WMXI, the Fox affiliate in Grand Rapids, Michigan, said it named Jace Larson as senior director of news.

Larson had been director of newsgathering at Scripps News. Scripps News and WMXI are owned by E.W. Scripps.

Larson is replacing Dan Boers, who left the station in July.

At Scripps News, Larson oversaw the general assignment reporting team. He previously managed teams within the Scripps local-national operation before it merged with Scripps News.

Earlier in his career, Larson worked as a reporter at stations including KUSA and KMGH in Denver, KPRC Houston and KOKI Tulsa, Oklahoma. He won an Alfred I. duPont-Columbia University Award for uncovering and dismantling a foreclosure scam in Colorado.

Chenue Her is headed to KMSP Minneapolis, where he will be a morning anchor. He starts in October and will co-anchor Fox 9 Morning from 4:30-6 a.m. with Hannah Flood. 

Her comes from WOI Des Moines, where he has been a morning anchor. 

"We've been big Chenue fans from afar for years now, ever since he started next door in Iowa,” said Kelly Bishop-Huffman, KMSP VP and news director. “On the air and behind the scenes, he just has this incredible 'X-factor.' We couldn't be happier that he's coming home to the Twin Cities and joining our family as well as being back with his."

Before his time at WOI, Her was a reporter for WXIA Atlanta. He has also been a reporter at WVEC Norfolk and KEZI Eugene (OR). He began his career as an intern at KSTP and WCCO in Minneapolis, and at KCRA Sacramento. 

"Coming home and joining the Fox 9 team is a full circle moment for me,” he said. “As a proud Minnesota native and a Hmong son of east St. Paul, it's the greatest honor of my career to join the most iconic morning newscast in Minnesota made up of journalists I've looked up to. As refugees, my parents have been loyal to Fox 9 Morning News for a long time to keep them informed daily and now Fox 9 becomes a part of their family's story forever."

Kelly O'Connell will join Tom Butler for the 6-7 a.m. hours on Fox 9 Morning.

KMSP, known as Fox 9, is part of Fox Television Stations. 

WLS, the ABC-owned station in Chicago, said it named Nneka Nwosu as VP of marketing for the station.

Nosu has been assistant news director at WLS since 2022, overseeing the I-Team investigative unit. She also collaborated with the ABC Television Network on investigations across the ABC stations and created the streaming series Facing the Facts.

She succeeds David Lee, now VP, brand and marketing at WCBS New York.

"Nneka is an inspirational leader whose creativity and strategic vision make her an ideal choice for this role,” WLS GM John Idler said. “We are excited about her next chapter at our station and look forward to seeing her impact on ABC7’s marketing efforts.”

Nwosu joined WLS from Hearst-owned WCVB Boston, where she was executive producer of Chronicle. Before that she was a reporter for WTNH New Haven, Connecticut.

Sinclair is expected to post higher earnings for the year as political ad spending continues to balloon.

The station group on Thursday disclosed that it now expects political ad spending to be between $442 million and  $469 million for the year, an increase of about $60 million. Sinclair’s initial forecast way back when was for $350 million in political spending, which would have been 20% above 2020’s level.

For Q3, ad revenue is expected to range from $149 million to $145 million, up from the previous estimate of $113 million to $128 million.

Benchmark analyst Daniel Kurnos, who already had a “buy” rating for Sinclair stock, said in a note Monday he was increasing his estimate for Sinclair’s 2024 earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) by $17 million as a result of the increase in expected political spending.

“In theory, incremental political dollars ought to be very high margin,” Kurnos said. With Sinclair’s new yield-optimization efforts, core looks to be impacted only by a point or two in 3Q, with growth of 2% to 4% still projected.” 

Sinclair’s announcement also provided positive comments about the company’s round of retransmission consent renewals, which it said should yield 2% compounded annualized growth in net retrans for 2023-25.

That “should point to a successful refinancing in the near-term, lifting one of the biggest overhangs and paving the way for significant debt reduction over the medium term,” Kurnos said.

Sinclair stock traded down almost 1% at $14.51 a share in morning trading Monday.

Growing up in Angelina National Forest in rural Texas, where her parents owned a lakeside marina and campground, Valari Dobson Staab never thought about working in television. She barely even thought of watching television. 

“We only got reception occasionally, usually because some weird storm was surfacing,” she said. “TV was not a big part of my life, and it was not something I planned on doing at all.”

Dobson Staab is fully immersed in the medium today. She oversees 12 NBC-owned stations and 31 more on the Telemundo side, along with multicast networks, regional sports networks and a couple of production outfits. 

Having both English- and Spanish-language stations sets the NBCUniversal Local group apart, she noted. “We have these newsrooms that collect and produce news and information in English and Spanish, and it’s only one newsroom, which gives us more journalists in our markets than our competitors,” she said. “And it sets us up uniquely success-wise because we’re going after two different markets in terms of ratings and revenue.”

Broadcast TV is challenged to stand out amid the streaming networks, but Dobson Staab said the stations she oversees are in a strong place. The Paris Summer Olympics was “crazy good,” she shared. “Ratings were incredible, much better than expected, and revenue was through the roof.”

The Games are over, but she sees positive stories in a number of markets. She mentioned key newscasts picking up momentum at KVEA Los Angeles, WNBC New York and WBTS Boston. “Overall, it’s a really good group,” she said, “and they constantly make me proud of their breaking news coverage, especially weather.”

Kevin Keeshan, NBCUniversal Local executive VP of news editorial, said Dobson Staab has made investigative reporting a vital element of the group, with Responde units hustling on consumers’ behalf at the Telemundo outlets. “The Spanish speaker had been underresourced, and the Telemundo stations have performed an incredibly important public service when they have consumer issues,” he said, noting how Responde has recovered over $80 million since it launched a decade ago. 

The streamers may offer a vast quantity of high-gloss entertainment, but TV stations supply something more unique. “The one thing we do that the internet has not been able to do is the gathering of local news,” Dobson Staab said. “It’s just an expensive proposition that takes boots on the ground.”

She raves about the group’s FAST channels — how they’ve been adding news, getting substantial viewership and turning that into real revenue. 

It helps that NBCU Local staffers always get a clear message from the group chief. “Valari speaks clearly and directly, knows how to articulate a vision, knows how to get everybody on board, and then lets us go do our jobs,” said Therese Gamba, NBCUniversal Local chief marketing officer and executive VP, acquired programming. “That kind of leadership allows people to take ownership of their jobs, feeling, ‘I am part of this organization, and what I do matters.’ ”

‘Very Basic Starter Job’

It was at KLTV in Tyler, Texas where Dobson Staab started. She was paying her way through college and took a “very basic starter job” in the commercial traffic department, which fit with her classes and paid a bit better than other options. The general manager, Frank Melton, ended up a mentor. He was a rarity — a Black GM who was just 28 years old. 

He encouraged his staffers to be creative, and Dobson Staab took him to heart. “He showed me how you could create this really fun, great environment that does a lot of good in the community,” she said. “And you are inspired because you like your job, and because you’re doing good for the community.”

Dobson Staab is an avid mentor as well, willing to meet with most any aspiring staffer. Her executive assistants do that job for two years, then enter the trainee program that best suits them. 

Dobson Staab unwinds on weekends at the shore with her husband, R.C., her dog Skye and her kayak. “Since I grew up on a marina, I’m still very water-oriented,” she  said. 

Unwinding is necessary for an executive running a dynamic station group amidst a transforming TV universe. “You always have to be looking ahead,” she said, “and you also have to be ready to pivot.” 

Tim Wieland, KCNC Denver president and general manager, moves into a regional general manager role, with oversight of KCNC and KCBS-KCAL Los Angeles, starting October 14. All the stations are part of CBS News and Stations. 

Joel Vilmenay, who took on the KCBS-KCAL president/GM job three years ago, departs his position October 11. 

Wieland has been at KCNC, known as CBS Colorado, since 2001, initially as assistant news director, then as news director, then as general manager starting in 2021. 

Jennifer Mitchell, CBS Stations president, said: “Tim has been instrumental in leading the community journalism model in Denver, a pioneering approach that has reshaped how we cover local news and serve our viewers. This model has now become a cornerstone for other CBS stations across the country. In addition, Tim successfully executed a First Alert Weather brand in Denver, which has strengthened the station’s connection with its community — an experience that will be invaluable as we continue to grow the Next Weather brand here in L.A.”

Kristine Strain has been promoted to VP of news and station manager at KCNC. She became news director when Wieland was promoted to GM in 2021.  

WGBA, an NBC affiliate in Green Bay, Wisconsin, said it named Bob Schaper was news director, effective October 28.

Schaper is currently news director at Nexstar Media Group’s WOWK in Charleston, West Virginia.

Schaper will be filling a vacancy left ob Ryan Scott, who moved to WTMJ, Milwaukee, which like WGBA is owned by the E.W. Scripps Co.

“Bob has a track record of success in driving increased ratings and shares across the newsrooms he has led while staying committed to quality journalism and storytelling,” said Jaclyn Clark, station manager and director of sales for WGBA. “He is a great fit for our newsroom and our mission.” 

Schaper started out as a newspaper reporter. He got his first TV reporting job at WREX in Rockford, Illinois. He worked at stations in Madison, Wisconsin;  and Eugene, Oregon, advancing from reporter to anchor to assistant news director before getting his current post.

WNBC-WNJU New York, the NBC-Telemundo duopoly, is holding its Star Choir competition from September 17 through October 13, with the winner invited to perform on NBC's Christmas in Rockefeller Center broadcast lined up for Wednesday, December 4. Previous Star Choir winners include P.S. 14 in Corona, Queens in 2022 and High Tech High School of the Hudson County Schools of Technology in 2023.  

Choral groups are invited to visit nbcnewyork.com/choir or telemundo47.com/choir and submit an entry. All entrants must be between the ages of 6 and 18. 

“Our Star Choir winner has quickly become one of the highlights of WNBC’s holiday broadcast. The energy and passion of these young performers continue to make spirits bright,” said Eric Lerner, president and general manager of WNBC, known as NBC 4 New York. “We are thrilled to offer this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to a talented tri-state youth choir and cannot wait to welcome them to Rockefeller Center — the biggest holiday stage of all.”

