Katie gets picked up by WSB-TV

[Rick Rose 2.0]

According to Broadcasting & Cable magazine Katie Couric's new syndicated talk show has been picked up by WSB-TV. I have no clue where they will put the show since they are happy with the 4pm news. I assume that The Chew or the upcomming Revolution will stay at 1 & 2 in pattern from ABC but maybe General Hospital will go to overnights or maybe ABC is actually going to cancel it.

 

[bpatrick]

Sister station WSOC Charlotte has also picked up Katie.
She appears to have a number of big-market ABC stations
(all of the ABC o&os: New York, Los Angeles, Chicago,
Philadelphia, San Francisco, Houston, Raleigh/Durham, and
Fresno), as well as ABC affiliates in Dallas, Boston, Washington,
Detroit, and Denver. A lot of these stations have 4 PM newscasts
(New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Philadelphia, Denver, and Raleigh/
Durham, I know) or may be getting one (Washington). That makes
me believe "General Hospital" will probably be evicted from its 3 PM
timeslot.

She also has some NBC affiliates (such as Orlando and Seattle) and
at least one Fox affiliate (New Orleans); if she tapes her show ahead
of time they could play it when it's convenient and not necessarily at 3.

To use a cliche: stay tuned for further developments.

 

[kilamanjero]

No telling. WSB might still bump their 4PM newscast if ABC doesn't cancel GH. Interestingly, only WJLA and WHTM has picked it up of the Allbritton group while WBMA/WJSU/WCFT in Birmingham has left it on the table for now, which also added a 4PM newscast recently.

 

[gregg75]

She will be on at 3PM, so General Hospital must be history.

http://atlanta.daybooknetwork.com/story/2011/10/31/430082011-wsb-tv-katie-couric-oct.shtml

 

[bpatrick]

According to the article you mentioned, WSB g.m. Tim McVay
(what happened to Bill Hoffman?) said that ABC is giving 3 PM
back to the affiliates, and that Channel 2 decided that Katie
would be the best fit with its 4 PM newscast. That sounds to
me like "GH" is gone come next September. Doesn't surprise me,
either; ABC's head of daytime programming, Brian Frons, apparently
wants his schedule completely free of soaps.

Assuming we're right about "GH" (and I believe we are), it's ironic:
ABC was the last network to get into soaps and "GH" was its first
(they had a thing about three years earlier called "Road To Reality"
but I think that was a new five-part story each week and not a
conventional soap); now they're the first network to get out of soaps
and "GH" is its last.

 

[secondchoice]

Soaps are expensive to produce. With the general cheapening cost cutting of all media I am surprised they lasted this long. How many stay at home wives are there now?

 

[bpatrick]

Note on "Road To Reality": the characters were a
psychoanalyst and the members of his therapy
group (sort of like "The Bob Newhart Show"'s group
without the laughs); each episode dramatized the
problems of one of the members. I still would not
consider this a traditional soap with stories that
continue day to day, with a cliffhanger ending.
As far as I'm concerned ABC was the last network
to get into soaps and will be the first to get out.

However, ABC does not plan to make a decision on
"GH" until early 2012.

 

[secondchoice]

G.H. would be an excellent "test" for HULU. Can a network "go around" the local stations?

 

[bpatrick]

I have another question: some of the NBC o&os are
picking up Jeff Probst's new talk show, and I wonder
if he'll attract NBC affiliates the way Katie has with
ABC. Bottom line: will 11 Alive replace Anderson with
Jeff and go head-to-head with Katie at 3?

Something else I've mentioned before but still can't
figure out: why is the number-one daytime talk show,
"Ellen," not doing better for 11 Alive? She can't be
running better than third at 4 PM if "Dr. Oz" is number
one and Channel 2's newscast is second.

Finally, another ABC affiliate has added Katie: WMAR
Baltimore, which also plans to air her at 3.