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Indianapolis: CBS Moving from WISH to WTTV 1/1/2015

CBS Moving Indianapolis Affiliation To WTTV

CBS is getting a new home in Indianapolis next year.

As part of a new agreement renewing CBS affiliations with Tribune Broadcasting, the companies announced today that Tribune’s current CW affiliate, WTTV, will take over the CBS affiliation from LIN Media’s WISH on Jan. 1, 2015.
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http://www.tvnewscheck.com/article/78359/cbs-moving-indianapolis-affiliation-to-wttv/

Does CBS have a beef with WISH-TV? Will WISH go independent? What will happen to The CW? And what about WLFI Lafayette?

BTW, WTTV has a satellite (WTTK) licensed to Kokomo, but with transmitter in northern Indy (moved from Windfall).

Also, WTTV/WTTK is WXIN's junior partner.

RabbitEars Contour Map: http://www.rabbitears.info/contour....as=1334859&cir=&circen=39.4075,-86.1477777778
 
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This is rumored to be a part of a larger plan by Tribune to boot The CW off of their stations, after Peter Liguori's comments about not being "pleased" with the network.
 
Any word on what WISH might pick up? Are they going independent? As they aren't displacing another network (The CW is going to a subchannel), this is a big blow to LIN if they don't pick up an affiliation.
 
Reasoning for the deal from Variety:

Deal was driven by CBS’ push for reverse retransmission consent compensation from its affiliate stations. The Eye’s current Indianapolis affil, Lin Media’s WISH-TV, had been in negotiations with CBS to renew, but was said to be balking at CBS’ reverse-comp terms.

Meanwhile, Tribune was eager to land CBS’ NFL package, which includes the Indianapolis Colts (pictured), for WTTV, one of the strongest stations (with channel position 4) in the market overall. Indianapolis ranks as the nation’s 26th-largest TV market, per Nielsen.

CBS’ shuffle in Indianapolis sends a clear message to other affiliate stations that the network is willing to move in markets if station owners don’t want to pay the Eye’s price. Networks were once loathe to move stations in a market for fear that the disruption in channel position would cost them viewers. But in the programming environment driven by digital listings and on-demand options, the Eye is clearly confident that viewers will find its shows no matter where it lands on the dial.
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http://variety.com/2014/tv/news/cbs...act-bumping-cw-to-digital-channel-1201279881/
 
So many questions ...
What happens to WXIN's new 11pm newscast? Simulcast?
What happens to "this" tv on 4.2?
Could WISH steal the CW from Tribune?

I think this could have quite a ripple effect.
 
I wonder how much dial position means anymore? With cable and satellite, wouldn't seem to mean much. However, with more people cutting the cords and going OTA, it could mean some. Sounds like a $$ factor. What will happen to WISH? CW is staying on at 4.2.
 
Dial position won't mean anything OTA either, really. With pretty much every digital tuner having an EPG, you'll get exactly the same evening-out effect that stations get from differing dial positions on cable and satellite. If someone sees a program they like, they'll watch it. Hardly anyone pays attention to channel numbers anymore.
 
Scary times to be an exec a local network TV affiliates.

On one hand, when a network program is streamed over the internet, the local affiliate gets nothing.

On the other, (and someone please correct me if I don't have this right) the network affiliate that negotiates a hefty retrans contract w/cable and satellite would seem to owe a good chunk of that money to the network. The station didn't create much of the content, the network did.

WTTV is site restricted some 25 miles to the south of the Indy metro. But a challenged OTA signal doesn't mean diddley anymore.
 
joebtsflk1 said:
WTTV is site restricted some 25 miles to the south of the Indy metro. But a challenged OTA signal doesn't mean diddley anymore.
Click to expand...

But it has another transmitter, as I mentioned on my thread on the Indiana board:

mvcg66b3r said:
BTW, WTTV has a satellite (WTTK) licensed to Kokomo, but with transmitter in northern Indy (moved from Windfall).

RabbitEars Contour Map: http://www.rabbitears.info/contour....as=1334859&cir=&circen=39.4075,-86.1477777778
Click to expand...
 
I noticed that WISH has it's digital channel on VHF while, WTTV has it's digital on UHF. I wonder if WISH has had signal issues being on VHF?
 
I know channel positions are declining in importance, but I still think a good number of people pay attention. I work in a very upscale club and you'd be surprised how many people get upset 'cause they can't find channel 4 (NBC) or Channel 2(CBS) or Channel 7 (ABC) :)
 
ubae said:
What happens to "this" tv on 4.2?
Could WISH steal the CW from Tribune?
Click to expand...
This: Probably to part-time carriage when CW is not programming (which leaves about 154 hours a week of ThisTV)
CW: Probably stays with WTTV because Tribune is a major partner of CW.

I suspect WISH is either going to be independent, or join a non-English language network.

Clearly a shot across the bow for LIN.
 
Any of Tribune's other CW affiliates in play for one of the "Big 4"? Is WTTV locked into CW until 2016 or are they just putting on a subchannel to keep it away from WISH? Is WISH even interested in CW?
 
More than likely, depends on what Media General (after the merger with LIN closes) decide to do, I think MG will run both WISH, and KRON-TV in San Francisco as indies. Again depends on what Media General decides to do.
 
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