Jump to content

WHDH Ditching Leno at 10PM, Running News Instead


TSSZNews

Recommended Posts

And yet, the "NBC 3" branding lasted all of a year. They then went to "NBC 11". That said, what are the digital TV assignments. No, that doesn't matter either, given that they can set their virtual channel to something less embarrassing.
They're still on Channel 3. In fact, KNTV on cable in the San Jose area was always on Channel 3 even prior to NBC or Granite.

 

The idea is to get a low CABLE/satellite channel number assignment. That's what is important. Not your OTA channel especially in places like Boston or San Francisco that have very high cable/satellite penetration.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Replies 78
  • Created
  • Last Reply
Whoa.

 

Can anyone recall a more public station vs. network battle?

 

Besides Ed Ansin's first feud with NBC in Miami?

 

The 1994 ABC/Westinghouse fiasco in Baltimore that not only led to all the "Big 3" stations there switching networks (which, among other things, resulted in NBC returning to WBAL), but ultimately Westinghouse affiliating all their stations with CBS...which they would eventually purchase two years later.

 

(Going off memory of something I read; will correct if I missed something)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I think this is bad news for NBC and the Jay Leno Show because it will give other stations the idea to stop carrying this 10pm hour of primetime. I can see affiliates wanting to air their 11pm newscasts at 10pm to gain more viewers and then show Jay Leno at 10:35pm before Conan or even airing Jay at 11pm, pushing Conan back to Midnight along with the rest of the NBC late night schedule. I don't see it as much a problem in the Central/Mountain time zones with Jay airing at 9pm. I think maybe NBC should reconsider this decision for the 10pm/9pm hour and maybe cancel Jay Leno before it even starts!

 

Again, I think it was a mistake for NBC not to keep Jay on the Tonight Show at 11:35 and either let Conan stay at 12:35 or walk...The Tonight Show has been #1 and NBC has few ratings hits so it was a dumb move to mess with that just because of a prior deal with Conan O'Brien--especially if it is going to ruin their primetime block!

 

As far as WHDH and Ed Ansin goes, I don't think he cares if he loses the NBC affiliation since the network has few primetime hits and a daytime schedule that only has one soap left. I think WSVN would be just fine as an independent news station.

 

Also correct me if I'm wrong, but due to the digital switch, the days of VHF stations 2-13 having an advantage are gone aren't they? Most stations are on the UHF dial now regardless of their former VHF channel numbers...so if NBC moves to UHF 46 or 60, it isn't a big deal anymore like the past.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Whoa.

 

Can anyone recall a more public station vs. network battle?

 

Besides Ed Ansin's first feud with NBC in Miami?

 

 

In 2002, WJXT channel 4 in Jacksonville, FL couldn't reach an agreement with CBS and dropped them to go independent. I don't know if it was a big public battle, but it is not uncommon for stations to let a network go after 40 years.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

7 could very well go indy without much adverse effect, because their main brand, 7 News, would still be intact. Slowly, they've been phasing out '7NBC' and even 'WHDH,' and have been branding the whole station as 7 News. Ansin could easily do an 8-10 news block or add some sitcoms into the mix- it'd probably get better ratings than NBC prime.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Also, somehow I doubt that ShopNBC has studio space or HD equipment. Even if they did end up getting NBC and a newscast, the news department would have to take some time to develop a watchable product for months before it goes on air. That could be instant death in news-obsessed markets like Boston.

 

I'm more disappointed for Leno than for 7. After all, he grew up in Andover and now his home state can't even watch his show anymore!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

http://library.corporate-ir.net/library/72/726/72657/items/286876/HTV07AR.pdf

 

The term of each affiliation agreement for our ABC-affiliated stations—WCVB, WMUR,

WTAE, KMBC, WISN, WPBF, KOCO, KOAT, KITV, WMTW, KETV, WAPT and KHBS/KHOG—is

for a period of five years, expiring December 31, 2009.

 

So then, is it possible that this could be in the future for Boston?

