We are nearly a month away from the big switch to independent and there are only 3 markets (San Francisco, Tampa Bay, and Philadelphia) that are set in stone to where the CW will land by September. Even some speculations (Detroit, maybe Sacramento and Atlanta, even San Diego, which is not a part of the CBS switch from the CW) are arising, but wonder if there will be a last minute thing what would happen in September for markets like Seattle and Pittsburgh.
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CBS owned CW affiliates to drop CW affiliation and go independent
- Thread starter nelsonincharlotte
- Start date
CW And Hearst Expand, Extend Affiliation Partnership
CW will be on KQCA in Sacramento (My58) while re-upping with its other Hearst stations.
Atlanta, Pittsburgh and Seattle remain in limbo.
CW will be on KQCA in Sacramento (My58) while re-upping with its other Hearst stations.
Atlanta, Pittsburgh and Seattle remain in limbo.
Woah one would have thought Nexstar was going to put CW on a subchannel of KTXL given that they are the majority owners of the network. But it's a good move here by hearst.
Mgomrjsurf
Banned
Then eliminates FOX4KC from adding a secondary channel because only one in KC area with out one.
Hearst is a great partner in The CW. For god sake, they own one of the strongest CW affiliates in the nation in WKCF Clermont. There's no need for Nexstar to move it to a subchannel on one of their own outlets when Hearst has maintained a very well-developed relationship with The CW over the years.
I for one am not totally surprised that The CW will soon be on KQCA. Ever since the CBS/CW announcement came out, I just knew KQCA was the frontrunner and The CW's station to lose in Sacramento in this shuffle.
Now that the obvious is out of the way, its time to figure out who'll get it in Atlanta, Pittsburgh, and Seattle. My thoughts...
I for one am not totally surprised that The CW will soon be on KQCA. Ever since the CBS/CW announcement came out, I just knew KQCA was the frontrunner and The CW's station to lose in Sacramento in this shuffle.
Now that the obvious is out of the way, its time to figure out who'll get it in Atlanta, Pittsburgh, and Seattle. My thoughts...
- Hearst is in Pittsburgh but doesn't have a second station to fall back on like some of the other duos out there that Hearst owns and manages. This may be WPNT's spot to lose at this point.
- Atlanta's a lot tougher since there's no Hearst there. I'm not so sure if Gray is interested in getting The CW for WPCH or if TEGNA is willing to add another CW to its portfolio and get it for WATL. This one is a toss-up for me, but I think I'll lean into TEGNA's WATL over Gray's WPCH, mainly because the latter is so much invested into producing its local programs and its local news that it would be so hard to give that up. All WATL airs is local news from WXIA, but no local non-news programs. I look at it that way but its why I think WATL gets it instead of WPCH.
- Seattle is the trickiest one of all. Will TEGNA pick up yet ANOTHER one for KONG? Or will there be a shot-in-the-dark wildcard option that we just haven't heard from yet a.k.a. KIRO or even KFFV surprising us all?
My bet is KFFV since Weigel does own a couple of CW affiliates, including flagship WCIU. But I agree if Tegna wants to make KONG become the CW, that's also an option. KIRO is not likely since Cox already has a multi-year deal with CBS.
KIRO?!?!
I've already had my evening edible, but I'd still like some of whatever you're smoking with that idea.
Sure, Cox is going to give up Seahawks games, the Masters, 60 Minutes, Colbert, CSI and all the retrans money that the Big Four affiliation brings in, just to get LIV and whatever retreads are in prime time on CW.
I still say it's as likely to end up on KOMO 4.2 as anything else.
I've already had my evening edible, but I'd still like some of whatever you're smoking with that idea.
Sure, Cox is going to give up Seahawks games, the Masters, 60 Minutes, Colbert, CSI and all the retrans money that the Big Four affiliation brings in, just to get LIV and whatever retreads are in prime time on CW.
I still say it's as likely to end up on KOMO 4.2 as anything else.
See I keep forgetting about that multi-year deal so I think I'll take KIRO off from my speculation. It will be either KONG or KFFV, IMHO.
I know, right?! Its crazy but remember... KIRO had those two years under UPN before getting CBS back in 1997. Never say never because something like that could happen again if CBS gets its way.
However, it is unlikely if what E-Cam said is correct that KIRO has the multi-year deal with CBS in effect and if its new at best. That's a respectable guess for your prediction, but I still think it will land on either KONG or KFFV. Weigel does have at least two CW affiliates in WCWW and flagship WCIU so they may go for a third if they want to, but I have a feeling that KONG will be the winner of the Seattle CW sweepstakes in all of this. Plus, I've noticed that its TEGNA's only Independent station (not counting KTVB/KTFT Idaho's Very Own 24/7 subchannel they got too since that's on a sub and not on a main channel).
Let me add a post to talk about Detroit...
I know WKBD is scheduled to drop The CW and is scheduled to move to WADL once that purchase by Mission (cough Nexstar cough) goes through. But with all the troubles that are going on behind the scenes that could see the FCC end up blocking the deal, could this end up being a situation where Nexstar would have to force to possibly negotiate with Scripps to move The CW affiliation to WMYD instead of WADL?
There's no other option in the market if Scripps decides to keep the Independence on WMYD instead of taking The CW affiliation. You got WJBK at FOX and they seem to be happy about it, WDIV with NBC, and Graham is very happy about it too, WXYZ has been a Scripps stalwart since 1986 with no plans of giving up ABC (a heritage one too) anytime soon, WPXD being an ION affiliate (more likely owned by a Scripps sidecar) and I'm not seeing a change there, WTVS is public television, a non-profit so forget it, and WWJ is with CBS and is becoming very happy with how their new news operation and reimaging of the station is coming out.
