Some Fox Stations Wish Not To Be Linked To Fox News

[searadiofreak]

I guess it is pretty funny when you think about it. It is pretty surprising that "Q-13" isn't "FOX 13"! Then, they could add all the colorful, noisy graphics between every story like FOX 10 does here in Phoenix. Half the time, the anchors forget about it and end up trying to talk over the graphics -- stopping in mid-sentence...

A couple of points about the "Q-13" on-air branding...

When KCPQ-TV channel 13 returned to commercial operation in 1980, they launched with the "Q-13" identity, so they were using it for quite a few years before they became a Fox affiliate.

And while many markets have seen station branding subsequently aligned with the national networks, the Seattle/Tacoma market is an exception. So far as I'm aware, none of the big four network affiliates in that market use their network identities in their primary on air branding, instead preferring to brand with their call letters -- "KOMO 4" instead of "ABC 4", "KING 5" (with a crown on the 5) instead of "NBC 5", "KIRO 7" instead of "CBS 7", and (of course) "Q-13" instead of "Fox 13".

The only stations to use network branding are KSTW as "CW 11" and KMYQ as "My Q2". The branding may represent the independent streak of the Pacific Northwest, or may simply reflect the fact that the only O&O in the market is the CW station (KSTW).

I think that is a good assessment. Seattle was an early affiliate market, especially with KING (NBC) in the late 40's. Yes, the market has an independent streak, but it also has had more time to digest the original call letters, KING, KOMO, and KIRO. I would guess that most in that market still identify with the calls more than the channel number and/or network. (Even though KIRO lost CBS to KSTW for a time in the 90's, but soon got it back). This is good for the locals, not so good for the networks. Regardless, Seattle is one of the few markets where the calls are still prominently mentioned, as opposed to the network or channel position. There are other markets that still maintain call letter presence, but they are becoming fewer and fewer. Seattle is unique in this regard. Could be geographic, but more likely due to history, longevity, and viewer habits. We shall see if this continues, or whether Seattle falls in with the rest of local TV around the country. For now, it is nice to see some orginality in local tv news branding, and you still get that in Seattle!

 

[justthenumbers]

My Mother hates Fox News Channel and, therefore, will NOT watch Q-13 -- the Fox affiliate in Seattle.

My mom (who also cannot stand Fox News Channel) thinks that the Phoenix Fox affiliate (KSAZ) is another (or the same as) Fox News Channel -- and so she will not watch their local news.

 

[justthenumbers]

(no message - moderators please delete if you wish)

 

[dhett]

My Mother hates Fox News Channel and, therefore, will NOT watch Q-13 -- the Fox affiliate in Seattle.

My mom (who also cannot stand Fox News Channel) thinks that the Phoenix Fox affiliate (KSAZ) is another (or the same as) Fox News Channel -- and so she will not watch their local news.

In defense of your mother, it's a lot easier to think that in Phoenix, where channel 10 uses FNC graphics such as the searchlights, and the rotating time and temp. An unexpected choice, even for a network O&O, as the station's newscasts are not of the same political leanings as the cable station.

 

[hintomedia]

And while many markets have seen station branding subsequently aligned with the national networks, the Seattle/Tacoma market is an exception. So far as I'm aware, none of the big four network affiliates in that market use their network identities in their primary on air branding, instead preferring to brand with their call letters -- "KOMO 4" instead of "ABC 4", "KING 5" (with a crown on the 5) instead of "NBC 5", "KIRO 7" instead of "CBS 7", and (of course) "Q-13" instead of "Fox 13".

The only stations to use network branding are KSTW as "CW 11" and KMYQ as "My Q2". The branding may represent the independent streak of the Pacific Northwest, or may simply reflect the fact that the only O&O in the market is the CW station (KSTW).

Elaborating a little more on KCPQ... The station had been identifying as "Q13 Fox" on syndicated programming promos since at least the mid-late 90s (if not earlier). On the other hand, the newscast titles remained free from any references to Fox until around 2003, when the title was changed from "Q13 News" to "Q13 Fox News". (And before "Q13 News" it was "Q13 Reports", similar to the "Channel 3 Reports" title used at its former sister station KCRA Sacramento.) Its weather segments are even called "Fox First Forecast" now. This has left me wondering if they will eventually just rebrand to "Fox 13", seeing as they're the only Tribune-owned Fox station to deviate from the naming scheme. Not to mention the Fox O&O news graphics package and news theme already made their way to KSWB, KTXL, etc.

KOMO did identify as "KOMO ABC 4" on syndicated programming promos for a few years in the 90s, before changing to simply "KOMO 4" when they moved into Fisher Plaza in 2000.

