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The CW announces new affiliates

T

The_Outsider

The CW announced the first affiliation agreements with stations not owned by CBS or Tribune. WBNX will be the Cleveland affiliate. WKCF will as expected be the home of The CW in Orlando. WBKI in Louisville will also be with The CW. These stations are some of The WB's best performing stations. Another current WB station announced was WMWB South Bend. The only UPN station amonst the five is WJZY Charlotte.

I think that at when all is said and done, in most markets that have both a WB and a UPN affiliate, all things being equal, most of the WB stations will be with CW with most UPN stations going to My Network TV. The number of hours that must be cleared is not an issue with WB stations as they are already runnin the network during those hours.

Read more about it here:
http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/CA6312099.html?display=Breaking+News
 
So now we get into Round 2 of the speculation sweepstakes...

My esteemed colleague OA, over at Ohio Media Watch, speculates - correctly, I think - that The CW hooked up with WBNX, rather than Raycom's WUAB, because Raycom didn't want to pay for The CW's programming.

This potentially has a domino effect. If Raycom doesn't want to pay for The CW in Cleveland, it won't want to pay in Syracuse, so that probably shifts WSTQ-LP (UPN) into the My column. That, in turn, leaves The CW playing ball with Sinclair's WNYS (WB). Down the road in Buffalo, a Sinclair/CW deal at WNYO-TV (WB) is highly probable, too, since WNLO (UPN) is owned by LIN, which will almost inevitably hook up with My at its WCTX in Hartford/New Haven, where WB goes to Trib's WTXX, leaving My and WCTX as the last two lonely folks left alone at the bar at closing time. (You don't have to go home, but you may end up running telenovelas weeknights at 9 this fall...)

But wait - there's more! Since incumbent UPN affiliates WUTB Baltimore and WFTC Minneapolis follow their Fox ownership to My, that means CW and Sinclair have to reach a deal to turn Sinclair's WNUV Baltimore and KMWB Minneapolis into CW affiliates.

In fact, Sinclair looks to be the station group The CW may need the most for coverage - there's Milwaukee and Birmingham, too, where Sinclair has both the WB and UPN affiliations, and Las Vegas, where it's Sinclair's full-power KVWB versus low-power KTUD.

It may even be that the CW needs Sinclair more than Sinclair needs an affiliation in those markets - the Smiths are notoriously cheap, after all, and My Network TV is free. Will CBS/Time Warner back off their demands for compensation if it means risking having no affiliate at all in some of those markets?

That's all I've got for now...I'll be sitting here holding my breath in rapt anticipation of The CW's announcement that Time Warner-owned "WRWB" here in Rochester is affiliate number 6. (Which hasn't happened yet...why, exactly?)<P ID="signature">______________
Tower Site Calendar 2006 ON SALE! - <a target="_blank" href=http://www.fybush.com/nerw.html#calendar>www.fybush.com</a></P>
 
The CW Domino Effect - Cleveland and Beyond

> My esteemed colleague OA, over at Ohio Media Watch,
> speculates - correctly, I think - that The CW hooked up with
> WBNX, rather than Raycom's WUAB, because Raycom didn't want
> to pay for The CW's programming.

Oooh, I'm esteemed now. I think I owe you $20. :D

There's something else I didn't mention there, but will touch on eventually... WUAB is the Cavaliers' over-air TV outlet, and airs other sports programming... and the Cavs would certainly pre-empt CW programming many nights in the fall and winter if WUAB had signed up. 43's Bill Applegate already brought this up in early newspaper articles about the CW in Cleveland, and already sniffed at the reverse compensation in those early articles!

WBNX, meanwhile, is already set with airing the same scheduling pattern (WB's current), and has no problem clearing network programming in many dayparts. Remember, they still host what used to be known as the Fox Kids Network (4Kids), which WJW declined to take when it became an O&O for the fourth network.

WBNX is pretty aggressive in marketing here...perhaps one of the best stations in that regard in the Cleveland market. They hit the streets a LOT, and have lots of billboards, bus boards and radio spots. In-market marketing is supposedly one area the CW folks feel is very important, and WBNX's *current* activities fit that to the proverbial "T".

WUAB, meanwhile, has a "fallback" position with "My Network TV". The telenovelas aren't exactly exciting stuff, but it gives them a "My 43" network identity, a hookup with one of the big four network owners (Fox/NewsCorp), and most importantly...IT COSTS THEM NOTHING OUT OF POCKET. :)

> This potentially has a domino effect. If Raycom doesn't want
> to pay for The CW in Cleveland, it won't want to pay in
> Syracuse, so that probably shifts WSTQ-LP (UPN) into the My
> column. That, in turn, leaves The CW playing ball with
> Sinclair's WNYS (WB).