The contest is for participants residing within WNBC-WNJU’s viewing areas in New York, New Jersey, Fairfield County, Connecticut, and Pike County, Pennsylvania. Groups must have between 10 and 35 members. 

“In recent years, viewers from around the world have been introduced to the remarkable singing talents of our Star Choir winners — hailing from Wakefield in the Bronx, Corona, Queens and all across Hudson County, New Jersey,” said Cristina Schwarz, president and general manager of WNJU, known as Telemundo 47. “Our Telemundo 47 familia is excited to make this amazing opportunity available to the community. We look forward to seeing their talents shine this holiday season.”

WNBC and WNJU are part of NBCUniversal Local. 

Entrants can submit a video performance of any holiday-themed song, up to three minutes long. Those chosen for a second round will be asked to perform and submit a second performance of “Deck the Halls.”

The Dallas Mavericks became the latest team to fast-break their local game telecasts from a regional sports network to a broadcaster, announcing a deal with Tegna.

Tegna’s KMPX in the Dallas-Ft. Worth market will broadcast all Mavericks games not exclusively televised nationally for free.

WFAA, the Tegna-owned ABC affiliate in Dallas, will simulcast at least 15 of those games.

The games will also be broadcast by Tegna stations in Waco, Midland-Odessa, Abilene and San Angelo.

Tegna said Mavericks telecasts will reach about 10 million people over the air — that’s triple the audience reach the team achieved via cable under its old deal with RSN Bally Sports South. 

“We are looking forward to giving Dallas Mavericks fans every opportunity possible to watch our exciting team build on the momentum of its incredible run to the NBA Finals last season,” Mavericks governor Patrick Dumont said. “Our new agreement with Tegna helps meaningfully deliver on that goal by broadcasting more games to more local homes than in any period in franchise history. Through our new partnership with Tegna and our expanded relationship with WFAA, more Mavs fans than ever before will be able to watch the team they love.”

WFAA becomes the official local broadcast partner of the Dallas Mavericks. WFAA and Tegna will lead local and regional advertising and sponsorship sales for all local games, and Tegna will work with partner broadcast companies to announce additional Texas markets.

“This is an incredible day for Mavs fans and our partners across Texas, and we are grateful to the Mavericks organization for their partnership and trust,” Tegna senior VP, media operations Brad Ramsey, said. “Mavericks fans, our audience, and our advertising partners had an unbelievable reaction to the 10 games we made available last season, and we are thrilled to build off of that momentum and make every game, home or away, available to more fans in more homes.”

Meredith Veloz has been named news director at WRMD Tampa, part of NBC Universal Local’s Telemundo Station Group. She starts in early October and will report to Miguelangel Lopez, regional VP of news & content for the Telemundo-owned stations in Orlando, Tampa and Fort Myers. She will also oversee the news team at WWDT Fort Myers-Naples. 

WRMD is known as Telemundo 49.

Veloz comes from WCAU-WWSI Philadelphia, the NBC and Telemundo-owned stations in that market, where she was executive producer for close to 3 ½ years. 

"Meredith is passionate about local news, has extensive experience in bilingual media, and has successfully led news editorial in several major-market stations,” said Lopez. “She is an ideal person to lead our newsroom and we are pleased to welcome her to our talented and dedicated team serving the Tampa Bay and the Southwest Florida area.”

Veloz has also worked as an executive producer for the Telemundo stations in Chicago and Boston. Previously, she held production positions at Univision and Maria Elvira Live!, hosted by U.S. Rep. María Elvira Salazar, in South Florida. 

From Miami, Veloz got her bachelor’s in broadcast journalism and political science from American University.

Glen Dacy has been named VP of news content and streaming at WFLD-WPWR Chicago, starting September 9. He most recently worked with the CBS Network News Special Events Unit as a producer for the 2024 Democratic National Convention in Chicago. Prior to that, he spent a decade as a supervising producer at CNN. 

"With decades of Chicago news experience, Glen is the perfect person to lead our news team with a fresh approach and clear vision of what our audience is seeking,” said Sheila Oliver, WFLD-WPWR senior VP/general manager. 

Dacy succeeds Matt Piacente in running the WFLD newsroom. 

Part of Fox Television Stations, WFLD is known as Fox 32 and WPWR is My50. 

Before his time at CNN, Dacy was a producer on Rock Center With Brian Williams at NBC News. He also worked at ABC News and was showrunner and senior producer for Kurtis Productions on A&E’s Investigative Reports. Dacy also spent time as senior producer for WFLD’s Good Day Chicago.

Dacy’s other work in local TV include stints at WMAQ Chicago; KWWL Waterloo, Iowa; and KCCI Des Moines, Iowa. 

“As a third-generation Chicagoan, and a veteran of covering news from Chicago, I am proud to take the reins of the skilled team of journalists at Fox 32,” Dacy said. “This challenge comes at a fascinating time in our business, and I look forward to bringing the countless remarkable stories of our great city to life.”

Olivia Dangler has been named news director of KTVI-KPLR St. Louis. She has been news director at WDTN-WBDT Dayton, and starts in St. Louis October 7. 

“We are thrilled to welcome Olivia to St. Louis,” said Kurt Krueger, VP and general manager, KTVI-KPLR. “Her 20 years in journalism and 15 in leadership roles, Olivia is poised to not only maintain Fox 2 News and St. Louis 11 News as the leading news sources in the market, but also to drive innovation across our linear and digital platforms, as she has successfully done throughout her career.”

Dangler succeeds Audrey Prywitch, who retired in May.

Dangler has also been a news director at WHTM Harrisburg, and was assistant news director at WTTV-WXIN Indianapolis. 

“It’s my honor to join this amazing team of experienced, dedicated journalists and continue to build on the legacy of Fox 2 News/Saint Louis 11 News by focusing on stories that matter to the communities we serve,” said Dangler.

KTVI-KPLR is a Fox-The CW pair owned by Nexstar Media Group. 

Mike Carr has been named president and general manager of KTRK Houston. He comes from KFSN Fresno, where he has been president and general manager. He succeeds Wendy Granato atop KTRK, with Granato taking on the president/GM role at KABC Los Angeles. 

KTRK and KFSN are part of ABC Owned Television Stations, as is KABC.  

“Mike is an exceptional leader who regularly outdelivers both in terms of ratings and the ability to produce high-quality, high-impact news programming,” ABC Owned Television Stations president Chad Matthews said. “He always steps up to the plate and has been a true asset to the broader stations team. I know his passion and enthusiasm for delivering best-in-class news experiences, as well as his laser-focused, thoughtful and strategic approach to growth and ratings success, will be a huge asset at KTRK.”  

Carr was the news director at KFSN before he was named general manager in 2020. He started at the station as an intern and moved up to assignment editor, producer and executive producer prior to news director. He has also worked in newsrooms in San Francisco and Sacramento. 

“The team at KTRK is among the best of the best,” Carr said. “California and Texas share some of the same environmental concerns like extreme heat, drought and wildfires, so I’ve worked closely with them over the years and admire their dedication to innovation, commitment to authentic storytelling and focus on getting the facts and telling the stories that will matter most in viewers’ lives. Together, I know we will continue ABC13’s dominance on both broadcast and digital platforms while identifying new and exciting opportunities.” 

Carr is also the co-lead of the ABC station group’s Race and Culture team, including helping to oversee the ABC News Storytellers Summit each year in partnership with ABC News.  

Carr has a bachelor’s degree in mass communication and journalism from California State University, where he played football. He is a member of the National Association of Black Journalists.

In her first job in television news, Maya Sargent, a multimedia journalist for E.W. Scripps’ WTXL, is covering a neighborhood in Northwest Tallahassee.

Originally from the U.K., Sargent said her British accent has endeared her to the Floridians she now lives with and reports on and makes them more inclined to talk to her.

“It’s been great to kind of learn more about my neighborhood through the lens of my neighbors,” Sargent told B+C Multichannel News. “They’re telling you what’s important to them, what they want to hear.”

From a message on Facebook, she learned that the food pantry at the local Veterans Village for homeless former servicemen was empty. Sargent did a story on that for the station.

A few days later, she got an email from a teacher in a school on the other side of town.

“They said they were so moved by the story,” Sargent said. The elementary school held a food drive and delivered what it collected to the Veterans Village. Sargent did a follow-up story. 

“To call attention to a problem and have a viewer react and encourage a whole school to do a food drive then deliver that food to fill the pantry was the most unbelievable display of what local news can do,” she said.

That’s the ideal for Scripps, which launched the Neighborhood News format at many of its stations as part of its news initiative a year ago.

More Reporters in the Field

Scripps said it will have added 250 journalists in its local newsrooms by the end of the year, a 67% increase. In smaller markets, stations will have at least 10 reporters, and in larger markets, stations will have at least 25 journalists in the field. 

The company has spent $11.4 million to increase the pay of its newsgathering employees, especially in small and midsized markets.

Scripps CEO Adam Symson, who began his career as a journalist, recently said in a note to staffers that he was “exceptionally proud” of the news being produced from the Scripps stations that have transitioned to the new system.

“In our smaller markets through the Neighborhood News strategy, we’re covering more of the community with far more reporters than in the past,” he said. “In our medium and larger markets, the new staffing structure is opening the opportunity to cover markets farther and wider, from the rural edges and far-flung suburbs to a city’s core. We are rebuilding trust with our audiences because we are committed to covering their community all the time and not just occasionally parachuting in.

“Now a year in, and with most of our local stations transitioned or having started their transition, by focusing on both quality journalism and financial performance, we are creating a stronger foundation for our future to serve our communities with local news for years to come,” Symson said.

They say you have to break a lot of eggs to make an omelet, and former Scripps executives say the new approach is producing lower ratings and adding to the company’s difficult financial condition.

Sources also said the initiative created a struggle within Scripps between those pushing the new approach and an old guard more interested in next month’s ratings and revenue than the future of TV news. 

“There’s a struggle inside the company about how you get there and treat people respectfully,” said one former Scripps exec. “It was very much top down the way it was communicated and some if it didn’t happen the way they said it would happen.”

The struggle was intensified as Scripps went through a corporate reorganization that resulted in senior executives leaving the company and the replacement of general managers at many stations with station managers, reporting to regional managers.

