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Gray Television - General Thread


The Frog

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2 hours ago, Hunter Madison said:

WEEK NBC and Heart of Illinois ABC are merging their newscasts. 

 

https://www.25newsnow.com/2022/07/25/25-news-heart-illinois-abc-announce-merger-newscasts-talent/

 

The person who wrote this couldn't have done this with a straight face, right?

Quote

It’s a transition that is garnering excitement - we’re going big because research shows that Central Illinois wants more of what’s happening in this area.

Like, really? Nobody buys this excuse.

 

1 hour ago, Marvin Dillweed said:

Wonder if Fort Wayne and Duluth will be next?

Based on what was published on FTVLive yesterday, it sure sounds like they're taking steps to make that a reality in the Fort at least.

https://www.ftvlive.com/sqsp-test/2022/7/24/the-news-director-is-out-at-this-gray-station

 

The fact they haven't filled a lot of positions or hired a new reporter in a year sure sounds like the foundation for consolidation is being laid. Not filling positions through attrition. 

I knew this consolidation was going to happen the second Gray announced they were buying Quincy. There's nowhere else in their legacy group they operate like this with competing shows during prime viewing slots (this is more common with Nexstar in their older, smaller market holdings than anyone else; their Lubbock operation comes to mind).

 

Speaking of Lubbock, KJTV's newscasts are now full-on "NewsChannel 11" branded products, and I saw that coming as well. Surprised they didn't go the "Lubbock News Now" or "Central Illinois News Now" route though.

Edited by sanewsguy
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9 hours ago, Marvin Dillweed said:

Wonder if Fort Wayne and Duluth will be next?

Both have been tried (Indiana's NewsCenter and Northland's NewsCenter, respectfully) when both stations in the duo had the same GM under Granite (KBJR had Dave Jensch) and it simply did not work. Evidence: individual station brandings and newscasts were brought back under Granite, and kept under Quincy. Speculation would say ratings caused that (In Duluth, WDIO widened their lead over KBJR during the NewsCenter days).

 

Does that mean it can't be done in Duluth again? Of course not- I went to college in Fargo and watched what Gray did with KVLY. Just suggesting that Gray is also smart enough to look at the history books and realize that just a decade ago it didn't end well.

 

Also worth noting- when Granite tried the combination in Ft. Wayne and Duluth, they did not try it in Peoria (to my knowledge).

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I have mixed feelings on this. On the one hand, times have changed. Just like towns don't really need 10 newspapers anymore, do you really need three or four TV stations covering the same news with the same kind of boring newscasts? It's not like they do any investigative reporting or that there is anything interesting enough to cover on the municipal level.

 

At the same time, having your own talent gives a station personality. Otherwise, it's just a jukebox of stuff being played from a server.

 

If it was my checkbook and I were spending the money, I would have consolidate everything in the background, but have separate anchor teams, studios and sets just to give it the facade of being a different newscast. 

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2 hours ago, GodfreyGR said:

Both have been tried (Indiana's NewsCenter and Northland's NewsCenter, respectfully) when both stations in the duo had the same GM under Granite (KBJR had Dave Jensch) and it simply did not work. Evidence: individual station brandings and newscasts were brought back under Granite, and kept under Quincy. Speculation would say ratings caused that (In Duluth, WDIO widened their lead over KBJR during the NewsCenter days).

They probably won’t rebrand as “X’s NewsCenter” or “X News Now,” but I could see the Peoria operation rebranded as “21 News,” as both ABC and NBC are on WPTA now. I don’t know if Gray has been doing the same “consolidation via attrition” strategy in Duluth, but if they are, I imagine they’ll do something similar and take the name of the stronger newscast (KBJR I assume.)

11 minutes ago, DirtyHarry said:

If it was my checkbook and I were spending the money, I would have consolidate everything in the background, but have separate anchor teams, studios and sets just to give it the facade of being a different newscast. 

I agree with your sentiments of everything being boring and cookie-cutter, but they already do this now. Everything has been consolidated under the same umbrella for a while, and I don’t think having different studios and anchor teams changes that. Besides, the content is pretty much the same anyway.

 

Gray doesn’t want to spend on different studios, anchors, etc. to put out essentially the same newscast from the same news department with the facade of looking different. It makes financial sense to consolidate everything under the stronger news brand (25 News) than to spend on a facade. It might actually drive more viewers to the ABC station. I imagine more people watch “25 News” than “Heart of Illinois News” even though they’re both from the same operation. Ideally, I would rather the two stations have completely different newscasts, staff, newsrooms, identities, etc., but we sadly don’t live in that world anymore.

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1 hour ago, nycnewsjunkie said:

I imagine they’ll do something similar and take the name of the stronger newscast (KBJR I assume.)

KBJR is stronger, yes. But with two states (three, if you want to get technical since there's a couple counties in Michigan's UP) they have done a good job after the "NewsCenter" breakup to make KBJR6 a Minnesota-heavy newscast and CBS3 a Wisconsin-Heavy newscast. Given that both stations share reporters and a newsroom, the only real cost differential is that Quincy has 2 studios and 2 control rooms in the Lake Avenue studio that they operate simultaneously. Each station also has their own anchor teams and meteorologists (Which Gray might keep- Looking at KVLY in Fargo, similar is done for the 4pm-7pm news blocks that alternate channels every half-hour).

 

What I see happening in Duluth is consolidating Morning newscasts, Weekend Newscasts, and Breaking news/weather cut-ins, but leaving weeknights alone.

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KVVU in Las Vegas is adding a 7pm half-hour newscast beginning today. Their afternoon news block now consists of 1-2pm, and then 3pm to 7:30pm. The new 7pm newscast bumps Extra back to midnight.

