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KCBS 2/KCAL 9 - CBS Los Angeles News Thread


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Just pure curiousity on my part... 

If KCAL9 has higher ratings/profile... why not move the CBS affiliation from Channel 2 to 9? 

If I remember correctly, didn't FOX do something similar in Minneapolis, moving their network from Channel 29 to 9 because KMSP had a higher ratings and better news legacy as an UPN affiliate.

 

 

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6 minutes ago, news2me said:

Just pure curiousity on my part... 

If KCAL9 has higher ratings/profile... why not move the CBS affiliation from Channel 2 to 9? 

If I remember correctly, didn't FOX do something similar in Minneapolis, moving their network from Channel 29 to 9 because KMSP had a higher ratings and better news legacy as an UPN affiliate.

 

I'm going to guess that KCBS hasn't had a problem attracting viewers to network fare in primetime, daytime, late night, etc., but viewers have seemingly gone out of their way to change the channel when CBS2 News comes on. No need to move affiliations, as CBS programming surely does just fine. KCAL has been the more successful news brand, so they're leaning into it.

Edited by 24994J
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20 hours ago, TVNewsLover said:

 

Quem ancorou o meio-dia?

 

Mais justo seria:

R: 4h-7h

B: 7h-10h

😄 10h-11h, 11h-11h30, 12h-13h

 

Amy Johnson. Probably she now stays at 10 am and 12 pm. (She didn't make the 4pm edition on KCAL).

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Consolidated branding was long overdue. Same personnel, same facility (maybe not the same set, but it is now), same content for the most part. With this relaunch I'm learning that KCAL has always had better name recognition, but it could have easily been "CBS 2 news on KCAL 9" up until this point. 

 

KCBS should have (and should now) be running promos similar to the "KCAL 9 is now KCAL News" spots touting "CBS 2 is now CBS Los Angeles". I feel like that aspect is still flying under the radar.

 

I agree that "The Desk" is coming across as a bit overused, but I can see it from the angle that they're "constantly monitoring news, always bringing the latest information, etc." With approximately 95 hours of news to fill in a day, how many times can they run the same flood package, or the same report that McCarthy lost the speaker vote again? This is a market where an entire newscast will be blown out to follow a car chase- this at least brings some variety. 

 

 

 

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15 hours ago, bogusabc7breakingnews said:

That part! They might as well call the 10pm news The Mike Rodgers Show.  He kept popping up with the most annoying updates; we don’t need to know every time a tree topples over in LA. At a minimum they should have a breaking news anchor. This guy Mike doesn’t appear to be a trained broadcaster nor educated as a journalist; his grammar was the worst. To someone’s point above, this is LA, not Podunck, Iowa. 

The LATE NEWS with Mike Rodgers on KCAL NEWS LOS ANGELES would be a good naming fit. 

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40 minutes ago, PhillyWatch said:

Consolidated branding was long overdue. Same personnel, same facility (maybe not the same set, but it is now), same content for the most part. With this relaunch I'm learning that KCAL has always had better name recognition, but it could have easily been "CBS 2 news on KCAL 9" up until this point. 

 

KCBS should have (and should now) be running promos similar to the "KCAL 9 is now KCAL News" spots touting "CBS 2 is now CBS Los Angeles". I feel like that aspect is still flying under the radar.

 

I agree that "The Desk" is coming across as a bit overused, but I can see it from the angle that they're "constantly monitoring news, always bringing the latest information, etc." With approximately 95 hours of news to fill in a day, how many times can they run the same flood package, or the same report that McCarthy lost the speaker vote again? This is a market where an entire newscast will be blown out to follow a car chase- this at least brings some variety. 

 

 

 

They surely are taking the "up to the minute Channel 2 News at 11" waaay too seriously

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33 minutes ago, TSSZNews said:

 

Wait until the ABC O&O graphics launch.

I can’t imagine an ABC O&O rolling out a cluster like this. 
 

Imagine if Disney wasn’t forced to divest KCAL when it bought CapCities. Eyewitness News is a recognizable brand. Eyewitness News on ABC7 and Eyewitness News on KCAL9. 
 

