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WHDH Moves 10 PM to 7…NOT!
By Michael Page | April 13, 2009
April 13, 2009 Update: Just about two weeks after WHDH made a big stink about not airing Jay Leno’s new show in September, the station has changed its mind. Today, WHDH announced that the new NBC show will in fact air at 10 PM in Boston, as it will around the country beginning in the fall. This of course comes after NBC had threatened to strip WHDH of its network affiliation if the station aired local news instead of network programming. So, the stalemate is over, and it seems NBC got its way.
April 2, 2009: Some interesting news broke during 7’s 4 PM newscast today. The station announced on air that beginning in September 7 News at 10 (which has only been running on CW56) will run over WHDH’s airwaves in addition to WLVI’s. The newscast will still be anchored by Frances and Kim, and will be followed by 7 News at 11 on WHDH and other non-news programming on WLVI.
Since the news will air at 10 PM on WHDH, NBC network programming will be dumped. The program affected is NBC’s new show featuring Jay Leno, and the network is none to happy that it is being snubbed in a top 10 market. This will become an interesting debate, with NBC threatening to move its affiliation elsewhere, so stay tuned.
Topics: WHDH (Channel 7) | 116 Comments »
April 2nd, 2009 at 4:31 pm
This makes no sense. I thought Jay was gonna take that time slot… and if he wasn’t, what about all the other prime time shows? Weird…
April 2nd, 2009 at 4:31 pm
I just saw the same – quite odd that they are not taking Leno at 10 (assuming he starts when they say he will, late summer/fall), unless they put it on WLVI, but doubtful
Quite Odd indeed!
April 2nd, 2009 at 5:12 pm
NBC must have a really rocky relationship with Sunbeam Television now! I wonder whether the network regrets not purchasing Channel 7 when they had the chance?
To pull this off, it’s likely that Sunbeam had to agree to air Jay Leno’s 10:00 P.M. show on WLVI.
April 2nd, 2009 at 5:13 pm
I agree, I am sure NBC is not thrilled with this.
April 2nd, 2009 at 6:14 pm
How about the weekends, especially in the spring aft SNF ends? Is NBC keeping original programming in the Sunday 10PM time slot?
April 2nd, 2009 at 6:17 pm
7 news at 10 will stay on cw 56 during the weekends. i wonder if jay leno talk show will end up on wsbk if channel 56 can’t put it up
April 2nd, 2009 at 6:40 pm
I’m a WCVB guy myself. Channel 7 newscasts give me the impression of a station gathering every bit of non-newsworthy mish-mash they can via various satellite feeds, and throwing it out as news. Way too much junk that they think is newsworthy. I gave up on ch. 7 a long time ago; no longer a news station in my book. I will say though that I did enjoy Frances Rivera; a very pretty and talented young woman. I liked her presentation very much.
Then you’ve got WBZ, but that newscast reminds me of geriactrics for some reason. And I never watched that Robichaud guy since he made such a fool of himself running alongside Boston Marathon runners a few years ago, holding a stupid cordless fan as to cool off the runners. What a bunch of hooey… did he think he was funny? I thought it was not only asinine, but completely inappropriate for an event as prestigeous as the Boston Marathon. I left BZ after that sophmoric stunt… yes, it ticked me off that much.
WCVB falls nicely into place. Good anchors and co-anchors, excellent in-depth news, and top notch weather & sports. What could be better?
April 2nd, 2009 at 6:42 pm
While it most likely will be a bit more convenient, I don’t think NBC likes this idea. I agree and bet that NBC and Sunbeam butt heads. I wonder how the primetime programing is going to go now….
April 2nd, 2009 at 7:10 pm
I agree NBC must be mad but this will help WHDH on NBC but hurt Fox Some(This is there best time slot too)
April 2nd, 2009 at 7:47 pm
This was on Boston.com:
http://www.boston.com/business/ticker/2009/04/channel_7_no_le.html
April 2nd, 2009 at 7:52 pm
Well, based on that article we were right…NBC seems pissed. There has been some bad blood there for a while it seems.
April 2nd, 2009 at 9:30 pm
They could always move CW programming from 56 to 7. At least it gives them some programming to fill the prime. 56 could become a movie station or run syndication.