The only real option left is The CW moving to WADL. If it doesn't go through, maybe Scripps would negotiate to take The CW for WMYD? Only time will tell because right now, there's no way how this situation will go.
For those who don't know what's going on behind the scenes, The Desk has an amazing article about it:
thedesk.net
I know WKBD is scheduled to drop The CW and is scheduled to move to WADL once that purchase by Mission (cough Nexstar cough) goes through. But with all the troubles that are going on behind the scenes that could see the FCC end up blocking the deal, could this end up being a situation where Nexstar would have to force to possibly negotiate with Scripps to move The CW affiliation to WMYD instead of WADL?
There's no other option in the market if Scripps decides to keep the Independence on WMYD instead of taking The CW affiliation. You got WJBK at FOX and they seem to be happy about it, WDIV with NBC, and Graham is very happy about it too, WXYZ has been a Scripps stalwart since 1986 with no plans of giving up ABC (a heritage one too) anytime soon, WPXD being an ION affiliate (more likely owned by a Scripps sidecar) and I'm not seeing a change there, WTVS is public television, a non-profit so forget it, and WWJ is with CBS and is becoming very happy with how their new news operation and reimaging of the station is coming out.
The only real option left is The CW moving to WADL. If it doesn't go through, maybe Scripps would negotiate to take The CW for WMYD? Only time will tell because right now, there's no way how this situation will go.
For those who don't know what's going on behind the scenes, The Desk has an amazing article about it:
Exclusive: DirecTV says it opposes sale of Detroit TV station WADL to Nexstar-controlled Mission
A battle at the FCC concerning the sale of Detroit station WADL to Nexstar-controlled Mission is heating up, with DirecTV becoming the latest to object the deal.
thedesk.net
It stays on WXII's duopoly WCWG
Maybe Graham might buy WADL to supplement their sister Jax FL duopoly of independent WJXT and WCWJLet me add a post to talk about Detroit...
I know WKBD is scheduled to drop The CW and is scheduled to move to WADL once that purchase by Mission (cough Nexstar cough) goes through. But with all the troubles that are going on behind the scenes that could see the FCC end up blocking the deal, could this end up being a situation where Nexstar would have to force to possibly negotiate with Scripps to move The CW affiliation to WMYD instead of WADL?
There's no other option in the market if Scripps decides to keep the Independence on WMYD instead of taking The CW affiliation. You got WJBK at FOX and they seem to be happy about it, WDIV with NBC, and Graham is very happy about it too, WXYZ has been a Scripps stalwart since 1986 with no plans of giving up ABC (a heritage one too) anytime soon, WPXD being an ION affiliate (more likely owned by a Scripps sidecar) and I'm not seeing a change there, WTVS is public television, a non-profit so forget it, and WWJ is with CBS and is becoming very happy with how their new news operation and reimaging of the station is coming out.
The only real option left is The CW moving to WADL. If it doesn't go through, maybe Scripps would negotiate to take The CW for WMYD? Only time will tell because right now, there's no way how this situation will go.
For those who don't know what's going on behind the scenes, The Desk has an amazing article about it:
Exclusive: DirecTV says it opposes sale of Detroit TV station WADL to Nexstar-controlled Mission
A battle at the FCC concerning the sale of Detroit station WADL to Nexstar-controlled Mission is heating up, with DirecTV becoming the latest to object the deal.
WGN might be returning to CW at some point since WCIU refused to carry Liv Golf
Now you know why threads veer off their original subject lines!
What was the question again?
It was back in 2020, not too recent but I'm sure Cox won't let KIRO break the CBS deal before September.
Cox Media Group Stations Renew CBS Affiliations | Radio & Television Business Report
The five TV stations operated by Cox Media Group that are affiliated with CBS will retain their affiliation with the network, thanks to a new deal inked today. It includes a former Northwest Broadcasting property in Humboldt County, Calif.
rbr.com
I'm 75% sure KONG-16 will take CW for Seattle. KIRO will NOT pull another UPN switch on everyone in Seattle. That was a fiasco that they aren't willing to repeat. Besides, Root Sports has the Mariners until like 2030.
Otherwise, KFFV could become a CW affiliate de-facto while simulcasting MeTV the rest of the day. But would Weigel be OK with 'Penn and Teller: Fool Us' and 'The World's Funniest Weather' preempting nightly repeats of Andy Griffith? Not to mention the LIV Golf on weekends. DTV America did that with a few LP DTs back east where MyNetworkTV aired at primetime with Antenna the rest of the day.
Otherwise, KFFV could become a CW affiliate de-facto while simulcasting MeTV the rest of the day. But would Weigel be OK with 'Penn and Teller: Fool Us' and 'The World's Funniest Weather' preempting nightly repeats of Andy Griffith? Not to mention the LIV Golf on weekends. DTV America did that with a few LP DTs back east where MyNetworkTV aired at primetime with Antenna the rest of the day.
The Mariners own a controlling share of Root Sports, so they have the Mariners as long as the team finds it convenient/profitable. They could decide tomorrow to move some or all of their games to another platform.
I inserted the quotes backwards, but what do the Mariners and Root Sports have to do with which OTA broadcast station the CW ends up on?
Val
Because KIRO aired Mariners OTA for many years, and I know that some OTA outlets in a few markets are starting to air baseball again. That includes their UPN days, where they only had to preempt 'netlet' prime-time vs. CBS primetime. KIRO also had expanded newscasts during that time, the '7 Live with Joyce Taylor' morning show and an hour of news at 10PM.
Mgomrjsurf
Banned
No Nexstar station in Orlando any way.
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