 

WHDH ABC 7 and WCVB NBC 5

1735642382_WCVBNBC.jpg.adc8ae787b0ca8b35bd9f35eae226d87.jpg

1312799888_WHDHABC.jpg.6b507ac73c1caa90c5e1cd6a78bc006f.jpg

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I'm just gonna throw this out there as an admitted wild theory.

 

Anyone think an NBC O&O based in Boston would have news pumped in from WVIT in Hartford?

 

NBC 30 becomes NBC New England, maybe runs a bureau out of Boston, and it becomes a New England news organization. News is simulcast, run out of Hartford. It saves NBC the trouble of setting up an entirely new shop, and the only difference to the viewers will be the legal ID that runs at the top of the hour.

 

It's an idea.

 

-T

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Why would WCVB want NBC? plus their sister station WMUR in Manchester is ABC as well and I doubt both stations would switch leave ABC for NBC.

 

One thing I don't get with this story is if WHDH is going to start broadcasting the 10pm newscast, why can't their sister station WLVI (where the 10pm news currently airs) show air Jay Leno at 10pm? They plan for both stations to carry the same 10pm newscast--why is that necessary?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

They're still on Channel 3. In fact, KNTV on cable in the San Jose area was always on Channel 3 even prior to NBC or Granite.

 

Yes, they're on cable channel three. But their OTA channel is eleven. The point is, they tried branding themselves as NBC 3 They gave up on that (let me correct myself) two years later, and started branding themselves as NBC 11. Now they are known as NBC Bay Area.

 

Yes, I know many other stations are able to successfully brand themselves after its predominate cable position (KSWB's Fox 5). KNTV was not one of those stations.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

The 1994 ABC/Westinghouse fiasco in Baltimore that not only led to all the "Big 3" stations there switching networks (which, among other things, resulted in NBC returning to WBAL), but ultimately Westinghouse affiliating all their stations with CBS...which they would eventually purchase two years later.

 

(Going off memory of something I read; will correct if I missed something)

Well it's a long story but FOX started the '94 switch with them winning the rights for the NFL then it continues from there.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fox_affiliate_switches_of_1994

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I think this is bad news for NBC and the Jay Leno Show because it will give other stations the idea to stop carrying this 10pm hour of primetime. I can see affiliates wanting to air their 11pm newscasts at 10pm to gain more viewers and then show Jay Leno at 10:35pm before Conan or even airing Jay at 11pm, pushing Conan back to Midnight along with the rest of the NBC late night schedule. I don't see it as much a problem in the Central/Mountain time zones with Jay airing at 9pm. I think maybe NBC should reconsider this decision for the 10pm/9pm hour and maybe cancel Jay Leno before it even starts!

 

Again, I think it was a mistake for NBC not to keep Jay on the Tonight Show at 11:35 and either let Conan stay at 12:35 or walk...The Tonight Show has been #1 and NBC has few ratings hits so it was a dumb move to mess with that just because of a prior deal with Conan O'Brien--especially if it is going to ruin their primetime block!

 

As far as WHDH and Ed Ansin goes, I don't think he cares if he loses the NBC affiliation since the network has few primetime hits and a daytime schedule that only has one soap left. I think WSVN would be just fine as an independent news station.

 

Also correct me if I'm wrong, but due to the digital switch, the days of VHF stations 2-13 having an advantage are gone aren't they? Most stations are on the UHF dial now regardless of their former VHF channel numbers...so if NBC moves to UHF 46 or 60, it isn't a big deal anymore like the past.

NBC has the upper hand (especially in this case since they own a station there already). The affiliates do not. This will devalue Ansin's station. He'll have to invest in a lot of syndicated fare which has mostly been locked in for next season already and will not have the promotional options that the Fox affiliation in Miami has given his former NBC station there. He won't have New England Patriots regular season football, either. Lose, lose for Ansin.

 

They aren't going to change their minds at NBC about which shows will be on at which time and the affilates will continue to have zero choice in what time to air them. Either they do, or they won't be NBC. NBC is going to make an example out of WHDH and they must.