Gotta agree here. When My showed up, it became apparent Cleveland's affiliation would depend on if Raycom did a group deal with CW. They didn't. If they aren't affiliating their largest market UPN affiliate with CW, they aren't gonna affiliate the other stations in smaller markets in a separate "leftover group" deal. Period.

I said when the My thing was announced that without a Raycom group deal, it's anyone's ballgame...and WBNX is an exceptionally well-run independently-owned station. Well, except for that 10 PM thing, but it's their one major concession to their faith-healing owner...

> Will CBS/Time Warner back off their demands for compensation
> if it means risking having no affiliate at all in some of
> those markets?

They'll back down, the question is - how much? CW needs Sinclair bad, it would appear. They aren't gonna go dark in markets the size of those. It kind of reminds me of the brinksmanship we're seeing here with the new Indians-owned cable network...

Presumably, My's presence means that in some markets, CW isn't gonna be able to hold up the affiliates for as much cash as they'd hoped. It does indeed appear that Raycom blinked here.

-OA<P ID="signature">______________
Ohio Media Watch - <a target="_blank" href=http://ohiomedia.blogspot.com>http://ohiomedia.blogspot.com</a></P>
 
> The CW announced the first affiliation agreements with
> stations not owned by CBS or Tribune. WBNX will be the
> Cleveland affiliate. WKCF will as expected be the home of
> The CW in Orlando. WBKI in Louisville will also be with The
> CW. These stations are some of The WB's best performing
> stations. Another current WB station announced was WMWB
> South Bend. The only UPN station amonst the five is WJZY
> Charlotte.
>

> Read more about it here:
http://www.broadc> astingcable.com/article/CA6312099.html?display=Breaking+News
>
The list, in case that link doesn't work:

Present-day WB stations:
WKCF 18 Clermont/Orlando
WBNX 55 Cuyahoga Falls/Cleveland
WBKI 34 Campbellsville/Louisville
WMWB-LP 25 South Bend

Present-day UPN station:
WJZY 46 Belmont/Charlotte

(Listings from Scott Fybush's 100000watts.com)
 
> stations. Another current WB station announced was WMWB
> South Bend. The only UPN station amonst the five is WJZY

Whoa, WMWB-LP is a low-powered station with no paired digital! How are they supposed to do HDTV as the affiliate requirements seem to indicate?

I'm guessing that they made an exception in South Bend since there's only five full-service stations in the market to begin with, NBC, CBS, FOX, PBS, and LeSea Religious. (ABC is on WBND-LP 57, WB on WMWB-LP 25, UPN on WSBT-DT 22-2)

- Trip

<P ID="signature">______________
Visit my website, www.rabbitears.info! It's eventually going to be your one resource for television info! Digital television, histories, and technical information for the entire USA from one source!</P>
 
Hawaii

> Gotta agree here. When My showed up, it became apparent
> Cleveland's affiliation would depend on if Raycom did a
> group deal with CW. They didn't. If they aren't
> affiliating their largest market UPN affiliate with CW, they
> aren't gonna affiliate the other stations in smaller markets
> in a separate "leftover group" deal. Period.

If that's true, it might be bad news for potential CW viewers in Hawaii. Right now, WB airs on Raycom-owned KFVE-5, and UPN airs out of pattern on otherwise-Asian KIKU-20. If KFVE doesn't pick up the CW, I wonder where it would go, because I doubt KIKU would do the HD or the 3-5PM programming or the reverse compensation, though the CW might make another exception, like in South Bend. Right now, KIKU airs the UPN primetime at 3 or 4PM local time!

There's not anywhere else to go really, unless someone grabs up the Pax affil (KPXO-66) or convinces LeSea (KWHE-14/KWHM-21/KWHH-14) to air it, which they didn't do in South Bend.

- Trip<P ID="signature">______________
Visit my website, www.rabbitears.info! It's eventually going to be your one resource for television info! Digital television, histories, and technical information for the entire USA from one source!</P>
 
South Bend

> Whoa, WMWB-LP is a low-powered station with no paired
> digital! How are they supposed to do HDTV as the affiliate
> requirements seem to indicate?

It's my understanding that Weigel (which owns WMWB-LP and ABC affiliate WBND-LP) is pursuing second digital channels for both stations, something which apparently has been allowed recently for LPTVers by the FCC. And I believe they already HAVE an HD feed for WBND, via local cable operators.

