FCC Upholds Rule to Increase Cable Competition

A federal appeals court has upheld the Federal Communications Commission's authority to make rules intended to increase cable television competition.

Local governments had filed legal challenges to agency rules the FCC said would speed the approval process for new competitors, cap fees paid by new entrants to local governments and ease requirements that competitors build systems that reach every home. The lawsuits said the FCC overstepped its authority.
The lawsuits were consolidated in the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Cincinnati.
A three-judge panel ruled unanimously Friday for the FCC. It said the agency showed the local franchising process was ''unreasonably impeding competitive entry into the cable television market.''

http://www.tvnewsday.com/articles/2008/06/27/daily.2/

CBS to FCC: "It May Be Time to Rethink Indecency"

Saying that the Federal Communications Commission was trying to play program director and chief editor for TV stations and doing a bad job of it at that, CBS told the Second Circuit Court of Appeals in New York that the commission’s indecency finding against ABC's NYPD Blue should be thrown out.
ABC and its affiliates are in court fighting a $1 million-plus indecency fine against a 2003 airing of the show. CBS filed its brief separately but joined Fox and NBC in backing ABC's decision to air bare buttocks -- in this instance, actress Charlotte Ross' -- in a "nonsexual and nonexcretory context" in an award-winning series.
CBS pointed out that the bare behind came in a scene that was "an integral part of the program's serious story line, was preceded by parental warnings and appropriate ratings, was aired in the final hour of primetime at 10 p.m. Eastern and generated no complaints from the public other than cookie-cutter submissions from nonviewers of the show orchestrated by activist groups."

http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/CA6573884.html

Noth Out, Goldblum In at 'Law and Order: CI'

Jeff Goldblum will be joining "Law & Order: Criminal Intent" while Chris Noth - Mr. Big in the "Sex and the City" TV show and movie - is leaving after three seasons, a series spokeswoman said Thursday.
"Criminal Intent," part of the "Law & Order" franchise that includes the original series and "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit," recently was picked up for a 16-episode eighth season by USA Network.

http://www.tvnewsday.com/articles/2008/06/26/daily.10/

CBS, Military Court Face 1st Amendment Dispute

A First Amendment case is escalating between CBS News and a military court over a “60 Minutes” report about an attack at Haditha, Iraq. The network is trying to keep the government from getting hold of unaired portions of an interview with an officer who is being prosecuted over the incident.

http://tvdecoder.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/06/26/cbs-military-court-face-first-amendment-dispute/

FCC Tackling Product Placement Issues

The Federal Communications Commission will seek public comment on the increasing use of product integration and whether it conforms to agency rules on sponsorship identification.
Comments on product integration in movies as well as in television will be included.
Declaring that the public has a "right to know who is paying to air commercials or other program matter on broadcast television and radio and cable," the FCC said Thursday afternoon that it is inviting comment on "current trends in embedded advertising and potential changes to the current sponsorship identification regulations with regard to embedded advertising."

http://www.variety.com/article/VR1117988173.html?categoryid=13&cs=1

Trinity Broadcasting Buying Columbus TV Station

Guardian Enterprise Group Inc., the owner of the fledgling .2 Network, is selling its only TV station, WSFJ Columbus, Ohio (DMA 32), to Trinity Broadcasting, according to an FCC filing seeking approval of the deal.

http://www.tvnewsday.com/articles/2008/06/27/daily.1/

CBS Announces Premiere Dates

CBS today announced dates for the fall premieres of its new and returning series, which include a pre-season debut for Survivor: Gabon and the launch of its Thursday and Friday drama series in early October. The Network will introduce the majority of its schedule beginning Monday, Sept. 22, the official start of the 2008-09 season.

http://www.tvnewsday.com/articles/2008/06/26/daily.7/

FCC Preps for DTV Complaints

The Federal Communications Commission is planning for rising complaints related to the digital-TV transition, including possible lawsuits against the commission, as well as for further media consolidation related to the costs of the switch-over to digital delivery.
The FCC isn't saying that all those things are a given -- just that it needs to be prepared if and when they happen.
That's according to a congressionally mandated strategic five-year plan the commission put out for comment Tuesday.

http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/CA6573169.html

Cable Operators, Local Affiliates Take Retransmission Fight to D.C.

TV broadcasters plugging retransmission consent revenue into their budgets for 2009 and beyond, take note.
Cable operators will be making another charge in Washington next year to undermine the ability of TV stations to negotiate for retrans payments.
"The cable guys will use everything they can to weaken the retransmission consent process," says one broadcast lobbyist
"Broadcasters need to be on guard," warns another.
Leading the charge will be the American Cable Association, a trade group representing small cable operators.
But it will not be alone, according to NAB spokesman Dennis Wharton. "This has always been an issue for the giant cable monopolists that want a free ride. Comcast and Time Warner have been solidly behind this."
Earlier cable assaults on retrans have produced little, but ACA President Matthew Polka remains optimistic.
"Hopefully with a new Congress, a new administration and a new FCC there may be a greater appetite for looking at the overall landscape of the communications industry."
The cable operators wants to relax restrictions that now bar operators from importing TV signals from adjacent markets.
Without the tight restrictions, cable operators will have much greater leverage in retrans negotiations with local network affiliates. If the operators cannot make a deal, they can import the affiliate of the same network from the market next door.

http://www.tvnewsday.com/articles/2008/06/25/daily.3/

NBC.com Demo Data Coming in July

NBC Digital Entertainment today announced plans to release NBC.com's show-specific streaming demographic data, beginning with the June metrics.

http://www.tvnewsday.com/articles/2008/06/25/daily.9/

Costume Designer of 'Big Bird' Dies at 91

Kermit Love, the costume designer who helped puppeteer Jim Henson create Big Bird and other ''Sesame Street'' characters, has died. He was 91.

http://www.tvnewsday.com/articles/2008/06/25/daily.10/

Who Wants the Fairness Doctrine?