What CBS is doing now isn’t that different than their attempt with the Newscentral branding. It’s just CBS never sticks with anything. 

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1 hour ago, caliwxdude said:

 

Yes, that's what they're doing, titled "KCAL News on CBS Los Angeles." The primetime news on KCAL remains:

 

image.thumb.png.7885a877b89a2b7ea855ee34b9c682c2.png

 

KCAL and KCBS have always been one news operation since 2003, but with separate on-air brands (visual identities were basically the same). So nothing has changed with who "produces" the news, but now it's just all unified under the KCAL News brand. 

THIS! Couldn't have simplified the transition any easier than this.

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Simple takeaway from this week:

 

- KPIX showed us how to rebrand their newscasts the right way

 

- KCAL showed us how to rebrand it in the most throwback, independent, weirdest way possible 

 

I mean, for those who worked with KCAL before moving to KCBS, this is a nostalgic moment for them. For the viewers and some here, it's either bad, or could've been better.

 

For me: Well....good thing I don't live in California. 

Edited by NewEgg00
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On 1/6/2023 at 4:45 PM, news2me said:

Just pure curiousity on my part... 

If KCAL9 has higher ratings/profile... why not move the CBS affiliation from Channel 2 to 9? 

If I remember correctly, didn't FOX do something similar in Minneapolis, moving their network from Channel 29 to 9 because KMSP had a higher ratings and better news legacy as an UPN affiliate.

 

 

 

In Minneapolis -it was due to WFTC being owned by Clear Channel & KMSP was UPN owned by Chris Craft/United TV.  It was ownership of both stations. FOX29 became UPN 29 and KMSP went back to FOX.  FOX ended up owning both stations. Then 29 ended up at 9+

No really the same thing with KCBS/KCAL.

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On 1/6/2023 at 7:21 PM, NewEgg00 said:

Simple takeaway from this week:

 

- KPIX showed us how to rebrand their newscasts the right way

 

- KCAL showed us how to rebrand it in the most throwback, independent, weirdest way possible 

 

I mean, for those who worked with KCAL before moving to KCBS, this is a nostalgic moment for them. For the viewers and some here, it's either bad, or could've been better.

 

For me: Well....good thing I don't live in California. 

Most viewers probably don't care, they're turning on one channel or the other and see the same faces they usually do. 

 

Folks were complaining about "CBS News (city)" not being "unique" enough and whatever, and then when given "KCAL News" are upset about that. It's a good brand. It translates well cross-platform, and there's no other "KCAL News" out there. KCAL was seen as the stronger brand and there's nothing wrong with that.

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12 minutes ago, Weeters said:

and there's no other "KCAL News" out there

I was literally just thinking this. There are plenty of CBS 2’s across the country, but only one KCAL and CBS Los Angeles. I don’t know how much more unique and local you can get than that. 

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Branding issues aside, from every clip I've seen so far, what would make KCBS/KCAL unwatchable if I lived in Southern California is every single anchor sounds like they're cold-reading their scripts. It comes off as disjointed, cold, and robotic. When KTLA is a few clicks away, the choice would be obvious for me.

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On 1/6/2023 at 4:50 PM, 24994J said:

 

I'm going to guess that KCBS hasn't had a problem attracting viewers to network fare in primetime, daytime, late night, etc., but viewers have seemingly gone out of their way to change the channel when CBS2 News comes on. No need to move affiliations, as CBS programming surely does just fine. KCAL has been the more successful news brand, so they're leaning into it.

Also i'll help KCBS because there associated with KCAL.

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1 hour ago, Weeters said:

Folks were complaining about "CBS News (city)" not being "unique" enough and whatever, and then when given "KCAL News" are upset about that. It's a good brand. It translates well cross-platform, and there's no other "KCAL News" out there. KCAL was seen as the stronger brand and there's nothing wrong with that.

I think people were wondering why CBS is calling it “KCAL News” when the whole point is to unify every station around CBS News (especially in big markets like LA). Even on streaming, there are barely any visual references to CBS News Los Angeles (at least, not yet). If the goal is building around a strong local brand, this is a success. If the goal is brand unification w/ CBS, this fails. Furthermore, the KCAL News brand does not translate well cross-platform; the website and app are built around CBS News, but there are barely any references to CBS News on the newscasts themselves (outside of KCBS newscasts).

