10 Comments Add your own

• 1. Rico Suave  |  July 16th, 2008 at 6:25 am

  I’m not actually in “the biz,” so let me try to understand from a civilian point-of-view:

  The owners of a TV station want high ratings so they can sell advertising time for a higher price. So they think they can get WTVJ a higher ranking. But if WTVJ goes up to at least fourth and WPLG (which I am assuming is in the top 4), then Post-Newsweek would be breaking the FCC’s rules, and would have to dump one of the stations?

  Reminds me of the underlying sub-plot of “WKRP in Cincinnati,” where Mother Carlson wanted the station to get low ratings and lose money as a tax writeoff…

• 2. Anonymous  |  July 16th, 2008 at 7:01 am

  There is an alternate approach to it although it probably has nothing to go with this. You can apply for a station also in the same market if you can show they have been losing money consistently and probably could be turned around,

  I honestly doubt the station in question is really that technologically or monetarily crippled, and after all the complaints I heard from friends around Tampa when Clear Channel entered their RADIO market, I would really hope for better.

• 3. Anonymous  |  July 16th, 2008 at 7:20 am

  This is the situation in Salinas, Calif. right now.

  The CBS (KION) and FOX (KCBA) affiliates are in the same building and use the same talent/crew for news on both channels.

  Heck, their websites are even copies of each other with different colors.

  I’m not exactly sure how this works out, but it is a little strange seeing the same news on two different channels.

• 4. Adam  |  July 16th, 2008 at 7:23 am

  Unfortunately, if WTVJ is 6th, it might actually be a legal move. However, even if it’s not, couldn’t they just “sell” WTVJ or WPLG to a “different” company, like Nexstar does with Mission, and then just LMA/JSA the station back to the other?

  Also, isn’t WTVJ a NBC Master Control hub?

  -Adam

• 5. Adam  |  July 16th, 2008 at 7:24 am

  oops.. it’s before coffee.. NBC O&O Master Control hub.

  -Adam

• 6. discreet_chaos  |  July 16th, 2008 at 8:03 am

  Anon — Both the CBS and Fox affilates in Albuquerque are owned by LIN.

  Like many markets, the Abq Fox station has always had news produced by another; It used to get it from the NBC affiliate, but not too long after LIN bought the station (and I suspect their contract ran out), KASA switched to getting their news (co-branded with a revolving bug) from KRQE.

• 7. Anonymous  |  July 16th, 2008 at 8:05 am

  Yes, that would be a huge stink, even if the other station were a CW affiliate.

• 8. discreet_chaos  |  July 16th, 2008 at 8:06 am

  PS) Though I don’t know it, but I suspect that if the “top four” rule is hard and fast, then the Abq Univision affilate most likely edges Fox out of the top tier.

• 9. Anonymous  |  July 16th, 2008 at 8:20 am

  DC: Lin is neither CBS nor FOX O&O and they don’t own a Spanish-language service competing with another based in Miami. When you deal with market share I don’t think you should limit it to over the air TV or radio stations solely.. Eventually as I understand it those Spanish language operations will move on BUT then they got together with UNIVERSAL…

  So the question becomes how much stuff do you actually own in lower Florida as well as worldwide that impacts the Miami market before it looks bad?

  My opinion is that the point of no return was reached 20 years or more ago.

• 10. Paul  |  July 24th, 2008 at 12:11 am

  NO WTVJ’s master control is out of NYC With studio & wx plus control facility’s in Miami this was done in mid 2006 to save money, the telemundo affiliate has it’s master control in Miami at the studios.

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