KMIR rebrands as NBC Palm Springs

[C Block 1487]

KMIR, now owned by Entravision, rebranded as "NBC Palm Springs" ahead of the Emmy Awards. The new website looks a million times better as well as the new graphics, which look suspiciously familiar:

 

 

It already looks so much better than the hodgepodge they had before. I'd like to watch a newscast now to see what else they're doing as far as reporting goes. The last time I watched their morning show, it really felt bush league, but anything looks great compared to an NPG station.

[rkolsen 1675]

Doesn’t KNBC frequently cover stories there? I’m surprised NBC hasn’t done a WMGM and put a bureau there. From the instamodels and some personalities it seems like a lot of them travel to Palm Springs for the weekend.

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Doesn’t KNBC frequently cover stories there? I’m surprised NBC hasn’t done a WMGM and put a bureau there. From the instamodels and some personalities it seems like a lot of them travel to Palm Springs for the weekend.

 

It's about a two hour drive from LA (or more). It's definitely a distinct population area and a separate DMA. I believe KNBC has an Inland Empire bureau, but that's still the LA DMA.

 

I don't know if it's the same on the east coast, but the big market stations out west will go into small market territory if there's a big story like a fire and then leave. That was the case with one of those fires burning that way not too long ago. KNBC sent a few reporters and brought them all back once people were allowed to return to their homes.

 

People in LA don't care about what's going on in Palm Springs day-to-day. You go to Palm Springs for the weekend when you're feeling bored with LA. Then you get bored there after a day and a half and go back to LA. Hunters is a great time though.

[rkolsen 1675]

It's about a two hour drive from LA (or more). It's definitely a distinct population area and a separate DMA. I believe KNBC has an Inland Empire bureau, but that's still the LA DMA.

 

I don't know if it's the same on the east coast, but the big market stations out west will go into small market territory if there's a big story like a fire and then leave. That was the case with one of those fires burning that way not too long ago. KNBC sent a few reporters and brought them all back once people were allowed to return to their homes.

 

People in LA don't care about what's going on in Palm Springs day-to-day. You go to Palm Springs for the weekend when you're feeling bored with LA. Then you get bored there after a day and a half and go back to LA. Hunters is a great time though.

 

I’m not sure either about leaving their turf. Baltimore Stations frequently go into DC’s DMA but usually the Maryland Counties and then the eastern shore which is the Salisbury DMA. I think it’s just because there are two DMAs less than 40 miles from the Baltimore transmitter to DC transmitter. They don’t cover DC crime unless it’s big, but do cover the Metro stories and closures given the commuters.

 

One thing I noticed with Sinclair owning WJLA they get a helicopter up here relatively frequently (which because it’s an ABC, NNS, NewsOne and NewsPath affiliate WMAR gets the footage).

[FiveNews 327]

I live in the LA DMA, so I feel qualified to answer. I live in San Bernardino County which is about 50min away from Palm Springs and about 45min from DTLA. All LA stations have their main studios/newsroom in LA County, an Orange County bureau and a few stations have an Inland Empire (IE) bureau which is San Bernardino and Riverside Counties. One thing about the Los Angeles market is that it is VAST!! Yes, LA stations will send a crew to Palm Springs as warranted, but Palm Springs is it's own market. Same thing goes for San Diego. SD is it's own market, but if the story is big enough, the LA stations will go south. In Southern California there is a lot of territory to cover. Also, the Santa Barbara market covers northern Ventura County, Santa Barbara County and SLO (San Luis Obispo) County. The LA stations do it well, but it is nice to have Palm Springs, Santa Barbara and San Diego to fall back on when needed.

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Also, the Santa Barbara market covers northern Ventura County, Santa Barbara County and SLO (San Luis Obispo) County. The LA stations do it well, but it is nice to have Palm Springs, Santa Barbara and San Diego to fall back on when needed.

 

The Santa Barbara market is actually just Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo Counties. All of Ventura County is technically the LA DMA. But KEYT is on some cable systems in Ventura County, and KEYT covers stories in Ventura, Oxnard, Camarillo, and Ojai regularly. I feel like the stretch of 101 between Ventura and Carpinteria is desolate enough that it justifies drawing the boundary there, much like the stretch of 10 from Banning into Palm Springs.

 

There are also some other weird quirks about the surrounding LA markets like how you can still get KCAL as far north as San Luis Obispo County on Charter Cable.

[NEOMatrix 1295]

KMIR, now owned by Entravision, rebranded as "NBC Palm Springs" ahead of the Emmy Awards. The new website looks a million times better as well as the new graphics, which look suspiciously familiar:

 

 

It already looks so much better than the hodgepodge they had before. I'd like to watch a newscast now to see what else they're doing as far as reporting goes. The last time I watched their morning show, it really felt bush league, but anything looks great compared to an NPG station.

