TV: Birmingham's 'NBC 13' sold to Media General, WIAT 42 to be sold

[Nate Wesley]

As mentioned on the TV board:

http://www.radio-info.com/mods/board?Post=697364&Board=tv-usa

Or the actual MG press release:
http://www.mediageneral.com/press/2006/april6_06.htm


Media General gets a bigger and better station to play with in WVTM-TV. I thought they'd actually get to keep WIAT 'CBS 42' as a duopoly, but apparently that's not the case. Does 13 stay with NBC? I know Media General does own affiliates of all the networks (except Fox, according to their website), but the majority of their stations are CBS affiliates.

EDIT: Jay Ireland, president of NBC Universal Television statements, issued a quote saying NBC would stay.
http://www.nbc13.com/news/8505161/detail.html

So I guess the real question is, who'll take over WIAT?<P ID="signature">______________
Let us live so that 100 years from now, someone may be proud of us.</P>

 

[clichemoth]

> As mentioned on the TV board:
>
h> ttp://www.radio-info.com/mods/board?Post=697364&Board=tv-usa
>
>
> Or the actual MG press release:
> http://www.mediageneral.com/press/2006/april6_06.htm
>
>
> Media General gets a bigger and better station to play with
> in WVTM-TV. I thought they'd actually get to keep WIAT 'CBS
> 42' as a duopoly, but apparently that's not the case. Does
> 13 stay with NBC? I know Media General does own affiliates
> of all the networks (except Fox, according to their
> website), but the majority of their stations are CBS
> affiliates.
>
> EDIT: Jay Ireland, president of NBC Universal Television
> statements, issued a quote saying NBC would stay.
> http://www.nbc13.com/news/8505161/detail.html
>
> So I guess the real question is, who'll take over WIAT?
>

Oh, great. There goes the best news department in Birmingham.

 

[Poledo]

Duopolys

Media General can't have a duopoly with NBC and CBS but maybe they could have one with NBC and CW? Might Media General trade WAIT to Sinclair for WTTO & WDBB?

 

[Nate Wesley]

> Oh, great. There goes the best news department in
> Birmingham.
>
I take it you're somewhat familiar with Media General stations.

Hope none of ya'll are used to having a full-time sports reporter* or having a sports report everyday*...on the occasion they take time to report something, they can 'always' get the lead male anchor to simply dry read some copy over 10 seconds of footage (if that).

Oh, and look out for a new "13" logo with a yellow, quarter-moonlike shape incorporated somehow...

(*WKRG-TV 5, Mobile, in a nutshell)<P ID="signature">______________
TheX, a young loner on a crusade to champion the cause of the innocent, the helpless, the powerless, in a world of criminals who operate above the law.</P>

 

[clichemoth]

> > Oh, great. There goes the best news department in
> > Birmingham.
> >
> I take it you're somewhat familiar with Media General
> stations.

They do already own WIAT/42 and its little news department that couldn't. And then there's Chattanooga and Toccoa, where their stations are even worse.
>
> Hope none of ya'll are used to having a full-time sports
> reporter* or having a sports report everyday*...on the
> occasion they take time to report something, they can
> 'always' get the lead male anchor to simply dry read some
> copy over 10 seconds of footage (if that).

Well, yeah, that's a given. They have to get all the fires, murders, and completely random fluff that's not even happening in this state on. At least WIAT has actually made a vague attempt at serious weather coverage recently, probably because they realize that just grabbing a forecast off the Internet simply doesn't cut it in this market, so maybe they'll actually use all the nice equipment 13 has instead of letting it gather dust.

>
> Oh, and look out for a new "13" logo with a yellow,
> quarter-moonlike shape incorporated somehow...

Not necessarily. They could go with the logo WSAV/Savannah uses, which doesn't feature the moon. Actually, WKRG's logo doesn't either, unless you think the ellipse around the 5 is two of them stuck together.

>
> (*WKRG-TV 5, Mobile, in a nutshell)
>

 

[momnpop]

> They do already own WIAT/42 and its little news department
> that couldn't.