NBC will probably move its affil to Ch.68 which it indirectly owns via ION/Paxson.
April 2nd, 2009 at 10:06 pm
Well, did some reading, apparently NBC has an affiliate meeting this month to discuss Leno at 10pm w/ its affiliates, so essentially, a pre-emptive strike.
If I had to guess, Ansin is playing hardball, probably to get a much larger slice of time for ad revenue.
At least, that is my guess, if its true or not – who knows!
All I know is – I need to get my KU band dish up, the NBC feed is in the clear, and in HD!
April 2nd, 2009 at 10:15 pm
NBC already owns two stations outright: WWDP 46 and WNEU 60. They dumped their share of ION three years ago. Could we be seeing NBC 46 or NBC60 soon?
April 2nd, 2009 at 10:16 pm
I think Sunbeam said they will air their 10:00 P.M. news on both Channels 7 and 56 to leave room for compromise with NBC. The compromise would be that Sunbeam will carry NBC’s 10:00 programming on WLVI.
What’s up with the quote from NBC about having “a number of other strong options in the Boston market, including using our existing broadcast license to launch an NBC owned and operated station”?
What “existing broadcast license” — and exactly which Boston station are they thinking about?
April 2nd, 2009 at 10:43 pm
They probably figured that people were use to watching jay at 11:30 so they figured why not throw an extra hour of news in there. Thats all i can think of.
April 2nd, 2009 at 11:04 pm
If Ansin doesn’t relent, watch for NBC to follow through and strip the station of its affiliation. They will make an example of WHDH, so other affiliates across the country won’t be tempted to make the same decision. Though I don’t know what the station’s other “strong options” are; Channel 38 is owned by CBS, and would they really put NBC on one of those stations like channel 46 that nobody gets?
April 3rd, 2009 at 12:05 am
Sunbeam seems to think they are on pretty solid ground in their affiliation agreement to not clear NBC at 10:00 P.M. on Channel 7.
But if NBC were able to “strip” WHDH of its NBC affiliation, they would really be shooting themselves in the foot. Boston is a major market that is important to the network. Where else can NBC go that would give them even 1/10th of the exposure they receive by being on WHDH?
Ultimately, I think this skirmish will be resolved by Sunbeam putting NBC on WLVI at 10:00 P.M. The network might still be unhappy; but at least their programming would still be seen on a quasi-major station in Boston rather than on a Telemundo or home shopping channel.
April 3rd, 2009 at 7:08 am
NBC IS GOING TO pull the affiliation! They did it to KRON in San Francisco (which is larger then the Boston market) and opened their own shop (Branded to the Network’s new branding, NBC Bay Area). Could we see an NBC Boston this fall? I like their graphics package (I moved from an NBC-owned affiliate before coming here and it’s top notch).
Ultimately if you want to dictate your programming, drop the affiliation and go it your own. You join a network for its programming, which doesn’t allow you to cherry pick what you think will do best.
April 3rd, 2009 at 7:13 am
This is terrible! NBC has, historically, aired many very fine shows in its 10pm timeslot, as, for example, ER, which ended its very successful, popular, and critically praised 15-year run last night. Viewers who may become attached to the replacement show, SouthLand, will be left disenfranchised (literally!) by their decision. Viewers will also be unable to watch Medium, and various incarnations of the Law & Order franchise! And what will they do with shows that NBC schedules to run from 9-11 (like the upcoming episode of Celebrity Apprentice)? Cut them off in the middle???
April 3rd, 2009 at 7:18 am
Update: Okay – after a little more research, I see that NBC’s plan is to strip Leno’s show at 10pm, so I guess those other shows wouldn’t be in jeopardy. But, if that programming move fails (which wouldn’t surprise me), then that could change at any time. Would WHDH then be willing/able to abandon their new 10pm newscast as well?
April 3rd, 2009 at 7:36 am
NBC never dropped their share of ION after buying out Paxson. They gave Citadel a controlling interest but still have a piece of ION. And they have an option to buy the entire network by 2012.