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On 8/1/2022 at 8:41 PM, rdtv said:

KVVU in Las Vegas is adding a 7pm half-hour newscast beginning today. Their afternoon news block now consists of 1-2pm, and then 3pm to 7:30pm. The new 7pm newscast bumps Extra back to midnight.

Its not a surprise.

One, its Vegas.

Two, Gray is converting KVVU into what KSNV wanted to do under Jim Rogers.

So now, its 4-10am, 1-2pm, 3-7:30pm and 10pm-12am. That's 13 and a half hours if your keeping score at home, LONG and away THE most hours of produced local news hours in Southern Nevada.

I recorded the open and close to the first 7:00 p.m. newscast from that night:

 

Edited by TheRolyPoly
Drive home the point.
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2 hours ago, TheRolyPoly said:

Its not a surprise.

One, its Vegas.

Two, Gray is converting KVVU into what KSNV wanted to do under Jim Rogers.

So now, its 4-10am, 1-2pm, 3-7:30pm and 10pm-12am. That's 13 and a half hours if your keeping score at home, LONG and away THE most hours of produced local news hours in Southern Nevada.

I recorded the open and close to the first 7:00 p.m. newscast from that night:

 

Considering that KVVU did not start doing regular newscasts until 1998...

that's a long way from the initial half-hour 10pm show they launched back then.

 

Fox must have lit a fire under them to get a newscast going, because the way Vegas was growing, it was likely one of the largest markets without a Fox station airing news at the time.

Edited by tyrannical bastard
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2 hours ago, TheRolyPoly said:

Its not a surprise.

One, its Vegas.

Two, Gray is converting KVVU into what KSNV wanted to do under Jim Rogers.

So now, its 4-10am, 1-2pm, 3-7:30pm and 10pm-12am. That's 13 and a half hours if your keeping score at home, LONG and away THE most hours of produced local news hours in Southern Nevada.

I recorded the open and close to the first 7:00 p.m. newscast from that night:

 

 

Who is highest rated in the market? 

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20 hours ago, GoldenShine9 said:

 

Who is highest rated in the market? 

 

I think its them? I'm not too confident on that because there's been so many changes in the market over the past 5-10 years that its hard to keep up.

 

Don't quote me on that because I'm not too confident about Vegas TV ratings.

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  • 3 weeks later...

So small follow up regarding the Telemundo expansion.

 

As of now, no word on when they'll launch in the new markets. But in anticipation of its launch, Gray is in the process of changing the callsigns of those LPs it recently bought.

 

Spoiler
  • WBXA-CD > WTBM-CD - Birmingham, AL 
  • WMJN-LD > WTHV-LD - Hunstville, AL
  • W29FP-D > WTMU-LD - Montgomery, AL
  • W31FB-D > WMBP-LD - Eastabuchie, MS (Mobile, AL)
  • W24NY-D > KIAT-LD - Jonesboro, AR
  • W17EL-D > WTGB-LD - Ocala, FL
  • W15EQ-D > WTFL-LD - Tallahassee, FL
  • WJEA-LD > WGAT-LD - Augusta, GA
  • W32FV-D > WCTA-LD - Columbus, GA
  • W21EN-D > WTMH-LD - Macon, GA
  • W34FG-D > WBGS-LD - Bowling Green, KY
  • KBXS-CD > KTSH-CD - Shreveport, LA
  • WGUD-LD > WTBL-LD - Pascagoula, MS (Biloxi, MS)
  • W26FL-D > WTGC-LD - New Bern, NC
  • W31DR-D > WTWL-LD - Wilmington, NC
  • W14EZ-D > WXIV-LD - Myrtle Beach, SC
  • W35EB-D > WZCH-LD - Myrtle Beach, SC
  • W15ER-D > WTNX-LD - Nashville, TN
  • WYMP-LD > WTME-LD - Bruce, MS (Memphis, TN)

 

Edited by CircleSeven
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On 8/3/2022 at 11:27 PM, GoldenShine9 said:

 

Who is highest rated in the market? 

 

I read in a recent article that KVVU and KTNV are fighting it out for the top dog in the market. Whoever doesn't get it ends up a strong second. KLAS is third and KSNV is just in a dog pile stinking fourth.

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On 8/24/2022 at 4:04 AM, CircleSeven said:

So small follow up regarding the Telemundo expansion.

 

As of now, no word on when they'll launch in the new markets. But in anticipation of its launch, Gray is in the process of changing the callsigns of those LPs it recently bought.

It looks like Telemundo Birmingham is Live.

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53 minutes ago, Requiere said:

It looks like Telemundo Birmingham is Live.

 

Nashville also (re)launched the network this week (8/29). WSMV carried the network in its subchannel from 2006 till the end of 2010.

 

And talk about WSMV expanding newscast with its 3pm later on this month, sister station in Savannah WTOC is adding a local afternoon show "Afternoon Break" at 3pm, dropping Drew Barrymore from the lineup on the 12th. 

 

We have a new small M&A. Gray is fetching another LP in Texas.

 

They're getting College Station's K14TB-LD from MIK, Inc. for $12K.

 

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27 minutes ago, ATLNewsExpert said:

Couldn't think of a better place for this so here we are.

Fairbanks AK affiliate KTVF has updated the television screen on their small set. Likely nothing of significance but still. 

New: 

1662073825309_image.png

Old: 

1662073825486_image.png

 

It's market 204 I believe, so we can't hold them to the same standard. Any old Gray set could find its way up there to be reused.

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Back to WSMV. They've made a small branding change this Labor Day.

 

The news brand has changed "News 4 Nashville" to "WSMV 4 News". They've also the first station to use new theme music from (founder of 615 Music) Randy Wachtler's new music firm, 11 One/Music.

 

 

 

Edited by CircleSeven
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