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WROC TV FOR SALE ?

T

The Voice of Reason

Informed sources have told me that Channel 8 (WROC) might be up for sale. Several comments indicate that internal changes will be made in order to make the station marketable for a potential buyer. If this rumor is true let us hope that new owners will be dedicated not only to making 8 a better product, but also spend some money on equipment and veteran on-air staff. Unfortunately Channel 8 has had a history of penny-pinching owners bent on getting rid of, or forcing out, good employees just to save a few bucks. Despite recent ratings showing 8 beating out Channel 10 at noon and 11pm, that station has such great potential if only owned by company that truly cares for the quality of the product.
 
If the rumor comes true I hope that WROC is bought by someone locally, but I doubt it. I suspect a potential buyer for WROC will also own at least one other TV station upstate. But hopefully it won't be either Sinclair or Granite.
 
I am not bashing 8, but.....their success at noon was based on Price is Right, and their numbers at 11pm were based on lead-ins. CSI, etc. A quick look at their content/talent shows they really are in dead last. Most CBS stations across the country have a nice number at noon and 11 based on leads in. Don't for a second think a potential new owner won't know this. That station has big problems--the station's terrible public perception being a huge one.
 
Rochwatcher said:
I am not bashing 8, but.....their success at noon was based on Price is Right, and their numbers at 11pm were based on lead-ins. CSI, etc. A quick look at their content/talent shows they really are in dead last. Most CBS stations across the country have a nice number at noon and 11 based on leads in. Don't for a second think a potential new owner won't know this. That station has big problems--the station's terrible public perception being a huge one.
Click to expand...

Don't expect Sinclair or Granite to buy 8. The same goes for a local group. I also happen to agree whole-heartly that the reason 8 does so well at Noon and 11pm is because of their lead-in shows.

However........Last night at 11pm, 8 did have live coverage of the car into the canal with Doran doing a stand-up, while 10's anchors had to sit there with no live shot. (13 also had a live shot of the accident as well)

It will be interesting to see who eventually purchases WROC TV and what they will do with that operation once they take over. Time will tell.
 
I hope the new owners will wake up and learn that you have to spend money to make money. I mean upgrade your ENG equipment....get new cameras for photogs..new news cars..hire hometown quality talent and pay a decent wage and treat them well and give them respectable raises when they do a good job and it's time to renew their contract. Hire a PR dept that will give you a good image at events and not be cheap about it. Make sure you get lots of good exposure when necessary. Hire an assignment editor who has secret ties to the police and fire dept who can tip the station off and lives for listening to the scanner. For God sakes it is time to change the set, theme music, and effects and go out and update it. Make it just as flashy but professional at the same time. You need talent who are homegrown to this area and know this city backwards and forwards. For god sakes move out of the building you occupy.....it looks hideous.

I know none of this will ever happen but you never know....someday the ownership will wake up or not.
 
The Voice of Reason said:
Several comments indicate that internal changes will be made in order to make the station marketable for a potential buyer.
Click to expand...

Usually "internal changes ... to make the station marketable" mean firings. When stations get bought and sold, potential buyers are very interested in the station's yearly cash flow. You're not just buying a station, you're also buying it's track record of making or losing money. You're more likely to find a buyer when the station has a better profit margin.

Unfortunately, one of the biggest expenses at most stations is payroll -- and it's also the easiest expense to cut back. ClearChannel's a great example. When they acquired Ackerley, they axed the entire news department at WUTR so they could sell it off quickly (to meet an FCC ownership limit requirement). They also made many cuts across the board in radio, when they announced plans to sell off all stations below market 100 -- even in larger markets above 100.

Once a station gets into a habit of doing things "on the cheap" it can be nearly impossible to see it bounce back. Corporate owners -- and now increasingly often, these priviate equity groups -- are only in it for the quick buck. They want their investments to be profitable almost immediately, and a "sure but steady" profit isn't enough. These guys want to see the numbers get bigger and bigger every year. Most of them aren't broadcasting experts, they're financial experts. Unlike the local owners of the past, they don't care enough about the people or the product to understand it may take 5 or 6 years of losing investments to finally turn things around. They want a profit, and they want it now. And it better be even bigger next year. And if they can't pull it off by increasing the station's revenue, then they'll do it by axing expenses.

And consider that most owners are looking to sell the station for a higher price than they originally bought it. Every time that happens, it only sets the bar higher. Not such a problem for leading stations who are practically printing money. But it can be a disaster for the perennial #3-ranked stations out there. Remember how many cities had 2, 3, or even more daily newspapers decades ago... now to have just one? Same with AM Radio, where many cities had several had full newsrooms, but now it's just down to one or maybe two in most places. I wouldn't be surprised if WROC just ditches news altogether within the next 5-10 years.
 
BobRoss said:
I wouldn't be surprised if WROC just ditches news altogether within the next 5-10 years.
Click to expand...

You're giving WROC that long before the station ditches local news?

I'm waiting for the return of the 15 minute newscast on local TV, like the networks had before Cronkite and Huntley & Brinkley went a 1/2 hour back in 1963.

The format would be just give headline news, some weather, a bit of sports and then fill the remainder of the 1/2 hour with commercials. Oh wait, they do that already. :eek:
 
I too can see other stations going the WWTI route(and as of recently, even WIVT) by scaling back in the number of hours for news programming and giving cheap five minute updates at 5:00 and 11:00. What a bleak future for local news.

But for WROC, the station and it's on-air staff, just remember these words...

Someday viewers will find you
Break those chains that bind you
One night will remind you
How we touched
And went our separate ways
If Nexstar ever hurts you
True viewers won't desert you
You know I'll still watch you
Though we touched
And went our separate ways

With apologies to Journey :D :D
 
Old news to those of us who are actually in the know in Rochester media.

Real Insiders could've told you Humboldt St will not be sold by Nexstar until the Jolly Blonde Giant-Tyrant
agrees to move out of town

Maybe you should focus your efforts on the real broadcast sale in town...which will soon turn the darling of Rochester TV upside down, now that the man who blew up Channel 8 will be calling the shots at WHAM-TV
 
Don't get your hopes up that 13 will be raped and murdered. I would think there is a huge difference taking over a top performing station rather than a bottom feeder.
 
You are right, there is a big difference. Cash cow stations have their purses tightened first to make up for the floundering ones. If you know anybody who worked at a Tribune station, they'll tell you how fast that
happens, especially the ones who lost their jobs!!!
Unfortunately, it's all about the money...and being #1,#2, or number #3 in town doesn't really matter to the cost cutters
 
more on Nexstar...this one from Irving, Texas...Nexstar suspends discussions on acquisition of Company

Nexstar Broadcasting Group, Inc. announced that in light of the difficult conditions in the financing markets the Company's Board of Directors, in consultation with its financial advisor Goldman, Sachs & Co., has decided to suspend discussions with prospective acquirers of the Company. The Company does not intend to comment further publicly with respect to the review process.

Nexstar Broadcasting Group, Inc. Nexstar Broadcasting Group currently owns, operates, programs or provides sales and other services to 49 television stations in 29 markets.
 
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