April 3rd, 2009 at 8:14 am
Maybe NBC has plans for Boston after all and this is their chance? The new NBC marketing is NBC City Name, ex: NBC LA, NBC Chicago, etc. No channel #’s. I checked on the WHOIS on http://www.nbcboston.com and sure enough its owned by GE Corp! It was purchased in August of 2008, so pretty recent. Been bad blood for a while?
Registrant:
General Electric Company
Domain Administrator
3135 Easton Turnpike
Fairfield, CT 06828-0001
US
Email: domain.admin@ge.com
April 3rd, 2009 at 9:48 am
Could they move Telemundo Programming from CH 27 to one of the other signals? I believe telemundo owns WUNI outright and most people get it on cable accept maybe for Cape Cod. Then again, viewers on the cape and in SE Mass get WJAR anyway. WNEU and WWLP have pretty good cable carriage but WUNI has the wider over-the-air signal. If NBC created a new Boston O&O on any of these outlets, the next thing they would need to figure out is what if any local news content they will offer. Will they put money into an already crowded market or strike a deal with another established news operation like NECN or CH5? Hey this is exciting!
April 3rd, 2009 at 10:31 am
Ansin is right to some extent. NBC’s prime, maybe with the exception of Thursday night(30 Rock/Office) is extremely ineffective. The person who should be on the hot seat is Jeff Zucker. He’s ruining the network by essentially giving up on prime. Leno five nights a week is not the answer. Ansin is a true maverick. He’s standing up to the network and telling them to get their act together or see you later.
If NBC has to build a new affil from ground up pretty much and it will cost them lots of $$$. Marketing campaign and technical(put up a new studio, add staff, HD signal upgrade, etc) costs will not be low.
I think Ansin and NBC will settle this. It makes more sense for NBC to please Ansin than the other way around. Probably Leno to 56 at 10 and 7News on 7 at 10.
April 3rd, 2009 at 10:51 am
IT was posted on Yahoo this am that since WHDH has chosen to Expand the news and not pick up Leno that NBC has said it may Strip WHDH of there Contract this could be very interesting
April 3rd, 2009 at 10:59 am
WUNI is owned by Univision, not Telemundo. Telemundo owns WNEU.
April 3rd, 2009 at 11:29 am
“Ansin is a true maverick. He’s standing up to the network and telling them to get their act together or see you later.”
The problem with that statement is that WHDH has a garbage newscast. Ansin needs to clean up his act more than NBC does. 1.5hrs of 7News simulcast on 2 channels is the biggest waste of airtime I have ever heard. Channel 7 is a joke, firing Randy Price then lying about it, putting up lame headlines for important stories “DANGEROUS DRUNK” anyone?
It would be more than I could ever hope for to see 7 stripped of its NBC affiliation, they are a joke.
April 3rd, 2009 at 11:31 am
WHDH made Perez Hilton….anyone think this is a ploy for attention/ratings?
http://perezhilton.com/2009-04-03-jay-leno-removed-from-bostons-fall-line-up
April 3rd, 2009 at 12:00 pm
WUNI is owned by Entravision not Unision. NBC Universal owns WNEU but it’s managed, programmed and operated by ZGS Comm.
April 3rd, 2009 at 12:36 pm
As much as I would feel really bad about it (for the possibility of people to lose their jobs), I think that NBC has every right to strip WHDH of affiliation. I mean…they violated a contract term, and as parent owner, NBC has that right. Lets be real heere…If this was any other business, they would be cut. I mean…WHDH and Ed Ansin could at least have had the decency to ASK NBC before going ahead and advertising the move on air. Plus…they want to keep in on CW56 too?! What’s the point of that? Trying to get more veiwers? If so…they are REALLY desperate….
April 3rd, 2009 at 12:40 pm
Also…I think the Ed Ansin has no right to state “…We don’t think the Leno show is going to be effective in primetime.” How does he know? I mean…Maybe Leno will be effective in primetime. Why speculate before giving Leno a chance?! After all, shouldn’t we at least give Leno a chance?!?
