Local news expansion

[sinklair]

How is it that Sinclair is cutting local newscasts because they deem it unprofitable… yet literally every other broadcasting group is expanding local news? It’s like everything Sinclair touches goes to crap.

Gray has lifestyle shows and streaming shows in nearly every market. CBS started up a new Detroit newscast from scratch. Scripps recently added a new Lansing news team. Local news is dead? Hardly.

[radioandtventhusiast]

And more and more long-running first-run syndicated shows are ending. What are they replacing them with? Yep, more and more local newscasts.

[Martin Stett]

More on Sinclair.
https://youtu.be/0fgxoPFZMZU
Antenna Man; great source for anything OTA tech.

[Mega Hertz]

How is it that Sinclair is cutting local newscasts because they deem it unprofitable… yet literally every other broadcasting group is expanding local news? It’s like everything Sinclair touches goes to crap.

Gray has lifestyle shows and streaming shows in nearly every market. CBS started up a new Detroit newscast from scratch. Scripps recently added a new Lansing news team. Local news is dead? Hardly.

Not only that, but the CBS affiliate here has been an also-ran for decades and has NEVER had a local presence. Add to that 2, 4 and 7 had all been stalwarts of the market. It's an uphill battle at best. And they're still trying it.

[sinklair]

Just read on the Lansing Buzzboard page that WILX in Lansing is expanding news — adding a new 4pm newscast starting Monday.

How is it that smaller markets like Lansing and bigger markets like Detroit can figure out how to invest in their local operations… yet Sinclair is axing jobs left and right?

[Luke]

It’s profitable for WILX to expand their news because people watch WILX news. If people watched WEYI, it would be profitable for them as well. The problem is, they never got enough traction in the ratings to justify it. They’re better off airing syndicated.

[Matt]

It’s profitable for WILX to expand their news because people watch WILX news. If people watched WEYI, it would be profitable for them as well. The problem is, they never got enough traction in the ratings to justify it. They’re better off airing syndicated.

#TruthBomb

[MasterB]

Lansing can't support a 4PM newscast why it is only 30 minutes and couldn't support 2 & half hours of news 4PM to 6:30PM. I believe that WWMT will start up a 4PM newscast in the fall Dr. Phil moves to sister station CW7 which already airs Dr. Phil at 10AM to 11AM. Or maybe they pair Kelly Clarkson & Tamron Hall from 3PM to 5PM as I'm surprised that Nexstar didn't pick up Kelly or Tamron back in 2019 as WOOD TV will have to fill 2PM timeslot come the fall to replace Rachel Ray. As WOOD TV filled the 3PM timeslot with TMZ Live after Dr. Oz & The Good Dish ended last fall late Aug.

[sinklair]

Apparently MasterB, you know something that the guys and gals running WILX don’t. Because they are indeed running a 4pm newscast tomorrow.

https://www.wilx.com/2023/05/04/news-10 ... ing-may-8/

Starting May 8th, WILX will air:

4:30-7a: Local News
11a: Local News
3p: Studio 10 (lifestyle show)
4p: Local News
5-6:30p: Local News
10p: Local News (on MeTV channel)
11p: Local News

They must be doing something right since they are actually adding newscasts — not eliminating them like Sinclair run 25-66. In the past year, they’ve added not 1, not 2, but THREE local newscasts.

WILX also has a midday newscast, a lifestyle show, and weekend morning newscasts… something 25-66 failed to add during its run of the stations.

Hmmm… smaller markets with presumably smaller audience and advertising base can figure it out, but Sinclair can’t. Makes me thing it’s more of an issue with ownership than market size.

WILX also has figured out how to hire people with experience from bigger markets (Anchor Taylor Gattoni came from South Bend, Meterorologist Colton Cichoracki came from WJRT in Flint) and keep people like Justin Bradford longer than a two year contract.

CBS Detroit can start up a news operation from scratch in what Sinclair calls very tough economic times, resulting in it shutting down entire news operations from coast to coast.

I don’t know how much more evidence you need to understand that this is purely a Sinclair made problem. Stop blaming others. They need to own up to their numerous failures. If smaller stations like WILX in neighboring Lansing can figure this sh*t out, then Sinclair should as well.

[MWmetalhead]

WEYI is damaged goods. WILX has never been worse than second place in the Lansing market and has spent a good chunk of the past fifteen years in first place.