 

That being said, KCAL is the stronger brand, and it’s much better to build around “KCAL News” than have two separate names for the same product. On its own, it’s a great (and sensible) rebrand, but if the goal is to build around CBS News, it doesn’t accomplish that.

Edited by nycnewsjunkie
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I've been dipping in and out of KCAL Mornings. The product has improved, but I'm still loyal to KTLA. One thing I'm a little confused with is the weather lineups. Olga has been starting off from around 4-8am. Then Alex Biston or Mary Yoon will come in for a few hits during the 8 and 9am hours. Olga returns for the 10 at 10. I know Paul Deanno is coming to the station in February. Just seems a little odd for Olga to return on the back end. I'd like to see one consistent weather personality for the early AM and another consistent person for the later news block.

 

The 7am-10am block with Jamie Yuccas and Rudabeh Shahbazi is the strong suit of the new launch so far. As they continue to solidify their brand, Jamie and Rudabeh can defintiely be a solid #2 in local mornings. I really like their chemistry. 

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5 hours ago, FiveNews said:

One thing I'm a little confused with is the weather lineups. Olga has been starting off from around 4-8am. Then Alex Biston or Mary Yoon will come in for a few hits during the 8 and 9am hours. Olga returns for the 10 at 10. I know Paul Deanno is coming to the station in February. Just seems a little odd for Olga to return on the back end. I'd like to see one consistent weather personality for the early AM and another consistent person for the later news block.

Isn't Olga is filling in for Amber Lee since she's on maternity leave?

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43 minutes ago, iron_lion said:

Genuine question: as some people have asked before, why didn't CBS shift the network affiliation from KCBS to KCAL? 

 

This...

 

On 1/6/2023 at 3:50 PM, 24994J said:

I'm going to guess that KCBS hasn't had a problem attracting viewers to network fare in primetime, daytime, late night, etc., but viewers have seemingly gone out of their way to change the channel when CBS2 News comes on. No need to move affiliations, as CBS programming surely does just fine. KCAL has been the more successful news brand, so they're leaning into it.

Edited by 24994J
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9 hours ago, iron_lion said:

Genuine question: as some people have asked before, why didn't CBS shift the network affiliation from KCBS to KCAL? 

Because it’d be solving a problem that doesn’t exist. Rebranding KCBS as “CBS Los Angeles” makes the station easy to identify and distinguish. KCAL has been a news-heavy indie since Disney signed it on in 1989 and the brand was never de-emphasized under CBS ownership. KCAL’s news department (despite being one and the same as KCBS) has a better reputation and standing as Bill Applegate, quite frankly, dragged KCBS into the mud with a tabloid format that would put WSVN to shame, and they’ve never recovered from it.

 

My hunch is that you’ll see the KCAL brand get slowly phased out over the next few months, if not a full year. It’s capitalizing on their existing brand equity while associating it with the “CBS Los Angeles” branding.

Edited by Myron Falwell
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1 minute ago, Myron Falwell said:

Because it’d be solving a problem that doesn’t exist. Rebranding KCBS as “CBS Los Angeles” makes the station easy to identify and distinguish. KCAL has been a news-heavy indie since Disney signed it on in 1989 and the brand was never de-emphasized under CBS ownership. KCAL’s news department (despite being one and the same as KCBS) has a better reputation and standing as Bill Applegate, quite frankly, dragged KCBS into the mud with a tabloid format that would put WSVN to shame.

 

My hunch is that you’ll see the KCAL brand get slowly phased out over the next few months, if not a full year. It’s capitalizing on their existing brand equity while associating it with the “CBS Los Angeles” branding.

So their strategy is let’s go all in on the KCAL branding only to change it a short time later? 🤔 Sorry, doesn’t make sense. 

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Just now, TVNewsLover said:

So their strategy is let’s go all in on the KCAL branding only to change it a short time later? 🤔 Sorry, doesn’t make sense. 

That’s exactly what I said. They’d be foolish to drop the KCAL name right away and risk confusing viewers that still view 2 and 9 as separate news departments.

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