April 3rd, 2009 at 1:34 pm
This is the final decision that has brought me to my decision to switch to either WBZ or WCVB tv for news. There isn’t a necessity to add another news cast at 10pm. Jay Leno grew up in Andover, MA; why the snub? It was bad enough and so disappointing that channel 7 decided to get rid of Randy Price and move Jonathan Hall off of anchoring the 5:00am news. The newscasters on channel 7 are getting younger and younger which passes a message on to the “baby boomers” that experienced and seasoned employees are not respected at channel 7. The new graphics are awful! I now think of channel 7 as the “National Enquirer”; all glitz and no substance.
April 3rd, 2009 at 1:44 pm
NBC could move to Ch66, or Ch 68 with Ch 38 or Ch 27 being an outside shot.
This is going to blow up in Ch7’s face
April 3rd, 2009 at 2:26 pm
Unless we have the NBC-WHDH affiliation agreement in our hands to read, it is speculative to say that Channel 7 would be “breaking its contract” by not clearing network programming at 10:00 P.M. There are instances across the country of stations not clearing network shows in favor of local or syndicated programming.
NBC is expressing their displeasure with much gusto because they fear that other affiliates — many of which already have lukewarm feelings about the 10:00 Jay Leno show — might also cover the 10:00 hour with local news.
As others have expressed, this matter will probably be settled by WLVI airing the Leno program at 10:00.
April 3rd, 2009 at 3:37 pm
If NBC canned WHDH, who would that hurt? NBC. They’d have to settle for some shopping channel over an established name like WHDH, then they’d have to spend money on syndicated programming, then they’d have to upgrade everything about the station just to be at the bare minimum. Ansin would be a little ticked, that’s all. He could easily bring in ‘7CW’ and could get some leverage to bring MyNetworkTV to 56 (remember, WZMY is using a fossil for a transmitter; no HD, no stereo, nothing.) It’d all be but a minor inconvenience to him.
April 3rd, 2009 at 3:51 pm
The obvious and sad reality is this is the story of a Boston station that is in such dire straits that it needs to ‘create’ its own programming so that the advertising dollars can be all theirs; no ’sharing’ with the peacock. It comes not as a result of some study that says people ‘want’ this. Indeed, people mock TV news as a complete embarrassment nowadays. And to shovel MORE of it at a public that wants LESS of it? What an indictment of a sad and plummeting industry. Even sadder: there are a bunch of unemployed news hacks frothing and panting in hopes that this provides them a way back into the business.
April 3rd, 2009 at 3:54 pm
I’m betting that this is a red herring and WHDH decides to stick with Leno after all is said and done. If NBC’s anger is more than just bluster, WHDH loses more than it gains in this power struggle.
April 3rd, 2009 at 4:34 pm
And let’s not forget the looming possibility of the CW no longer existing in the forseeable future. What would Ansin do with out the option of moving the CW to 7 (if you call that a reasonable option). And what exactly does “my Network TV” have to offer? Hey, if he does loose NBC, Ansin could always turn one of his stations into a 24 hour over the air news channel. At the very least, he may get the satisfaction of putting NECN out of business. That’s all assuming reason does not prevail and the whole thing doesn’t get settled before September.
April 3rd, 2009 at 6:07 pm
Sunbeam owns a station in Florida right? I think its Miami/Ft Lauderdale. or just So Flo.
If they were to do the same thing there, would we not see two major markets jumping the NBC sinking ship?
April 3rd, 2009 at 6:33 pm
Yes, Ansin owns WSVN in Miami. That is a FOX station though.
April 3rd, 2009 at 8:58 pm
Channel 7 has enough news on every day, 14 hours a
week of news total and an hour on 56, No thats not
right, They agree to air that NBC offered are they gonna
be another WBZ TV 4, From 1957-1966 WBZ TV did not
air the Tonight Show instead they aired Movies and a
few Group W Westinghouse Talk Shows also WHDH TV 5
aired when it was ABC/CBS they aired Jack Paar Tonight
Show and of course in the night Don Gillis debuted they
aired The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson, WBZ TV 4
started to air Carson in 1966 when it make sense it was
a NBC Program.
April 3rd, 2009 at 9:52 pm
If NBC pulls affiliation from WHDH, WHDH will hurt a lot more than NBC. NBC is now in the margins business, not the ratings business. And if NBC is on their own O&O in Boston, they will get to keep ALL the advertising revenues, even if the ratings are lower. Remember, too, with cable penetration over 90%, UHF vs. VHF doesn’t really matter any more. Even if NBC moves to a small station that is little watched now, you can bet that people will find it on their cable lineups, and that NBC will promote the heck out of it.