There may be some Democrats talking about reimposing the Fairness Doctrine, but one very important one does not: presumptive presidential nominee Barack Obama.

http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/CA6573406.html?desc=topstory

NAB Seeks Removal of Cross-Ownership Provision

The National Association of Broadcasters is trying to get a provision removed from a House Federal Communications Commission appropriations bill that would prevent it from implementing its relaxation of the newspaper-broadcast cross-ownership ban.
NAB president David Rehr sent letters to all of the members of the House Appropriations Committee asking them to oppose the provision, which was approved last week by the Appropriations Committee's Financial Services Subcommittee.
Rehr told the legislators that the reform was modest -- too modest, in fact, since the NAB and others have challenged it in court as insufficient deregulation -- that the FCC came to that conclusion as the result of a statutory obligation to review its rules and that evidence shows that letting TV stations and newspapers combine is in the public interest.
"There is no reason to rescind this modest reform of the FCC’s complete prohibition on newspaper-broadcast cross-ownership," he said in his letter.
The Senate already passed a provision that would moot that move to block the funding by nullifying the FCC's rule entirely. The House has not yet voted to do the same, but the funding gambit, if it survives, would achieve the same end.

http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/CA6573077.html

USA Still Top Rated Cable Net

weekend blowout headlined by North Jersey pop stars The Jonas Brothers wasn’t enough to unseat USA Network from the top of the basic-cable ratings pile, as the NBC Universal property secured its twentieth prime-time victory of 2008.USA delivered an average audience of 2.99 million viewers in prime during the week ended June 22, according to Nielsen Media Research data, while winning out among adults 25-54 (1.4 million) and 18-49 (1.34 million).

http://www.mediaweek.com/mw/content_display/special-reports/digital-hot-list/e3iac49c752f1f0987120055616812007b6

'Moonlight' is Over...Or Is It?

Like the final minutes of a vampire movie where you think the creature is dead until it lunges up for one last attack, online reports have kept making fans of the canceled CBS drama "Moonlight" jump out of their seats.

http://www.thrfeed.com/2008/06/moonlight-is-de.html

SAG Strike Strategy Based on Upcoming AFTRA Vote

The contract expires June 30, but for Screen Actors Guild honchos, D-Day really arrives on July 8.
That's the date when AFTRA ballots -- worded in obtuse legalese guaranteed to confuse even the most erudite union member -- are due, and AFTRA unveils the results of its ratification vote on a primetime deal.

http://www.variety.com/article/VR1117987972.html?categoryid=13&cs=1

Cable Originals Nip at Broadcast Upfront

Turner Broadcasting this year gambled that original programs such as “The Closer” on its TNT cable network would appeal to advertising buyers as much as broadcast shows. Judging by Turner’s upfront advertising market sales, it was a winning bet.
Turner Broadcasting ad sales President David Levy followed what he called a “network replacement” strategy, eschewing the normal cable tactics of linking sales of lower-rated off-net repeats to sales of higher-rated originals. Instead, he sold originals including TNT’s “Saving Grace” and TBS’ “My Boys” separately to advertisers who he hoped were hungry to place spots in a TV landscape where broadcast ratings points have grown more scarce.

http://www.tvweek.com/news/2008/06/cable_originals_nip_at_broadca.php

Former Dayton Anchor, Di's Brother Split

Word on the street, at least on the streets of London, is that Charles Spencer, a British aristocrat and the brother of the late Princess Diana, has "dumped" former WDTN-TV anchor Coleen Sullivan.

http://www.daytondailynews.com/n/content/oh/story/news/local/2008/06/24/ddn062508sullivan.html

Insight's CEO and WHAS Reporter Chat About Digital Transition

I sat down with WHAS TV reporter Andy Treinen on Wednesday to talk about the digital television transition that will be happening next year on February 17th.
Andy put together an excellent story that helped to clarify what consumers need to know to successfully transition from the current analog television transmission to digital. His story also mentioned Insight's transition of HBO, HBO2 and Showtime.

http://www.michaelsinsight.com/2008/06/my-interview-on.html

WOSU Wants Gifts of Digital Coupons

Millions of people, many of them elderly and poor, are at risk of losing TV reception next year in the switch to digital broadcasting. To keep that from happening in central Ohio, WOSU-TV is asking for donations of government-issued converter-box coupons.
Consumers with older TV sets that rely on an antenna to receive analog broadcast signals will go dark Feb. 17 when broadcasters begin digital transmissions, unless steps are taken.
The National Association of Broadcasters estimates that 70 million sets are in danger of losing their picture; viewers most likely to be affected are the poor and elderly

http://www.columbusdispatch.com/live/content/business/stories/2008/06/26/digital_coupon.ART_ART_06-26-08_C8_G7AJAGL.html?sid=101

American Idol Coming to Louisville

The Fox network's "American Idol" is coming to Louisville next month, and the people involved in bringing the show here expect the impact to be dramatic in several ways.

