mrtraveler01 737 Posted May 9, 2017 Share Posted May 9, 2017 Ouch. I'd love to see the look on his face when Sinclair "trades up" to KTVI. This is a no-brainer. If they spin them off, they are damn fools! Yeah, even if Sinclair manages to keep all 3 stations here (which would be hard to do), Allman's program will basically be obsolete since they can just replace it with a newscast produced by KTVI. That said, I'm sure he'll keep his job and remain as a "commentator" for KTVI or something. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TennTV1983 742 Posted May 9, 2017 Share Posted May 9, 2017 * WREG. Are they still market leaders or have WMC and/or WHBQ passed them in ratings? Both of them get that opportunity right away. WREG is still the market leader in the Memphis DMA and will likely remain so (and perhaps even thrive under Sinclair) after the deal is done. It's deep red territory here. The only downside is they may have to stop doing gameshows/giveaways during sweeps (which the other stations in the market don't even do). KTLA and KCPQ are made by Hothaus. WTTV/WREG/WTKR and the Fox package are made by a company called 5dotFive. No graphics are hubbed. The packages were done in-house by Tribune Creative West. 5dotFive is just a name used by one of its graphic designers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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