I knew a guy who worked there and compared the facilities and equipment to (what was then) WHOA-TV 32, the ABC affiliate in Montgomery, where he had previously been employed. He has since moved on to North Carolina.

Maybe 42 will improve with the changes.

 

[Sab]

> As mentioned on the TV board:
>
h> ttp://www.radio-info.com/mods/board?Post=697364&Board=tv-usa
>
>
> Or the actual MG press release:
> http://www.mediageneral.com/press/2006/april6_06.htm
>
>
> Media General gets a bigger and better station to play with
> in WVTM-TV. I thought they'd actually get to keep WIAT 'CBS
> 42' as a duopoly, but apparently that's not the case. Does
> 13 stay with NBC? I know Media General does own affiliates
> of all the networks (except Fox, according to their
> website), but the majority of their stations are CBS
> affiliates.
>
> EDIT: Jay Ireland, president of NBC Universal Television
> statements, issued a quote saying NBC would stay.
> http://www.nbc13.com/news/8505161/detail.html
>
> So I guess the real question is, who'll take over WIAT?
>




Ive had a theory for a little while

It involves Sinclair buying 42 and moving WABM up. Then, cutting channel 68 loose.

Also, NBC Television don't know. Media General suck on that CBS teat. They have a VHF signal in a huge market? It will only be a few years before we have CBS 13.

Of course, we can move NBC to 21. Thank you, Sinclair. Then, the CW or whatever it is by then, moves down to WABM, on 42. No, this My Network crap will not last.

Yeah, its far-fetched. It's not that far-fetched, though.<P ID="signature">______________
"He deserved to have ice cream smashed in his face, because he's a lying 50 year-old man!"
-Dane Cook</P>

 

[jaleo23]

> > Oh, great. There goes the best news department in
> > Birmingham.
> >
> I take it you're somewhat familiar with Media General
> stations.
>
> Hope none of ya'll are used to having a full-time sports
> reporter* or having a sports report everyday*...on the
> occasion they take time to report something, they can
> 'always' get the lead male anchor to simply dry read some
> copy over 10 seconds of footage (if that).
>
> Oh, and look out for a new "13" logo with a yellow,
> quarter-moonlike shape incorporated somehow...
>
> (*WKRG-TV 5, Mobile, in a nutshell)
>

Actually Media General is going to continue to use the same graphics that 13 and the other former O&Os is currently using. MG is going to do a major overhaul of all their larger market NBC affilate's graphics like WFLA-TV and WSLS-TV to be similar to that of the NBC O&Os. A matter of fact, a friend of mine, informed me that NBC Arthouse is under contract for all of the former NBC O&O through 2008 regardless of their ownership. NBC Universal made Media General contractual promise to build upon not condense the news operations or NBCU will yank the stations right back from MG. So in other words, the business as usual from NBC13 from graphics all the way down to news operations.

Also, Raycom Media is going to purchase WIAT. <P ID="signature">______________
It is what it is.</P><P ID="edit"><FONT class="small">Edited by jaleo23 on 04/10/06 04:44 AM.</FONT></P>

 

[passtheword]

> > As mentioned on the TV board:
> >
> h>
> ttp://www.radio-info.com/mods/board?Post=697364&Board=tv-usa
>
> >
> >
> > Or the actual MG press release:
> > http://www.mediageneral.com/press/2006/april6_06.htm
> >
> >
> > Media General gets a bigger and better station to play
> with
> > in WVTM-TV. I thought they'd actually get to keep WIAT
> 'CBS
> > 42' as a duopoly, but apparently that's not the case.
> Does
> > 13 stay with NBC? I know Media General does own affiliates
>
> > of all the networks (except Fox, according to their
> > website), but the majority of their stations are CBS
> > affiliates.
> >
> > EDIT: Jay Ireland, president of NBC Universal Television
> > statements, issued a quote saying NBC would stay.
> > http://www.nbc13.com/news/8505161/detail.html
> >
> > So I guess the real question is, who'll take over WIAT?
> >
>
>
>
>
> Ive had a theory for a little while
>
> It involves Sinclair buying 42 and moving WABM up. Then,
> cutting channel 68 loose.
>
> Also, NBC Television don't know. Media General suck on that
> CBS teat. They have a VHF signal in a huge market? It will
> only be a few years before we have CBS 13.
>
> Of course, we can move NBC to 21. Thank you, Sinclair. Then,
> the CW or whatever it is by then, moves down to WABM, on 42.
> No, this My Network crap will not last.
>
> Yeah, its far-fetched. It's not that far-fetched, though.