In the meantime, declining WHDH will have NO lead-in for all their cheezy and vile news broadcasts. Look what happened to KRON in San Francisco – now worth a quarter of what it used to be after NBC stripped it of its affiliation, with its parent company in bankruptcy.
April 3rd, 2009 at 10:47 pm
I didn’t know that that WSVN in Miami was a Fox station….I always thought it was NBC, just like WHDH being NBC.
April 3rd, 2009 at 11:18 pm
KRON-TV’s recent problems stem from the bankruptcy of its group owner, Young Broadcasting; not necessarily by its status as an independent station.
The percentage of U.S. households with Basic Cable has declined somewhat in recent years. Cable penetration is currently about 60%. Broadcast networks still need affiliates to distribute their programming.
April 4th, 2009 at 5:26 am
i wished wbz channel 4 was still an nbc station. cbs ruined wbz
April 4th, 2009 at 7:26 am
Chris has it 90% right. Local stations are in dire straits. Owning 100% of the ad inventory helps. A 10p prime time show, especially a big buzz show like Leno’s is supposed to be, should generate ad rates of $20,000-$30,000 per ad. But that was then…this is now. 1. TV insiders are very skeptical that Leno will generate the ratings of a Law & Order or ER type show (I say it won’t…it will flop) 2. There are no advertisers…the car companies that used to flood this time period are GONE, they do not advertise at close to the level of even 2 years ago. This is all about how much money can be generated in any given hour on a tv station. You’ve heard the newspapers are going under, you will start to hear about tv stations going under. Will hit the small markets first …but will affect Boston down the line. I bet Ansin is regretting his CW56 purchase. I believe he also owns the old building and land on Morrisey blvd…and we all know it is easier to sell a Sham Wow cloth now than prime commercial real estate.
April 4th, 2009 at 7:51 am
WSVN was an NBC affiliate in Miami until the 1988. You tube might have classic promos using the NBC “Let’s All Be There” promo theme. Here is a YouTube clip available in HQ. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I6S7EGDzpxA , take a look at the 7 then. 7 is crazy to do this, I like Fances, Kim is Ok, Okay, that is my 2 cents
April 4th, 2009 at 9:11 am
Basic cable penetration is close to 70%, and then you have to add satellite penetration on top of that. The numbers of people receiving over-the-air signals is lower than ever. Most TV execs will tell you that the affiliate model is dying. Both Moonves and Zucker have publicly stated in the past year that they can envision a future where their broadcast nets are converted into basic cable stations. As for KRON: the fact that Young Broadcasting bought the station for $800 million when it was an NBC affiliate, and that it’s worth $200 million now as an independent speaks for itself. Local stations are dying and NBC knows it.
April 4th, 2009 at 11:34 am
Young Broadcasting is managed by a bunch of idiots. KRON wasn’t worth $800 Million even in 2000.
I’ve heard that 3 stations have contacted NBC regarding an affiliation. My guesses are WWDP (46), WMFP (62), and WZMY (50). In the event that NBC does go with either one of them, it will be like in Detroit where the new, lower-powered UHF affiliate will have to quickly scramble to upgrade everything for the new network.
Finally, look at the stations of Moonves and Zucker… perennial 3rd place finishers. No wonder why they want to dump them.
April 4th, 2009 at 2:10 pm
I would like to say WHDH reconsider and put Jay Leno’s new 10PM show on in September!
April 4th, 2009 at 4:12 pm
i am still hoping that whdh will come to there senses and air jay leno at 10pm come fall time.
April 4th, 2009 at 5:22 pm
Currently, basic cable television penetration is approximately 60%. This leaves a lot of people who receive local television channels conventionally over the air.
http://www.mediainfocenter.org/television/cable/size.asp
http://www.multichannel.com/article/128301-Cable_Penetration_Hits_17_Year_Low.php
April 4th, 2009 at 9:46 pm
Hey Mike do you no if NBC can put Jay Leno on a different Time like 11pm or any time during the day??????