Even within stations, there were jealousies as some staffers got raises, well-paid reporters were added and others saw their income stagnate or their jobs disappear altogether, the executives said.

Many of Scripps’ stations no longer rely on anchors and big chunks of their newscasts — other than weather — are prerecorded. When news breaks, Scripps said, its reporters can and do still report live.

A Scripps spokesman acknowledged that between the company’s reorganization and the news initiative, communication could have been better.

Business Worries

Former Scripps executives also said some station managers are concerned the initiative will hurt ratings and revenues — especially in 2025, when bigger stations make the change and political advertising dries up in a nonelection year. While viewers tell researchers they prefer softer community news, the executives said, they really want to know about the shootings, fires and other disasters in their neighborhoods.

In Tallahassee, Florida, one of the first markets where the initiative was installed, viewership fell sharply in the second quarter from a year ago, according to Comscore numbers. (Scripps uses Comscore for local audience measurement.) 

Scripps noted that Comscore changed its methodology, making apples-to-apples comparisons difficult. Even given that, the leading station in the market saw a much smaller percentage decline in viewership.

Meanwhile, Scripps reported a second-quarter loss and is going through a second management shakeup, all of which has contributed to a big drop in the company’s stock price, which hasn’t enhanced faith in the company’s management.

As far as news is concerned, Sean McLaughlin, a 10-year Scripps vet who was senior VP, local news, before leaving earlier this year, agrees that change is due.

“At the end of the day, I think It’s pretty clear, no matter what sort of audience data you look at that local news needs serious reform,” said McLaughlin, now VP of news at Graham Media Group.

“I’ll tell you, it’s not easy,” he added. ”Within the industry, there’s a lot of tension between the reformers, the people who realize we need to drastically change the way we’re operating, and people who are clinging to a past that doesn’t exist anymore. That tension is what prevents real transformation from happening.”

Graham had a similar effort to modernize its news, improve its journalism and produce more stories underway when McLaughlin arrived at the company, he said.

“Any of the journalism-focused broadcasters that are left are eyeballing the same thing,” he said.

The issues at Graham and Scripps are not exactly the same. “Graham is in a different financial situation, so there’s not as much pressure on cutting costs,” McLaughlin said. “And so what it’s really allowed us to do is singularly focus on improving the quality of the news product and not having to simultaneously deal with the financial side.”

Scripps is moving forward with its local news initiative. 

If TV is going to continue to inform viewers about their world, Scripps president of news Kate O’Brian said, it can’t become a victim of the financial and technological changes the industry is going through.

“Local news is just an institution like a battleship,” O’Brian said. “It’s going to be really hard to turn around. Where people lost their jobs, the reinvestment of the money saved went into expanding the number of journalists on the street.” 

Some stations have cut ties with longtime anchors, but O’Brian said eliminating those big salaries to hire additional less-experienced staffers isn’t the Scripps strategy.

“The model is utilizing a lot of levers in order to bring in more reporters,” she said. “And that’s including using technology in a different way and reformatting what the newsrooms look like.”

And while O’Brian said she was sorry for those in newsrooms who’ve left the company, “we also appreciate the people who understand what we’re trying to do.”

At this point 35 stations have made the transition, starting with those in smaller markets. Scripps’ bigger stations started the process in August and the company expects it to be wrapped up in the fourth quarter.

Of those, 12 have chosen the Neighborhood News format.

Other stations have adopted formats including “Fight for What’s Right” and “We Follow Through,” which emphasizes staying with a story.

One of the first stations to make the transition was WTXL Tallahassee. Station manager Vicki Bradley said when she’s fully staffed, she’ll have 12 MMJs in her newsroom, a number she’d never experienced in a small market.

“In a lot of small markets, here are some places in your DMA you never get to because you never had the people,” she said. 

The second largest city in the Tallahassee DMA is Valdosta, Georgia, two and half hours from the station. As part of the initiative, WTXL was able to hire a reporter from the Valdosta newspaper, whose family was from the area and went to college there.

“The beauty of hiring people that live in the community they serve is they want to stay,” Bradley said. “My desire is that my Valdosta reporter will want to stay because we do pay people a living wage.”

The station’s new salary structure means she can compete for talent in midsized markets. WTXL recently was able to hire a senior reporter from Charlotte, Bradley said.

Bradley said viewers are noticing the station’s reporters showing up and sticking around in their neighborhoods.

She was at a meeting of community leaders and people would come up to her and drop the names of the station’s reporters — something that hadn’t happened in the past. “This is crazy impactful,” she said.

More reporters in the newsroom creates a need for more management. That’s led to additional training and the creation of executive reporters, who help coach less-experienced MMJs.

At KERO, Scripps’s station in Bakersfield, California, Mike Hart, an anchor for 30 years, has become an executive reporter, overseeing the newsroom’s 12 MMJs, teaching them about what’s a story and how to report and write it.

“We’re a small market in size, but we’re in the second largest county in California,” he said. “This Neighborhood News model now sends our reporters into every corner of the county. They cover stories that we might not have covered even a year or two ago,” when the station had more anchors than reporters.

More Local, Less Live

Besides having more reporters, the station’s Neighborhood News format features fewer unnecessary live shots. “It makes us so much more efficient and it gives our reporters the ability to really spend more time putting their stories together,” Hart said, like a recent investigation into a rise of arson cases in the market.

In an industry where most news staffers move from market to market, Hart says he landed in Bakersfield and has now spent 33 years there. “People ask me where I’m from and I say I’m from Bakersfield,” he said.

At KERO, he’s been through a number of formats, from Action News to Standing Up for You. He said he hopes that Scripps’s initiative will encourage more people to stay in market — especially if that’s where they grew up. 

KERO senior reporter Veronica Morley was born and raised in Bakersfield and has the talent to move up to a larger market, Hart said. “She has told me she wants to stay in Bakersfield. This is her home.”

Another KERO reporter, Corey O’Leary, lives in a little town called Bodfish. When storms hit the area, “having someone embedded up there where it was all happening was a tremendous advantage,” Hart said. 

Hart hopes some of his younger MMJs will stick around.

“We’re going to see other companies follow us,” he said. “We’re already seeing it in our market. Two of the other stations are trying to imitate some of the things we’re doing.” 

Bill Anderson, VP and general manager at KRQE Albuquerque, passed away on August 26. His age and cause of death were not available at presstime. 

He was named KRQE general manager in 1999. 

“Bill had an immense impact on TV broadcasting, this community, everyone he worked with, and his family,” said anchor Jessica Garate in a news segment. “He was truly a one-of-a-kind boss, mentor, friend, father and husband.”

Anderson’s television career began with a marketing internship at WITI Milwaukee in 1979. 

“He knew all the departments. He knew intimately what makes a television station work,” said Dick Knipfing, former KRQE anchor, on KRQE.com.

In 1993, Anderson won an Emmy for creating “Flood Aid,” a national telethon that raised more than $8 million for flood victims in Iowa. After joining KRQE, he created KRQE Cares, which helps needy children with donations of shoes, food and books. 

Anderson was married to Debbie for more than 40 years. They raised three children, and had five grandchildren.

Nexstar Media Group owns KRQE, a CBS affiliate. The KRQE Media Group includes KRQE-KREZ-KBIM, Fox New Mexico (a subchannel of KRQE), KWBQ (New Mexico CW) and KASY (MY50TV), the latter two owned by Mission Broadcasting. 

Morgan Murphy Media said it was combining the newsroom operations of WBUP Marquette, Michigan, with those of WJMN under an agreement with WJMN owner Sullivan’s Landing LLC.

Both stations will air newscasts under the My UP News brand, starting September 9. Weekend newscasts will be relaunched later.

WBUP had been known as ABC 10; WJMN had been branded Local 3.

Combined, the two stations will be offering 20 hours of live local news per week.

“We are thrilled to expand our local news offering and share something uniquely designed for people in the Upper Peninsula,” said Mark Overstreet, general manager at WPUB and WJMN. “We know people who live here care deeply about the U.P. and we wanted to build a local news product just for them.”

Both stations are improving their over-the-air signals to give viewers better reception. 

Nexstar Media Group said stations it owns in five more markets will become affiliates of The CW, the Nexstar-owned network, starting in September and October.

The CW will be carried on digital subchannels of WJBF, Augusta, Georgia; KARD, Monroe, Louisiana; KFDX, Wichita Falls, Texas; WTWO, Terre Haute, Indiana; and WFXV, Utica, New York.

On each station, The CW replaces a digital multicast network owned by E.W. Scripps, either Ion, Bounce or Laff. Scripps announced earlier this year that it would be dropping CW affiliates in several markets.

The CW previously had affiliates in each of those markets.

Nexstar has said that having The CW on its owned station creates economic benefits for the company.

“The addition of these affiliates will bring the number of Nexstar- and partner-owned CW stations to 54, covering more than 45% of U.S. TV households,” said Andrew Alford, president of Nexstar’s broadcasting division. 

“As The CW’s No. 1 affiliate group, Nexstar is very pleased to be airing the network’s programming on these stations this fall, especially with NASCAR Xfinity series racing and the WWE’s NXT joining a very robust lineup of sports programming, including LIV Golf and ACC college football and basketball, and Pac-12 football,” Alford said. “Adding The CW’s programming to these stations will offer advertisers a variety of new linear and digital opportunities to reach millions of viewers.” 

Christina Hager, longtime reporter at WBZ Boston, signed off from the station August 16. She spent 25 years at WBZ and has moved into public relations at Market Mentors. 

Hager shared on X after signing off: “All done! Overwhelming saying goodbye after 25 years in Boston, 33 in TV news. Feels like I’ve connected w/a staggering # of people & hopefully brought some insight w/my reporting. Really hard to say goodbye to the AMAZING team of journalists I work with. What a profound honor!”

WBZ anchors David Wade and Lisa Hughes saluted the outgoing reporter on the air, before sharing clips from her time at the station. 

“She has covered tragedies, trials, I-team investigations and so much more, with her hallmark tenacity, compassion and curiosity,” Hughes said. “Christina is a terrific journalist and a friend and a colleague we will miss.”

