2023-24 Syndication News

[Abraham J. Simpson 303]

7 hours ago, SS8609 said:

 

 

But if anything, who misses the days of CBS News Nightwatch? Forget what eventually happened to their longtime host, but it's hard to argue that if Charlie Rose (again as I said) kept his pants zipped, his PBS interviews would likely be airing on CBS as filler.

It’s pretty easy to argue. No one would be recycling those at this point. The comedy stuff they’re plugging the hole with is what it is, but it fits what they’re doing with the hour, broadly.  Rehashed PBS interviews? Not a chance. 

[bpatrick 60]

Except for WLS, where Oprah's show originated and aired live at 9 AM, stations were not allowed to air her in the morning.  The most common time for her show was 4 PM (local time), although there were some stations that aired her at 5 as lead-in to the news and some, like KABC, that had her at 3, before the 4 PM news. 

 

Now as to whether Kelly and Mark should be on in the afternoons:

I can remember, back in the '70s, when Mike Douglas was considered better suited for the morning and Merv Griffin for the afternoon.  That did not deter stations from reversing that; Mike dominated 4:30-6 PM in Atlanta and Jacksonville for years, and Merv did likewise in the mornings in Birmingham until then-ABC affiliate WBRC started carrying "Good Morning America" (Merv had been on at 8 AM).  So I don't know about this "such-and-such a show is a morning show (or an afternoon show)."   I don't know what difference it makes if Kelly and Mark are on at 9 AM or 3 PM with one exception:

For CBS affiliates to put "Y&R" at 3 would be a gamble.  CBS affiliates, particularly in the Eastern time zone (like Fort Wayne), tend to dominate at noon; their noon newscasts are bracketed by "The Price Is Right" at 11 and "Y&R" at 12:30.  ABC and NBC affiliates are probably in a better position to run Kelly and Mark in the afternoons...not that I think any of them are going to.

[CoopInTheHouse 63]

WVIR (Charlottesville, VA) and WETM (Elmira, NY) also air Live with Kelly and Mark after the 3rd hour of Today.

Edited September 22, 2023 by CoopInTheHouse
I JUST KEEP FINDING STATIONS!

[KS-IL-IA 40]

16 hours ago, VHSgoodiesWA said:

I'm surprised there isn't a late-night CBS Evening News repeat at 12:37 and 1:07 left to the affiliates to air 11PM news rebroadcasts or syndicated. How much revenue are they going to get from these Byron Allen repeats?

NBC never replaced Lilly Singh when she was canned. Most stations air 11PM news rebroadcasts at 1:37AM now.

I saw a CBS affiliate schedule that had the Evening News rerun right before the local morning news -- not even airing the CBS live news.

19 hours ago, CoopInTheHouse said:

Ok, but just.. why would you do that? Unbelievable scheduling. Before the debut of The National Desk, I know they placed it at 9 but just.. why 3? You could atleast join the PACIFIC feed (because The Price is Right is at 11/10c).

The station doesn't have a subchannel it can pawn TND onto.

[Nelson R. 560]

4 minutes ago, KS-IL-IA said:

 

The station doesn't have a subchannel it can pawn TND onto.

Yeah…they kinda had to pick their abnormality airing TND at 9. Either Live or Y&R was getting bumped to 3.

Edited September 22, 2023 by Nelson R.

[CoopInTheHouse 63]

WTAP in Parkersburg, West Virginia airs the first two hours of Today as normal, but they actually air Live with Kelly and Mark AFTER THAT.

 

Another station that I can’t remember of airs the first, second, and third hours of Today as normal, but then they air Live with Kelly and Mark, and then surprisingly, they air PERSON, PLACE, OR THING AND PICTIONARY before airing Today with Hoda and Jenna.

[VHSgoodiesWA 281]

That would be KECI in Missoula. A strange daytime schedule, but it is what it is. Hoda and Jenna air at noon. Person, Place or Thing replaced one run of Pictionary two weeks ago.