April 4th, 2009 at 10:29 pm
I am assuming that when you said NBC, you mean NBC affiliates like WHDH…I don’t know for sure, but they probably would be able to work something like that out with NBC.
April 5th, 2009 at 6:02 pm
[...] first read this story on Michael Page’s excellent blog, Boston TV News: “The Scoop”. Then someone in [...]
April 6th, 2009 at 6:47 pm
If 7WHDH-TV wants to have the 10pm news on 7 so bad, instead of having it air on WLVI CW56, hmm…maybe they should air Leno’s show on CW 56!! Is there really any need to have the news on BOTH channels at the same time?? I don’t think so…I think it’s a waste.
April 6th, 2009 at 8:46 pm
I have a feeling the reaction from NBC is not what Ansin expected. He has kept a closed mouth and has removed the story about the new 10:00 news from his website. WHDH needs the NBC affiliation so survive. My guess is Leno will be on at 10 on 7, and if Ansin cannot agree to that I do believe we will see NBC on another station. NBC seems to be serious on this matter, I believe they said that Boston viewers will be seeing Leno at 10 on NBC, not another station, meaning WHDH puts it on or they find a new affiliate.
April 6th, 2009 at 8:51 pm
I agree, 100% Steve!
April 6th, 2009 at 9:24 pm
http://www.boston.com/business/ticker/2009/04/jay_leno_the_sh.html
April 6th, 2009 at 11:04 pm
History has a strange habit of repeating itself. This cat-and-mouse-game played out more than 2 decades ago in South Florida. Back then it was Sale of the Century and Another World as well as national news at 7pm that irritated the network. Today, the game is played on a much higher level with much more at stake.
Take a look at the Youtube video which sums up the situation very well in December, 1988.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TtrO2DNmZAw
Most wrote off Sunbeam and WSVN. There were only a few “delusional” people who thought it would succeed let alone thrive as an INDEPENDENT station. Can lightening strike twice? The times have changed. The economy has changed. If any organization can pull off losing affiliation, Sunbeam is it.
So, Boston, don’t worry. You’ll see Jay Leno at 10pm either on WLVI-56 or WNEU-60.
6.5 hours of news each weekday simply is not enough!
April 7th, 2009 at 1:07 pm
>>Currently, basic cable television penetration is approximately 60%. This leaves a lot of people who receive local television channels conventionally over the air<<
Other studies show cable penetration above 70%. But even accepting the 60% number, the whole crux of the second story is that cable penetration drops, while satellite penetration rises; not that more people are getting their TV signals conventionally over the air. Instead, following that article’s numbers, more than 85% of viewers are getting TV signals via cable/satellite.
April 8th, 2009 at 12:21 am
Mark BRW, First of all, Leno is the leading host of late night tv. Please tell me what the rating would be of 7 news versus Leno. Plus, do you work for Ansin? P.s. Hamma, you are right on!!! Michael Page, I love your coments.
April 8th, 2009 at 4:01 pm
WOW! DID ANYONE SEE THAT!!?? THERE WAS NO NBC LOGO ON THE OPEN, JUST NOW @ 4!
April 8th, 2009 at 4:14 pm
Producing Mistake???????
April 8th, 2009 at 4:15 pm
I think this is the wrong move for 7.
Michael Page,What would happen to 7 IF NBC dropped them? who would pick up 7?
great comments and website Michael Page too.
April 8th, 2009 at 4:18 pm
Yeah, but the lost screen with the big 7 and 4:00 text was different too… lets see if it happens again at 4:30…
April 8th, 2009 at 4:25 pm
Thanks David. If NBC dropped 7 they wouldn’t have many options. They would still have the CW, could try for My TV if they wanted, or could stay independent.
I will be watching the next couple intros Matt…thanks for the heads up.
April 8th, 2009 at 4:30 pm
hmm… i guess it was just a one time thing.
April 8th, 2009 at 5:00 pm
Nope, they did it again at 5PM.
April 8th, 2009 at 5:10 pm
Yeah, that’s strange. Any ideas why? Also, why not at 430? hm..
April 8th, 2009 at 5:20 pm
Well, we can specualte:
I doubt it has anything to do with the above mentioned NBC affiliation, namely, they could just either use the WSVN intro, or the one on WLVI.