TVSpy previously reported Hager’s departure. 

CBS News and Stations owns WBZ.  

Adam Krueger has joined KTTV Los Angeles as chief meteorologist. Starting September 3, he will anchor weather on the station’s weekday 5, 6, 10 and 11 p.m. newscasts. He comes from KIAH Houston, where he was chief meteorologist. 

KTTV, known as Fox 11, is part of Fox Television Stations. 

“Adam has a wealth of meteorological expertise and the rare ability to deliver the information in an engaging and entertaining manner that makes weather accessible and enjoyable for everyone,” KTTV VP and news director Bobbi Gearhart said. 

Krueger joined KIAH, a CW affiliate, in 2020. Prior to that, he was a meteorologist for Spectrum News in Austin and San Antonio, and had been weekend meteorologist and general assignment reporter at KABB San Antonio. He began his career in broadcasting as a meteorologist and reporter for KHAS in Hastings, Nebraska. 

“I can’t wait to work with this talented team of journalists and contribute to the impressive work they are doing for the community,” Krueger said. “I’m a weather geek at heart, so while I’m passionate about delivering accurate and reliable forecasts, I also enjoy having some fun along the way.”

Comcast NBCUniversal and NBCUniversal Local announced that $2.5 million has been awarded to 76 non-profit organizations through their 2024 NBCUniversal Local Impact Grants. Recipients are based in markets where NBCUniversal owns a station, and focus on youth education and empowerment, next-generation storytellers, and community engagement.

“Our local grants program invests in our communities, supporting organizations that have a meaningful impact to our viewers,” said Valari Staab, chairman, NBCUniversal Local. “We’re proud to provide assistance to these outstanding nonprofits and help further their important missions, and thankful for the partnership with Comcast NBCUniversal that makes the program possible.”

The recipients include INTEMPO in New York, which provides music education to children; Miry’s List in Los Angeles, which supports refugee families; Devices 4 the Disabled in Chicago; Project Libertad in Philadelphia, which provides immigrant youths with legal and social services; Abide Women’s Health Services in Dallas-Fort Worth, which focuses on maternal and infant health; Innovators for Purpose in Boston, which promotes STEM education for BIPOC students; Arts For the Aging-Maryland in Washington; Scientific Adventures For Girls in San Francisco, which promotes STEM; Buddy System MIA in Miami, which focuses on food security; the Samuel Lawrence Foundation in San Diego, which works on green spaces on school campuses; and Charter Oak Amateur Boxing Academy & Youth Development Program in Hartford. 

Founded in 2018, NBCUniversal’s grant program has now provided $18.5 million to 546 non-profit organizations. 

“The NBCUniversal Local Impact Grants empower our stations to choose organizations that are making a meaningful impact within their communities,” said Jessica Clancy, senior VP of corporate social responsibility, NBCUniversal. “These unrestricted funds will help the selected nonprofits advance their missions through youth education and empowerment, promoting the next generation of storytellers, and community engagement.”

Joseph Holloway has joined Tegna's WOI and KCWI in Des Moines, Iowa, as anchor and executive producer of Good Morning Iowa.

Holloway had been an anchor/reporter at WCNC, Raleigh, N.C.

“We’re excited to have Joseph join our team,” says Local 5 news director Perry Pace. “With his extensive experience, he’s the perfect fit as both an anchor and a leader for Good Morning Iowa. I’m confident that his calm, thoughtful, and energetic style will inspire our team and connect with our viewers.”

Before WCNC, Holloway was anchor/reporter at KOTV, in Tulsa, Oklahoma, and a reporter and fill-in anchor at KNWA in Fayetteville, Arkansas.

A sports fan, Holloway has also worked freelance in sports journalism for ESPN, CBS, and Cox Sports Television.

“People have a right to know what’s going on in their neighborhoods,“ Holloway said. ”I’m passionate about making sure they know the whole story so they can make their own decisions.” 

Nexstar Media Group collected $10.5 million in retransmission-consent fees from DirecTV by fraudulently withholding information about one of its stations, a New York State appeals court ruled on Thursday.

Nexstar had appealed a July ruling by the New York State Supreme Court after DirecTV sued Nexstar to recover those fees.

The case revolved around a new distribution agreement in which Nexstar received fees to carry a station then-known as WHAG, an NBC affiliate in Hagerstown, Maryland.

DirecTV pays station groups for affiliates of the Big Four networks. It usually does not pay for independent stations, the two sides testified.

NBC told Nexstar WHAG would be losing its affiliation, but Nexstar kept that fact from DirecTV while the new deal was being negotiated and continued to collect fees after the station became an independent station and changed its call letters to in 2016, one year into the agreement. The station is now known as WDVM. 

When it found out about the change, DirecTV said it would stop paying the fee for the station and asked Nexstar to return the fees it has received while the station was independent. Nexstar refused and DirecTV filed its lawsuit.

The Supreme Court denied Nexstar’s motion for a summary judgment dismissing the complaint. It granted DirecTV’s motion for summary judgment on its breach of contract claims, but denied a motion for a summary judgment on a claim of fraudulent inducement.

“Supreme Court should have granted summary judgment in plaintiff’s favor on its fraudulent inducement cause of action,” the appeals court ruled.

Also Read: DOJ Tells Appeals Court to Reinstate DirecTV’s Antitrust Suit Against Nexstar

Despite what the court called Nexstar’s “unproven, self-serving contentions” that it expected the NBC affiliation to be renewed, “there was unrebutted testimony from two NBC employees who testified that NBC advised defendant that there would be no further extensions.”

Nexstar “knew that the termination of the NBC affiliation was a fait accompli and intentionally concealed this information from plaintiff,” the appeals court said in its ruling.

Nexstar filed documents that some of its stations would be losing NBC affiliations, but did not include WHAG in the documents.

“Defendant misrepresented in these documents that defendant expected the network affiliations of its stations to be renewed,” the court said. “As plaintiff did not have access to the relevant information, it reasonably relied on the fraudulent representations of defendant to its detriment.”

Paramount Global’s free streaming service Pluto TV said it added local news on channels from Fox stations in 17 markets.

The markets include major cities like New York, Los Angeles and Chicago.

They also include stations in political battleground states like Georgia, Texas, Pennsylvania, Arizona and Wisconsin as the presidential election approaches.

Pluto TV said it streams a diverse lineup of news from national sources like BBC News, Bloomberg TV, CBS News 24/7 and NBC News Now, as well as news from a number of CBS-owned stations.

Nielsen said its local television ratings combining big data from set-top boxes and smart TVs with viewer panels will become its local ratings currency in all markets starting in January.

“Clients will be able to start using Big Data + Panel in Local for transactions from January 2 forward,” Nielsen said in a letter to customers. “Based on industry feedback and feasibility, this will be a currency changeover without a parallel transaction period.”

With increasing fragmentation and the shift to streaming, small panel sizes have made it difficult for local stations and cable operators, competing with digital advertising, to offer detailed and granular information on viewers.

While Nielsen is facing challenges in national audience measurement from new rivals that base their viewership information on big data, the local market has been more fraught.

Some broadcasters, like E.W. Scripps, now rely exclusively on data from Nielsen rival Comscore for local ratings. (Scripps uses Nielsen for its national networks.)

In its letter to clients, Nielsen said its customers will be permitted to use Big Data + Panel in Local for transactions. 

Nielsen’s Panel-Only NLTV data stream will be available only for research and analysis.

“We understand that a currency change can cause disruption in the media buying and selling process,“ Nielsen said. “To ensure you have ample time and information to prepare for the currency change in Local, Big Data + Panel impact data is now available for planning and audience estimates to support Q1 2025 negotiations effective immediately. Nielsen’s guidance for post-buy analyses for Q3 and Q4 2024 will remain Panel-Only data, as utilizing consistent methodologies for buy and post-buy analyses is critical for buyers and sellers. 

Criticism of Nielsen intensified during the pandemic when COVID-19 prevented Nielsen staffers from visiting homes to maintain the quality of its viewer panel. As a result, fewer homes were in-tab, or producing usable data.

Nielsen’s accreditation from the Media Rating Council was suspended, meaning the agency had questions about Nielsen's methodology and its ability to provide reliable data.

Nielsen regained the accreditation for its old national ratings system based on its panel of about 40,000 metered homes. Nielsen’s system for adding big data to its panel data is being reviewed by the MRC. Its panel-based local ratings system has not regained its accreditation.

In March, Comscore’s system for measuring national and local household-level TV viewing was accredited by the MRC.

E.W. Scripps Co. named Jeff Mulligan as station manager for its stations in Kansas City, NBC affiliate KSHB and independent KMCI, effective September 9.

Mulligan is returning to the stations, where he served as executive producer from 2017 to 2019. He left to lead news department operations at WSIL Carterville, Illinois.

Mulligan replaces Matt Waggoner, who is leaving Scripps.

“Jeff’s leadership, experience and previous tenure with Scripps stations make him a great fit for KSHB/KMCI,” Kathleen Choal, regional VP and general manager for Scripps, said. “At WSIL-TV, he fostered a culture of innovation and helped transform news coverage from a strictly linear focus to multiplatform coverage. We look forward to having Jeff rejoin our team.”

During his career, Mulligan has also held posts as assistant news director at WISH in Indianapolis, news director at WMBD in Peoria, Illinois, and executive producer at KGO San Francisco and WDAF Kansas City.

Hearst Television laid off dozens of employees last week from its streaming service Very Local, according to the Penske showbiz trades.

The Very Local platform, which offers a blend of live news, weather and original series, has faced increasingly tougher competition from fellow streaming services in recent years.

Also Read: Hearst Media Production Group Licenses More Content to Samsung TV Plus

Traditionally, local TV stations have relied on advertising and local programming to attract customers. Now, many viewers opt for free streaming services like Tubi and Spectrum News Plus, which offer local news for free, often with a wider range of content.

Very Local, which launched in 2021, aimed to cater to local audiences and connect viewers through live news and original content from Hearst and its stations.

But despite offering 24-hour access to local news across 26 U.S. media markets, Very Local has struggled to gain footing in a competitive streaming landscape.

A representative from Hearst was not immediately available for confirmation and comment. 

