Eight CBS Stations to Ditch CW and Go Independent This Fall

[Adam MadMan 277]

10 hours ago, CircleSeven said:

Well isn't 7pm (6pm C/M) is called "Primetime Access"? I don't see that much difference.

Well, prime time used to start at 7:30 before it was moved to 8 by the FCC over concerns that the Big 3 had too much power. They later got the 7 pm hour back on Sundays, but by the time the law was repealed for good, syndication companies had been making a mint on that real estate for two decades, and have kept the networks from taking that time back (outside of the few OTA networks that program more or less 24/7 like Ion).

 

TL;DR, it's kinda prime time, but only officially on Sundays, because that's the only day of the week the networks program that hour.

[Megatron81 179]

Looking at WKBD on Sep 1 having news specials wonder if that is filler until syndication begin if there going put a newscast at 8PM to 11PM in Detroit in Sep?

[Georgie56 3059]

Appears 8pm/7pm newscasts are what's coming to the indies. 

 

In addition to the KPIX two-hour primetime news block, WCBS is adding an 8pm to WLNY, KTVT is adding a 7pm to KTXA, and KOVR is debuting an 8pm on KMAX called "Primetime Sacramento".

Edited August 21, 2023 by Georgie56

[CircleWXYZ 173]

22 hours ago, Megatron81 said:

Looking at WKBD on Sep 1 having news specials wonder if that is filler until syndication begin if they’re going put a newscast at 8PM to 11PM in Detroit in Sep?

CBS News Detroit at 7 am airs on WKBD, beginning September 4th.

Edited August 22, 2023 by CircleWXYZ

[CircleWXYZ 173]

Here my friends, is the new WKBD logo.  Welcome to Detroit 50!!!

[Superdude 108]

WPKD'S interim primetime seems to be a fifth and sixth run of Family Fued at 8 followed by an hour of Friends at 9.

Edited August 23, 2023 by Superdude

[T.L. Hughes 746]

Given that The CW hasn’t found a replacement affiliate in Atlanta (despite WPCH and WATL being the best candidates it has) and Pittsburgh (even with WPNT as an option or even settling with a subchannel affiliation with one of the Big Four stations that are not KDKA), and Mission has yet to close its deal to purchase WADL (much less announce the network’s move to that station on 9/1 regardless of whether the deal is even so much as approved by then), there seems to be a risk that all three markets could (temporarily) be without a CW affiliate come September 1… something Nexstar likely doesn’t want… unless arrangements are still being made down to the wire.

 

At this rate, we may be looking at last-minute promotion of affiliation moves for The CW in those three markets akin to what WZMQ had to pull when it learned its DT2 sub would take over as Marquette’s CBS station literally three days before that network disaffiliated from WJMN.

Edited August 23, 2023 by T.L. Hughes

[LTSC1980 96]

In 1994 affiliate rearrangement, when Fox is getting WAGA and WJBK, CBS had considered piping nearby stations while finding replacement stations. They would eventually moved to Channel 46 and 62, respectively 

[tyrannical bastard 3444]

27 minutes ago, LTSC1980 said:

In 1994 affiliate rearrangement, when Fox is getting WAGA and WJBK, CBS had considered piping nearby stations while finding replacement stations. They would eventually moved to Channel 46 and 62, respectively 

Piping in an adjacent affiliate would be the ultimate irony for Nexstar, given their retrans-heavy model.  The last thing they would want to seemingly do is pipe in another market's station in a market they can't land a new affiliate in...

 

In the small chance that Cox secures a deal to put the CW on one of their subchannels, that would give WSB and WPXI outlets for a 10pm newscast ....and in Pittsburgh, to bring their existing one in-house away from WPGH, leaving Sinclair in the dust to fill it with TND or something like that...

Edited August 23, 2023 by tyrannical bastard

[Superdude 108]

WPNT 22 still seems like the ultimate outcome for the CW.  On the AVS forum someone claimed they were told at the station last week that they were switching over.