Considering who the competition is, these graphics are fine, just fine.

[Jess 1110]

Mmmm, Look F.... *drool*

 

Is it bad that this package is six years old and *still* outclasses many packages out there today, including its successor on the O&Os?

[rkolsen 1675]

Mmmm, Look F.... *drool*

 

Is it bad that this package is six years old and *still* outclasses many packages out there today, including its successor on the O&Os?

 

It still looks great (the original not the one with these changes). But I now overall prefer Look N and it seems to be designed more for HD.

[Georgie56 3059]

Mmmm, Look F.... *drool*

 

Is it bad that this package is six years old and *still* outclasses many packages out there today, including its successor on the O&Os?

 

I agree, it did age well. It looks pretty good here, despite the choice of font. I think Look G is a little bit better, IMHO.

[rkolsen 1675]

I agree, it did age well. It looks pretty good here, despite the choice of font. I think Look G is a little bit better, IMHO.

I thought it was a good looking package.

[caliwxdude 252]

Good look for KMIR. Surprised that GrooveWorx licensed the NBC music package to them, given that KNBC is still available on Spectrum cable throughout the Coachella Valley. But it seems like the licensing companies aren't as sensitive about the same package in adjacent markets these days.

 

Hunters is a great time though.

 

I'm more of a Chill Bar and Tool Shed kinda guy myself...

[AJClementeFan69 477]

Weren't people here convinced that Entravision was going to blow up KMIR and turn it Spanish? Wrong again.

[Jess 1110]

Good look for KMIR. Surprised that GrooveWorx licensed the NBC music package to them, given that KNBC is still available on Spectrum cable throughout the Coachella Valley. But it seems like the licensing companies aren't as sensitive about the same package in adjacent markets these days.

I half wonder if the KNBC package is on the way out. It IS almost a decade old in that incarnation, more if you count the earlier version. DC switched to Tower after years of custom packages and I think Philly might be going the same way. Who knows.

[scrabbleship 427]

I half wonder if the KNBC package is on the way out. It IS almost a decade old in that incarnation, more if you count the earlier version.

 

At KNBC, yes. There was a conga line of smaller markets that were using them before hitting the O&O's. The NMSA has KETK using said cuts as early as 2006, the earliest video I could see of them in action was of WNYT in 2007.

 

[Eat News 4738]

The Santa Barbara market is actually just Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo Counties. All of Ventura County is technically the LA DMA. But KEYT is on some cable systems in Ventura County, and KEYT covers stories in Ventura, Oxnard, Camarillo, and Ojai regularly. I feel like the stretch of 101 between Ventura and Carpinteria is desolate enough that it justifies drawing the boundary there, much like the stretch of 10 from Banning into Palm Springs.

 

There are also some other weird quirks about the surrounding LA markets like how you can still get KCAL as far north as San Luis Obispo County on Charter Cable.

 

For most socal stations coverage has NOT based on the boundaries of the DMA(s)...

 

For the last 30 years or so it's been based on 2 things.

 

Is the story "sexy"...

And...

"Can we get a live shot outta there"?

 

After the Palm Springs Riots of 1985 some LA stations(ie:KNBC) built out the 2ghz system to cover most of the Coachella Valley so they wouldn't be caught off-guard in that area.

 

The LA and SD 2ghz microwave systems are pretty wide area. It's an easy shot for LA crews to beam back video to LA from most of San Diego using the LA infrastructure.

And it goes all the way up the coast into Ventura and SB.

 

Conversely...

With the cellpacks and other newfangled video transmission options the boundaries are all but gone.

 

San Diego stations now roll to LA/OC and RIV for all kinds of stories because they can get live shots out on the cheap....and without assistance from LA. LA goes anywhere they wish also.

 

If the story is considered sexy it's gonna get covered live anywhere in Socal...and the west.

 

Nobody says " It's not our DMA"...'Because it will be covered if there is local interest.

[rkolsen 1675]

After the Palm Springs Riots of 1985 some LA stations(ie:KNBC) built out the 2ghz system to cover most of the Coachella Valley so they wouldn't be caught off-guard in that area.

 

Would this be one of the receive sites? http://www.fccinfo.com/MapIt5.php?lat_deg=33&lat_min=31&lat_sec=22.1&lat_dir=N&lon_deg=116&lon_min=25&lon_sec=33.0&lon_dir=W&datum=83&calls=KPE581&bubble=%3Cb%3EKPE581+Location+1%3Cbr+%2F%3ETORO+PEAK%3Cbr+%2F%3EPALM+DESERT%2C+CA+%3Cbr+%2F%3E%3C%2Fb%3E&Button=Map+Location

[Eat News 4738]

Would this be one of the receive sites? http://www.fccinfo.com/MapIt5.php?lat_deg=33&lat_min=31&lat_sec=22.1&lat_dir=N&lon_deg=116&lon_min=25&lon_sec=33.0&lon_dir=W&datum=83&calls=KPE581&bubble=<b>KPE581+Location+1<br+/>TORO+PEAK<br+/>PALM+DESERT,+CA+<br+/></b>&Button=Map+Location

 

Well let's just say there is a bunch of stuff in that vault.