[Nelson R. 560]

2 minutes ago, VHSgoodiesWA said:

That would be KECI in Missoula. A strange daytime schedule, but it is what it is. Hoda and Jenna air at noon. Person, Place or Thing replaced one run of Pictionary two weeks ago.

At least they air it. And they stand out from the same clock time schedule that most NBC affiliates in all time zones use. 

[CoopInTheHouse 63]

52 minutes ago, VHSgoodiesWA said:

That would be KECI in Missoula. A strange daytime schedule, but it is what it is. Hoda and Jenna air at noon. Person, Place or Thing replaced one run of Pictionary two weeks ago.

I would project that they do air Live at 9:00am because of pre-Hoda & Jenna standards (which was a pain if you were an NBC station employee because you’d be scrambling to fill the time once the fourth hour premiered).

[justin2kx 229]

Update from Gotham City: 

 

I dunno if it's part of a package with ICRIME with Elizabeth Vargas or it just sneakily added to the schedule since it's not reflected on any tv listings except for titantv + TV Guide but Court Cam is on WPIX M-F at 2:30p. According to my YTTV recordings, what should've been a second run of ICRIME, Court cam airs in its place. Also another weekend run of Family Feud on WWOR Sunday Nights 8-10p (replaced Big Bang theory reruns in that timeframe, since moved to PIX), on top of usual Saturday night 8-10p runs. Chicago Fire + Chicago PD get sunday runs 4-6p + 6-8p respectively. Why doesn't FOX surrender WWOR license + merge "My9" into their or WRNN spectrum is beyond me. You don't need Sen. Menendez' spiel to challenge it since his recent indictment might spell the end of his political career, but I digress.

 

Elsewhere, The Equalizer replaces Magnum PI on WCBS late night weekends (sat 12a + sun 1a)

Edited September 23, 2023 by justin2kx

[MD TV 163]

On 9/22/2023 at 4:47 AM, bpatrick said:

Except for WLS, where Oprah's show originated and aired live at 9 AM, stations were not allowed to air her in the morning.  The most common time for her show was 4 PM (local time), although there were some stations that aired her at 5 as lead-in to the news and some, like KABC, that had her at 3, before the 4 PM news. 

WLNY (at least the Long Island feed) was allowed to air Oprah at 7PM during her run. They somehow got the rights to air quite the number of high-profile syndicated series before CBS bought them (ie, Jeopardy and Wheel aired at 6pm, and I think before the sale they were airing at 5pm).

 

One relic from that era that still exists is that they air an hour of Judge Judy at 10pm.

[Georgie56 3059]

On 9/22/2023 at 3:47 AM, bpatrick said:

Except for WLS, where Oprah's show originated and aired live at 9 AM, stations were not allowed to air her in the morning.  The most common time for her show was 4 PM (local time), although there were some stations that aired her at 5 as lead-in to the news and some, like KABC, that had her at 3, before the 4 PM news. 

 

KLAS actually aired Oprah at 9am for a period of time.

[CoopInTheHouse 63]

Update from the Big O:

 

The Equalizer goes to KMTV 3 (CBS), at midnight on Saturday nights. The Equalizer airs on CBS so no shocker here.

[Nelson R. 560]

14 minutes ago, CoopInTheHouse said:

Update from the Big O:

 

The Equalizer goes to KMTV 3 (CBS), at midnight on Saturday nights. The Equalizer airs on CBS so no shocker here.

Network affiliation had nothing to do with KMTV picking up The Equalizer in syndication. Just pure coincidence.

Edited September 23, 2023 by Nelson R.