Since the tail of the intro changed, if I had to bet, they just decided to change it. Now, as to why the peacock was not included, either they have been running the wrong intro’s (either not finished, the ones for WLVI or WSVN, etc), or they wanted to distance themselves from NBC.
I suppose, we can all take pick one of the two above and see what happens!
April 8th, 2009 at 5:51 pm
i saw 7 willl go to cw if nbc dumps them
April 8th, 2009 at 6:10 pm
I think all of you are going crazy, just because they do not have the intro does not mean WHDH is getting cut. Maybe producing problem or they just do not want the intro anymore ???????????
April 8th, 2009 at 10:01 pm
No WHDH symbol at 10 either….
April 8th, 2009 at 11:00 pm
but it was on the 11pm show…
April 9th, 2009 at 12:56 am
this might be management’s push back in its fight with NBC…might be preparing viewers of it going independent or changing affiliations…not surprised if its a subtle way of saying “We are ready for war.”
April 9th, 2009 at 11:57 am
haha good point, Edward
April 9th, 2009 at 2:06 pm
The fact that you haven’t heard anything else on the Sunbeam-NBC tussle for a week means both sides are talking.
The tweak in the open probably means 7 is done with NBC, but not Sunbeam. During today’s Noon newcast, 7’s anchors were promoting and talking up the new Thursday night prime. For a station whose owner and its affiliated network are apparently feuding, it’s a sign that the resultion is being worked on. As I did when this first started, I’m still predicting full NBC affiliation will move to 56. 7 will run CW and 1-hour 10pm newscast as well as expand its weekday local morning news block to 9am. 7 wants to young-up its news demographics so affiliation with CW makes sense. 56 will probably add an 11o’clock newscast.
A new NBC affiliation contract for 56 will probably extend 10 more years. Look for an affiliation switch right after the Stanley Cup Finals conclude in early June.
April 9th, 2009 at 5:33 pm
If all Ansin is going to do is swap the network affiliations of 7 and 56, what is the point? A difference of five numbers if you’re a Comcast cable customer (7 vs. 12 or even closer in HD, 807 vs. 808). For the 10% who still live without cable it’s a UHF vs. VHF swap, but the cumulative ratings numbers for the two channels wouldn’t change. Would make more sense if either Ansin discontinued himself from NBC or just Leno’s show moves to 56 at 10pm, with every other Peacock show staying on Ch. 7.
April 9th, 2009 at 7:48 pm
NOT BY ANY MEANS “YOUNG” :
Kim Khazei 55ish
Frances Rivera 40ish
Byron Barnett 50s
Victoria Block 55ish
Dan Hausele 50?
Christa Delcamp 40ish
Jonathon Hall 45?
Amanda Grace 40?
Matt Lorch looks 40s
I am approximating here.
April 9th, 2009 at 8:05 pm
Boston Brunette, I agree with you for most…here’s my opinion:
Kim Khazei 45-50ish
Frances Rivera 35ish
Byron Barnett 50ish
Victoria Block 55ish
Dan Hausele 55
Christa Delcamp 35ish
Jonathon Hall 50?
Amanda Grace 40?
Matt Lorch looks 40s
April 9th, 2009 at 8:17 pm
Khazei is 49
Rivera is in mid to late 30s
Delcamp is 37
Grace is mid 30s
Lorch is early to mid 30s
April 9th, 2009 at 8:21 pm
How do you know this
April 9th, 2009 at 9:21 pm
Various Globe articles, etc.
April 9th, 2009 at 10:46 pm
That seems about right….
April 10th, 2009 at 1:51 pm
You should see if they have Facebook accounts…
April 10th, 2009 at 2:52 pm
they do but they leave their birthday year blank
April 10th, 2009 at 2:57 pm
Oh Ok….
April 10th, 2009 at 10:24 pm
Great seeing Barry Burbank on WBZ doing the weather during the evening news!
April 12th, 2009 at 7:15 pm
I know a lot of you are interested to see how this whole thing plays out, and I was shown this podcast today…it discusses the issue. Check it out if you have a few minutes:
http://localtvnow.podbean.com/
April 13th, 2009 at 3:29 pm
There is no longer an issue. I just got a press release from 7 that says Leno will run at 10pm on Ch. *7* at 10.