 

Again, the OTA signal really doesn't matter in a market like Boston that is so cabled, switch to digital or not.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Let me say this:

 

Ansin is an ass. See this wonderful article: Rise of the Anchorwomen

 

"Women are cheaper and cuter. Let's use them instead." He's a bonehead, and this foolishness with NBC and Leno's show just proves how much of an ass he is. Want to make a real statement? Find a good woman to lead that disgrace of a news department.

 

NBC, pull the plug on this stupid SOB. They didn't take his crap in Miami, and they shouldn't in Boston.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

They already don't have the rights to most Patriots games, considering CBS has the AFC package and NBC only very rarely shows their away games against NFC teams.

 

But yeah. I don't like this decision, but I'm kind of excited about what's happening next, considering there hasn't been a major switch in a long time.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Well, I can tell you right now WCVB will not be switching to NBC. They're not going to leave ABC, a strong #3, for NBC, which is still mired in 4th. It'd be interesting to see, but from a economic standpoint, it would be a bonehead move.

 

I thought ABC ranking at #1 or #2, not #3.

 

It's going to be interesting to watch this unfold from up here in NH.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Also who's to say NBC won't run other programming besides Leno from time to time at 10pm ET or specials that run from 8-11pm or 9-11pm ET??

 

I would also think it is in WHDH's NBC contract to carry the entire NBC primetime 8-11pm ET on a regular basis. Occasional pre-emptions might be allowed, but not five nights a week.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I thought ABC ranking at #1 or #2, not #3.

 

It's going to be interesting to watch this unfold from up here in NH.

 

No, ABC is a strong #3, but Fox and CBS have been going back and forth between #1 and #2.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Am I correct in saying that WHDH is paying for their affiliation with NBC? (I admittedly have no idea how the affiliation costs are worked) If so, I don't think NBC could care less...

 

According to the NYTimes, NBC is paying WHDH. Which gives them all the more reason to say screw you, and take the affiliation to Ch. 60 or wherever.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

There are two idiots in this situation: Zucker and Ansin

 

Zucker: First, as president of NBC Entertainment, he played a part in setting up the transition from Leno to Conan. He followed the lead of what happened in the news division with Brokaw and Williams. What he failed to see is that Brokaw was ready to retire (unlike Leno), plus Brokaw was a lot older when he retired than Leno is now. It seems that since Zucker has been CEO of NBC Universal, everything has started to go downhill. He has done a horrible job with primetime, and that's why it is where it is now. In daytime, he canceled the soap opera Passions and has implied that Days of our Lives (which has been on for decades) days are numbered. He should of seen that when his predecessor canceled Another World ten years ago, daytime numbers went down. To top that off, he has expanded his "crown jewel" Today to a gazillion hours. By the time you get to the end of it you want to go back to sleep. And after screwing the whole late night thing with Conan and Leno up back in 2004, he screwed up even more by creating a 10pm talk show for Jay. So basically, from 10pm until 2:05am it is all late night talk shows with 35 minutes of news squeezed in at 11pm. Zucker should have let Conan walk if it meant keeping Leno (or should have let Leno go to ABC, where it makes more sense for him to go).

 

Ansin: You are one of few NBC affilliates who gets paid by NBC to carry the affiliation. Why mess with that? You already have hour long news at 10pm on your sister station, what's the purpose of simulcasting it? You also have a half hour of news at 11pm, what's that going to be, a repeat of the 10pm? You are going to confuse the viewers, because none of the Big 3 affiliates have ever had news on at 10pm. You are also going to confuse the viewers because they won't understand where Leno is. Lastly, you're dumping Leno's show, who's currently the most watched late night host. People watch the Tonight Show because of Leno, not because it's the Tonight Show. And while you're dumping Leno, you're keeping Conan, Fallon, and Daly.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.


×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

We have placed cookies on your device to help make this website better. You can adjust your cookie settings, otherwise we'll assume you're okay to continue. By using TVNewsTalk you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.