Belo and WFAA

[sathman01]

I am curious on why Belo doesn't want to sell WFAA to Disney/ABC?

Also, isn't WFAA the last O&O network hold out in the DFW area?

 

[bhayes1016]

WFAA is Belo's flagship, and apparently ABC isn't interested in buying stations right now.

And apparently, they are the last non-O&O holdout..

4 & 27 - Fox
5 & 39 - NBCU
8 & 52 (LMA) - Belo
11 & 21 - CBS
33 - Tribune (what amounts to an O&O for CW stations)

 

[Slambang]

Buddy is correct on ABC not buying affiliates curently. Seeing they recently unloaded a whole bunch of radio assets to raise cash, I dont see them ponying up to convert any stations to O&Os anytime soon. Belo also wouldnt let their only real mouthpiece in this area (seeing noone reads the DMN or watches TXCN) go without some serious cash on the table.

Also on Trib owning CW33, I dont understand why the other Trib stations (KWGN2 Denver, KTLA5 LA,WPIX 9 NYC, ect..) have gotten their you-know-what together when it comes to putting together a decent newscast seven nights a week and we get a sub-standard, half-a**ed production the folks down at DCTV can call amature.

 

[arnoldevns]

Actually, the list of DFW O&O's should also include Univision's KUVN and KSTR

There's really no reason for ABC to own a station here. Belo does very well with WFAA and has made it one of the strongest ABC affiliates in the country. I'm sure ABC realizes they'd have a hard time keeping that up if they owned it - and it would cost them a ton of money to try.

Besides, ABC just laid off a bunch of reporters and closed several bureaus. The company is not in a buying mode right now.
Belo has had the same problem for several years too and the company has no interest in getting rid of a profitable part of the company like WFAA.

 

[snoman]

I don't think that ABC is losing any sleep over not having WFAA. They also don't have WJLA in Washington, DC. I think if they were wanting Top 10 O&O's, they'd go after the one in the Nation's Capital first and foremost.

 

[genius]

Also on Trib owning CW33, I dont understand why the other Trib stations (KWGN2 Denver, KTLA5 LA,WPIX 9 NYC, ect..) have gotten their you-know-what together when it comes to putting together a decent newscast seven nights a week and we get a sub-standard, half-a**ed production the folks down at DCTV can call amature.

Give it time, maybe. The Tribune stations you mentioned and compare to have had news operations that are 30-40+ years old and were major superstations.

 

[bhayes1016]

Buddy is correct on ABC not buying affiliates curently. Seeing they recently unloaded a whole bunch of radio assets to raise cash, I dont see them ponying up to convert any stations to O&Os anytime soon. Belo also wouldnt let their only real mouthpiece in this area (seeing noone reads the DMN or watches TXCN) go without some serious cash on the table.

Also on Trib owning CW33, I dont understand why the other Trib stations (KWGN2 Denver, KTLA5 LA,WPIX 9 NYC, ect..) have gotten their you-know-what together when it comes to putting together a decent newscast seven nights a week and we get a sub-standard, half-a**ed production the folks down at DCTV can call amature.

Because there's a likelihood that Tribune (or its successor) will kill the news operations of all its stations except WGN/WPIX/KTLA/KWGN once their new ownership takes over.

 

[Slambang]

Thats sad really, Seeing that they could've used their resources for the betterment of local news. Instead they hired a bunch of clowns for the anchor desk as well as had a revolving door of meterologist, save Fred "Beetle" Barnhill, whos stuck it out since the beginning.

 

[VERITAS DE VOCE]

What ever happened to Glenn "think I am Elvis with my talking big hands" Moray?

 

[KTN Corp]

There's really no reason for ABC to own a station here. Belo does very well with WFAA and has made it one of the strongest ABC affiliates in the country. I'm sure ABC realizes they'd have a hard time keeping that up if they owned it - and it would cost them a ton of money to try.

Besides, ABC just laid off a bunch of reporters and closed several bureaus. The company is not in a buying mode right now.
Belo has had the same problem for several years too and the company has no interest in getting rid of a profitable part of the company like WFAA.

Even if Belo moved back to Houston today and made KHOU their flagship (and maybe buy the Galveston Daily News and build it up to compete with the Chronicle; they might as well change the call letters back to KGUL but leave the COL as Houston), WFAA is still in second place especially if it's in a larger market. ABC/Disney already has KTRK and that's all they want in Texas.

I don't think that ABC is losing any sleep over not having WFAA. They also don't have WJLA in Washington, DC. I think if they were wanting Top 10 O&O's, they'd go after the one in the Nation's Capital first and foremost.

Yep, they're more interested converting a Channel 7 affiliate into an O&O, something that they couldn't have for many years since they are the network that picked San Francisco instead of Washington. Ironically, NBC and ABC are on opposite sides of the consequence of the 5 station rule in the early days of TV. Speaking of SF, it's like NBC trying to make KRON an O&O. Will there ever be a NBC 4 San Francisco in the Bay Area? Will this be an obstacle for NBC Universal to buy out KPRC-TV?

 

[Slambang]

What ever happened to Glenn "think I am Elvis with my talking big hands" Moray?

Last I heard he was doing demonstrations for magic car shammys at the fair....After all that BS with his shoplifting at grapevine mills...

