Just thought I'd throw out these observations for the sake of stimulating discussion in this new format...WCSH - Longtime #1 defends its turf by stealing WMTW's lunch money with their "Chronicle" clone "207" and swiping "Inside Edition" for access. Also stole themainechannel.com domain out from under Hearst-Argyle. Do they have anything to worry about?WGME - Distant #2 with a new, if controversial GM who has strong news background. Snazzy new graphics package. Some green talent and those infamous Mark Hyman commentaries will make the quest to retain the runner-up slot a real challenge. Still, Frank Fixaris' recent death, Doug Rafferty's on-air stroke and Kim Block should remind viewers that WCSH isn't the only station with heritage in this market.WMTW - Hearst-Argyle acquisition is still #3 but gaining on Sinclair's WGME. Lots of structural problems both physical (the split studio facilities) and schedule-related (Dr. Phil, Wheel/Jeopardy) and weak talent will make its run at the top a lengthy battle. And does anyone in this market care about live doppler? The only heritage the station has is its association with Mt. Washington, and it doesn't even have that anymore. They should jettison the calls, build a single state-of-the-art facility and clean house in the talent ranks - not necessarily in that order.
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The state of Portland TV
- Thread starter newsbot
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mr_mark_taylor
Guest
Not much has changed.......nor will it ever. I'm waiting for the day however when WCSH starts simulcasting 207 and their other Portland only shows on WLBZ, the NBC station in Bangor (as a ratings boost to try and overthrow longtime #1 WABI)
K
KL71
Guest
??? What about channels 23 (Waterville-FOX), 35 (Lewiston-UPN) and 51 (Portland-WB)? I'm assuming that WPXT-TV will become a CW affiliate. How much of an audience would there be in southern Maine for the My Network, assuming it goes to channel 35? 
WPXT will apparently become the market's CW affiliate this September. WPXT used to have its own newsgathering operation but pulled the plug a few years ago and now pays a princely sum to market leader WCSH to produce a half-hour 10PM newscast for them. WPME would seem to be the likely MY affiliate, at least by default, though there's a lot of bad blood between Pegasus and NewsCorp over the DirecTV debacle that drove PGTV into bankruptcy. Both stations are on the block but no sale appears to be pending.As for FOX 23, they were last on the scene and are undercapitalized. The FOX affiliation is about the only thing the station has going for it. A standalone in a market of co-owned and chain-operated stations, they generally get the crumbs of syndicated fare (one noteable exception being the second run of Seinfeld which they run in access.) Their GM used to run WVII in Bangor so he knows a thing or three about running a network affiliate on a shoestring. I can't believe they've gone this long without some kind of LMA with 6, 8 or 13; it's probably just a matter of time.
As far as domains are concerned, the least that 6 can do is take back "wcsh.com" from that company in California that hasn't seemed to update the site in years. The graphics on 6 need a good update too, they've been basically the same since 1997 and are starting to look a little bit dated, especially compared to the WGME/Sinclair corporate package (and speaking of which, 13 is doing alright compared to some of Sinclair's other stations...if I'm not mistaken, WGME is the only Big 3 Sinclair station that's not last place in the market).As long as Wheel and Jeopardy are on 8, there probably won't be a "Maine Chronicle".Putting 207 on WLBZ will just add more fuel to the fire at WABI and WVII. It seems 5's entire news promotion centers around "we're in Bangor, they're in Portland".JPK
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mr_mark_taylor
Guest
As does ABC's WVII (even though they themselves only produce somewhere around 10 hours of newscasts a week (and no weekend news)JPKirby said:
If I am not mistaken, didn't "207" premiere long before Hearst-Argyle purchased WMTW?newsbot said:
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KML0224
Guest
Yes it did.
Worth noting that within two weeks of WGME's re-vamping of their website, both WMTW and WCSH have followed suit and remodeled as well.
Also worth noting that even after the revamp, WGME's website remains a joke.
It seems Hearst-Argyle has finally awakened the sleeping giant - WCSH has revamped its website and is claiming, in exactly the same words as WMTW, that they are "Maine's Online Video News Leader." Even lowly WGME has added streaming local weather forecasts in both Real and Windows Media formats (broadband *and* dialup.)Changing the subject somewhat, is there an actual need for local news starting at 4:30AM? That's what WMTW has apparently launched. H-A really needs to step up to the plate with a longform local news broadcast on weekend mornings if they intend to strive for parity with WCSH, though.producershemp said:
How about 5pm? Or 5:30pm? Or 7:00pm? Or 10:00pm? Or Weekend Mornings like you said? Or Weekend Noons?That's 13 hours of catching up per week. Seems to me parity is still far away.No one watches WMTW at 5am, why would they get up a half hour earlier?newsbot said:
D
Diamond
Guest
Do tell: When did WMTW begin doing a.m. news at 4:30? Are they promoting it somewhere? I see nothing on their website.In other Portland news, has anyone seen the May book? Is it true that WGME is now No. 3 at 6 p.m., if only by the slimmest of margins?And what have you heard about the new male anchor coming on at WMTW for the evening casts?Questions, questions!
D
Diamond
Guest
An update to my earlier post: WMTW beat WGME in key demo 25-54 at both noon and 6. Now THAT'S an upset.I'm also hearing that WPXT may have changed hands in the Pegasus bankruptcy case. Does anyone know?
The new male WMTW anchor is Jon Camp, formerly with WFSB in Hartford. Here's his WFSB bio: http://www.wfsb.com/Global/story.asp?S=3355453&nav=menu120_9_1.
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KML0224
Guest
Then maybe he JUST got there because I saw him on air here as usual (central Connecticut) a couple of days ago. Weird!
D
Diamond
Guest
Camp won't go on the air in Maine until sometime in August.
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