"Idol" will hold initial auditions July 21 with the show's producers at Freedom Hall. Registration will take place and armbands will be distributed July 19 and 20, most likely at a state fairgrounds location to be announced.

http://www.courier-journal.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080627/NEWS01/806270453/1008

Chris Aldridge Back at WTVQ

Chris Aldridge is back.
The 49-year-old Lexington resident has been named general manager of WTVQ-TV by the ABC affiliate's new owner, Morris Network, a division of Multimedia Inc.
Aldridge served as vice president and general manager of WTVQ from 1992 to 1999, when the Lexington station was owned first by Park Communications and later by Media General Broadcasting Group. Morris acquired WTVQ from Media General in May.
After leaving WTVQ in 1999, Aldridge worked for WSAZ-TV in Charleston-Huntington, W.Va., before moving back to Lexington in 2001 to manage a privately owned radio company.

http://www.kentucky.com/211/story/445847.html

Former WHAS Anchor Returns to Air

Former WHAS news anchor Jean West is returning to the air after a year's absence. She'll begin doing daily medical reports on WBKI's "The CW Louisville Live This Morning" and a 10:30 Sunday night medical program in August.

http://www.courier-journal.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080628/COLUMNISTS15/806280353/1010/FEATURES

WLEX's Officer Don Makes Emergency Landing in Cow Pasture

As his plane sank from the skies over Alabama Thursday, local traffic expert and Lexington Police Officer Don Evans remembered one instruction from his years of training and experience: Find someplace soft and cheap to land.

http://www.kentucky.com/181/story/446061.html

WCMH Sportscaster named "Best Of" In Hometown Paper

For two straight years, Jerod Smalley, sports director at WCMH-TV 4 in Columbus, Ohio, has proven the best -- he and Channel 4 have swept the statewide awards by Ohio Associated Press. He was named "Best Sports Broadcaster," his daily sports segments won "Best Regularly Scheduled Sports Program," and his supervised sports department was named "Best Sports Operation." A former sportscaster with Huntington's WSAZ-TV 3 and son of Jerry and Rhonda Smalley of Huntington, Jerod graduated from Cabell Midland High and Marshall University with a broadcast journalism degree. He and wife, Sarah Eplin, have two sons, Brady and Tyler.

Huffington Post Goes Local

Pundit/Web publisher Arianna Huffington is delving into local news with her Huffington Post brand, she told a gathering at the Future of Journalism event hosted by the Guardian media company. Huffington will start with a Chicago Web site that aggregates news, sports, business and other reportage from other media sources, along with the best of Chicago’s blogs. A lone editor will “curate” the site.
Huffington, founder of the “Internet newspaper” HuffingtonPost.com, sees the venture as the first of many local sites located in “dozens of U.S. cities.” Her local media plans were previously reported in the England-based Guardian.

http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/CA6571993.html

Senate Frees Up Funds for DTV Conversion

The Senate voted yesterday to free up more funding for the DTV transition with an amendment to the Deficit Reduction Act.
Specifically, the amendment would do two things: It would free up "leftover funds" from the DTV-to-analog converter box program to help assist senior citizens minorities and rural viewers in preparing for and making the transition. And it would make funding available to help low-power broadcasters make the switch to digital.

http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/CA6571824.html

Possible White House Media Manipulation Studied

With echoes of the Watergate hearings, the House Judiciary Committee Friday opened hearings on whether the White House obstructed justice by impeding the investigation into the outing of CIA operative Valerie Plame and manipulated the media in making the case for going to war with Iraq.
Referring to former press secretary Scott McClellan, whose allegations about such malfeasance in his book What Happened prompted the hearings, Committee Chairman John Conyers (D-MI) began by saying that when "credible and troubling allegations are made by a former administration official, we can deal with fact and not personal and partisan attacks."

http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/CA6571945.html?desc=topstory

Local TV Ad Revenue Down Again

Local broadcast television's revenues were down 1.6% during the 1st quarter of 2008 compared to the same period a year before, a Television Bureau of Advertising analysis of TNS Media Intelligence/CMR's estimates for the top 100 markets shows.

http://www.tvnewsday.com/articles/2008/06/19/daily.5/

The Art of Brand Integration

Seamless, organic brand integration remains an elusive pursuit. But a panel discussion Wednesday at Promax/BDA North America 2008 here produced a simple by-law for advertisers and content creators looking to successfully marry advertising and programming: start early.
Titled “Building Business Through Brand Integration,” the panel brought together executives from the network, advertising and talent sides of the business: Dana Locatell, executive producer, @radical.media; Seth Matlins, brand agent, CAA Marketing; Doug Scott, senior partner, executive director of branded content, Ogilvy; and Dario Spina, senior vice president of integrated marketing, MTV Networks Entertainment Group.

http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/CA6571522.html

NBC and Notre Dame Extend Partnership

The University of Notre Dame and NBC Sports today announced a new five-year agreement under which NBC will televise Irish home football games through 2015, which will mark the 25th year of the partnership,

http://www.tvnewsday.com/articles/2008/06/19/daily.8/

How To Build a TV Station Website - Without Being a TV Station Website

According to new media expert Steve Safran, the best way for stations to keep local TV news viewers is to send them away—on line.
Safran, Audience Research & Development's senior VP/Media 2.0, made the statement at a Wednesday Promax/BDA conference session in New York, "Leading Innovation, Reinvention and Opportunity in Local News."
He began with the bad news first. While online revenues for "pure play" sites had hit 57 percent, local TV online dollars are barely 7 percent of the pie. "These are terrible numbers," he added, "but worse yet, your networks are going around you so your ratings are diving. Viewers can now get the premiere of The Office on Apple or Hulu or from HD streaming."
The solution, he said, is for stations to create their own separate online company, building a separate site that doesn't even have the station brand on all its sub-sites but is always searchable and sharable.