[SS8609 59]

Just decided to do a little channelsurfing before I go to bed:

* Comics Unleashed on KHOU has a young (likely stuffed full of Jack in the Box tacos) Billy Gardell. Good, we know you eventually made it! Next…

* Late Night with Seth Meyers on KPRC has Jim Gaffigan on from the beginning of last March when Trump and DeSantis were tied for the GOP presidential nomination and everyone was watching college basketball tournaments for (mostly one and done unless you’re Fairleigh Dickinson) March Madness auto bids. Next…

* KTRK is airing a repeat of Live with Kelly & Mark from this morning with the lead in The Golden Bachelor. Next…

* KIAH is airing a repeat of KTRK’s 10pm news. Likely with the first innings of a baseball game the Astros just won over the Mariners. Next…

* KRIV is airing Person, Place or Thing. Wouldn’t be shocked if this is doing the most well at midnight even if the ratings are hashmarks considering the weak syndication market and the strikes (one of which thankfully just ended). Which more than justifies sister station KTXH airing a repeat of the Isiah Factor Uncensored that aired 90 minutes prior on the mothership.

 

It’s Hump Day on the last week of September. This is not even close to a dream. Just waiting on the nanny from The Nanny to make a deal…

[CoopInTheHouse 63]

WUPA has apparently kept Atlanta NOW News because of 2 reasons:

 

1. I think it’s for “good ratings”.

 

2. The same thing but mostly for the upcoming presidential election, in which Georgia has now became a key state.

[MediaZone4K 1509]

On 9/20/2023 at 2:38 AM, bpatrick said:

I don't recall GL airing in Atlanta at 10 AM; in fact, I recall only two stations south of the Mason-Dixon line airing the venerable soap in the morning; WFOR and WKMG.

As for LMAD, I see WKMG has moved it back to 10 AM.

The 10 am slot helped send Guiding Light to the grave. For whatever reason 11am to 3 pm, exculding noon, seems to be the best time for a soap.

 

On 9/21/2023 at 5:25 PM, Abraham J. Simpson said:

Would that be best, or did the station have data that says otherwise? 3 pm for Y&R feels like a big stretch that would need some compelling business rationale, which isn’t “but Live feels like a morning show.” It is light fluffy entertainment well suited to mornings, but light fluffy talk can work in afternoons.

 

 

I believe in parts of Canada it airs at 4:00pm. Y&R (at least back in the day) had a serious and shadowy yet glamourous tone that would make it fit in the evening, especially as it gets dark early. 

 

LIVE feels like a morning show because of it's light tone. In my personal preference, not based on anything, the lighter shows like Kelly work earlier in the morning, while the more "serious" or mixed tone shows like Judge Judy and Oprah fit great in the late afternoon, especially before the news.

Edited October 3, 2023 by MediaZone4K

[bpatrick 60]

There is one station that airs "Y&R" at 4: WLKY Louisville.  And I don't look for them to move it, because its 5 PM newscast is number one in the timeslot.

[Abraham J. Simpson 303]

9 hours ago, MediaZone4K said:

The 10 am slot helped send Guiding Light to the grave. For whatever reason 11am to 3 pm, exculding noon, seems to be the best time for a soap.

 

 

It feels like there's a chicken-or-the-egg type situation there. GL got banished to 10 am after it had one foot, and maybe four toes on the other foot, in the grave. The move to mornings on major affiliates was just the final nail in the coffin, to keep going with the Halloween-esque death theme. It had become an anchor in the late slot, and CBS just seemed to meander with a daytime lineup carried by Price, Y&R and B&B. Finally, someone started swinging the axe and the dead weight was jettisoned. GL and ATWT had demos that were beyond awful for quite some time (worse than daytime as a whole, which is saying something). 

 

Price was rejuvenated with the hosting change, and improved the demo nightmare it had. Y&R at this point feels like it's coasting on fumes. My mom kept watching until near the end of her life; I checked out the story lines to try to have something she could relate to for conversation as her mind began to fail--but she could still kind of relate to that. And no wonder--it was the same damn characters and plots from when she was watching in like 1985. How it remains on the air baffles me, but it's not my P&L statement to worry about. 