They are also quite aggressive operators, and run their LPTVers like full-power stations...not just in South Bend (i.e. WWME-LP "Me TV" in Chicago, WMLW-LP in Milwaukee). The market's also compact enough that a single LP signal pretty much covers it.

LeSea will never meet the needs of the CW folks, and WHME was not even remotely a possibility.

-OA<P ID="signature">______________
Ohio Media Watch - <a target="_blank" href=http://ohiomedia.blogspot.com>http://ohiomedia.blogspot.com</a></P>
 
You know what's funny about this?
The fact that when the dust settles, NOTHING will really change. Come next fall, we will still have 6 networks. I think MyTV is the underdog but Fox made the correct decision by making it free, that was GOOD thinking on their part.

I'm just glad because it means that, potentilally, Lubbock will still have that extra station, LP 14 that was created when 22 became WB. Hopefully, the WB becomes CW, and 14 gets MyTV, since there's no franchise fees (if I am understanding correctly).

> So now we get into Round 2 of the speculation sweepstakes...
>
>
> My esteemed colleague OA, over at Ohio Media Watch,
> speculates - correctly, I think - that The CW hooked up with
> WBNX, rather than Raycom's WUAB, because Raycom didn't want
> to pay for The CW's programming.
>
> This potentially has a domino effect. If Raycom doesn't want
> to pay for The CW in Cleveland, it won't want to pay in
> Syracuse, so that probably shifts WSTQ-LP (UPN) into the My
> column. That, in turn, leaves The CW playing ball with
> Sinclair's WNYS (WB). Down the road in Buffalo, a
> Sinclair/CW deal at WNYO-TV (WB) is highly probable, too,
> since WNLO (UPN) is owned by LIN, which will almost
> inevitably hook up with My at its WCTX in Hartford/New
> Haven, where WB goes to Trib's WTXX, leaving My and WCTX as
> the last two lonely folks left alone at the bar at closing
> time. (You don't have to go home, but you may end up running
> telenovelas weeknights at 9 this fall...)
>
> But wait - there's more! Since incumbent UPN affiliates WUTB
> Baltimore and WFTC Minneapolis follow their Fox ownership to
> My, that means CW and Sinclair have to reach a deal to turn
> Sinclair's WNUV Baltimore and KMWB Minneapolis into CW
> affiliates.
>
> In fact, Sinclair looks to be the station group The CW may
> need the most for coverage - there's Milwaukee and
> Birmingham, too, where Sinclair has both the WB and UPN
> affiliations, and Las Vegas, where it's Sinclair's
> full-power KVWB versus low-power KTUD.
>
> It may even be that the CW needs Sinclair more than Sinclair
> needs an affiliation in those markets - the Smiths are
> notoriously cheap, after all, and My Network TV is free.
> Will CBS/Time Warner back off their demands for compensation
> if it means risking having no affiliate at all in some of
> those markets?
>
> That's all I've got for now...I'll be sitting here holding
> my breath in rapt anticipation of The CW's announcement that
> Time Warner-owned "WRWB" here in Rochester is affiliate
> number 6. (Which hasn't happened yet...why, exactly?)
>
 
> So now we get into Round 2 of the speculation sweepstakes...
>
>
> My esteemed colleague OA, over at Ohio Media Watch,
> speculates - correctly, I think - that The CW hooked up with
> WBNX, rather than Raycom's WUAB, because Raycom didn't want
> to pay for The CW's programming.
>
> This potentially has a domino effect. If Raycom doesn't want
> to pay for The CW in Cleveland, it won't want to pay in
> Syracuse, so that probably shifts WSTQ-LP (UPN) into the My
> column. That, in turn, leaves The CW playing ball with
> Sinclair's WNYS (WB). Down the road in Buffalo, a
> Sinclair/CW deal at WNYO-TV (WB) is highly probable, too,
> since WNLO (UPN) is owned by LIN, which will almost
> inevitably hook up with My at its WCTX in Hartford/New
> Haven, where WB goes to Trib's WTXX, leaving My and WCTX as
> the last two lonely folks left alone at the bar at closing
> time. (You don't have to go home, but you may end up running
> telenovelas weeknights at 9 this fall...)

Might Clear Channel's WLYH UPN 15-Harrisburg also balk at paying for The CW? It appears that 1) CW is following WB's business model, and 2) TW is likely handling affiliation arrangements. CBS probably won't have much influence in getting former UPN stations necessarily to go with The CW.