http://www.tvnewsday.com/articles/2008/06/18/daily.6/

NBC's Tim Russert Remembered

The crowd at Tim Russert's funeral Wednesday would have made a great panel on his Sunday morning news show.

http://www.tvnewsday.com/articles/2008/06/18/daily.5/

Lifetime's Entertainment President Resigns

Susanne Daniels will resign her position as president, entertainment, Lifetime Networks, it was announced today by Andrea Wong, president-CEO, Lifetime Networks.

http://www.tvnewsday.com/articles/2008/06/18/daily.7/

House Bill Targets FCC Cross Ownership Change

The Federal Communications Commission's attempt to loosen the ban on broadcast-newspaper cross-ownership took another hit on Capitol Hill Tuesday.

http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/CA6571221.html

Syndicated Season Grows, Prices Up

Following the stronger-than-expected broadcast upfront and overlapping the healthy cable upfront, the syndicated ad market is moving at a fast clip, with pricing up in the high single digits for top shows and genres.Among the strong genres are sitcoms, which got a big boost last year with new hits in “Family Guy” and “Two and a Half Men.”

http://www.medialifemagazine.com/artman2/publish/Media_economy_57/Speedy_syndie_upfront_with_pricing_up.asp

WXIX Goes after Charlie, Katie, and Brian - New Details on 6:30 Launch

Tired of gloomy stories about budget cuts and layoffs? Me too. So I’m pleased to report that television is still a growing enterprise at WXIX in Cincinnati where the Fox affiliate about to go head-to-head with the Big Three network news divisions by launching its first early evening newscast.

http://www.tvnewsday.com/articles/2008/06/09/daily.4/

The Return of the Program Manager

Thanks to media consolidation and vertical integration program syndication is no longer a station-by-station proposition. Today major shows are sold to entire station groups. Meanwhile, audience fragmentation and consequent budget cuts brought the demise of most local programming. Left with little to purchase or produce, station program managers became target practice for bean counters.
Some station groups have even made that a policy. In 2001, Tribune cashiered program managers in 19 markets in favor of a handful of "regional" PMs-only to fire them too a few years later.

http://www.tvnewsday.com/articles/2008/06/16/daily.3/

Cincinnati Sports Anchor Has Backup Plan After Firing

Sports anchor Dennison Keller didn't mind losing his part-time job at WKRC-TV (Channel 12) last week, as part of the companywide cutbacks by new owners Newport Television.

http://news.enquirer.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080622/ENT/806220320/1025

Daytime Emmy Winners Announced

Ellen Degeneres picked up her fourth consecutive Daytime Emmy on Friday for talk show host.
But in a bit of a surprise, Degeneres' program lost in the talk show category to "Rachael Ray," which cooked up the win.

http://www.wlky.com/entertainment/16672453/detail.html?rss=lou&psp=entertainment

WKRC's New Owners Cut 18

Up to 18 WKRC-TV newsroom and engineering employees lost their jobs Wednesday in a companywide cutback by new owners Newport Television.
Eleven news department staffers and seven engineers were told Wednesday their jobs had been eliminated, according to Channel 12 employees. Some were offered six months' severance.
Newport Television purchased the 56 Clear Channel TV stations in March for $1.1 billion.

http://news.enquirer.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080619/BIZ01/806190324/1025/LIFE

Viewers Divided over WCPO's Good Morning Tri-State Couch

So our new set on Good Morning Tri-State is eliciting a fair amount of emails from viewers and readers like you. And one thing I've learned is that, like I-71, couches really divide the Tri-State.

http://www.kypost.com/content/wcposhared/story.aspx?content_id=e88b073d-ad1a-4f3d-a892-5fbc804173f0

Line Blurs Between Politics and Entertainment

Cue the fist bump. Prepare the post-Camelot pearls and sleeveless dress. Michelle Obama is ready for her close-up.
The wife of the presumptive Democratic presidential candidate will be a guest host Wednesday on The View, a chore her GOP counterpart, Cindy McCain, tackled in April.

http://www.columbusdispatch.com/live/content/life/stories/2008/06/17/2_VIEW_POLITICS.ART_ART_06-17-08_D5_5CAGR80.html?sid=101

Soap Opera Festival Returns to Cincinnati

They got the name “soap operas” from sponsorship by Cincinnati-based soapmaker Procter & Gamble, and Joyce Becker knows better than most how much this area is awash with bubbly fans.
She’s brought her Soap Opera Festival here periodically since the late 1970s and will return June 29 for two shows at Kings Island. Becker will play hostess as audience members take pictures and ask questions of four cast members from CBS’s “The Young and the Restless”: Emily O’Brien (who plays Jana), Christian LeBlanc (Michael), Greg Rikaart (Kevin) and Daniel Goddard (Cane).

http://news.enquirer.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080616/ENT/80616011/1025/LIFE

"Comment on Kentucky" Lineup

Ferrell Wellman, host of "Comment on Kentucky," has lined up three reporters to be on this weekend's public-affairs show on the Kentucky Educational Television network.

They are Joe Biesk, Frankfort reporter for the Associated Press; Mark Hebert, political reporter for Louisville's WHAS-TV; and Dick Irby, reporter for WDRB-TV in Louisville.