With its stock price under pressure, Lisa Knutson, who was named chief operating officer of the E.W. Scripps Co. last year as part of a reorganization, is leaving the company at the end of the year in another shakeup at the broadcaster.

A number of executives who had reported to Knutson will be getting additional responsibilities.

Chief financial officer Jason Combs will oversee distribution and the enterprise strategy team.

Keisha Taylor Starr, who was promoted to chief marketing officer at Scripps last year, has been named head of the company’s struggling national networks unit. 

Dean Littleton, senior VP of local media, will also be responsible for streaming and digital.

Chief administrative officer Laura Tomlin will become chief transformation officer.

Beth Welter has been named chief of staff, reporting to Tomlin.

The company’s stock price dropped 10% to $2.12 a share on Monday.

Starr had been CMO of the national networks division before being promoted. Knutson had been in charge of the national networks unit before she became COO of the whole company.

In an email to staff, Scripps CEO Adam Symson outlined the new duties being assigned to managers and said the COO post was being eliminated.

"When I asked Lisa Knutson to be chief operating officer in 2022, her role was to combine our businesses into one media operation, setting us up for success today and into the future. Now that she has completed that work, we are preparing for our next chapter by considering how our company is organized, especially as the media landscape continues to evolve and new challenges are brought to our doorstep," symson said.

Scripps reported a second quarter net loss of $14 million as it took a big writeoff of its national networks unit.

Profits at the national networks unit fell to $37.7 million in the second quarter from $60.3 million a year ago.

Scripps has put one of its networks, Bounce TV, up for sale and the company said it was getting closer to getting a transaction done.

Scripps took on a large debt load when it acquired Ion Network as part of the national networks business.

The debt load has contributed to Scripps stock falling from a 52 week high of $9.98.

There’s long been a clear market leader in Sacramento-Stockton-Modesto, California, but KCRA’s rivals are trying a number of things to poach ratings points. That includes a new 10 p.m. weeknight newscast on independent KMAX and rookie 12 p.m. regional newscasts on the two Spanish-language entrants, KNTV and KUVS. 

But KCRA won’t be knocked off its sky-high perch any time soon. Ariel Roblin, president and general manager, said it all comes down to the people who work there. “People talk about how they watch KCRA, and they say, ‘These are great people who care about their community, and their coverage is heartfelt,’ ” she said. 

Hearst Television owns NBC affiliate KCRA and KQCA. Known as My58, KQCA became The CW’s Sacramento affiliate on September 1, 2023. CBS News and Stations has KOVR and KMAX; the latter had been the CW station. Tegna holds ABC outlet KXTV and Nexstar Media Group owns the Fox affiliate, KTXL. 

Also Read: Check Out Our Local News Close-Up Profiles on Dozens of U.S. Markets

Univision owns KUVS, known as Univision 19, and KTFK, while NBCUniversal Local has the Telemundo station KCSO, known as Telemundo 33, and KNSO. 

Comcast is the major pay TV operator in DMA No. 20.

KCRA has some other advantages, including the only station helicopter in the market. That is key in a vast DMA that spans over 20,000 square miles, according to Roblin, especially when there’s a wildfire happening, such as the Park Fire that ranged this summer north of Sacramento. 

The Hearst station was a beast in May. KCRA easily won the 6 a.m. race in households and viewers 25-54, as well as the 5 and 6 p.m. battles in both groups, with KOVR the runner-up. 

KMAX beat KQCA and KTXL in the 10 p.m. newscast race, and KCRA won both races at 11. In households, KCRA had 43% of household viewing, KOVR 29%, KXTV and KUVS 10% and KTXL 8%. In viewers 25-54, KCRA had 44%, KOVR 32%, KXTV and KUVS 10%, and KTXL 4%. 

Sacramento is the California capital, which means government is a giant economic driver. Agriculture is substantial as well — the GMs here often echo the region’s “farm to fork” motif — as are the military and the medical industry. 

The general managers said the local economy ranges from lukewarm to a little cooler these days. “There are challenges,” said Chris Morris, regional president and general manager, KUVS-KTFK. “We’d be crazy to think there aren’t.”

8 P.M. Weekday News

Stations are hustling to get ahead. When KMAX went independent late last year, Deborah Collura, KOVR-KMAX president and general manager, wondered how to fill the two prime hours per night. She could not recall Sacramento ever having an 8 p.m. weeknight newscast, and decided to give it a shot. Launching in September with Tony Lopez anchoring, Primetime Sacramento is “a new, fresh, contemporary show with new franchise pieces,” she said.  

It came out of the gate “gangbusters,” Collura added, doubling ratings over its predecessors in the 8 p.m. slot. 

KOVR also debuted an initiative that sees eight multimedia journalists embedded in counties within the DMA, and ones that may not have been getting stations’ full attention before. Launching six months ago, the Community Journalism project “gives voice to the communities that are traditionally underserved,” Collura said. 

KOVR got pointers from what CBS News and Stations cousin KCNC Denver had done with reporters living and working in specific parts of the market. “It’s working out great,” Collura said. “We get tips from viewers inside those counties, who tell us, you haven’t been telling our stories in the past, and we’re so glad you’re here. And they’re giving us stories.”

KOVR has a vital source in covering the Park Fire. Chief meteorologist Nick Merianos’s background includes both firefighting and flying airplanes. 

KXTV, where the branding is We Stand For You, has brought back its “10 On Your Side” franchise, which had been sidelined for years. Chris Thomas fronts the segments, which have focused on energy bills skyrocketing, a charter school with a lavish budget, and how California’s Department of Developmental Services may be failing people with disabilities, among other community issues. 

“It helps viewers with issues that are not being addressed by companies and government agencies,” explained Risa Omega, KXTV president and general manager. “In a short amount of time, we’ve had a lot of impact. We’re getting an overwhelming response from the community.”

KXTV recently launched Take a Look, a weekly program hosted by entertainment reporter Marcus S. Allen that features celebrity interviews, movie reviews and entertainment news. The show airs 9:30 a.m. Fridays.

To the Point With Alex Bell is on weeknights at 6:30 p.m. “We go beyond the headlines and take deeper dives into the issues that affect our communities,” be it homelessness, climate change or water resources, Omega said. 

New News at Noon

The Spanish-language stations pay special attention to Stockton and Modesto, where a large number of their viewers live and work. Stacy Owen, president and general manager of KCSO-KNSO, along with KNTV-KSTS San Francisco, called them “very big, vibrant cities on their own.”

KUVS launched its noon newscast July 15. It is produced in Sacramento, with stations in the Bay Area, Fresno and Bakersfield pitching in. 

“It has been extremely well received,” Morris said. “It’s not your typical hard news. It is very community-driven, very locally-driven, very digitally-focused.”

In addition to the noon newscast, KUVS, with Contigo (With You) branding, features weekday news 6-7 a.m., 6 and 11 p.m. weekdays, along with Sundays 6 and 11 p.m.  

A key figure in covering state news is Roxanna Calderon, KUVS director of community empowerment. “She covers not only the capital, but the community leaders and influencers,” Morris said. “We make sure we provide a platform for them, from a nonpartisan standpoint, to communicate with.”

KCSO’s noon news began in November and is a partnership between stations in Sacramento, the Bay Area and Fresno. KCSO offers weekday news 5, 5:30, 6 and 11 p.m. 

Owen said everyone in the newsroom hustles to live up to the Sacramento stations’ Working For You (Trabajando Para Ti) branding. “We’re really leaning into the responsibility we have in this marketplace,” said Owen. “Our viewers literally feed the Central Valley, put roofs in, put ACs in.”

Candy Duran came on as KCSO news director in April. She’d been an executive producer at Univision’s KFTV Fresno, and began her career in local TV as an intern at KSTS San Francisco. “She has real central Valley roots, so she understands our market,” said Owen. 

KCSO is a partner at the California State Fair and delivered the 5:30 news from the fair one day this summer. 

Farm to Fork 

Those working in Sacramento-Stockton-Modesto love the farm-to-fork dining scene, the diversity and the access to the Bay Area and Lake Tahoe (San Francisco is roughly 90 miles southwest of Sacramento.) Many look forward to the Oakland A’s moving to Sacramento for the 2025-2027 seasons ahead of an intended move to Las Vegas.

Collura describes herself as “a Midwest girl at heart,” and feels a similar vibe in the California capital. “Sacramento feels like it has the same Midwest sensibility as Chicago,” she said. “There’s a down to earth feeling here. People are real, they are authentic, they are very proud.”

The market is very unique in that four of the general managers are female. “We’re definitely hard-core competitors, but at the end of the day, we have a lot in common,” Roblin said. “It’s been a great experience.”

Omega noted the “mutual respect” among the female GMs as they battle every day. “I love that we are definitely competitive as local broadcasters,” she said. “As women in leadership roles, we bring a unique perspective to our stations.” 

The CW Network and Gray Media said they renewed the affiliation agreements covering 38 of Gray’s local television stations.

The Gray stations reach about 12 million TV households, representing about 10% of the U.S.

Financial terms were not disclosed.

Last month, the CW’s owner Nexstar Media Group and Paramount Global reached an affiliation deal that gave the CW coverage in Detroit and Miami.

CBS had previously moved to turn its The CW affiliates into independent stations.

Earlier in the year, the E.W. Scripps Co. said it would be dropping the CW affiliations in its markets.

Nexstar has been moving TheCW affiliations to stations it owns as part of its plan to wring profits from the networks.

In the second quarter, Nexstar said it cut the losses generated by the CW by $33 million 

Chattin’ With Chelsea!, a weekday show celebrating women’s resilience and empowerment that will be hosted by Chelsea Edwards, premieres on KRIV Houston Monday, August 26. The program will be on at 12:30 p.m. weekdays. 

KRIV, part of Fox Television Stations, is known as Fox 26. 

“Chelsea is a native Houstonian who has spent years earning the trust of our viewers by diving into the issues that affect our communities,” said D’Artagnan Bebel, KRIV-KTXH senior VP and general manager. “With her vibrant and charismatic personality, she is perfectly suited to provide humor and levity while amplifying diverse perspectives and sharing stories that matter.”

