Longtime WPVI Philadelphia anchor Jim Gardner has announced he will retire at the end of 2022. On Nov. 10, Gardner shared that he will continue to anchor the 6 p.m. news, with sports anchor Ducis Rodgers and meteorologist Cecily Tynan, but will step back from the 11 p.m. telecast in early January. 

Gardner has been the station’s 6 and 11 p.m. anchor since 1977. He joined WPVI in 1976. 

“For many of us, Jim is the last news voice we hear before ending our day,” said Bernie Prazenica, WPVI president and general manager. “He has guided us through the good and the bad with calm confidence for more than 40 years, often reassuring us that tomorrow will bring a better day. His presence will be missed by our viewers and by all of us at 6abc. Thankfully, we have another year with him during the 6 p.m. newscast, and we look forward to his continued presence and leadership.”

Gardner began his television career at WKBW Buffalo. 

“It’s hard to imagine that I have had the opportunity to spend a professional lifetime with colleagues so committed, resourceful and wonderful. They have taught me so much about television journalism and about myself. I am profoundly grateful,” said Gardner. “I have spent most of my adult life at Action News, and many of our viewers have grown up and experienced life along with me and the on-air team I’ve worked side-by-side with. I’ve been blessed to raise a family here and to be a member of this community over the past 45 years. I feel I have a special relationship with our viewers and the communities we serve, and I plan to continue to enjoy every minute with them over the next year.”

WPVI is owned by ABC. 

David Murphy, longtime meteorologist at WPVI Philadelphia, retired in September. 

Elizabeth Flores has been named VP of News at WCAU and WWSI Philadelphia. The stations, known as NBC10 and Telemundo62, are part of NBCUniversal. She starts Jan. 11 and will report to Ric Harris, president and general manager of the stations. 

Flores has been assistant news director at WABC New York since 2018. Prior to that, she spent 17 years at WTVJ-WSCV Miami, an NBC-Telemundo duopoly. 

“We are beyond thrilled to have Elizabeth join our team as vice president of news,” said Harris. “She is an exceptional strategic news leader who embraces innovation in journalism and digital engagement across all platforms and in two languages. Her intimate knowledge and deep appreciation for the Hispanic community will also help us to strengthen our already strong storytelling capabilities for the Spanish-speaking audiences we proudly serve.”

Flores succeeds Anzio Williams, who was named senior VP of diversity, equality and inclusion for the NBC station group. 

Flores grew up in Miami and is bilingual. “I’m so excited to join the NBC10 and Telemundo62 family. It will be a privilege to work with an exceptional team of journalists in both English and Spanish,” said Flores. “I am looking forward to getting to know the communities that we serve and making the city of Philadelphia my home.”

Philadelphia’s newsrooms are producing local content that reflects these newsy times. WPVI has “Building It Better Together” segments, WCAU has “Race in Philly” specials, WTXF has “Our Race Reality” specials (see sidebar) and KYW has “Justice and Understanding” segments. 

“Building It Better Together” has covered housing, gun violence and transportation. The segments launched last year. “Who would’ve known they’d become a perfect precursor?” of frenetic 2020, WPVI president and general manager Bernie Prazenica said. 

The networks own the major stations in DMA No. 4. ABC has WPVI; NBCUniversal holds WCAU and Telemundo sister WWSI; Fox owns WTXF and CBS has KYW and The CW outlet WPSG. Univision has WUVP-WSPA. Nexstar Media Group owns MyNetworkTV-affiliated WPHL. 

See Also: Fox 29 Focused on Race

Philadelphia-based Comcast (parent of NBCU) is the major pay TV operator. 

Stations are getting by with what Brandin Stewart, KYW-WPSG president and general manager, called a “skeleton crew” in the building. “We did some amazing things in a brief period of time,” he said of shifting to work-from-home mode. 

The other GMs note how content quality has stayed high despite the workplace disruption. “None of us have ever worked our way through something like this,” Ric Harris, WCAU-WWSI president and general manager, said. 

The NFL is underway, so much of Philly’s focus turns to the Eagles. WTXF has 10 Eagles games. Leading into Thursday Night Football is local sports-wagering show Props & Locks. “It feels like a very, very relevant show in the sports world today,” said Jim Driscoll, WTXF VP and news director. 

Fox 29’s freewheeling morning show, Good Day Philadelphia, “sets the tone for our station,” senior VP and general manager Dennis Bianchi said.

Besides 6 and 11 p.m. news, WUVP has news inserts in the morning, and sometimes beyond. WPSG began rebroadcasting its 10 p.m. news at 10:30 p.m. a few months back. “People are wanting to get more news,” said Stewart.

WCAU partners with the Philadelphia Tribune on “Race in Philly,” 30-minute monthly specials. NBC10 changed its morning team in mid September. Vai Sikahema, who anchored with Tracy Davidson, is retiring. The 4 p.m. and 5 p.m. team, Keith Jones and Erin Coleman, moved in. “They’re both from Philadelphia and really entrenched in the market,” said Harris. “Our audience knows them, likes them and trusts them.”

WWSI replaced its 6-7 a.m. news with cut-ins, which run around 2½ minutes a pop. 

WPHL airs the four-hour PHL17 Morning News and a 10 p.m. Action News at Ten on PHL17 produced by WPVI. MyNetworkTV programming runs 2-4 a.m. and off-net comedies, such as Black-ish and The Goldbergs, occupy prime. “Family Night Every Night is our slogan,” said Vincent Giannini, VP and general manager. 