The show will begin at 8 p.m. EDT on KET1.

http://polwatchers.typepad.com/pol_watchers/2008/06/comment-will-feature-three-reporters.html

WV Meteorologist Takes Over for WKYT's Chris Bailey

A West Virginia meteorologist will replace WKYT-27 morning and noon weatherman Chris Bailey.
WKYT, Lexington's CBS affiliate, announced on Tuesday that Todd Borek of WSAZ in the Huntington and Charleston markets will debut July 3.

http://www.kentucky.com/211/story/430250.html

How WXIX Got Its' Name

Trivia: The "XIX" in WXIX is the roman numeral for nineteen - the channel number WXIX is on in Cincinnati. It was also the average age of the solider in the Vietnam war, as described in Paul Hardcastle's 1985 dance hit "19".

http://thetdogblog.blogspot.com/2008/06/report-mark-suppelsa-headed-to-wgn-tv.html

WLWT Hires Traffic Anchor

Randi Lynn Robison, a former ski reporter and weather anchor from Park City, Utah, debuted Tuesday as the new WLWT-TV (Channel 5) morning traffic anchor.
She responded to Channel 5’s advertisement for a traffic reporter after moving to Mason with her fiance, says Brennan Donnellon, Channel 5 news director.
She replaces Pete Scalia, who resigned in March to co-anchor morning shows on Dayton’s WKEF-TV (Channel 22) and WRGT-TV (Channel 45).

http://news.enquirer.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080610/ENT/80610015/1025/LIFE

LIN, DirecTV Reach Retransmission Deal

LIN TV and satellite TV provider DirecTV have entered an agreement for the retransmission of 25 LIN stations in both analog and high definition. The agreement covers 15 markets.
The agreement includes KRQE and KASA Albuquerque; KXAN, KNVA and KBVO Austin; WIVB and WNLO Buffalo; WDTN Dayton; WANE Ft. Wayne; WOOD, WOTV and WXSP Grand Rapids; WLUK Green Bay; WTNH and WCTX Hartford-New Haven; WISH and WNDY Indianapolis; WALA and WBPG Mobile; WAVY and WVBT Norfolk; WPRI and WNAC Providence; WWLP Springfield and WUPW Toledo.

http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/CA6568348.html?industryid=47169

Time Warner Cable Acquires 5 Dayton PBS Digital Channels

Time Warner Cable today added the five digital channels from Dayton's WPTD-TV (Channel 16 or "ThinkTV 16") for Greater cinci, with the promise of adding sister Oxford station WPTO-TV (Channel 14, or "ThinkTV 14") digital channels in the fall.
The five include Channel 16 in HDTV, and the Ohio Channel, the state legislature feed and government-related programming from Ohio's public broadcasters.

http://beta.cincinnati.com/apps/pbcs.dll/section?category=PluckPersona&U=5c49394b12564ab6832411d82ad3a991&plckController=PersonaBlog&plckScript=personaScript&plckElementId=personaDest&plckPersonaPage=BlogViewPost&plckPostId=Blog%3A5c49394b12564ab6832411d82ad3a991Post%3A2d6a20a1-a6c0-417f-b607-9c584a224189&sid=sitelife.cincinnati.com

Changes Coming for WKYT Sports Lineup

WKYT sports anchor Drew Deener plans to leave the station June 20. For 11 of the past 13 years, Deener has worked in the WKYT sports department. Since 2006, he anchored sportscasts at 6 and 11 p.m.
Beginning June 23, Rob Bromley and Brandon Fisher will anchor sports during the early and late evening newscasts on WKYT .
http://www.wkyt.com/sports/headlines/19670219.html

20% of KET Workforce Could be Gone Soon

Employees at Kentucky Educational Television went around the offices Friday looking to see who remained.
On Thursday afternoon, 10 people were fired as part of the Lexington-based statewide network's efforts to balance its budget. Four other positions were eliminated by not filling vacancies, KET communications director Tim Bischoff said Friday.
The job cuts are part of efforts to make up for a reduction in state funding. Under the 2009 state budget, which begins July 1, state appropriations to KET were cut by 12 percent, to $13.24 million. KET's overall budget is $25.5 million.

http://www.kentucky.com/103/story/426906.html

Former WBNS Anchor to Host Major Industry Trade Show

The sixth annual Tradeshow Week Fastest 50 event will take place the weekend after the Nov. 4 presidential election, meaning this year's master of ceremonies may have plenty of news to share with the participants.
Carol Costello, a CNN News correspondent and contributor to the cable news network's “The Situation Room,” will emcee the gala dinner that is the highlight of the Nov. 7-9 weekend of activities in Baltimore.
Along with covering the 2008 presidential election, Costello has been instrumental in CNN's coverage of Hurricane Katrina, the tsunami in south Asia and the shootings at Virginia Tech University last year.

http://www.tradeshowweek.com/article/CA6567256.html?industryid=47368

Advertisters Commit Coin to Upcoming Season

There's more money flowing into advance primetime advertising commitments for the 2008-09 season than even the most optimistic network sales execs would have predicted a month ago.
TV's upfront sales process broke wide open Thursday after slowly picking up steam in the first three days of the week (Daily Variety, June 4). Net execs and media buyers alike say they've been pleasantly surprised by the stronger-than-expected level of coin that blue-chip advertisers are committing to the upfront -- the annual frenzy when the nets book commitments for as much as 75%-85% of their ad time for the coming season.