Chattin’ with Chelsea! will highlight how women navigate life's complexities, including family and careers, relationships, health, beauty, wellness and social issues. “The goal will be to inform, uplift and inspire through conversations about all topics that affect Houston’s women,” said KRIV. 

Each episode will feature a mix of experts, celebrities, and local women as guests.

“Unveiling a show dedicated to the celebration and empowerment of women is an absolute dream realized,” said Edwards. “It fills me with an indescribable joy to transition from reporting news to creating content that is not only enjoyable but insightful too. This isn't just a program; it's a movement where every woman's voice is heard and cherished.”

Edwards joined Fox 26 in 2019. She has been a morning news reporter and fill-in anchor on Houston’s Morning Show. Previously, she was a reporter at KWTX Waco. Before that, Edwards was a video editor at KTRK Houston.

E.W. Scripps said that it is getting closer to selling off its Bounce TV multicast network.

“We are progressing nicely with our efforts to sell the Bounce TV network and some non-strategic real estate assets,” Scripps CEO Adam Symson said in the company’s second-quarter earnings release.

The sale of Bounce and other assets would help Scripps reduce its heavy debt load.

Bounce is part of Scripps’ national networks division. During the second quarter, segment profit for Scripps Networks fell to $37.7 million from $60.3 million a year ago. 

Revenue was down 9.7% from the previous year.

Scripps acquired Bounce when it bought Katz Networks in 2017

Scripps has been pushing into the sports world, with women’s basketball and soccer on its Ion network and adding NHL hockey games on its stations in Las Vegas and Phoenix.

Symson said sports was helping Scripps sell advertising.

“While the results of last year’s national advertising upfront are still impacting our quarterly results in the Scripps Networks division, we are seeing a better performance in this season’s upfront sales cycle,” he said.

“With commitments from the majority of our advertising agency clients, we have volume increases of low single digits over last year. Sports has been the differentiator. Our WNBA Friday-night franchise on Ion has so far showcased three games where viewership surpassed 1 million, proving to advertisers that ION can deliver them to significantly large sports audiences,” Symson said.

Overall, Scripps reported a second-quarter net loss of $13 million, or 15 cents a share, compared to a $682.4 million loss, or $8.10 a share, a year ago when the company took a big writeoff on Scripps Networks. 

Revenue fell 2% to $574 million.

Scripps’s local media division had segment profit of $88.1 million, up from $81 million a year ago.

Revenue rose 3.6% to $365 million.

Distribution revenue dipped to $194 million from $195 million a year ago.

Core advertising revenues — excluding political spending — was down 6.9% to $139 million. Political revenue was $28.2 million, compared to $3.8 million a year ago, a non-presidential election year.

The company said it expects to see a record level of political ad spending in 2024, even if spending hits the low end of its forecast, which is now between $270 million and $290 million. Previously, Scripps said it expected to garner political ad revenue of $240 million to $270 million.

“Election spending remains robust for the U.S. Senate races in Montana and Ohio, and at least four states where we have stations have placed reproductive rights issues on their November ballots,” Symson said. “We are beginning to see additional upside from Vice President Kamala Harris’s entry into the presidential race. Overall, this year’s political ad revenue performance for broadcast television is a testament to our durability as a brand-safe platform for political candidates and campaigns

Gray Television reported higher net income for the second quarter, but warned that it expected revenues to be lower than expected for the full year.

“While we are overall pleased with our results in the second quarter, macro-economic and other factors largely beyond our control appear likely to result in somewhat lower revenues for the year than we previously anticipated,” the company said in its earnings announcement.

Gray  said core — or non-political — advertising revenues were $373 million in the second quarter, which was below the low end of the guidance previously provided by the company and down 2% from a year ago. For the third quarter, Gray anticipates core advertising being flat to up by low single digits.

“In light of results to date and political advertising revenues arriving later in the year than originally anticipated, we currently anticipate core advertising tevenues of approximately $1.525 billion for full-year 2024, down from our earlier guidance of $1.6 billion,” the company said.

Second quarter net income rose to $22 million from $4 million a year ago. 

Total revenue in the second quarter rose 2% to $826 million.

Political advertising revenue was $57 million, up front the $29 million the company registered in 2020, the last presidential election year.

Gray said it expects to see $180 million to $200 million in political ad Q2 was $371 million, 

Retransmission revenue fell 6% to $71 million.

The company said it expects retransmission consent revenues in the range of $365 million to $370 million for the third quarter and a total of approximately $1.475 billion for full-year 2024.

“While we have made good progress managing costs and expenses this year, our management team is redoubling its efforts to improve the efficiency of our stations and other businesses by both increasing revenues and by further managing operating costs, capital expenses and investment opportunities for the remainder of the year and beyond, the company said.

Nexstar Media Group reported higher second-quarter net income as it cut losses at The CW.

Net income rose  to $118 million, or $3.54 a share, from $96 million, or $2.64 a share, a year ago. 

Losses at The CW were reduced by $33 million, compared to a year ago, the company said. Revenue rose 2.3% to a record $1.3 billion. 

Distribution revenue increased 5.5% to $734 million.

Advertising revenue was up 2.2% to $522 million. Non-political advertising was down $24 million, while political advertising was up $45 million. 

“Nexstar delivered another period of solid financial results, building on our strong start to the year,“ CEO Perry Sook said. “Following a first quarter in which Nexstar generated record first-quarter distribution and total net revenue, we did it again, generating our highest-ever second-quarter distribution and total net revenue.

“During the quarter, we continued executing on our plan at The CW, reducing operating losses by $33 million year-over-year and $83 million year-to-date as our organizational and programming changes are driving improved cash flows and the third consecutive quarter of ratings growth in primetime entertainment programming,” he said.

“Looking ahead, we expect to benefit from anticipated record levels of political spending on broadcast television in the second half of the year,” Sook said.

Sinclair turned a second-quarter profit and said it has already received $146 million in political advertising commitments for the rest of this presidential election year.

Net income was $17 million, or 27 cents a share, compared to a net loss of $89 million, or $1.38 a share, a year ago. 

Adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) increased 42% to $158 million.

Revenues increased 8% to $829 million. Media revenues also rose 8% to $819 million.

Also Read: Non-Political Local Ad Spending Expected to Grow 5.5% in 2025, Says BIA

Distribution revenue edged up to $435 million from $418 million a year ago.

Total advertising revenues rose 11% to $343 million, with core advertising revenues–excluding political spending–flat at $303 million.

Sinclair said it has already booked $146 million worth of political advertising for the second half of the year. The company said that compared with $78 million at a similar point in 2020.

For the full election year, Sinclair expects political advertising revenues of between $385 million and $410 million, up 10% to 17% from the last presidential election year.

Sinclair’s Tennis Channel, the subject of sale talk earlier this year, generated $1 million in operating income on $67 million in revenue.

Looking ahead to Q3, Sinclair said it expects to generate opening income of $148 million to $173 million, with local media contributing $153 million to $178 million and the Tennis Channel registering $8 million in profit.

Total revenues are expected to be between $897 million and $929 million, with local media contributing $823 million to $852 million and tennis channel generated $63 million in revenue.

“Sinclair delivered solid second-quarter results, meeting our guidance expectations across major financial metrics, including a $105 million monetization of an investment in our Ventures portfolio,” CEO Chris Ripley said.

“With almost 60% of our Big Four subscribers still to be renewed this year, we are confident in our ability to grow net retrans in line with our two-year CAGR estimates,“ Ripley said. ”As we enter the second half of the year, we are buoyed by strong momentum and multiple cash flow drivers. Political advertising revenue is on track to be our largest ever, with expected double-digit growth rates over the 2020 presidential election year. Coupled with growth in distribution revenues, and continued strength in core advertising trends, we are well-positioned for a robust finish to the year.”

Non-political local ad spending is expected to increase 5.5% to $171 billion in 2025, according to a new forecast by BIA Advisory Services.

For the first time, digital spending will eclipse spending on traditional advertising in local markets, with digital accounting for 52% of the ad dollars, BIA forecasts.

When including political advertising, local ad spending is expected to be down 1.3% in 2025, compared to BIA’s revised forecast for 2024.

BIA raised its 2024 forecast to $173.7 billion as it increased its estimate for political ad spending by $560 million to $11.7 billion.

Local television continues to get the largest share of the spending. At the same time, the firm projects that connected TV/over-the-top (OTT) will receive much of the additional political ad dollars added to the mix. 

“With macroeconomic conditions impacting 2024 local advertising spending, it has been slower than anticipated, and we've adjusted this year’s forecast,” BIA Advisory Services VP of forecasting and analysis Nicole Ovadia said. 

In terms of 2025: “We’re taking a nuanced view to shape our expectations,“ Ovadia said. “If the Fed adjusts interest rates as indicated, post-Q1 2025 or early Q2, and inflation cools and the labor market settles out, we anticipate some economic relief by midyear. This will boost consumer confidence and, subsequently, increase media ad spend. While we’re optimistic, we're also being cautious with our projections at this early stage.”

For 2025, BIA sees local PC/laptop advertising growing 13%, CTV/OTT up 9.1%, out-of-home up 5.9% and TV digital up 5.4%.

“In previous forecast rounds, we reported robust growth in CTV/OTT, but different factors have led us to moderate expectations around the speed of that growth,” BIA managing director Rick Ducey said. “One factor is that while streaming viewing is growing, there’s less available ad minutes in streaming versus linear TV. However, this channel continues to present valuable opportunities for advertisers due to how it combines the power of premium TV with the precision of digital audience targeting. Political and issue campaigns are tapping into this capability, and it will be interesting to unpack the use cases and outcomes.”

WKAQ San Juan, Puerto Rico, part of NBCUniversal Local’s Telemundo Station Group, is offering viewers more than 300 hours of locally produced Olympics coverage. The standout athletes for Puerto Rico in Paris include table tennis player Adriana Diaz, sprinter Jasmine Camacho-Quinn and the men’s and women’s basketball teams. 

The men’s hoops team lost to the U.S., 104-83, and the women lost to China, 80-58, both on August 3. Both are finished in France. 

Diaz made it to the table tennis round of 16, but was knocked out. 

Migdalia Figueroa, president and general manager of WKAQ, said Diaz has a big personality and enjoys rock-star status in Puerto Rico. “Everybody absolutely loves her,” she said. 

