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KRCR buying KCVU?

A

AKA

There are rumors around the Internet (especially on Wikipedia) that KRCR-TV has entered into a local marketing agreement with KCVU and that the LMA is a precursor to a pending purchase of KCVU and KRVU-LD by Bonten Media (KRCR). Other than an unconfirmed piece in Chico News & Review that begins with, "Word has it," I haven't been able to find anything substantiating the rumors, nor have I seen any evidence on either of the three stations (yet) of an LMA.

If true, though, this is another serious blow to individual media voices in this market. We will have gone from four unique, separately-owned and operated commercial television operations in this market to just two in the span of a dozen or so years.
 
Maybe we can see a 10 o'clock newscast on KCVU to compete with the KHSL produced newscast on The CW. Honestly I don't see what difference it makes who owns KCVU because they have no local news department that could be cut. Would they take over saintes Eureka group as well? That would make every station in Eureka besides KIEM owned by one owner. Maybe we could finally get a second local tv news outlet up there since KVIQ went bust a few years ago
 
You're right: KCVU doesn't currently have its own news operation (though they did just start piping in news broadcasts from KTXL at 8 am and 5:30 pm). Even so, I believe duopolies and local marketing agreements are detrimental to a television market, especially when it comes to stations as weak as KRCR and KCVU.

Channels 7 and 20 are the most amateurish stations in the market (and that's saying something, because KHSL and KNVN are pretty bad). Neither station is capable of presenting their many syndicated shows in high-definition, and KRCR is often guilty of forgetting to flip the HD switch on network programming. Channel 7'snews broadcasts are comically awful--filled with typos, gaffes, flubs, corrections and retractions. KCVU's on-air IDs look like they were designed by a 16-year-old using PowerPoint. (That sax-driven one in particular is what I'm referring to; the one with random clips from their shows and the misaligned text that says, "The best shows are on Fox 20.") I'm not exaggerating when I say I could make a better ID using Final Cut or After Effects, and I'm not a trained professional.

This might not seem like a big deal to some, but I believe station presentation is a big deal, and none of the stations in this market present themselves well. What worries me is that ifthe partnership between Channels 12 and 24 is any indication, LMAs make stations worse, not better. KHSL used to be an outstanding station, but once they took on Channel 24, they became cheap and bland.

Can KRCR and KCVU afford to become even worse than they already are?
 
Perusing Wikipedia, I've noticed some of Bonten's stations produce local news in high-definition. Why can't they make such an investment in KRCR? It's not like Bristol, Virginia (WCYB-TV), New Bern, North Carolina (WCTI-TV) and Abilene (KTXS) are giant media markets. Abilene's an even smaller market than Chico-Redding.
 
I'm not sure what changes are in store, as nothing has been formally announced. I don't think there's any need to change the call letters, but you never know.
 
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