http://www.variety.com/article/VR1117986981.html?categoryid=14&cs=1

CW Upfront Finishes With 8% Growth

Buoyed by a TV marketplace that has more advertiser dollars in play than many had predicted, The CW network is expected to finish its upfront negotiations garnering cost-per-thousand increases of an average 8 percent, and take in the same ratio of total prime-time dollars as it did last year if Sunday night, which it no longer programs, is factored out.Sources familiar with The CW negotiations estimate that the network, which is expected to complete its upfront deals by Friday night (June 6), will take in about $370 million for its 10 hours of weekly prime-time programming, compared to $570 million last year for 15 hours.

http://www.mediaweek.com/mw/content_display/news/national-broadcast/e3i5f72d636331a44a70b66467e48766bac

Fox Sets Fall Premiere Schedule

Fox will kick off its 2008-2009 season Monday, Sept. 1, with a string of two-hour premieres through the rest of the week. Fringe, the new J.J. Abrams-produced drama, will debut the following week, with a two-hour pilot on Tues., Sept. 9.
Beginning with a double-header fourth-season premiere for Prison Break, on Sept. 1, Fox will bring back Bones (Sept. 3), The Moment of Truth (Sept. 4), and Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader (Sept. 5) with two-hour specials.

http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/CA6567756.html

Sony to Bring YouTube to HD Sets

Sony Corp. on Thursday said YouTube and Wired.com have been added to the video providers for a $300 module it sells for its LCD flat panel TVs. The Internet Video Link module is a small box that fits into the back of some 2007 and 2008 LCD TVs. It connects to the home broadband router and is controlled by the TV remote.

http://www.tvnewsday.com/articles/2008/06/05/daily.9/

CBS' "Swingtown" Debuts to Good Numbers

The NBA hoopsters attracted a large chunk of audience last night, but CBS’s swinging hipsters also had a decent debut.
The premiere of the wife-swapping drama “Swingtown” averaged a solid 2.7 adults 18-49 rating, according to Nielsen overnights, finishing second in the 10 p.m. timeslot behind the first game of the NBA finals between the Boston Celtics and Los Angeles Lakers.

http://www.medialifemagazine.com/artman2/publish/Overnights_50/Right_decent_premiere_for_Swingtown.asp

Sportscasting Legend Jim McKay Dies

Venerable sportscaster Jim McKay, who hosted ABC's Wide World of Sports for more than 40 years, died Saturday of natural causes at his farm in Monkton, Md., according to his son, Sean McManus, who is president of CBS News and Sports.

http://www.tvnewsday.com/articles/2008/06/07/daily.1/

First at 4 on WCMH To Premiere Monday

NBC 4 (WCMH-TV) will premiere First at 4 from NBC 4 on the Square in Downtown Columbus Monday, June 9.
First at 4 will be the first local newscast at 4 p.m. in Central Ohio.

http://www.nbc4i.com/midwest/cmh/news.apx.-content-articles-CMH-2008-06-06-0033.html

KET Lets Go 10

Ten employees at Kentucky Educational Television were fired as part of the station's efforts to balance its budget as it faces reduced state funding.
The affected employees were from various parts of KET's operations and were told Thursday afternoon, KET communications director Tim Bischoff said Friday.
Along with the 10 people fired, four other positions were eliminated by not filling vacancies, Bischoff said. The station also is reviewing its locally produced programs and expects some to be reduced or eliminated, but no decisions have been made, he said.
Under the 2009 state budget, which begins July 1, state appropriations to KET were cut by 12 percent, to $13.24 million. KET's overall budget is $25.5 million.
The staff and operational cuts are expected to save KET $1.8 million.

http://www.kentucky.com/779/story/426310.html

Awards and Nominations Galore for WBNS

For a fourth straight year, 10TV's 11 p.m. newscast was awarded the best in the state by The Associated Press.
10TV photojournalist Jeff Ritter also picked up an award for best photographer.
The awards were announced at the AP's annual awards in Columbus on Sunday.
In April, the station was honored three times with the distinguished Edward R. Murrow Award for "Best Newscast," "Best Spot News" and "Best Web Site." In addition, 10TV's work in a variety of categories was recognized with 24 Emmy nominations in the Midwestern Regional Emmy Award Nominations, announced Monday afternoon.
"These awards are a testament to the hard work our staff puts forth day in and day out to provide our viewers with the highest quality news and information," said Tom Griesdorn, 10TV's president and general manager. "My hat is off to every team member in every department that made these honors possible. I am especially proud that 10TV was again recognized for having the best television newscast. In a sea of competition, we were voted the best. That speaks volumes about our value and what we bring to central Ohioans every day."
The Ohio Associated Press Broadcasters is comprised of all Ohio AP radio and television stations. WBNS-10TV competes in the large television market division. The awards presented this year covered the 2007 year.

http://www.10tv.com/live/content/station/stories/2008/06/ap_awards.html?sid=102

WOUB Productions Win at Ohio AP Awards

The Ohio Associated Press Broadcasters recognized three WOUB productions on Sunday, June 1, at the Hilton Columbus at Easton Town Center. The awards were chosen out of more than 450 entries, which included both radio and television categories.

http://www.woub.org/about/index.php?page=47&item=800

Price is Right Fans Go Off on WLKY

Count me among those who get pretty disgusted when what I’m watching on TV is pre-empted by some weather event that doesn’t affect me. I’m selfish that way. But I’d never go so far as to call the station.