 

[MediaZone4K 1509]

1 hour ago, Abraham J. Simpson said:

It feels like there's a chicken-or-the-egg type situation there. GL got banished to 10 am after it had one foot, and maybe four toes on the other foot, in the grave. The move to mornings on major affiliates was just the final nail in the coffin, to keep going with the Halloween-esque death theme. It had become an anchor in the late slot, and CBS just seemed to meander with a daytime lineup carried by Price, Y&R and B&B. Finally, someone started swinging the axe and the dead weight was jettisoned. GL and ATWT had demos that were beyond awful for quite some time (worse than daytime as a whole, which is saying something). 

 

Price was rejuvenated with the hosting change, and improved the demo nightmare it had. Y&R at this point feels like it's coasting on fumes. My mom kept watching until near the end of her life; I checked out the story lines to try to have something she could relate to for conversation as her mind began to fail--but she could still kind of relate to that. And no wonder--it was the same damn characters and plots from when she was watching in like 1985. How it remains on the air baffles me, but it's not my P&L statement to worry about. 

 

Did Drew Carey rejuvinate Price's demos? I guess it is an old people's show but from the way Drew put it in the latest special, people still think of it as Bob Barker show.

 

This I would have to attibute Y&R's longevity to veteran cast member stability. Other than that the show has been stale since it's creator's death in 2005.

[Abraham J. Simpson 303]

I shouldn’t say Drew himself is the only party responsible. It was as much the producer change and the process that followed of evolving the show. Set updates, more interaction and respect for the models and announcer, better prizes and so on. Once Drew became visibly more comfortable with the show, all of that began to click and growth followed. 
 

Naturally people are going to show deference and respect to Barker; he did it for 35 years. Drew is not quite to half that, and he has long sprinkled in references out of respect to Bob’s era. He’s made the show his while not forgetting what came before.

 

As for Y&R, the problem with over-reliance on veterans is, bluntly, we all have a shelf life. It may just be the show running on fumes until the end comes. Even the characters who were the “young hotties” back in the day have become the old

guard, and they’re still recycling the same plots. 

You can’t keep telling the same stories with the same actors well into their 60s and 70s and expect them to click with newer viewers. But budgets are what they are, and there just isn’t that big a pool out there to draw from. Props to NBC for trying to make a go of Days on Peacock, but let’s be honest: the end of soaps isn’t that far in the future.

[bpatrick 60]

29 minutes ago, Abraham J. Simpson said:

I shouldn’t say Drew himself is the only party responsible. It was as much the producer change and the process that followed of evolving the show. Set updates, more interaction and respect for the models and announcer, better prizes and so on. Once Drew became visibly more comfortable with the show, all of that began to click and growth followed. 
 

Naturally people are going to show deference and respect to Barker; he did it for 35 years. Drew is not quite to half that, and he has long sprinkled in references out of respect to Bob’s era. He’s made the show his while not forgetting what came before.

 

As for Y&R, the problem with over-reliance on veterans is, bluntly, we all have a shelf life. It may just be the show running on fumes until the end comes. Even the characters who were the “young hotties” back in the day have become the old

guard, and they’re still recycling the same plots. 

You can’t keep telling the same stories with the same actors well into their 60s and 70s and expect them to click with newer viewers. But budgets are what they are, and there just isn’t that big a pool out there to draw from. Props to NBC for trying to make a go of Days on Peacock, but let’s be honest: the end of soaps isn’t that far in the future.

I never watch soaps unless I'm somewhere where a TV is on.  I was in such a place at lunchtime one day last week, and Y&R was on.  I'm almost shocked at how Peter Bergman and Melody Thomas Scott have aged, and--along with Eric Braeden--they could be considered the stars of the show.  Braeden says his cancer is in remission, but he's in his 80s so how many years does he have left?  Over at B&B Katharine Kelly Lang definitely looks 63.  And these people are identified with their respective shows!  It makes me wonder just what will happen when they go--just like I wonder what will happen to Wheel of Fortune when Vanna goes.

