Eight CBS Stations to Ditch CW and Go Independent This Fall

[Recovering Producer 51]

3 hours ago, MD TV said:

I really doubt WATL wants to give up 90 minutes of programming with 100% local ad revenue. It's not like KRON, where they probably have no choice due to ownership.

Not to mention Tegna not taking LIV golf on CW stations they own is almost certainly a sign the relationship between the two companies is probably messy already.

[Rusty Muck 4017]

13 hours ago, Nelson R. said:

Doesn’t sound like it’s a given that CBS will put the affiliation on WUPA. Braves, Hawks and the rumored new NHL team on WUPA?

CBS and Gray (WPCH) will no doubt be bidding aggressively for all of those teams. Plus there’s nothing stopping CBS from moving an indie WUPA to a .2 (and buy WTBS-LD to put it on a ceremonial 6.1) if they do choose to take the network affiliation in-house.

 

The possibilities of in-market realignments are endless tbh. If Gray winds up securing one or two teams, then they become a sports heavyweight and may want to make WANF (for lack of a better description) the WHDH for the South. CBS gets an O&O and possibly a sports-leaning indie that’ll be having Paramount’s content library opened up.

 

This could be really fun to watch unfold.

[Action Newsroom 1094]

What a development. I'm totally excited and so looking forward to what's to come here. It's gonna be quite a summer, fall and beyond to behold.

[Georgie56 2952]

Also, those new indies in CBS O&O markets may add additional newscasts beyond the hybrid NOW franchise. KPIX started a 7-9 expanded morning newscast for KBCW back in September, and WLNY and WPSG are simulcasting 7am streaming newscasts from WCBS and KYW, respectively.

Edited May 7 by Georgie56

[atlnewsfan03 59]

It'll be interesting to see how those soon-to-be former CW affiliates that are CBS O&O will do as independent stations.  It's been nearly 17 years since The WB and UPN went away when they merged to create The CW.  I miss seeing those 2 networks as independent entities, and we all know they're not coming back.  We can likely expect call letter changes for some of the affected stations to phase out any CW references.  The next couple of months will be interesting.

[Megatron81 162]

It will be interesting where The CW goes in the non-Nexstar markets that CBS dropped The CW Detroit I wonder if it be on WDIV's subchannel as I know that is where LIV Golf is in Detroit was on WDIV's subchannel. MyNet TV in Philly is aired in the overnights that is what Nexstar does when WXSP airs a few Griffins hockey games on Fri night 1AM to 3AM.

[The Frog 373]

Asked about last week’s long-expected news that eight CBS stations in major markets are ditching their CW affiliations and going independent, Sook said three Nexstar-owned stations in the same markets appear to be on track to become CW affiliates.

[Georgie56 2952]

53 minutes ago, The Frog said:

Asked about last week’s long-expected news that eight CBS stations in major markets are ditching their CW affiliations and going independent, Sook said three Nexstar-owned stations in the same markets appear to be on track to become CW affiliates.

Translation: WPHL, WTTA, and KRON.

[johnothy 43]

Why does MyNetworkTV even still exist?  I've never understood why stations brand themselves around a two hour block of reruns. Some stations even show the programming in the middle of the night and not during primetime.

[mrschimpf 1781]

22 minutes ago, johnothy said:

Why does MyNetworkTV even still exist?  I've never understood why stations brand themselves around a two hour block of reruns. Some stations even show the programming in the middle of the night and not during primetime.

NBCU licenses all ten hours of the lineup in the form of reruns, so it's on them for their continued existence...despite indies themselves often programming two hours of Dateline on weeknights at the same time, and True Crime Network and ID carrying reruns, along with the Dateline Peacock channel itself! It borders on either non-sensical or roadblocking Dateline on everything they can.

[mre29 1244]

1 hour ago, johnothy said:

Why does MyNetworkTV even still exist?  I've never understood why stations brand themselves around a two hour block of reruns. Some stations even show the programming in the middle of the night and not during primetime.

 

And let's not forget the massive programming overlap with Ion.

 

As for so many of them still having the MNTV-based branding.... well, that's just laziness on their part. But there might be something else. Way back in 2006 when the CW was announced and Fox announced MyNetworkTV in response, stations were rushing to affiliate with one or the other, including changing call letters (sometimes for the first time in decades) -- as if "independent" was a four-letter word.

 

This was especially surprising as Fox was using MNTV to test a format that was new, at least here in the US:  Telenovelas. Dramas that ran five nights a week for thirteen weeks, then ended; 65 episodes and out, replaced by another show of the same length. It didn't go well at all, and the telenovelas were reduced to two nights a week in March 2007 before being eliminated altogether. The switch from network to programming service came in 2009. All those stations that had rushed to affiliate with MNTV and change their call letters and branding probably felt foolish when the whole thing collapsed.

 

Personally, I think Fox's announcement of the switch to a programming service should have included a request that affiliates move away from their MNTV-based branding. But the aforementioned fear of the word "independent" was likely still at play.