Camacho-Quinn has a shot at a medal August 7 in the 100-meter hurdles, and Puerto Rico will be watching to see if it can grab its first in the 2024 Games. 

“We are all aware when she is competing,” said Figueroa. “The entire country will tune in to watch her.”

WKAQ has been in a decade-long partnership with the Puerto Rico Olympic Committee to produce and broadcast the Olympics, Pan American Games and other high-profile sports events. 

WKAQ’s dot-two channel Punto 2 has live coverage from the Olympics from 5 a.m. to 7 p.m. daily, and WKAQ, known as Telemundo Puerto Rico, goes 5 to 10 a.m. weekdays. Men’s and women’s basketball, and Diaz’s table tennis adventures, all appear on the main channel. (Figueroa is quick to remind people that the Puerto Rico men beat the U.S. in the 2004 Games, 92-73.)

Ricardo Torres, sports anchor and reporter, is in Paris for WKAQ, contributing to weekday 5-7 p.m. show The Olympics Recap on Punto 2, and speaking with the Puerto Rican athletes at their competitions. “Every time Puerto Rico is represented, he will be there,” said Figueroa. “It’s been cool to have somebody there. As soon as they finish competing, we get to talk to them.”

She said the Olympics is driving visibility for the Punto 2 channel big time. “In the past we’ve created stories for Punto 2, and explain it to viewers, and they don’t find it,” she said. “For the Olympics, they are finding it.”

Figueroa was named president/GM of WKAQ in January. She had been the general manager at Telemundo station WTMO Orlando, adding oversight of Tampa and Fort Myers, and previously was WTVJ Miami VP of news. 

She’s hopeful, as is all of Puerto Rico, that Camacho-Quinn can claim a medal. Either way, she’s happy to bring the Games to the island. 

“For us, it’s a big deal to be able to support the local athletes,” said Figueroa, “and also provide the community the content that is most relevant to them.”

Hearst Media Production Group said it expanded its relationship with Samsung TV Plus.

Under the new agreement, mor ethan 500 hours of original content from Hearst will be available to viewers on the free  Samsung TV Plus streaming platform. 

The added content includes episodes of weekly series Lucky Dog, Matter of Fact with Soledad O’Brien, Mutual of Omaha’s Wild Kingdom Protecting the Wild, Harlem Globetrotters: Play It Forward and various shows hosted by wildlife expert Jack Hanna,

“In this evolving media landscape, we’re expanding the distribution and access of HMPG’s premium content reaching millions of new viewers,” said Frank Biancuzzo, HMPG president.  

Samsung TV Plus already distributed  Hearst Media Productions Group free ad-supported streaming television (FAST) channels Xplore, Rovr Pets and The Jack Hanna Channel, 

“Our vast library of iconic family-friendly and timely series continues to build audiences across all platforms,” said Andrew Tew, HMPG senior vice president, global licensing & distribution.  “Samsung TV Plus is an ideal partner to advance our viewership footprint.”

Family Broadcasting Corp. said that its WHMB Indianapolis and WHME South Bend, Indiana, have become Univision affiliates, airing Spanish-language programming on their primary signals.

Univision hadn’t had affiliates in Indiana. 

Family Broadcasting said it named Susan Buterbaugh as general manager of WHMB. She had been a sales manager at the company.

“This affiliation is an excellent addition to our portfolio of family-friendly networks and stations, and we’re very excited about this partnership and expanding our reach to new audiences,” Family Broadcasting CEO Drew Sumrall said.

Family Broadcasting had operated WHMB and WHME as independent stations.

“Univision brings news, entertainment, sports and culture to our community, with new opportunities for our partners,” Buterbaugh said. “I am honored to lead WHMB TV-40 into this new chapterIn addition to operating stations, Family Broadcasting runs cable networks Family Entertainment Television and Family Movie Classics.”

Kerrigan Arnold has been named co-host of My KC Live on KCTV Kansas City. She comes from KOLR Springfield, Missouri, and will host the 9-10 a.m. weekday program with Shane Konicki. Arnold was the host on Ozarks Live! at KOLR.

Gray Television owns KCTV. 

Arnold starts at KCTV5 Monday, August 5, and her first day on the air will be August 8. 

“Kerrigan has an energetic, fun personality and will share the best of Kansas City alongside co-host Shane Konicki,” \Carrie Hibbeler, director of audience engagement at KCTV, said.

Arnold’s background is in production. She had been the executive producer on the WXIN Indianapolis lifestyle show Indy Now and was the lifestyle producer on Ozarks Live! before becoming host. 

“I am ecstatic to start this new chapter with KCTV5 and excited to explore Kansas City with fresh eyes and showcase local hidden gems to our viewers,” Arnold told KCTV.

TV Spy previously reported Arnold's hire at KCTV. 

Arnold shared on LinkedIn that “my time here in Springfield was short & sweet but filled with endless fun.”

E.W. Scripps said it promoted John Cook to senior VP and general manager of KTNV, its ABC affiliate in Las Vegas, effective September 3.

Cook has been senior director of sales for Scripps stations WXYZ-WMYD Detroit since January 2021. 

He replaces Jeff Kiernan, who was promoted to VP of local news at Scripps in May.

“John is an experienced local media executive who has hit the ground running at Scripps, leading change in our stations amidst a constantly shifting media landscape,” said Anita Helt, regional VP and general manager at Scripps. “During his time with our Detroit stations, he has helped deliver impactful results against revenue objectives and has worked closely with all departments.”  

Before Scripps Cook was with Graham Media’s WDIV Detroit.

“I look forward to joining the team of professionals at KTNV and to diving into the vibrant Las Vegas community that ABC 13 serves,” Cook said. “It’s a true honor to have the opportunity to lead this talented team. Together, we will continue to deliver critical community journalism and high-quality sports entertainment through our Scripps Sports partnership with the Vegas Golden Knights.”

Fox duopoly KDFW-KDFI Dallas-Fort Worth is relocating to Irving, Texas. The two-story, 50,000-square-foot building will broadcast via fiber using no tower or antennas and minimal satellite dishes, Fox said. Groundbreaking is scheduled for Q4 2024, with operations expected to begin in 2026.

KDFI is known as Fox 4 and KDFI as More27. 

Fox 4 announced the new site on Good Day August 2. 

“We are pleased to relocate to Irving in what will be a grade-A complex, and we thank [Irving] Mayor [Rick] Stopfer and the Irving-Las Colinas Chamber of Commerce for making this possible,” said Jeff Gurley, senior VP and general manager of KDFW and KDFI. “Building this state-of-the-art facility positions Fox 4 for the future by creating a space that inspires creativity, equipped with technology that supports innovative news, programming, and content creation as well as further engagement with our community via television, social media/digital platforms, and prepares us for future advancements in our ever-changing industry.”

The new building is located at 2203 West Royal Lane in Irving, which is in between Dallas and Fort Worth. The stations are currently in downtown Dallas. 

“I commend Fox Corp. and Fox Television Stations for their investment in our city,“ Stopfer said. “KDFW is a valuable institution in our region, and we are thrilled to have the station here. This project once again demonstrates Irving's winning formula. Through the Irving Economic Development Partnership, we work collaboratively with partners to bring economic development projects like this to our city with a speed-to-market approach and access to a workforce that businesses demand.”

Gray Media said it will launch a new digital broadcast channel, Palmetto Sports & Entertainment, in October on Gray Television’s stations in South Carolina.

The network will be based at WIS Columbia which started broadcasting live games from the Charleston Battery, a USL Championship soccer team, and the Columbia Fireflies, a class-A South Atlantic League baseball team affiliated with the Kansas City Royals, earlier this year.

Also carrying the network will be WPAM Columbia, WHNS Greenville-Asheville-Spartanburg and WMVF Myrtle Beach.

“We’re having fun creating new fans,” WIS VP and general manager Robby Thomas said. “Our audience tells us how much they appreciate watching live sports for free over the air. We recognize the power of sports to connect communities, and we’re thrilled to launch this statewide.”

Palmetto Sports & Entertainment also has broadcast deals with the Charleston RiverDogs baseball team, the Tampa Bay Rays class-A affiliate, and soccer sides Greenville Triumph SC of USL League One and Greenville Liberty SC of USL W League.

In addition, several schools and colleges will be featured, including an official media partnership with Clemson University through WHNS in the Greenville-Asheville-Spartanburg-Anderson market.

“It has been really exciting for our broadcast team to work with WIS to make some of our games available to watch for free,” Columbia Fireflies team president Brad Shank said. “We have had great feedback from fans, and we are looking forward to expanding these opportunities.”

The CW continued to fill out its affiliate lineup ahead of the start of the fall season, naming three new stations that will be carrying its entertainment and sports programming.

The new affiliates are KTTU Tucson, Arizona, owned by Tegna; KCOY Santa Barbara, California, owned by VistaWest Media; and KSCC Corpus Christi, Texas, owned by Sinclair.

The new Tucson affiliate will be the local home for the 2024 Snoop Dogg Arizona Bowl Presented by Gin & Juice by Dre and Snoop, to be broadcast by The CW.

On Wednesday, the CW announced a deal with Paramount Global that will make its WKBD Detroit and WFBS Miami The CW afflilates in those markets effective September 1.

The CW has had to juggle affiliates because of earlier decisions by Paramount’s CBS News and Stations unit and the E.W. Scripps Co. to turn their CW affiliates into independent stations.

Nexstar Media Group said it appointed Ellen Johnson to its board of directors, effective Oct.1.

Johnson is executive VP and chief financial officer for ad agency holding company Interpublic Group of Cos. 

She will be the 10th member of the Nexstar board and will serve as one of nine independent directors. Three of the independent directors are women, Nexstar noted.

Johnson will stand for election at Nexstar’s 2025 annual meeting.

“She is an integral member of IPG’s executive team with an established record of success in the advertising and marketing services industries,” Nexstar chairman and CEO Perry Sook said. “Her extensive leadership experience in accounting, corporate finance and information technology, combined with her expertise in all areas of ESG will be invaluable to Nexstar as we continue to advance our business and execute on the company’s goals to enhance shareholder value.”