 

As for Drew, not only does he acknowledge that Bob Barker had TPIR before him, he'll even mention the host who had it even before that--Bill Cullen.  I don't recall but once when Barker acknowledged Cullen at all, and that was when Cullen appeared to promote his short-lived game show Child's Play.

[Nelson R. 560]

5 minutes ago, bpatrick said:

I never watch soaps unless I'm somewhere where a TV is on.  I was in such a place at lunchtime one day last week, and Y&R was on.  I'm almost shocked at how Peter Bergman and Melody Thomas Scott have aged, and--along with Eric Braeden--they could be considered the stars of the show.  Braeden says his cancer is in remission, but he's in his 80s so how many years does he have left?  Over at B&B Katharine Kelly Lang definitely looks 63.  And these people are identified with their respective shows!  It makes me wonder just what will happen when they go--just like I wonder what will happen to Wheel of Fortune when Vanna goes.

Speaking of Y&R and B&B their contracts are up this year. 

[bpatrick 60]

2 minutes ago, bpatrick said:

I never watch soaps unless I'm somewhere where a TV is on.  I was in such a place at lunchtime one day last week, and Y&R was on.  I'm almost shocked at how Peter Bergman and Melody Thomas Scott have aged, and--along with Eric Braeden--they could be considered the stars of the show.  Braeden says his cancer is in remission, but he's in his 80s so how many years does he have left?  Over at B&B Katharine Kelly Lang definitely looks 63.  And these people are identified with their respective shows!  It makes me wonder just what will happen when they go--just like I wonder what will happen to Wheel of Fortune when Vanna goes.

 

As for Drew, not only does he acknowledge that Bob Barker had TPIR before him, he'll even mention the host who had it even before that--Bill Cullen.  I don't recall but once when Barker acknowledged Cullen at all, and that was when Cullen appeared to promote his short-lived game show Child's Play.

In those markets where GL was moved to 10 AM it was getting hammered by General Hospital and had been for years.  But there had also been the loss of several popular characters: some longtime fans stopped watching when Maureen Bauer (Ed's wife, if you know the show) was killed off because Procter & Gamble wanted to bring in Buzz Cooper, father of Frank and Harley and who had been MIA in Vietnam for years.  (A focus group had told P&G that they didn't care either way if Maureen (Ellen Parker) was let go.) Then Michael Zaslow, who played Roger Thorpe, died in real life and his replacement lasted about a month.  Finally Jerry ver Dorn (Ross Marler) walked in one morning and was handed his pink slip. Losing popular characters like these didn't help; fortunately the show didn't write out Josh and Reva.  My own take on all this is that, after 72 years on radio and television, GL was out of stories.

5 minutes ago, Nelson R. said:

Speaking of Y&R and B&B their contracts are up this year. 

     I don't doubt they'll get another year.  However, if I were a CBS affiliate manager, I wouldn't dare drop either show but I'd be praying for the day I could expand my noon newscast to an hour and go head-to-head with the ABC, NBC, or even Fox affiliates from 12-1.  I know, there are a few stations doing it (WLKY, KOTV, to name two) but right now I don't think many stations want to mess up viewing habits in the middle of the day.  

[Abraham J. Simpson 303]

40 minutes ago, bpatrick said:

 

 

As for Drew, not only does he acknowledge that Bob Barker had TPIR before him, he'll even mention the host who had it even before that--Bill Cullen.  I don't recall but once when Barker acknowledged Cullen at all, and that was when Cullen appeared to promote his short-lived game show Child's Play.

Bob was about one person, Bob. When the powers that be had the “audacity” to launch subsequent syndicated editions of the show (85, 94), he all but pouted and stamped his feet on air. It was kind of comical in how petty it was. But whatever, Drew does a nice job of working in positive references, and heck, maintains the spay-your-pets plug.