 

[TVNewsLover 700]

6 hours ago, Georgie56 said:

Translation: WPHL, WTTA, and KRON.

I wonder if WPHL will continue to outsource their 10pm news to WPVI. 

[channel2 865]

2 hours ago, mre29 said:

 

And let's not forget the massive programming overlap with Ion.

 

As for so many of them still having the MNTV-based branding.... well, that's just laziness on their part. But there might be something else. Way back in 2006 when the CW was announced and Fox announced MyNetworkTV in response, stations were rushing to affiliate with one or the other, including changing call letters (sometimes for the first time in decades) -- as if "independent" was a four-letter word.

 

This was especially surprising as Fox was using MNTV to test a format that was new, at least here in the US:  Telenovelas. Dramas that ran five nights a week for thirteen weeks, then ended; 65 episodes and out, replaced by another show of the same length. It didn't go well at all, and the telenovelas were reduced to two nights a week in March 2007 before being eliminated altogether. The switch from network to programming service came in 2009. All those stations that had rushed to affiliate with MNTV and change their call letters and branding probably felt foolish when the whole thing collapsed.

 

Personally, I think Fox's announcement of the switch to a programming service should have included a request that affiliates move away from their MNTV-based branding. But the aforementioned fear of the word "independent" was likely still at play.

 

 

I mean, the creation of the WB and UPN was in large part driven by independents' fear of being outcompeted not only by network affiliates and the nascent Fox, but by cable networks...

 

And considering how much bigger cable was in 2006 than it was in 1993, when those two networks officially threw down the gauntlet...

[T.L. Hughes 638]

7 hours ago, Georgie56 said:

Translation: WPHL, WTTA, and KRON.

A commenter on the Deadline article had the exact same thought:

[mrschimpf 1781]

4 hours ago, mre29 said:

 

And let's not forget the massive programming overlap with Ion.

 

As for so many of them still having the MNTV-based branding.... well, that's just laziness on their part. But there might be something else. Way back in 2006 when the CW was announced and Fox announced MyNetworkTV in response, stations were rushing to affiliate with one or the other, including changing call letters (sometimes for the first time in decades) -- as if "independent" was a four-letter word.

Most of the lingering of 'My' just seems to be more around a united brand and schedule graphics imaging than anything else. With station autonomy in chains pretty much gone, having a fallback brand to group the low-tier stations is better than having to pay someone to create, then maintain, your own station's imaging (see Sinclair's rough Raleigh-Durham duopoly). WVTV tried to go with "Super 18" again for a couple years, but eventually fell back to "CW 18" because Sinclair corporate wanted simple promos with the same design language across all their CW affils they could plug any channel number into.

 

Then you have the HC2 stations that just fit MNTV in so Fox can get some revenue even if the station and subchannels around it are unmanaged and literal digital junk. If it was unprofitable it would have been gone a decade ago, but it seems to be worth it to grab some library content, pump out show promos to feed out and some blue JPEG/Adobe graphics, and call it a day.

[Georgie56 2952]

3 hours ago, TVNewsLover said:

I wonder if WPHL will continue to outsource their 10pm news to WPVI. 

They should continue that. It‘s regularly beating WTXF’s 10pm in the ratings. 

[Breaking News 770]

I do wonder if CBS would sell WTOG once they end their CW affiliation.

Also would Scripps, TEGNA or Hearst want to do combo station with their current stations in the market?

 

[CircleWXYZ 149]

I still feel WMYD will pick up CW programming.  

[nycnewsjunkie 1209]

2 hours ago, CircleWXYZ said:

I still feel WMYD will pick up CW programming.  

They’re definitely a reasonable landing spot, but if Scripps is serious about local sports programming, that could change things.
 

If/when Bally collapses, WMYD would be an accessible station for Tigers, Pistons, and Red Wings games. I’m not sure they’d want to affiliate with the CW on a long term basis if that’s the route they want to take.

[Megatron81 162]

WXSP just used the MYNet TV graphics with The X branding not My as they always called themselves The X the TV Station With Game was there slogan when they were a UPN station.

[Georgie56 2952]

This could be a glimpse at KMAX’s post-CW life.

 

 

Edited May 29 by Georgie56

[TVNewsLover 700]

1 hour ago, Georgie56 said:

This could be a glimpse at KMAX’s post-CW life.

 

 

KYW plays this or a similar video every morning before their newscast, and they’ve been doing so for a while. 

[Breaking News 770]

On 5/15/2023 at 2:09 PM, CircleWXYZ said:

I still feel WMYD will pick up CW programming.  

I thought so too, but What you think of WADL selling to Nexstar and becoming the new home to CW?

[Adam MadMan 231]

8 hours ago, TVNewsLover said:

KYW plays this or a similar video every morning before their newscast, and they’ve been doing so for a while. 

I think he was referring to the logo at the end. A pretty generic logo IMO, but that's apparently what they're going for this September. I expect the logos for the other seven stations to look more or less the same.

[Geoffrey 700]

While the call-letters-in-a-box logo could very well be the new look, it's also possible that this is just a placeholder and gives them a few months to come up with something else.