WPVI is a ratings beast. For 2020 through August, Action News won 6-7 a.m., 5 p.m. and 6 p.m. in households and viewers 25-54. At 11 p.m., WPVI has averaged a 5.4 in households, ahead of KYW’s 3.3 and WCAU’s 2.9. In viewers 25-54, WPVI has a 1.7, WCAU a 1.1, KYW a 0.9 and WTXF a 0.6.

Prazenica sums up 6 ABC’s success in a word: stability. “We know our brand, we have confidence in our brand, and we evolve our brand,” he said. 

The station has three community journalists, and a “data fellow” to hone WPVI’s data journalism ventures. 

Bianchi called Philly a “first-rate, cosmopolitan city.” Eddy Elguezabal, WUVP-WSPA president/general manager, described it as “the most understated city in the country” — a locale people don’t think about for vacations, but thanks to its history, diversity and local grub, probably should. 

He added, “Who doesn’t like Philly cheesesteaks?”

After hammering away for months, Comcast and its home town of Philadelphia have agreed to terms on a new 15-year franchise agreement that includes a bulking up of the operator’s public, educational and government) commitments to the city, and expanded access to the MSO's low-cost Internet service program.

The agreement was voted out of committee yesterday (December 3), and is slated for a formal vote by the city council and Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter next Thursday (December 10).

Before the deal, Comcast has been tightening its ties with the city. Comcast, headquartered in Philadelphia, is in the process of erecting an “Innovation and Technology Center” that, at 59 stories, will be taller than  the Comcast Center.

“This is an unprecedented renewal and a strong indication of our commitment to our hometown,” Comcast spokesman Jeff Alexander said, in a statement. “It will benefit the City and all Philadelphians now and for years to come, broadening access to broadband through Internet Essentials, creating good-paying jobs and careers and much more.”

According to the terms of the new franchise agreement, it includes “enhanced customer service standards” greater than those required of Comcast rival Verizon and what was in the prior Comcast franchise deal. Comcast must adhere to specific performance requirements, regular enhanced reporting, “with audit rights by the City, and liquidated damages up to $500,000 per year for failure to comply.” That’s in addition to $500,000 in liquidated damages for any other violation of the franchise and is twice the liquidated damages provided by the Verizon franchise, per an executive summary of the terms.

The new franchise fee provides for the maximum lawful franchise fee of 5% of gross revenues from cable service, which currently exceeds $17 million per year.

At the city’s request, Comcast has agreed to expand the revenues to include all fees and FCC fees collected from customers --elements that aren’t in the Verizon franchise.

Other details include:

-PEG funding: Will rise from $8.2 million under the prior franchise, to $21.3 million under the new one – more than double the funding provided in the Verizon franchise. The franchise also continues Comcast's provision of nearly $1 million per year in complimentary services to Philadelphia municipal locations, schools, and libraries, while the Verizon franchise provides for none.

-PEG Channels:  The agreement provides for 11 channels total - 4 public access channels (PhillyCAM); 2 governmental access channels (Channels 63 and 64); and 5 educational access channels (1 each for SDP, Community College of Philadelphia, Drexel University, Temple University, and LaSalle University).  Two channels are currently available in HD, though the franchise calls for a “reasonable pathway” for the activation of more HD channels.

-PEG VOD capacity:  The new deal increases PEG VOD capacity from 8 hours to 20 hour.

- Institutional Network:  Comcast is providing $10 million in network construction (to more than 200 city locations) at no cost to the city, compared to Verizon’s required $2 million cash payment.  Philadelphia could include he provision of WiFi services at municipal locations. 

-Remediation of cable plant code violations:  Comcast will carry out a city-wide effort to inspect, identify and repair alleged violations of the National Electrical Safety Code and/or National Electrical Code in its cable plant city-wide (including poles, cables, cable drops, equipment in pedestals, etc.).  The project will be completed within 18 months and is guaranteed by up to $2 million in liquidated damages.

-Comcast will has added Philadelphia to a pilot program to extend its $9.95/month Internet Essentials offering to low-income seniors, and to include the city in in the first group of communities to be part of any future program around the low-cost program.

- Comcast, for five years, will partner with a local city non-profit to provide low-income citizens who don’t have school-aged children a chance to participate in the Internet Essentials program at a rate of $29.95, of which the customer pays $9.95 and the organization pays $20.

-Comcast will provide a grant of $500,000 in support of a Digital Inclusion Alliance formed by the city comprised of businesses, non-profit organizations, and governmental agencies.

-Comcast has agreed to begin offering a 10% discount to low-income seniors on limited basic and digital starter cable service.

-The MSO will also launch a Virtual Customer Care Agent program in Philadelphia that will result in the hiring of 150 to 200 Philadelphia residents to work as customer care employees from their homes.

- 5-Year Amnesty Program for 90-Day Requirement in Internet Essentials:  For a five year period in the city, Comcast has agreed to waive the requirement that applicants for Internet Essentials (including the Senior Pilot and Low-Income Programs above) shall not have been Comcast Internet Service customers in the prior 90 days.  

Comcast is donating $1.5 million in public service airtime to promote the National LGBT 50th Anniversary Celebration in Philadelphia this July. Comcast is the lead marketing sponsor of the event, according to its organizers.

The PSA is airing this month and next.

The celebration, July 2-5, marks the anniversary of a Fourth of July 1965 demonstration by LGBT activists in front of Independence Hall.

This year, the celebration will include exhibits, concerts, a wreath laying ceremony and a street festival, plus a ceremony at Independence Hall July 4 hosted by comedian Wanda Sykes (Chris Rock Show, Curb Your Enthusiasm), who hosted the White House Correspondents Association dinner in 2009.