Before becoming CFO at IPG, she was senior VP of finance and treasurer at the company. Johnson is a CPA who holds an executive MBA in finance from New York University Stern School of Business and a bachelor’s degree from the State University of New York at Albany.

“Nexstar is a scaled media and entertainment business with a unique portfolio of local and national assets, including NewsNation, The CW and The Hill,” Johnson said. “I look forward to sharing my experience with the Board and management team as the company pursues its continued growth.”

The CW has found new affiliates in Detroit and Miami and one looks a lot like its old affiliate in Detroit.

Nexstar, which acquired control of The CW from Paramount Global and Warner Bros. Discovery in 2022, said it signed a new affiliation deal with Paramount’s CBS News and Stations that not only renews the agreements with the 40 CBS affiliates Nexstar owns, but makes Paramount-owned stations WKBD Detroit and WBFS Miami affiliates of The CW, effective September 1.

WKBD had been The CW affiliate before a recent round of corporate musical chairs that played out in Detroit and other markets.

The agreement solves a problem that was developing for Nexstar in ensuring The CW was carried in every local market.

The merry-go-round started when Paramount, which retained a 12.5% stake in the The CW, decided to turn its eight CW affiliates — including WKBD — into independent stations last year. 

E.W Scripps Co.-owned stations including WMYD Detroit and WSFL Miami, became The CW affiliates, but in April it was announced those stations would be dropping the network.

Nexstar was able to replace many of the Paramount and Scripps affiliates with stations it owns or manages, but the situation in Detroit and Miami seemed to be going down to the wire because few full-powered stations were available.

WADL, Detroit, owned by Adell Broadcasting, nearly became the CW affiliate in Motor City, but an agreement for WADL to be acquired by Mission Broadcasting for $75 million in a deal that would have been financed by Nexstar, which would also run the station under management agreements. The deal was terminated after the Federal Communications Commission approved the acquisition but imposed conditions that would have prevented Nexstar from controlling the stations.

Nexstar manages Mission stations in several markets.

Kevin Adell, CEO of Adell Broadcasting, said last week he was still discussing a potential deal with the CW.

Financial terms of Nexstar’s deal with Paramount were not disclosed. 

Paramount said that WBFS and WKBD would be carrying The CW’s news, primetime entertainment, live sports and special event programming.

Nexstar’s new CBS affiliation deal also covers two stations owned by Mission Broadcasting that are managed by Nexstar.

The 42 CBS affiliates that Nexstar runs reach nearly 19 million television households or about 15% of the U.S. audience.

Michelle Benitez has been promoted to anchor and Jesús Bastidas to anchor and multimedia journalist at KULX Salt Lake City, part of NBCUniversal Local’s Telemundo Station Group. They debut in their new roles Monday, July 29, during the 5 p.m. edition of Noticiero Telemundo Utah. 

Benitez joins from WUVG Atlanta, known as Univision 34, where she was evening and late news anchor. Before that, she was an anchor at WINK and WSFL in Fort Myers, and an assistant producer and reporter at WTMO Orlando, known as Telemundo 31. 

Also Read: Local News Close-Up: As Salt Lake Population Booms, Stations Greet New Arrivals

“Michelle is an award-winning journalist with considerable experience covering a range of subjects, from politics to sports, and interviewing leading officials and high-profile figures,” said Amy Alvarez, KULX news director. “She is a tremendous addition to our new team, and we’re excited about the contributions she’ll make to Noticiero Telemundo Utah.”

Bastidas joined KULX in 2022 as a multimedia journalist, contributing to Noticiero Telemundo Utah. Prior to KULX, Bastidas was an anchor and producer for VPItv, based in Miami.

"Jesús has proven to be a valuable asset in his more than two years with Telemundo Utah, and his professionalism and passion for journalism are apparent to our Noticiero Telemundo Utah audiences,” said Alvarez. “This is a well-deserved opportunity for him to expand his impact in serving our communities and contributions within our talented newsroom.”

ABC News and ABC Owned Television Stations have launched Climate Ready, an editorial initiative the pair describes as designed to “amplify vital climate preparedness stories focused on ways for viewers to keep their families safe, protect their financial futures, and support their communities during extreme weather events.” 

Programming kicks off July 29 with Ginger Zee, ABC News chief meteorologist and chief climate correspondent, and the report “Saving the Planet, Saving on Your Lawn,” about converting water-guzzling lawns into native gardens that are drought-resistant and reduce the risk of flooding. 

Climate Ready programming is available on ABC News Live and the owned stations’ streaming platforms.   

Station coverage includes WABC New York’s “Hot Subways and Urban Heat,” with reporter Anthony Carlo; WPVI Philadelphia’s “Increase Tree Coverage”; KABC Los Angeles’ “Cool Pavement Project” report; and KTRK Houston’s “Sunny Day Street Flooding” initiative. 

KGO San Francisco looks at how autonomous helicopters can fight wildfires, while WLS Chicago investigates geothermal heating and cooling, and KFSN Fresno shows viewers how to assemble specialized go-bags in case of wildfires. 

Two months after his deal to sell WADL Detroit for $75 million and have it become a CW affiliate was terminated, Kevin Adell of Adell Broadcasting is getting into sports.

WADL has made a deal with Gray Television to air a live broadcast of the Harlem Globetrotters taking on the American Dream on August 18, Adell told Broadcasting+Cable. 

Gray’s Raycom Sports unit is producing the telecast, which will appear on Gray stations in about 90 markets. Gray confirmed WADL would be airing the Globetrotter event.

Adell has also been talking to senior executives at the Detroit Pistons of the NBA about carrying Pistons games locally if the bankrupt Diamond Sports Group, which runs the Bally Sports regional sports networks, folds.

Adell agreed to sell WADL to Mission Broadcasting in 2023. Mission’s bid was financed in part by Nexstar Media Group, which owns The CW. Nexstar planned to run WADL under a series of management agreements and make the station into The CW affiliate in Detroit.

The deal fell through when the FCC put conditions on the deal that would have prevented Nexstar from financing the deal or managing the stations. In a previous ruling, the FCC ordered Mission to sell WPIX New York, because a similar arrangement with Nexstar gave Nexstar de facto control over WPIX.

That control would put Nexstar over the television station ownership cap, according to the FCC, which also fined Nexstar and Mission. 

With the breakdown of the regional sports network business, a number of leagues and teams are putting local games on broadcast stations, looking to reach more potential fans.

Sports makes sense because “that’s where the eyeballs are” in linear TV, Adell said.

If Pistons games become available, Gray would be a good partner because Raycom could produce the games. While Gray doesn’t own a station in Detroit, it has other stations in Michigan that could provide additional carriage for Pistons games.

Since the deal with Mission fell apart, Adell has been getting ready to program the station as an independent, added the first-run The Jason Show from Fox and Access Daily from NBCUniversal, plus off-net series like Suits, Chicago P.D., and Bob Hearts Abishola.

The station could operate with or without The CW affiliation, Adell said.

“I have had conversations with The CW since the Mission deal was terminated, but nothing concrete yet,” he said. “My position is pretty clear. I have got to get paid.”

In many situations, stations pay programming fees to networks as part of their affiliation agreements. But in Detroit, there are only seven full-power stations that could air The CW’s sports portfolio in high definition. 

That may give Adell leverage because the deal with The CW’s current affiliate, E.W. Scripps-owned WMYD, expires at the end of August and Nexstar has few good alternatives if it wants The CW to be on the air in Detroit, a big market and an influential one because of the presence of the auto industry.

“Everyone says content is king, but without distribution, you’re just kidding yourself,” Adell said, who built WADL after getting a construction permit from the FCC 34 years ago.

Kennan Oliphant has been named VP of news and station manager at WWJ Detroit. He will report to Jennifer Lyons, who has added a regional GM role that gives her oversight of the station, part of CBS News and Stations. In a memo to staff, Lyons said Oliphant will be the primary station manager when she is in Chicago, where she runs WBBM.

Oliphant had been senior director of news at WXYZ-WMYD Detroit. Before that, he was senior manager of broadcast for WCPO Cincinnati. 

“One of the many things that stood out to me is that Kennan is a native, originally from Detroit, is highly knowledgeable, and understands the region and the communities,” Lyons told staff. “He is personable, has an infectious energy, and is thoughtful and passionate. His expertise and experience are key to our day-to-day newsroom operations as we reinvigorate our station, strategic direction, staff, and our pledge to be the digital newsroom of the future. He brings a wealth of experience to our team and has built a diverse career in journalism, living in multiple states and serving in various capacities.”

Paul Pytlowany, news director at WWJ, takes on a new role as VP/director of news content and special projects. Lyons said he “will shift his focus to meet the evolving needs of our newsroom and the communities we serve, ensuring we stay ahead in a rapidly changing media landscape. He will oversee the look and direction of locally produced news content, emphasizing creativity and brand identity, meeting regularly, and collaborating with our team of MSJs to enhance story development. He will lead the creation of live remote broadcasts, special projects, local community content, and big tentpole events.”

Lyons added that Pytlowany’s new role “is crucial for the continued advancement of our newsroom, allowing us to innovate and adapt to the demands of a digital-first environment.”

Jennifer Lyons, president and general manager of WBBM Chicago, is moving into a regional GM/president role at WBBM and WWJ Detroit. Lyons has been interim general manager at WWJ since Brian Watson stepped down in May. 

WBBM and WWJ are part of CBS News and Stations. 

“Since stepping in at the station in May, Jennifer has laid a foundation for the future of CBS Detroit,” said Jennifer Mitchell, president of CBS Stations (West-Midwest region), in a memo to staff. “Her vision and efforts to transform our station’s functions internally and externally are clear, and the way you all have leaned in to deliver and trust her leadership makes it clear to me that this is a union and direction that needs to continue. We have made a pledge to serve this community with news excellency and I’m confident and pleased with what I’m seeing from all of you. Let’s continue with this positive momentum and direction of our newsroom.”

WWJ launched a local news operation in January 2023, debuting with 6 p.m. and 11 p.m. weekday news that was simulcast on the CBS News Detroit streaming channel. WWJ launched what it dubbed the “Newsroom of the Future” at the time. 

Lyons had a long run at WGN Chicago, where she was news director, before taking on the WBBM general manager job in 2021.