 

[bpatrick]

With Dallas/Ft. Worth the number five DMA
now, it's worth mentioning that WFAA is the
only outlet of the big four (ABC/CBS/FOX/NBC)
in the top five markets that is not an o&o.
I'd like to see WFAA and Atlanta's WSB become
o&os but both have the same things in common:
flagships of their owners (Belo and Cox, respectively),
and both among ABC's strongest affiliates. No reason that
I can see for either to be sold.

Everything I've read on these boards and elsewhere
seems to suggest that if ABC did decide to start
buying stations again, the most likely candidates
would be WJLA and/or Orlando's WFTV (the latter
because, since Disney owns ABC, they would consider
it perfect sense to own a station in the city where
Disney World is located). But don't read anything
into this; I've heard nothing about ABC buying any
stations anytime in the near future.

Houston's a different story. I'm hearing that Post-
Newsweek wants to sell KPRC and Detroit's WDIV.
NBC doesn't seem interested in o&os in Southern
markets (they don't own all of KXAS) other than
Miami (they sold Raleigh and Birmingham to Media
General). So here's a "what if": CBS buys KPRC
(moving to Channel 2 in the process) and KHOU
becomes an NBC affiliate. Thoughts?

 

[newsmark]

I'm hearing that Post-Newsweek wants to sell KPRC and Detroit's WDIV. //
So here's a "what if": CBS buys KPRC (moving to Channel 2 in the process) and KHOU
becomes an NBC affiliate. Thoughts?

I'd really be interested to know where the word about Post Newsweek wanting to sell WDIV and KPRC comes from. I used to work at 'DIV. It is their flagship station, the profit center, the crown jewel and the model for other PNS stations. Just a few years ago they moved corporate headquarters to WDIV.

PNS also likes KPRC because it's in a growing market. But IF they were to sell, it would be to NBC. CBS would be crazy to mess up a successful situation with KHOU and go through an affiliation switch. They've had too many unsuccessful affiliation switches over the past few years.

All that said, if someone made Post Newsweek a great offer for all SIX stations, you might see a deal. But with so many stations on the block right now, that's not likely to happen.

 

[snoman]

Yeah, I don't see an affiliation switch happening at KHOU. They do very well and despite not being an O&O, CBS still uses Dr. Neil Frank for a lot of weather stuff, especially when things start looking Tropical Storm-Like in the Gulf. However, I do wish Post-Newsweek would sell KPRC, maybe to Hearst-Argyle, Scripps, or someone like that. Since PN has owned KPRC, their ratings have nose-dived. They are one of the weakest NBC affiliates in the country, for a market this size. However, I wouldn't totally rule out NBC buying it. They already own the Telemundo station here. They have O&O's in smaller markets like Hartford and Providence, and they have an O&O in Dallas, so it would make a lot of sense for them to buy KPRC.

 

[KTN Corp]

I'm hearing that Post-Newsweek wants to sell KPRC and Detroit's WDIV. //
So here's a "what if": CBS buys KPRC (moving to Channel 2 in the process) and KHOU
becomes an NBC affiliate. Thoughts?

I'd really be interested to know where the word about Post Newsweek wanting to sell WDIV and KPRC comes from. I used to work at 'DIV. It is their flagship station, the profit center, the crown jewel and the model for other PNS stations. Just a few years ago they moved corporate headquarters to WDIV.

PNS also likes KPRC because it's in a growing market. But IF they were to sell, it would be to NBC. CBS would be crazy to mess up a successful situation with KHOU and go through an affiliation switch. They've had too many unsuccessful affiliation switches over the past few years.

All that said, if someone made Post Newsweek a great offer for all SIX stations, you might see a deal. But with so many stations on the block right now, that's not likely to happen.

NBC would have no choice to take KPRC-TV as an O&O or begrudgingly as an affiliate. There are no alternatives here.

Belo tends to be loyal to the networks. Remember Scripps-Howard and KTVK? Unlike Post-Newsweek, they don't preempt programs without good reason and stay close to the network's recommended schedule. Passions is a classic example of PN's preemptions. Another example is KPRC-TV and the Conan O'Brien skit. That's why they it's on right after Leno unlike the KHOU 30-min delay of Craig Ferguson. But they also delay Carson Daly by an hour (but that is too many late night shows though for one network).

If Post-Newsweek can get back WUSA, say goodbye to WDIV also. KPRC-TV is damaged goods, too damaged to salvage.

Yeah, I don't see an affiliation switch happening at KHOU. They do very well and despite not being an O&O, CBS still uses Dr. Neil Frank for a lot of weather stuff, especially when things start looking Tropical Storm-Like in the Gulf. However, I do wish Post-Newsweek would sell KPRC, maybe to Hearst-Argyle, Scripps, or someone like that. Since PN has owned KPRC, their ratings have nose-dived. They are one of the weakest NBC affiliates in the country, for a market this size. However, I wouldn't totally rule out NBC buying it. They already own the Telemundo station here. They have O&O's in smaller markets like Hartford and Providence, and they have an O&O in Dallas, so it would make a lot of sense for them to buy KPRC.

Apparently KHOU is the other flagship station of Belo. KHJZ-FM has Smooth Jazz Television on Saturdays at 01:00 on KHOU. On the radio spots it's referred as on CBS 11.

It would also make sense because of the KPRC-KTMD duopoly. Is NBC able to buy out LIN's 26% on KXAS or is LIN treating it like PN treats WDIV? I'm thinking that NBC wants a full O&O station in the South; they might be inclined to replace or supplement KXAS with KPRC if they cannot buyout LIN.