WEYI has never been able to escape the stigma from the analog era of being a UHF station. In markets such as South Bend where everyone is on UHF, it was never a problem. Ditto Madison where two of the big three were UHF stations. But look at WLAJ, WNWO, WGBA, WKEF and others. Getting past the UHF stigma was always an issue.

Have some breakthrough moderate success stories occurred? Yes. WOIO in Cleveland, for example. However, I would say such examples are the exception as opposed to the norm.

[AuburnViewer]

Lansing can't support a 4PM newscast why it is only 30 minutes and couldn't support 2 & half hours of news 4PM to 6:30PM. I believe that WWMT will start up a 4PM newscast in the fall Dr. Phil moves to sister station CW7 which already airs Dr. Phil at 10AM to 11AM. Or maybe they pair Kelly Clarkson & Tamron Hall from 3PM to 5PM as I'm surprised that Nexstar didn't pick up Kelly or Tamron back in 2019 as WOOD TV will have to fill 2PM timeslot come the fall to replace Rachel Ray. As WOOD TV filled the 3PM timeslot with TMZ Live after Dr. Oz & The Good Dish ended last fall late Aug.

Dr. Phil is ending it's run this year and won't return for a new season in the fall.

[sinklair]

MW: 25-66’s problems are much more recent. There was a period of about two years when a local news plan was put in place. Ratings were on the rise. The quality of journalism rivaled 12 and 5.

I’m not sure how fast expected ratings to turn around after decades of mismanagement, but they essentially pulled the plug. Their answer was to start layoffs and rebrand to the Mid-Michigan NOW logo. Anyone who thinks less news coupled with a new logo is going to raise ratings is qualified to be the Marketing Director at 25-66.

Spoiler alert: it didn’t… and led managers to rotate through news directors, GMs, and now basically shut down the entire news department.

[Ben Zonia]

WEYI is damaged goods. WILX has never been worse than second place in the Lansing market and has spent a good chunk of the past fifteen years in first place.

WEYI has never been able to escape the stigma from the analog era of being a UHF station. In markets such as South Bend where everyone is on UHF, it was never a problem. Ditto Madison where two of the big three were UHF stations. But look at WLAJ, WNWO, WGBA, WKEF and others. Getting past the UHF stigma was always an issue.

Have some breakthrough moderate success stories occurred? Yes. WOIO in Cleveland, for example. However, I would say such examples are the exception as opposed to the norm.

Even though everything except WILX 10 and WJRT 12 are on UHF now. Would it help if they went to calling themselves 18, it's physical channel now, or some VHF channel they are on a lot of cable systems. Seems like it was on 11 on many systems. Wonder why WSMH isn't calling itself 16 instead of 66. Are they allowed to do any of that? If not, at least for physical channels, it's just silly.

[MWmetalhead]

Many people who watch local news have been watching the same station for news for 30 or 40 years.

In terms of OTA PSIP channel identification, the physical RF channel or former analog channel can be used.

In terms of channel number references used in video graphics and on-air branding produced by the TV station, there is little limitation aside from trademark rules. WNEM obviously cannot call itself "TV 12," but otherwise stations are free to brand as they wish.

For example, in West Michigan, WOTV calls itself "My ABC 4," even though their RF channel is 17 or 20 (I cannot remember which) and the PSIP virtual channel is 41.

[MasterB]

Lansing can't support a 4PM newscast why it is only 30 minutes and couldn't support 2 & half hours of news 4PM to 6:30PM. I believe that WWMT will start up a 4PM newscast in the fall Dr. Phil moves to sister station CW7 which already airs Dr. Phil at 10AM to 11AM. Or maybe they pair Kelly Clarkson & Tamron Hall from 3PM to 5PM as I'm surprised that Nexstar didn't pick up Kelly or Tamron back in 2019 as WOOD TV will have to fill 2PM timeslot come the fall to replace Rachel Ray. As WOOD TV filled the 3PM timeslot with TMZ Live after Dr. Oz & The Good Dish ended last fall late Aug.

Dr. Phil is ending it's run this year and won't return for a new season in the fall.

That is why I said that WWMT will put a 4PM newscast come the fall since Dr. Phil is ending at the end of May, just forgot to say that repeats move to sister station CW7 in my original post.