Going back a bit to the original topic... My friend and I spent a few days in Pittsburgh last summer, and we flipped through the local channels in the hotel. We watched a bit of the 10pm news on the local Fox affil WPGH. He pointied out some flaws (don't remember what he said), then attributed them to Fox News. Even though WPGH's 10pm news is produced by NBC affil WPXI. Just to further illustrate that to the laymen, Fox affil and Fox network are interchangeable. I would correct him, but I just couldn't be bothered.

 

[only1moore]

You should come out here to Honolulu. KHON used to bill themselves as "FOX2 Hawaii". Now its just KHON2 and no mention of Fox anywhere in its IDs.

 

[DToTheJ]

... in Phoenix, where channel 10 uses FNC graphics such as the searchlights, and the rotating time and temp...

I would think most Fox O&O's use this practice. I've seen it in my home market on WNYW, and even in Tampa on WTVT.

 

[kilamanjero]

My Mother hates Fox News Channel and, therefore, will NOT watch Q-13 -- the Fox affiliate in Seattle.

My mom (who also cannot stand Fox News Channel) thinks that the Phoenix Fox affiliate (KSAZ) is another (or the same as) Fox News Channel -- and so she will not watch their local news.

In defense of your mother, it's a lot easier to think that in Phoenix, where channel 10 uses FNC graphics such as the searchlights, and the rotating time and temp. An unexpected choice, even for a network O&O, as the station's newscasts are not of the same political leanings as the cable station.

It's not unexpected at all. FOX/Newscorp requires all of its owned and operated FOX affiliates to comply with the FOX O&O tardis HD package in some form. Even some of the former O&O like KDVR, KTVI, & KSTU (a hybrid of both old & HD versions) uses this package along with some of Tribunes FOX affiliates like WTIC, WXIN, & KSWB. Also Raycom uses a version of the FOX O&O package along with most of the Local TV FOX affiliates.

 

[desertv]

My Mother hates Fox News Channel and, therefore, will NOT watch Q-13 -- the Fox affiliate in Seattle. I tried to explain it to her, but she still feels she is supporting Fox News Channel if she watches Q-13 news. In many ways, I don't blame her. These stations have decided to affiliate with the Fox Network. The Fox Network, for better or worse, includes the cable stations (i.e. Fox News Channel) as well...

I still chuckle at the fact that FOX threatened to pull affiliation from KCPQ back in the late 1990s because of their lack of including "FOX" logo in their branding or complying to the network's agenda to have a local news department. They called KCPQ a "recalcitrant", and was attempting to buy and make KIRO-TV into an O&O prior to Cox swiping the station up from the Belo ownership exchange with KING-TV. However, I don't blame Tribune, KCPQ & KMYQ owner, from keeping the FOX branding down to a minimum in a very left-leaning region like the Puget Sound.

I guess it is pretty funny when you think about it. It is pretty surprising that "Q-13" isn't "FOX 13"! Then, they could add all the colorful, noisy graphics between every story like FOX 10 does here in Phoenix. Half the time, the anchors forget about it and end up trying to talk over the graphics -- stopping in mid-sentence...

"Wait, we have a weather alert...<insert flashy graphic with t-storm noise>...The Weather Service has just added a 10% chance of rain to tomorrow's forecast...Let's go to Chief Met Dave Munsey for the latest!" <insert flashy graphic with weather authority logo introducing Chief Met by name>...

Also used when Flagstaff gets its first big winter storm and all of the Phx TV vans high-tail it for the Target parking lot there :

 

[JeeperOne]

Strangely enough, when KDVR 31 here in Denver was (Along with several other Fox affiliates around the country) was sold to Local Media LLC, they KEPT the same graphics package they had when the station was a FOX O&O.

But even that package doesn't prominently display the FOX logo. Also, instead of calling themselves Fox News 31, they call themselves Fox 31 News. The logo looked like this

FOX (In a small red rectangle at the top)
31 (In a "Door" sized logo that's blue in color on the bottom)

This is also the package used by FOX O&O's nationwide that are actually affiliated with the Fox network.

Finally, it should also be noted that KDVR 31 has completely taken over news production for CW affiliate KWGN 2. The logo hasn't been changed. But they did merge the two news divisions together. In fact, THE ONLY time which the two stations compete with one another for newscast viewers is in the mornings as both stations have newscasts that run from 5:00 AM till 9:00 AM.

BTW.....The format they which KDVR uses for their newscasts is the infamous If It Bleeds It Leads. If no one is bleeding to death then it's If It's Burnin' To The Ground It Leads. If no one is bleeding to death &Y nothing is burning to the ground, then whatever is leading off the national newscasts leads on KDVR. KWGN 2 however is a little more laid back & indicative of a typical CW affiliate newscast.

I guess Sunbeam Broadcasting must be doing SOMETHING right with WSVN & WHDH.....

Just my $.02 worth.....

