I was thinking along the same lines. If it weren't for the "Local 10" branding, I would have to be told that it wasn't a network news show of some kind.
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WPLG expands local news after dropping ABC
- Thread starter DavinaR
- Start date
I was thinking along the same lines. If it weren't for the "Local 10" branding, I would have to be told that it wasn't a network news show of some kind.
What station group would want it? Nexstar, Gray, Tegna, Sinclair and Scripps have their own internal news services and have no need for such a program. Again, it's where WPLG's status as a standalone indie owned by a holding company is a total liability.
I'm not so familiar with Nexstar, but none of the others you mention have anything that looks nearly as good.
Again, if I were just casually watching it, and didn't notice the "Local 10" branding, I'd think it was ABC World News Tonight with some minor cosmetic tweaks. It's a very sharp, crisp production with network-level production values (though, when you scratch the surface, not the news gathering resources of a major network). They've done a good job with that part.
Doesn't matter if they don't look as good. Those chains have in-house news services and wouldn't air a random program from a standalone indie with recycled content from CNN, AP and Reuters. Which means WPLG simply cannot syndicate it as no one would clear it.
Let's see if it's remotely sustainable in the short and long-term.
For the reasons you cite, sadly, it may not be, at least in its present form.
The questions would be how much does it cost WPLG to produce it, does it get sufficient ad revenue, and could its time slot be used for alternative programming that would be more profitable? In short, does it turn a profit, and is it more profitable than anything else would be?
Just a thought, WCCB could carry it opposite the other network newscasts, but aside from them, you don't have many stations that aren't owned by the groups you cite, and that don't have obligations to carry other networks' news. WJXT and WHDH are the only two that come to mind offhand.
If they run it as cheaply as possible with low-paid staff and video jukebox content, then sure. What WPLG is trying to do is simply unsustainable as the audience just doesn't exist for 93 hours of news a week in a primarily Spanish bilingual market. Does diminishing returns mean anything??
I honestly don't see how this newscast survives after a few months. It'll probably be replaced with something far cheaper.
There's a good chance that WCCB shutters their news department altogether. WJXT doesn't need a knockoff national newscast, nor does WHDH. (And why would Sunbeam deal with a competitor anyway?)
Sustaining five free-standing newscasts in the Charlotte market is kind of a reach IMO, but WCCB's making news work now, and losing the CW is only going to mean having to fill two hours of prime-time plus whatever sports coverage the CW has provided. If they're making it work now, I don't see loss of the CW as a major factor in keeping their newscasts.
I see what you are saying, Sunbeam operates both in Miami (WSVN, ironically) and in Boston. Good point.
I am surprised WISH tv is not on Vuit Zeam or News On. I hope they will be some day.
WPLG Miami Celebrates Its ‘Independence Day’ Ratings
The ratings are in and Berkshire Hathaway’s newly independent WPLG Miami says its “decision to part ways with ABC was clearly the right call.” The stat
tvnewscheck.com
Zeam and NewsOn have both adopted very irritating interfaces, and you can no longer select by a menu of states and cities within those states, it's more a forced-choice scenario. NewsOn's former interface was excellent in this regard, now it's a PITA.
As a practical matter, I normally just download the Roku apps for individual stations whose newscasts I like to watch. The Gray stations deliver their newscasts in live time, and also maintain archives of full newscasts going several days back.
WPLG Miami Celebrates Its ‘Independence Day’ Ratings
The ratings are in and Berkshire Hathaway’s newly independent WPLG Miami says its “decision to part ways with ABC was clearly the right call.” The stat
Not surprising, it's a legacy station and a known quantity within a major market. As to news, people aren't going to quit watching WPLG news just because they're no longer an ABC affiliate, and as I alluded to above, it would take a fairly astute viewer to realize that their world news program isn't ABC World News Tonight.
I have wished (no pun intended) it would be there, too. Downloading the app when visiting Indy a couple weeks ago was a bit of a pain when everybody else was on YouTube TV. Having said that, I preferred its 10:00 PM news to that of WXIN Fox 59.
WPLG Miami Celebrates Its ‘Independence Day’ Ratings
The ratings are in and Berkshire Hathaway’s newly independent WPLG Miami says its “decision to part ways with ABC was clearly the right call.” The stat
I guess you take the victories you can get, but I can't imagine being successful for one day translates into the long-term success.
I am watching the WPLG Local 10 News during the 12 PM hour live on YouTube. I really like it being available on YouTube as it makes it simple. I see there are about 500 people watching live as I watch.
It is interesting that there are no commercials. They are doing traffic and weather during the commercial time. I can't imagine that the view hours revenue on YouTube equals commercials. I wonder why there are no digital licensed commercial inserts.
The Gray stations insert commercials within their online newscasts, separately from what they broadcast OTA. Sometimes they are specific to your area, regardless of where the local newscast originates. Their online delivery of news from WSAZ, WKYT, and WYMT is flawless.
I agree Wish does a good job with news, I have streamed there newscast live on their website several times.
Streaming stations typically don't feed the local OTA commercials. They let the streaming providers insert ads focused locally to wherever the viewer is watching. Or they don't have ads. I see this a lot when watching newscasts from different markets.
The Gray stations I mentioned (WSAZ, WKYT, WYMT) insert commercials local to the respective coverage areas, with an occasional commercial local to the viewer (in my case Columbia SC). The latter may be inserted by Roku independently of what the station does.