WB never had a real clearance in the Harrisburg market, but WPHL 17 was on cable, and WPMT/Tribune ran WB at 1am.

If Clear Channel isn't desperate to pay for CW, they might also be one of MyNetwork's potential affiliate groups instead. Although Harrisburg isn't the one of the most important markets - Maybe CBS should consider swapping one of their O&O in Austin, Salt Lake City or Green Bay with Clear Channel for WHP/WLYH to ensure CW has carriage in Harrisburg, and not rival MyNetwork.
 
Re: South Bend

> (i.e. WWME-LP "Me TV" in Chicago, WMLW-LP in Milwaukee).

Just for the record.. I believe they're both Class A stations with the calls WWME-CA and WMLW-CA, respectively. They also run Telemundo affiliate WYTU-LP in Milwaukee and they have a LP in SB that is an indie. About the only one that's not run like a major station is WFBT-CA, which is all brokered/ethnic programming.

-A<P ID="signature">______________

</P>
 
Re: The CW Domino Effect - Cleveland and Beyond

I just hope to the powers of the universe that WUAB becomes an independent station again. Cleveland doesn't have one (unless you count WMFD 68 out in Mansfield, in the southwestern corner of the market), and WUAB was historically a high-performing independent. It is bad enough that on cable here in southwestern Ontario I am already going to be stuck with one My Network TV affiliate (WNYO), and no CW affiliate. WUAB is on cable here, and it would at least be a consolation prize if they went independent and didn't go into My Network TV like WNYO.

If WUAB goes to MNTV, I'll petition the CRTC to allow WNLO or WBNX on cable here.<P ID="signature">______________
From WNBC-TV New York this is Liiiiive at Fiiiiive!</P><P ID="edit"><FONT class="small">Edited by mjlarochelle on 03/03/06 02:11 AM.</FONT></P>
 
Re: South Bend

> It's my understanding that Weigel (which owns WMWB-LP and
> ABC affiliate WBND-LP) is pursuing second digital channels
> for both stations, something which apparently has been
> allowed recently for LPTVers by the FCC.

The FCC has announced a filing window for LP and Class A stations to file for paired digital channels. As I recall, that window is about a month out, so we'll shortly see if Weigel pursues this.
 
> Whoa, WMWB-LP is a low-powered station with no paired
> digital! How are they supposed to do HDTV as the affiliate
> requirements seem to indicate?

LPTVs may "flash-cut" to digital on their existing channels, at which point there's nothing to prevent them from going HDTV.

Also, a filing window is about to open allowing LPTVs to select a paired channel for (H)DTV.

It's quite possible WMWB could indeed have a HD signal on the air by September.
 
Re: South Bend

> The FCC has announced a filing window for LP and Class A
> stations to file for paired digital channels. As I recall,
> that window is about a month out, so we'll shortly see if
> Weigel pursues this.

It's my understanding from Weigel's people in South Bend that they are eagerly pursuing it for both WBND and WWMB. As I noted, WBND does have an HD cable feed already.

-OA<P ID="signature">______________
Ohio Media Watch - <a target="_blank" href=http://ohiomedia.blogspot.com>http://ohiomedia.blogspot.com</a></P>
 
LPTV vs. Class A

> Just for the record.. I believe they're both Class A
> stations with the calls WWME-CA and WMLW-CA, respectively.
> They also run Telemundo affiliate WYTU-LP in Milwaukee and
> they have a LP in SB that is an indie. About the only one
> that's not run like a major station is WFBT-CA, which is all
> brokered/ethnic programming.

The problem is that a change to Class A status does not automatically bring a call change to -CA. Here in Akron, MediaCom's WAOH-LP 29 is a Class A, and never changed their calls to reflect that. For that matter, their sister Class A station in Cleveland, W35AX, still carries those pre-LP/CA calls!

-OA<P ID="signature">______________
Ohio Media Watch - <a target="_blank" href=http://ohiomedia.blogspot.com>http://ohiomedia.blogspot.com</a></P>
 
Re: LPTV vs. Class A

> The problem is that a change to Class A status does not
> automatically bring a call change to -CA. Here in Akron,
> MediaCom's WAOH-LP 29 is a Class A, and never changed their
> calls to reflect that. For that matter, their sister Class
> A station in Cleveland, W35AX, still carries those pre-LP/CA
> calls!

Both I believe have -CA calls... In fact.. I remember when WMLW went from -LP to -CA 'cause they re-branded the whole station.

-A<P ID="signature">______________

</P>
 
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