Cheers

 

[TexasTom]

I think that is a good assessment. Seattle was an early affiliate market, especially with KING (NBC) in the late 40's. Yes, the market has an independent streak, but it also has had more time to digest the original call letters, KING, KOMO, and KIRO. I would guess that most in that market still identify with the calls more than the channel number and/or network. (Even though KIRO lost CBS to KSTW for a time in the 90's, but soon got it back). This is good for the locals, not so good for the networks. Regardless, Seattle is one of the few markets where the calls are still prominently mentioned, as opposed to the network or channel position. There are other markets that still maintain call letter presence, but they are becoming fewer and fewer. Seattle is unique in this regard. Could be geographic, but more likely due to history, longevity, and viewer habits. We shall see if this continues, or whether Seattle falls in with the rest of local TV around the country. For now, it is nice to see some orginality in local tv news branding, and you still get that in Seattle!

I think that geography is a factor, as is longevity - as you note, KOMO, KING, and KIRO have been using those call letters for a long time, going back to the fifties. The KSTW call letters go back to 1973, and KCPQ back to 1976 (as a public TV station -- the "CP" in those calls stands for Clover Park, the school district where I attended high school and the owner of that station from 1976 to 1979).

But the reason that I think that geography is a factor is that the Pacific Northwest has a very strong regional identity that may promote greater independence on the part of the stations -- simply put, viewers identify with the local stations more than they do the national networks.

Finally, ownership is an issue -- some groups do tend to avoid uisng network-centric for their stations -- Belo comes to mind as an example. In Seattle/Tacoma, they onw KING-5, and use the calls as the on-air identity in a market where most of the competition does the same. But here in DFW, their station identifies as "WFAA-8", which makes them the only network affiliated station not to use their network in their ID. Like Seattle/Tacoma, Dallas/Fort Worth has a strong sense of regional pride and identity. But unlike Seattle/Tacoma, the majority of our stations are network O&Os.

 

[cowboybud]

Finally, ownership is an issue -- some groups do tend to avoid uisng network-centric for their stations -- Belo comes to mind as an example. In Seattle/Tacoma, they onw KING-5, and use the calls as the on-air identity in a market where most of the competition does the same. But here in DFW, their station identifies as "WFAA-8", which makes them the only network affiliated station not to use their network in their ID. Like Seattle/Tacoma, Dallas/Fort Worth has a strong sense of regional pride and identity. But unlike Seattle/Tacoma, the majority of our stations are network O&Os.

None of the Belo stations use the network in their branding. KHOU has a very small CBS eye in their logo, otherwise no mention of CBS.

 

[Sammi Brie]

My Mother hates Fox News Channel and, therefore, will NOT watch Q-13 -- the Fox affiliate in Seattle.

My mom (who also cannot stand Fox News Channel) thinks that the Phoenix Fox affiliate (KSAZ) is another (or the same as) Fox News Channel -- and so she will not watch their local news.

In defense of your mother, it's a lot easier to think that in Phoenix, where channel 10 uses FNC graphics such as the searchlights, and the rotating time and temp. An unexpected choice, even for a network O&O, as the station's newscasts are not of the same political leanings as the cable station.

Yeah...KSAZ is nothing but overkill.

Of course, KSAZ 16 years ago looked a whole lot better - #2 all time for me behind KCNC's first CBS-era (1995) open. In fact, KCNC's graphic switch was weird - their last NBC-era open smacked a bit of WTVJ in that era and used Univers extensively (Image IX has the NBC chimes in most cases), then their first CBS-era open quickly saw them dump the Univers for CBS Didot and Image IX for Image X - and Image X has a more CBS-y feel to it. It took two more years for the WNBC-style 4 to finally leave the building, oddly enough.

In the switch era (Aug-Sept 1995), they were a mixed-up mess. Promos with CBS-era graphics but a cut of Image IX (note 1) - promos that mixed the two logos - promos from the same set, one with Danny Dark and the other with Didot - and their big switch special had the NBC-era logo big but used other elements of the CBS-era package.

(note 1) - though I have detected that Spirit News cuts snuck into KCNC earlier than August 1997, such as May 21's Bob Palmer retirement material.

The worst? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SL8WSMLBlJI - the NBC peacock looks like it peeked through at 0:09 there!

 

[vchimpanzee]

Finally, ownership is an issue -- some groups do tend to avoid uisng network-centric for their stations -- Belo comes to mind as an example. In Seattle/Tacoma, they onw KING-5, and use the calls as the on-air identity in a market where most of the competition does the same. But here in DFW, their station identifies as "WFAA-8", which makes them the only network affiliated station not to use their network in their ID. Like Seattle/Tacoma, Dallas/Fort Worth has a strong sense of regional pride and identity. But unlike Seattle/Tacoma, the majority of our stations are network O&Os.