That's an interesting scenario, but it seems to me that any attempts by Media General to move CBS to channel 13 wouldn't happen. With channel 13 being owned by NBC, it would stand to reason that the sale of channel 13 would involve some sort of stipulation that the potential buyer keep the NBC affiliation on channel 13. I don't think the people at NBC would be too keen on having channel 13's new owners changing over to CBS, or any other competing network, for that matter.







*************************************************

There'll be no radio in Heaven.
Will you be there?
www.PassTheWord.net



>

 

[Nate Wesley]

NBC is staying on 13

> That's an interesting scenario, but it seems to me that any
> attempts by Media General to move CBS to channel 13 wouldn't
> happen. With channel 13 being owned by NBC, it would stand
> to reason that the sale of channel 13 would involve some
> sort of stipulation that the potential buyer keep the NBC
> affiliation on channel 13. I don't think the people at NBC
> would be too keen on having channel 13's new owners changing
> over to CBS, or any other competing network, for that
> matter.

I put this in my original post, but folks may have missed it. NBC is staying on WVTM 13, per Jay Ireland, president of NBC Universal Television Stations:

http://www.nbc13.com/news/8505161/detail.html

<quote>"It was extremely important to us throughout this process that we find a buyer who was interested in maintaining both the NBC affiliation and the quality news and programming that our viewers have come to expect," said Ireland.</quote><P ID="signature">______________
TheX, a young loner on a crusade to champion the cause of the innocent, the helpless, the powerless, in a world of criminals who operate above the law.</P>

 

[Nate Wesley]

Also, Raycom Media is going to purchase WIAT.

Being wrong is par for the course for you, jaleo23:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WIAT-TV

On August 2, 2006, New Vision Television, LLC announced its purchase of WIAT and sister station KIMT in Mason City, Iowa for $35 million. The sale, approved by the FCC, is now awaiting finalization.

Of course, New Vision could always flip WIAT to an urban format that competes in the 18-34 demo... ;D

 

[PaulBWalkerJr]

Can NBC stipulate a buyer keep their "format".. I thought telling a buyer what to program wasn't legal....

 

[clichemoth]

Can NBC stipulate a buyer keep their "format".. I thought telling a buyer what to program wasn't legal....

If the buyer signs a contract to carry network programming, they can. Otherwise, every station out there would be pre-empting any show that wasn't a hit.

As for the part in this particular deal in which MG isn't allowed to gut the NBC 13 news division and turn it into something resembling 42's, I suspect that MG could fight that in court if they chose. They won't bother, though. They'll just gut it slowly one employee at a time.

 

[Charles1]

Why should anyone worry about the demise of Channel 13's news department under Media General? It's been happening since the mid '90's, when Gene Lively and Pam Huff were forced out (has everyone forgotten the Terri Merriman/Kevin McDowell debacle?) And let's face it, Channel 13 as an O & O was nothing to write home about. (See also, Mike Moore and Theresa Durden).

WBRC and ABC 33/40 have a much better product than Channel 13. And hasn't Channel 42's 5:00 newscast passed, or at least come close to surpassing 13's in the Neilsens? The best thing Media General could do would be to blow up the current news line-up that 13 has now. The only major talent they have that could get a job at 6 or 33/40 would be Jerry Tracey and Jim Dunaway--but only as a sports anchor.

 

[Nate Wesley]

Can NBC stipulate a buyer keep their "format".. I thought telling a buyer what to program wasn't legal....

I mostly meant that quip about WIAT-TV's 'format' as a dig at jaleo23's constant musings (on this and other boards) concerning radio stations WUHT and WBHJ.