http://thevillevoice.com/2008/06/03/wlky-ticks-off-drews-fans-for-weather/

Sinclair and Insight Renew Broadcast Agreement

Sinclair Broadcast Group and Insight Communications have extended their agreement to carry four stations' analog and digital signals on Insight's cable network.
The three-year deal will run from Jan. 1, 2009 to Dec. 31, 2011, Hunt Valley-based Sinclair said in a news release. The agreement covers WSTR-TV in Cincinnati, WDKY-TV in Lexington, Ky., and WSYX-TV and WTTE-TV in Columbus, Ohio.
The agreement gives certain video-on-demand rights to Insight, but doesn't include an advertising component, Sinclair said. Other terms of the agreement weren't released.
Sinclair owns or provides services to 58 television stations in 35 markets. Insight, headquartered in New York, is a cable, telephone and Internet company.

http://www.bizjournals.com/baltimore/stories/2008/06/02/daily23.html

WTHI Earns 10 Emmy Nods

The Ohio Valley Emmy Awards nominations were announced this morning and News 10 received great news! We earned two nominations! Midday anchor, Susan Dinkel and chief photographer, Mike Latta received a nomination for their series called "New Day, New Way".

http://www.wthitv.com/Global/story.asp?S=8413515

WKRC Wins Top Honors at Ohio AP Awards

The Ohio Associated Press today honored Local 12 with two major awards, including Outstanding News Operation and Best Website.The awards were presented during a special ceremony in Columbus this afternoon. WKRC-TV received the award for Outstanding News Operation, with the judges praising our coverage of breaking news and the Liz Carroll trial.Local12.com also won the award for Best Website, with the judges saying our homepage was "catchy but not overwhelming or boring."Local 12 also received a second place honor in the Best Spot News coverage category for our coverage of the Liz Carroll verdict.

http://www.local12.com/news/local/story.aspx?content_id=d99b6f7b-e630-4120-b5a6-df5205be1b60

New 6:30pm Newscast for Cincinnati

Come August, TV viewers looking for news at 6:30 p.m. weekdays will get it from Brian Williams, Charlie Gibson, Katie Couric, Jack Atherton or Tricia Macke.
Atherton and Macke - who will co-anchor WXIX-TV's 6:30 p.m. newscast that is scheduled to start Aug. 11 - and their Fox 19 bosses aren't worried about competition from NBC, ABC and CBS.

http://news.enquirer.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080601/ENT/806010321/1025/LIFE

Challenge to Cross Ownership Rule Will Stay Where it Is

The challenge to the Federal Communications Commission's newspaper-broadcast cross-ownership rule change will remain in the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, at least for now.


A couple of dozen appeals were filed against the rule change in numerous courts, but the Ninth Circuit won the lottery -- literally -- to hear the case.
The Newspaper Association of America, for one, petitioned the D.C. Circuit Court in Washington, D.C., to assert its jurisdiction over the appeal, since it is the court of appeals for disputed FCC decisions. John Sturm, president of the association, called the decision "fairly routine," and added "we will still be able to make all our agruments about the jurisiction of the D.C.Court of appeals."

http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/CA6565192.html

Auction for Free Wireless Service?

The Federal Communications Commission is considering a new plan that would require winners of an upcoming spectrum auction to provide free wireless Internet services.
The FCC could soon vote on a plan to auction off 25 megahertz of spectrum in the 2155MHz band of spectrum. As part of its plan, the commission would require the winner of those licenses to provide some free wireless Internet service.

http://news.cnet.com/8301-10784_3-9955376-7.html?tag=nefd.top

Independent Kentucky Station to Stream HS Graduations

Viewers in southwestern Kentucky -- and Iraq, for that matter -- might grow a little tired of hearing “Pomp and Circumstance” in the next few weeks.

http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/CA6565824.html?desc=topstory

2008 OAPB TV Winners

Best Use of Photography: 1, Mike Thompson, WHIZ-TV, Zanesville, "River View's Run to a State Championship."
Best Producer: NO WINNERS.
Best Broadcast Writing: NO ENTRIES.
Best Sports Broadcaster: 1, Mike Thompson, WHIZ-TV, Zanesville; 2, Aaron Spragg, WHIZ-TV, Zanesville.

http://www.wdtn.com/Global/story.asp?S=8408352

Google Taking on Broadcasters In Spectrum Fight

Google cofounder Larry Page was in Washington, D.C., Thursday to make a pitch in person and online for allowing mobile unlicensed devices to share the digital-TV spectrum with TV stations -- something broadcasters are fighting hard against.

http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/CA6563360.html

FCC Chair Favors Renewable DTV Coupons

FCC Chairman Kevin Martin said that, as a consumer-friendly policy, he would favor allowing viewers to reapply for coupons good for $40 toward the purchase of a DTV-to-analog converter box. The boxes will be required for analog-only TV sets to continue to receive a DTV signal after the transition to digital in February 2009.

http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/CA6563883.html

New Amendment Targets Iraq War Embedded Network Analysts

It looks like the inspector general of the Defense Department and the Government Accountability Office may be joining the Federal Communications Commission in investigating the Bush administration's “embedded analyst” program.
This came after the House of Representatives passed an amendment -- to a Defense Authorization bill -- that would try to end the practice, currently suspended by the DOD, of briefing media analysts for networks in an effort to get them to relay the government line on the war in Iraq.

NBCU and Time Warner Bidders for Weather Channel

A joint NBC Universal-Blackstone Group LP partnership is a leading contender to buy the Weather Channel cable network, a source familiar with the matter said on Friday.
Time Warner Inc is also in the running, another source familiar with the matter said.

http://www.reuters.com/article/industryNews/idUSN2316421020080526

Pressure Shifts ot SAG After AFTRA Deal

With AFTRA reaching a tentative deal with the Alliance of Motion Picture & Television Producers after round-the-clock talks during Memorial Day weekend, attention now turns to SAG and whether the guild will follow the lead of its sister union as it revs up talks for its primetime/theatrical contract. SAG and AFTRA contracts with Hollywood producers expire June 30.