None of the Belo stations use the network in their branding. KHOU has a very small CBS eye in their logo, otherwise no mention of CBS.

Maybe not now but in Charlotte they had NBC 6. For some strange reason they're now News Channel 36, even though I'm sure a majority of viewers get it on channel 6. I know I do now, whereas it was 36 before digital.

 

[kilamanjero]

Strangely enough, when KDVR 31 here in Denver was (Along with several other Fox affiliates around the country) was sold to Local Media LLC, they KEPT the same graphics package they had when the station was a FOX O&O.

But even that package doesn't prominently display the FOX logo. Also, instead of calling themselves Fox News 31, they call themselves Fox 31 News. The logo looked like this

FOX (In a small red rectangle at the top)
31 (In a "Door" sized logo that's blue in color on the bottom)

This is also the package used by FOX O&O's nationwide that are actually affiliated with the Fox network.

Finally, it should also be noted that KDVR 31 has completely taken over news production for CW affiliate KWGN 2. The logo hasn't been changed. But they did merge the two news divisions together. In fact, THE ONLY time which the two stations compete with one another for newscast viewers is in the mornings as both stations have newscasts that run from 5:00 AM till 9:00 AM.

BTW.....The format they which KDVR uses for their newscasts is the infamous If It Bleeds It Leads. If no one is bleeding to death then it's If It's Burnin' To The Ground It Leads. If no one is bleeding to death &Y nothing is burning to the ground, then whatever is leading off the national newscasts leads on KDVR. KWGN 2 however is a little more laid back & indicative of a typical CW affiliate newscast.

I guess Sunbeam Broadcasting must be doing SOMETHING right with WSVN & WHDH.....

Just my $.02 worth.....

Cheers

Some of the Tribune and Local TV FOX affiliates obtained or kept the rights to use those FOX O&O graphic packages, so they take advantage of it to signify their association with the network.

 

[kilamanjero]

I think that is a good assessment. Seattle was an early affiliate market, especially with KING (NBC) in the late 40's. Yes, the market has an independent streak, but it also has had more time to digest the original call letters, KING, KOMO, and KIRO. I would guess that most in that market still identify with the calls more than the channel number and/or network. (Even though KIRO lost CBS to KSTW for a time in the 90's, but soon got it back). This is good for the locals, not so good for the networks. Regardless, Seattle is one of the few markets where the calls are still prominently mentioned, as opposed to the network or channel position. There are other markets that still maintain call letter presence, but they are becoming fewer and fewer. Seattle is unique in this regard. Could be geographic, but more likely due to history, longevity, and viewer habits. We shall see if this continues, or whether Seattle falls in with the rest of local TV around the country. For now, it is nice to see some orginality in local tv news branding, and you still get that in Seattle!

I think that geography is a factor, as is longevity - as you note, KOMO, KING, and KIRO have been using those call letters for a long time, going back to the fifties. The KSTW call letters go back to 1973, and KCPQ back to 1976 (as a public TV station -- the "CP" in those calls stands for Clover Park, the school district where I attended high school and the owner of that station from 1976 to 1979).

But the reason that I think that geography is a factor is that the Pacific Northwest has a very strong regional identity that may promote greater independence on the part of the stations -- simply put, viewers identify with the local stations more than they do the national networks.

Finally, ownership is an issue -- some groups do tend to avoid uisng network-centric for their stations -- Belo comes to mind as an example. In Seattle/Tacoma, they onw KING-5, and use the calls as the on-air identity in a market where most of the competition does the same. But here in DFW, their station identifies as "WFAA-8", which makes them the only network affiliated station not to use their network in their ID. Like Seattle/Tacoma, Dallas/Fort Worth has a strong sense of regional pride and identity. But unlike Seattle/Tacoma, the majority of our stations are network O&Os.

However, WFAA does use the ABC network package of graphics along with the constant usage of the ABC logo along side the "WFAA 8" logo in most of their promos.

 

[wncc]

Maybe not now but in Charlotte they had NBC 6. For some strange reason they're now News Channel 36, even though I'm sure a majority of viewers get it on channel 6. I know I do now, whereas it was 36 before digital.
_________________________________________________


I was going to make the same point chimp!

 

[OhioMediaWatch]

Some of the Tribune and Local TV FOX affiliates obtained or kept the rights to use those FOX O&O graphic packages, so they take advantage of it to signify their association with the network.

Like WJW "Fox 8" here, which had basically just instituted the new network O&O graphics and such for "Fox 8 News" when the network sold them to Local TV.

The only difference since the sale? The copyright notice now says "Community Television of Ohio", the new Local TV license-holding company for WJW.

 

[KTN Corp]

KHOU has a very small CBS eye in their logo, otherwise no mention of CBS.

Perhaps it was being prepped for sale to CBS Television Stations until it got derailed.