Nexstar's CWNetwork looking for a new detroit home as Scripps pulls affiliation from its stations

[SBaxley]

"The lighthouse" will drop its CW Network affiliation from several of its television stations later this year,the website "THE DESK" has reported
The move will impact stations in seven markets including WMYD, with Scripps reconfiguring the schedules of each station to include more local, news and sports programming.

“This is an opportunity for us to bring Scripps’ excellent local and national programming – entertainment from our networks, news from local stations and Scripps News and, in some markets, local sports rights – to even more audiences across the country,” a spokesperson for Scripps said that it was “still in the process of determining exactly what the new programming will look like in each affected market.”
The stations that will lose the CW Network affiliation besides WMYD,on September 1 include:
KATC (Channel 3) in Lafayette, Louisiana
KWBA (Channel 58) in Tucson
KSBY (Channel in Santa Barbara, California
KZTV (Channel 10) in Corpus Christi
WGNT (Channel 27) in Norfolk, Virginia
WSFL (Channel 39) in Miami

[Tvguy]

Déjà Vu, here we go again! This time the CW Network will be kicked off of WMYD TV-20 on September 1, 2024. The first time around they were kicked off of WKBD TV-50 on September 1, 2023, then they were kicked off of WADL TV-38 in October 2023, and now WMYD.

[https://thedesk.net/news/scripps-droppi ... -stations/]

[MWmetalhead]

The "local sports" reference is interesting.

We saw some Pistons and Wings games air on 20 this month. I wonder if more of that is in store for this autumn?

There has to be something inherently wrong with how CW approaches affiliation. Losing multiple major station groups as affiliation partners is no accident.

I've noted previously how ION's primetime ratings are significantly better than those of the CW. If I'm not mistaken, I believe MeTV and even Grit produce stronger HH ratings in primetime.

[edj]

I am all for local sports rights on channel 20.

I’m assuming it’s not going to a subchannel of 7 or 20. If they don’t come crawling back to 38 or 50, there isn’t much left. A subchannel of 4 would be most likely. I don’t see 31 or a subchannel of 2. Longshot is low power WHNE or not being in the market at all.

[Rate This]

The "local sports" reference is interesting.

We saw some Pistons and Wings games air on 20 this month. I wonder if more of that is in store for this autumn?

There has to be something inherently wrong with how CW approaches affiliation. Losing multiple major station groups as affiliation partners is no accident.

I've noted previously how ION's primetime ratings are significantly better than those of the CW. If I'm not mistaken, I believe MeTV and even Grit produce stronger HH ratings in primetime.

They kept hyping that “Scripps Sports” was producing the games or something… they must have seen the light on just how lucrative that can be…

[Tvguy]

Rumor has it that Scripps is going to move to Sports on WMYD, they think the Diamond Sport Network will only last another 6 months or so before imploding and then all local Sports will need to move over to “Over The Air” free broadcasting like it was in the early to mid-1990s before the advent of ESPN and other local Sports networks like PASS Sports. I worked many a tiger’s game as their video engineer from the old ballpark for WKBD. Scripps is positioning themselves for this move. First they have to ride themselves of the CW affiliation to clear their schedule for Local Sports broadcasts.

[SolidGoldDancers]

I am all for local sports rights on channel 20.

I’m assuming it’s not going to a subchannel of 7 or 20. If they don’t come crawling back to 38 or 50, there isn’t much left. A subchannel of 4 would be most likely. I don’t see 31 or a subchannel of 2. Longshot is low power WHNE or not being in the market at all.

Oh great, the options are a station in Macomb County or stuffing sports with lots of motion on a 2 megabit MPEG2 sub-channel. The primary channels are awful anyway, this would be just torture.

Then again, given how the networks have made every effort to go direct to the viewers in the Detroit DMA, I can see WDIV preempting network for local sports. They did it for Pistons games on HD for at least two seasons.

[MWmetalhead]

I never, ever remember WDIV carrying Pistons games (aside from those carried as part of NBA on NBC network coverage in the 90s).

WKBD and then WMYD (WDWB) were the Pistons Television Network flagships before FS Detroit purchased rights to all telecasts (after previously having only partial rights).

My guess is CW will kiss and make up with WADL. If that doesn't happen, then maybe WDIV will ditch the god awful "This" network from 4.2 and install CW programming there. If neither of those things happen, then CW will probably just work out deals with cable and sat providers to carry their lame national feed and forego an OTA signal.

[Editorcj]

The last 3 Wings games that aired on TV-20 did very well, with good ratings for the broadcast as well as the pre and post game shows produced by 7's Sports department. I see expansion of this next season, if the Pistons can ever return to relevance, then it could be a win win win for the teams, Ballys and Scripps. The biggest question would be what form Ballys Detroit becomes in the end.

[Splouge]

This is what happens when a major broadcast network cancels its most successful shows and puts syndicated reruns on its national schedule on some nights.

I just hope that Scripps' stations keep Antenna TV, that's my favorite channel. I look forward every weekend to Bachelor Father and Benny Hill.

[MWmetalhead]

Bally's is supposed to start a streaming relationship with Amazon Prime this autumn.

I doubt Amazon Prime wants to complete with free OTA telecasts, but the teams themselves might find the wide exposure offered by OTA broadcast availability alluring.

I'd love to see more games on channel 20, personally speaking.

[Art Van Damme]

Scripps Sports is a legit brand. VGK, Former AZ Coyotes, WNBA, et al.

Surmise that WMYD does indeed go sports. It could work.

To my knowledge, they currently air some Oakland U hoops, Detroit City Football Club and more recently a couple Pistons and Wings games.

WMYD is must-carry over most Metro Detroit cable systems. No OTA for Bally.

(How is that Diamond/Bally/Sinclair financial meltdown going anyhow?)

PWHL will be coming here. Maybe WNBA? High schools? Other colleges? WMYD would be an excellent fit.

CW is a losing proposition.

[MWmetalhead]

WMYD is not carried by any of the big three streaming services: YouTube TV, Hulu, and DirecTV Stream.

WKBD is found on all three.

Mike Murri or some flunky Scripps corporate SVP needs to get off their ass and find a way to improve distribution of WMYD.

[Rate This]

WMYD is not carried by any of the big three streaming services: YouTube TV, Hulu, and DirecTV Stream.

WKBD is found on all three.

Mike Murri or some flunky Scripps corporate SVP needs to get off their ass and find a way to improve distribution of WMYD.

I would have hoped if 7 is carried by the streamers that would automatically drag 20 along for the ride. I use YouTube TV so this won’t be helpful. For that matter Bally isn’t carried either.

[MWmetalhead]

Exactly. It's bizarre that 7 is carried but 20 is not. Scripps bought channel 20 maybe eight years ago?