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KGO-TV renames ABC 7 News to Eyewitness News

Y2kTheNewOldies

Y2kTheNewOldies


Yes its been nearly 6 decades since ABC used the Eyewitness News name for KABC and WABC. But its the first time KGO-TV used it directly to be in line with the rest of the Disney owned TV Stations.

The first time ABC used Eyewitness News for its O&Os was when Roger Grimsby was reassigned from KGO-TV to WABC-TV in 1968. KGO had to use NewsScene, Channel 7 News and ABC7 News due to Group W, Paramount and CBS holding the Eyewitness News name for KPIX-TV now CBS News Bay Area. Yes KGO over the decades had reporters that accidentally used the Eyewitness News name due to the reporters clip originating from KABC-TV and WABC-TV or they had to simulcast a major event from KABC-TV when that happened.
 
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landtuna said:
Does anyone really care what the brand name of a news show is? I really doubt it.
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Not really it’s more about Disney owned stations unifying their branding for the ABC News, Hulu, and Disney+ apps in this case.

It’s like when KPIX renamed itself CBS News Bay Area all to unite the Paramount owned TV stations to both the CBS News and Paramount+ TV apps.
 
I suspect this may be partially due to KABC often taking live shots from KGO-TV's reporters on stories from the Bay Area. (They had about one per newscast leading up to the Super Bowl™ until ABC's national reporter Jaclyn Lee turned up on Thursday, and then weekend "World News Tonight" anchor Whit Johnson on Friday evening and Saturday.)

I have noticed an occasional stumble on those live reports where the reporter momentarily forgets to say "ABC7 Eyewitness News" at the end of the report. So possibly this is an attempt to keep a common branding across the state?

If so, let's see how long KFSN remains "ABC 30 Action News" ...
 
landtuna said:
Does anyone really care what the brand name of a news show is? I really doubt it.
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Many stations do. They use the name of their newscast as branding for the entire station. KPNX Phoenix comes to mind immediately. Regardless of programming, it all airs on "12 News" rather than "TV 12," "NBC 12," or even just "Channel 12."
 
K.M. Richards said:
I suspect this may be partially due to KABC often taking live shots from KGO-TV's reporters on stories from the Bay Area. (They had about one per newscast leading up to the Super Bowl™ until ABC's national reporter Jaclyn Lee turned up on Thursday, and then weekend "World News Tonight" anchor Whit Johnson on Friday evening and Saturday.)

I have noticed an occasional stumble on those live reports where the reporter momentarily forgets to say "ABC7 Eyewitness News" at the end of the report. So possibly this is an attempt to keep a common branding across the state?

If so, let's see how long KFSN remains "ABC 30 Action News" ...
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Same with WPVI-TV since those two are the only Disney TV stations to use Action News in its name. But then again the overall picture is for all the Disney owned TV stations to unite with one branding for ABC News and Disney+ apps.
 
101.9 La Kalle said:
View attachment 11417
I guess that won't be changing for a little while.
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I think it would be interesting, actually, to see both the ABC and CBS stations using the same branding for their newscast!

Seriously, you think ABC isn't above paying Nexstar (KGPE's owner) to rename their newscast? Or demand it as payback for all the turmoil they helped create around Jimmy Kimmel?
 
www.newscaststudio.com

California ABC stations switch to unified version of Circle 7 logo while one picks up ‘Eyewitness News’ branding

Two of ABC’s owned television stations in California have rolled out updated branding. KABC is ... Read More
www.newscaststudio.com www.newscaststudio.com

Here’s more details on how Disney got KGO-TV the rights to the Eyewitness News name. And yes it’s tied to Paramount trademarking the name Eyewitness News back when KYW, KDKA, WJZ, KPIX and WBZ were using them under Group W and CBS management. Yes there’s a 1965 date on when Group W used the news brand for their affiliates. 1968-1969 dates are the most cited ones on when ABC owned stations (except KGO prior to 2026) used the Eyewitness News name. The timeline matches up on when ABC reassigned Roger Grimsby from KGO-TV to WABC-TV. It’s the same timeframe when VanAmburg and Jerry Jensen replaced Roger Grimsby on KGO as Channel 7 News Scene.