[CircleSeven 1944]

1 hour ago, Superdude said:

WPNT 22 still seems like the ultimate outcome for the CW.  On the AVS forum someone claimed they were told at the station last week that they were switching over.

I'll Believe it when I see it. It's a shame that were's just about nine days away before CBS pulling the CW from its stations and Nexstar has yet to announce which stations will get it in the four remaining markets. Including (no one mentioned it yet) Seattle.

[The Frog 393]

WPNT's listings show CW programming starting on Sept. 1

[mrschimpf 2051]

1 hour ago, CircleSeven said:

I'll Believe it when I see it. It's a shame that were's just about nine days away before CBS pulling the CW from its stations and Nexstar has yet to announce which stations will get it in the four remaining markets. Including (no one mentioned it yet) Seattle.

And the Sinclair renewal is still in flux with no public announcement. Even if WPNT shows CW on the 1st, until that deal closes it's officially "To Be Announced" for all CW Sinclair stations down the line.

[T.L. Hughes 746]

1 hour ago, mrschimpf said:

And the Sinclair renewal is still in flux with no public announcement. Even if WPNT shows CW on the 1st, until that deal closes it's officially "To Be Announced" for all CW Sinclair stations down the line.

Especially, when one considers that Nexstar and Sinclair overlap in several markets, resulting in them having to negotiate whether to let Nexstar pick off CW affiliations from Sinclair in markets where the former has a MyNetworkTV or independent station and let Sinclair keep the network in other markets (for example, my home market has Sinclair’s KOCB [an existing CW affiliate] and Nexstar’s KAUT [an indie], making KOCB vulnerable to losing The CW).

Edited August 23, 2023 by T.L. Hughes

[Nelson R. 560]

9 minutes ago, T.L. Hughes said:

Especially, when one considers that Nexstar and Sinclair overlap in several markets, resulting in them having to negotiate whether to let Nexstar pick off CW affiliations from Sinclair in markets where the former has a MyNetworkTV or independent station and let Sinclair keep the network in other markets (for example, my home market has Sinclair’s KOCB [an existing CW affiliate] and Nexstar’s KAUT [an indie], making KOCB vulnerable to losing The CW).

And in Raleigh-Durham it could move from WLFL to a subchannel of WNCN.

[noggi 600]

Has anyone shared the new KMAX logo yet?

[CircleSeven 1944]

That's a better logo than that KMAX box.....

[T.L. Hughes 746]

15 hours ago, Nelson R. said:

And in Raleigh-Durham it could move from WLFL to a subchannel of WNCN.

Ehh, probably not; the likely outcomes in relation to Sinclair/Nexstar would be:

* 1) Nexstar cutting a deal that allows it to take over CW affiliations from Sinclair in overlap markets where Nexstar operates a MyNetworkTV or independent station (either directly or via an SSA/LMA/JSA with a third-party like Mission or White Knight, excluding the few markets [such as Little Rock] where it runs a CW affiliate and a MNTV/independent), while letting Sinclair keep its existing CW affiliations elsewhere (avoiding resorting to subchannel-only affiliations on its own stations in other overlap markets, similar to what happened in Sacramento, when Nexstar opted to tack KQCA onto its CW affiliation renewal with Hearst, rather than shift the network to a sub of KTXL; WPNT would play into this scenario by adding it as compensation for losing certain affiliations);

* 2) Nexstar reups contracts with all or most of Sinclair’s CW stations (possibly limiting CW affiliation transfers between the two companies to a handful of overlap markets), while adding WPNT under the renewed agreement;

* 3) The least-likely scenario (but not entirely out of the question): Nexstar is unable to reach a deal with Sinclair to renew its CW affiliations, forcing the network to move to all company-run stations in overlap markets (including subchannel-only affiliations on Big Four stations in certain areas, the main scenario where a shoehorned D2 affiliation with WNCN would come into play) and having to strike deals with other MNTV/independents or settle for subchannel affiliations in markets where either Nexstar has no properties or another operator runs a separately licensed MNTV/independent.

