I hate to be a pessimist, but...
> > Should Al Kaprilian be worried?
The "localized" TV experiment has been tried in the Boston market with dubious results. Ten years ago, it was Channel 68 (then WABU, now WBPX) which tried that approach... (anyone remember "Adler Online")? The previous incarnation of Channel 68 as the "Monitor Channel" also failed. (This station was heavy on the talk-show approach, although I am not sure how local this station was. It was before I lived in the area).
More recently, Channel 66 in Marlborough tried the "local" approach, As "HUB-66" based on the CITY-TV concept of Toronto. Granted, WHUB's owners did not give it much of a chance before it pulled the plug and sold out to Univision. However, the other USA Network UHF's which had this format (Miami, Atlanta, and Dallas) didn't exactly set the ratings world on fire. And, I've heard that HUB 66's initial ratings were awful.
Then there is the MA vs. NH battle. Is this station going to be Boston-centric? Or, are they going to target their home area of NH? Many people that live in NH do not want to hear about the Big Dig, the Southeast Expressway, the Cape or anything Massachusetts related. Likewise, many people that live in the Boston area think that Manchester is the other side of the world, and have little in common with NH, except for the unfortunate many that commute down I-93 every day. To be successful, Shooting Star is going to have to appeal to both sides of the border.
And, is Shooting Star willing to lose alot of money on their new station? If memory serves me correct, a few years ago, Shooting Star purchased WQEX/16 Pittsburgh, PA with the intention of converting it to an independent, but at the last minute had to withdraw from the sale due to financial problems. From the looks of things, WNDS is struggling right now with old reruns which must be less costly than producing alot of local programming. If I had to guess Boston University and USA Network had deeper pockets than Shooting Star.
I hate to be a pessimist, but I have a feeling that we are going to see Channel 50 become all infomericals, home shopping, religion or Spanish within a short time.
Anyhow, those of my 2 cents....
-Mike
<P ID="edit"><FONT class="small">Edited by mdamico23 on 08/12/05 12:51 AM.</FONT></P>