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/hr/content_display/television/news/e3ib3f082bb63c920388f8dd2bf3126fbb3

Viacom Denies Rumors of Weather Channel Bid

Viacom CEO Philippe Dauman squashed any speculation that the media giant would be among the bidders for The Weather Channel, telling the audience at an investor conference in New York that Viacom will concentrate on growing its existing properties.

http://www.multichannel.com/article/CA6564759.html

Studey Shows NBC Affiliates Dominate Local News Ratings

A Media Audit survey finds that 25.2% of U.S. adults tune in to a local NBC affiliate for early evening news in the typical week, down 3.3 percentage points from a 2005 survey; followed by 24.9% for ABC stations, down 1.7 percentage points; and 21.6% for CBS stations, down 2 percentage points. WWL New Orleans leads the country with a 55.3 18-plus rating.

http://www.tvnewsday.com/articles/2008/05/27/daily.7/

WXIX to Stream Minor League Baseball

Raycom’s Cincinnati Fox affiliate WXIX is partnering with The Florence Freedom, a member of the independent minor league Frontier League, to broadcast several Freedom games on the the station’s Web site this season.

http://www.tvnewsday.com/articles/2008/05/28/daily.2/

TV Stations Post Big Gains in Web Ad Revenue

TV stations’ online advertising revenue rose 72 percent to $772 million in 2007 and may rise another 55 percent to $1.2 billion in 2008, according to the sixth annual survey of local Web spending from Borrell Associates.

http://www.tvnewsday.com/articles/2008/05/29/daily.9/

Time Warner Cable to Offer Web-to-TV Link

Time Warner Cable Inc plans to offer subscribers an easier way to bring Internet video to their television screens as part of an overall home networking system, Chief Executive Glenn Britt said on Friday.

http://www.reuters.com/article/televisionNews/idUSN3030690720080530?sp=true

Jym Ganahl Enters Ohio AP Broadcasting Hall of Fame

Jym Ganahl might be considered a weather evangelist.
The chief meteorologist for WCMH-TV (Channel 4) makes snow in his backyard. He contributes weather-related expertise in cases from arson to murder. He talks temperatures at roughly 100 speaking engagements a year.
In the winter, he communes with his weather gods in snowy Minnesota.
He even chose his Plain Township home based on his calculation that the area receives the most snow in central Ohio.

http://www.columbusdispatch.com/live/content/life/stories/2008/05/31/1_JYM_GANAHL_--_profile.ART_ART_05-31-08_D1_16A9QOD.html?sid=101

WOUB To End Some Analog Transmission

Effective June 15, 2008, WOUB-TV/DT will discontinue transmissions from its analog translators in Loudonville (channel 65) and Millersburg (channel 69) in conjunction with WOUB’s ongoing conversion to digital. The early shut off of the analog signal in Loudonville and Millersburg is part of the Federal Communications Commission’s mandate that all broadcasting operations become digital effective February 17, 2009. WOUB’s digital signal now covers those two areas.

http://www.woub.org/about/index.php?page=47&item=787

WBNS Pre-Empts 1st Elite XC Fight

WBNS-10TV will broadcast the EliteXC Saturday Night Fights Monday at 1 a.m. for viewers wishing to record or watch the program.

http://www.10tv.com/live/content/station/stories/2008/5/elite_xc.html?sid=102

WCMH Goes Street Side in Columbus

http://www.newscaststudio.com/blog/2008/05/28/wcmh-goes-streetside-in-columbus/

WDKY Clay-Mate Story

Clay Aiken Fans just can't get enough

http://youtube.com/watch?v=Fm_-kXGxn4Q&feature=related

WTHI Invaded by Honey Bees

A swarm of honey bees invaded the WTHI studios in downtown Terre Haute.
A bee keeper was called in after thousands of bees were found swarming around the station parking lot Tuesday morning.

http://www.wthitv.com/Global/story.asp?S=8385424&nav=menu593_2

WXIX to Launch 6:30pm News

WXIX-TV (Channel 19) will launch a 6:30 p.m. weekday newscast in August for people who don’t get home to see the 5-6:30 p.m. local news.
“People are getting up earlier, and coming home later.
"They’ll soon have an opportunity to watch local news at 6:30 p.m. when the other stations are doing national news,” says John Long, Channel 19 vice president and general manager.

http://news.enquirer.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080527/NEWS01/305270127

WKYT Meteorologist Leaving After 10 Years

Chris Bailey, a longtime meteorologist at Lexington's WKYT-27, will be leaving the television station at the end of June. Bailey, who had been at the CBS affiliate for 10 years, said he plans to spend more time with his family and doesn't have a new job lined up.

http://www.kentucky.com/779/story/416183.html

Blogger Keeps Score on Louisville TV News

WHAS-TV continues to dominate local ratings for newscasts, ranking first in five of eight measured time periods. The exceptions are Noon, where it trails WLKY-TV, and late night, where WLKY-TV continues to lead the way.

http://thevillevoice.com/2008/05/27/keeping-score-on-tv-news/

DeAnn Stephens Says Goodbye to WKYT

After 12 years with the WKYT family, DeAnn Stephens said her final goodbye Sunday night. Stephens started her career at sister station WYMT in 1995. After two years there, she moved to Lexington. For the next decade, she would report and anchor some of the most popular shows at WKYT.

http://www.wkyt.com/home/headlines/19253344.html