Thanks to different DNA histories between “Eyewitness News” the name and “Eyewitness News” the news format, CBS-owned stations that were then owned by Westinghouse began using the name (but not necessarily the format) starting in 1959, including KABC rival KPIX in San Francisco. Others included KYW in Philadelphia, WJZ in Baltimore, Maryland, WBZ in Boston, Massachusetts, and KDKA in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.


The “Eyewitness News” format, which emphasized on-the-scene reporting and visuals over the once-popular anchor shots, would be introduced in 1965 at KYW after a call sign swap between that station and the one now known as WKYC in Cleveland, Ohio.
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The trademark to the name “Eyewitness News” for use with a television news program is owned by CBS, so ABC was likely required to enter into a licensing agreement with Paramount Global to use the name.By way of example, KPIX dropped “Eyewitness News” in 2013 and now known as “CBS Bay Area,” meaning there has been about 13 years where the name wasn’t actively used in the market, so it’s likely that viewers are not as prone to associating the branding with KPIX.
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But I soon learned first-hand even more what an impact he had on Bay Area television news. In the ‘60s, he was a force to be reckoned with at KGO-TV. He helped the station to compete with cross-town rival KPIX.
Grimsby’s commanding delivery, combined with his acerbic wit and larger than life TV persona, helped him to redefine Bay Area TV news during an age when the medium was growing incredibly, spurred by the assassination of President John F. Kennedy in 1963.

After seven years at KGO-TV, he moved on in
1968 to anchor the evening news at New York’s WABC-TV. Two years later, he would be teamed with Bill Beutel, and New York’s TV news “dream team” was born. It was during that time that Grimsby’s innovative style of presenting the news came to be
labeled “happy talk,” though he regarded that
description as derisive.
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KeithE4 said:
Many stations do. They use the name of their newscast as branding for the entire station. KPNX Phoenix comes to mind immediately. Regardless of programming, it all airs on "12 News" rather than "TV 12," "NBC 12," or even just "Channel 12."
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When I said "anyone" I was referring to viewers, not the stations themselves. I should have been more accurate.

I realize that by embedding their news program name within the station branding it might remind viewers where to go to get their news. But on the other hand, once you watch it the brand becomes a sad reminder of the poor quality of their program. When channel 7 in NYC began airing "Eyewitness News" years ago it quickly became "Eyewitless News". Direct foot shot.
 
landtuna said:
When channel 7 in NYC began airing "Eyewitness News" years ago it quickly became "Eyewitless News".
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I still jokingly call ABC7 Los Angeles' newscast that, even though they are my news station of choice. (If for now other reason than Dallas Raines as chief meteorologist; he has a great on-camera presence and is very eloquent when explaining what's causing weather conditions, including ones still a day or two away that might end up here.)
 
landtuna said:
I realize that by embedding their news program name within the station branding it might remind viewers where to go to get their news. But on the other hand, once you watch it the brand becomes a sad reminder of the poor quality of their program. When channel 7 in NYC began airing "Eyewitness News" years ago it quickly became "Eyewitless News". Direct foot shot.
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Oh wow. A few people thinking they’re cute decades ago used a silly nickname. That doesn’t matter. The numbers do, and the numbers spent decades being quite fine. The little trolls are irrelevant.
 
I know Harold Greene. He gave me a lot of the backstory for my article on channel 39 in San Diego, and I think he'd be insulted by the insinuation that he was anything like Ron Burgundy.
 
K.M. Richards said:
I know Harold Greene. He gave me a lot of the backstory for my article on channel 39 in San Diego, and I think he'd be insulted by the insinuation that he was anything like Ron Burgundy.
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True and it’s all because the movie Anchorman the viewers in the Southland think that way given how much Will Ferrel’s team put the emphasis on how Greene looked at the time when he was in San Diego. But the crew on Anchorman referenced Mort Crim the then Philadelphia and Detroit tv Anchor as their inspiration.

www.usatoday.com

Meet Mort Crim: The inspiration for Will Ferrell's 'Anchorman'

Long-time anchorman Mort Crim was the inspiration for the 'Anchorman' movies.
www.usatoday.com
 


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