Edited August 24, 2023 by T.L. Hughes

[Georgie56 3059]

Here’s WPSG’s new logo.

 

 

[Georgie56 3059]

And WPKD will be KDKA+.

 

Edited August 24, 2023 by Georgie56

[TheRolyPoly 1844]

This is from Radio Insight and reposted from the TNC Discord server...

These are the new registered domains for the yet-to-be-announced brands for its independent stations.

 

We know WUPA will be Atlanta 69, WKBD as Detroit 50, and WPSG as Philly 57. But this is what the domain websites will be for the others, which could give us an indication as to what CBS is thinking with future brandings for their stations...

• KMAX - Sacramento31.com
• KSTW - Seattle11.com
• WTOG - Tampa44.com
• KCAL - LosAngeles9.com
• WBFS - Florida33.com (this one makes no sense to me)
• WLNY - NewYork55.com
• WSBK - Boston38.com (getting away from TV38?!?!)
• KTXA - Texas21TV.com

https://radioinsight.com/headlines/netgnomes/257769/domain-insight-8-24-connecticut-sports-changes-and-a-bonus-tv-report/

[Big Rollo Smokes 180]

24 minutes ago, TheRolyPoly said:

This is from Radio Insight and reposted from the TNC Discord server...

These are the new registered domains for the yet-to-be-announced brands for its independent stations.

 

We know WUPA will be Atlanta 69, WKBD as Detroit 50, and WPSG as Philly 57. But this is what the domain websites will be for the others, which could give us an indication as to what CBS is thinking with future brandings for their stations...

• KMAX - Sacramento31.com
• KSTW - Seattle11.com
• WTOG - Tampa44.com
• KCAL - LosAngeles9.com
• WBFS - Florida33.com (this one makes no sense to me)
• WLNY - NewYork55.com
• WSBK - Boston38.com (getting away from TV38?!?!)
• KTXA - Texas21TV.com

https://radioinsight.com/headlines/netgnomes/257769/domain-insight-8-24-connecticut-sports-changes-and-a-bonus-tv-report/

New York 55 ("NY55") was a branding used by WLNY in its pre-CBS days, so that's going back in time.

 

But why not keep TV38, TXA21 and K-CAL9?

 

And Seattle 11, Tampa 44 and the rest (except the heritage Philly 57)? Is that the best CBS can do with these generic, cookie-cutter names?

Edited August 24, 2023 by Big Rollo Smokes

[CircleSeven 1944]

46 minutes ago, Big Rollo Smokes said:

New York 55 ("NY55") was a branding used by WLNY in its pre-CBS days, so that's going back in time.

 

But why not keep TV38, TXA21 and K-CAL9?

 

And Seattle 11, Tampa 44 and the rest (except the heritage Philly 57)? Is that the best CBS can do with these generic, cookie-cutter names?

We talked about this earlier in this thread. And I said I doubt all those stations are going to those brandings. If that was the case, then that picture above "Primetime Sacramento" we would seen "Sacramento 31", and not "KMAX 31".

Edited August 24, 2023 by CircleSeven

[mrschimpf 2051]

I really do think nothing at all will change at KCAL; it's just something to ward off a domain haggler from grabbing any city/channel name combo CBS has. "Miami33" just seems like a haggler asking an insane price nobody would pay, and it's doubtful anything will change with WBFS, but they bought Florida33 for the same reason. CBS still does have the WLNYTV.com domain for those curious.

[bpatrick 60]

I don't see a change in Raleigh.  The stations that are dropping the CW are CBS o&os; WLFL is owned by Sinclair and WNCN by Nexstar (meaning I can't see the CW on 17.2 or whatever WNCN subchannel).  I am wondering, however, if the CW is going to still be on in Atlanta; I have yet to see any evidence that either WATL or WPCH is interested, and I don't think the others (WSB, WAGA, WXIA, or WANF) are. (WAGA is out anyway, being a Fox o&o, and I would be shocked if Fox allowed them to carry another network that isn't MNT.)