It's a pretty good bet a 2ghz rack is still up there.

 

Another thing to keep in mind about the Socal 2ghz systems is they cover huge areas compared to mid and east markets.

 

Most other markets 2ghz systems are on towers, unlike out west where the systems are on mountain tops over 2000 feet up to 7000feet except Sandia Peak in N.M..

 

A 75-100 mile 2ghz "hop" is considered normal whereas on the east coast it could never because the towers and buildings are just too low.

 

It's also the reason the western DMA's cover such large areas...

 

Because the transmitters are on very tall mountains.

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For most socal stations coverage has NOT based on the boundaries of the DMA(s)...

 

For the last 30 years or so it's been based on 2 things.

 

Is the story "sexy"...

And...

"Can we get a live shot outta there"?

 

The DMA boundaries are still very important to the people who define them...the ratings companies.

 

Nielsen and ComScore do not put people meters in homes that are out of market, so stations do not get credit for any viewers who are getting the signal outside the DMA (whether OTA or on cable).

 

You are right that editorial decisions aren't made so rigidly on market boundaries, and that's what I was trying to get at. A story that's "out of market" might still be worth covering if it still matters to the station's viewers. It's not only big markets doing this, but small markets also venture out into outside territory if the story warrants it.

 

It's a pretty easy decision for an LA station to cover a big story happening in Palm Springs, Santa Barbara, etc. etc. because people in LA will care enough about it if it's big. But you won't find KNBC covering run of the mill house fires and city council meetings in Palm Springs.

 

The streaming technology has been a game changer. It's at the point where it's the preferred option at many stations. It's improved in quality just in the last few years (especially the Dejeros) to the point that microwave and sat just aren't needed in the same way for every story.

 

Also, don't forget about the magic of file transfer. It's so much easier now to figure out what other stations are covering and then request something that interests you. If the other station's assignment editors aren't swamped and aren't cranky that day, they'll send video quickly and free. There's no longer much reason to go through the network to request video and get charged for it.

[PTVNews 188]

Also, don't forget about the magic of file transfer. It's so much easier now to figure out what other stations are covering and then request something that interests you. If the other station's assignment editors aren't swamped and aren't cranky that day, they'll send video quickly and free. There's no longer much reason to go through the network to request video and get charged for it.

 

What do you mean by getting charged to request video through the network? I've never heard of being charged for a request (other than custom tags/elements from the network itself) and I've been involved in the process at several different affiliates. Most of the time, if there is another network affiliate you want video from, the request goes through the network service (CBS Newspath, FOX Newsedge, etc), but not always.

[Info Junkie 1285]

At KNBC, yes. There was a conga line of smaller markets that were using them before hitting the O&O's. The NMSA has KETK using said cuts as early as 2006, the earliest video I could see of them in action was of WNYT in 2007.

 

And I believe WNYT debuted it in 2006, they were using the earlier cuts as late as January 2005 (those cuts went live 5 months prior):

[Eat News 4738]

What do you mean by getting charged to request video through the network? I've never heard of being charged for a request (other than custom tags/elements from the network itself) and I've been involved in the process at several different affiliates. Most of the time, if there is another network affiliate you want video from, the request goes through the network service (CBS Newspath, FOX Newsedge, etc), but not always.

 

I guess you never had to call the network and ask for a re-feed because you missed the roll, or a machine failed.

You pray they will be able to add it to the end of the next sat feed window...or else you are gonna pay.

[rkolsen 1675]

I guess you never had to call the network and ask for a re-feed because you missed the roll, or a machine failed.

You pray they will be able to add it to the end of the next sat feed window...or else you are gonna pay.

 

Thankfully these days most packages are pitched via satellite as data files and stored on BitCentral servers and online. CNN Newsource is all digital except for live tagouts and feeds.

[Eat News 4738]

Thankfully these days most packages are pitched via satellite as data files and stored on BitCentral servers and online. CNN Newsource is all digital except for live tagouts and feeds.

 

Does CNN give affils free unlimited access to the archives of the network?

Is that available and searchable via BitCentral?

 

legit question.

[rkolsen 1675]

Does CNN give affils free unlimited access to the archives of the network?

Is that available and searchable via BitCentral?

 

legit question.

 

Not that I’m aware of the archive. But I think it’s searchable going back a month.