April 13th, 2009 at 3:29 pm
7 will air Leno now at 10pm. Controversy has been resolved.
“Upon further consideration, we have decided to telecast Jay Leno at 10:00 p.m. starting in September.
Jay is from Andover where I went to school. I enjoy his humor. We hope the new show is a big success.”
-Ed Ansin
April 13th, 2009 at 5:14 pm
Classic they claimed to have gotten a bunch of viewer e-mails about it then released that bogus statement. They fail to mention NBC essentially threatened their existence.
April 13th, 2009 at 5:32 pm
probably ansin knew if he didn’t want to lose nbc if he didn’t carry leno
April 13th, 2009 at 6:10 pm
Ansin loses this battle
April 13th, 2009 at 6:44 pm
Ansin is a BS artist he got his A** in a Sling as this is how he weaseled his way out Quite Sleezy does he not know what a fool he looked like ? apparently not im glad that it worked out for Jay he is a good Guy
April 13th, 2009 at 6:45 pm
It’s about time. I say, good for NBC!
April 13th, 2009 at 8:22 pm
A lot of us knew this would happen. There was more for WHDH to lose than gain here. Winners were us, the viewers, who don’t need to be subject to yet another parade of car dealer and furniture store commercials from yet another station. This is, after all, why local TV news exists in the first place. WHDH is whistling by the graveyard if they think backing off by an hour would bring viewers to their station. The problems with WHDH are home-grown ones, yet they decide that the solution would come by shifting their offering from 11pm to 10pm. Obviously, someone smartened up there. They would be wise to keep it at 11pm while fixing the home-grown problems that are causing their ills.
April 13th, 2009 at 8:34 pm
I agree, Chris.
April 14th, 2009 at 8:39 am
I knew it. NBC was willing to sustain the loss of over-the-air viewers with a smaller affiliate, due to increased cable and satellite penetration (and let’s face it, the over-the-air viewers tend to be the less affluent ones that advertisers don’t really try to reach). NBC had the upper hand in this standoff – Ansin had far more to lose.
April 14th, 2009 at 8:50 am
Huh!! There’s a surprise.
April 14th, 2009 at 9:57 am
On a semi-related subject, why do many people believe that this 10pm Leno show will fail? Obviously WHDH has no faith in it. But why? Is it a Leno thing, or the kind of show he’ll be appearing in?
April 14th, 2009 at 12:26 pm
I am glad to hear that the new Jay Leno show at 10PM will air on Channel 7 in Boston afterall starting in September. This is very exciting news!
April 14th, 2009 at 1:22 pm
Chris…I would say its a little of both. Leno wanted to move on, so I say move on. Instead, NBC gives him the 10pm slot…and I get it. He’s a cash cow. Why take a chance on something new when you can throw money at him to stay. But enough already. Also, do we really need Leno, then the local news, then Conan, then Jimmy? I know its good for advertisers but looking at it from a viewers perspective, 3 hours of that stuff?
April 14th, 2009 at 3:01 pm
I say Ansin is a wuss with a capital ‘W’. If you’re going to go as far as he did you gotta have–as college basketball analyst Bill Raftery likes to say–some onions. Otherwise what is Ansin’s point? Like I said…big wuss.
On the other hand, I am hearing rumors that ol’ Ed plans to counterprogram with the “Frances & Kim News & Variety Spectacular” over on 56. Weatherguy Pete will try a standup comedy segment while F&K deliver the news headlines Laugh-In style by opening and closing little windows. The true highlight will be Hausle or Lorch exclaiming, ‘Sock it to me!’ while Help Me Hank obliges with her best left hook.
April 14th, 2009 at 11:03 pm
It is entirely possible that NBC agreed to monetary concessions to persuade WHDH-TV to carry the network’s programming at 10:00 P.M. I don’t think Ed Ansin would change course without getting something valuable in return.
April 15th, 2009 at 4:11 pm
Well, going to throw this here in reference to the (near) top, its kind of obvious, but looks like a tiny tiny graphics refresh (which, is now even more “busy”).
Not really on the on screen but more transitions / intros (to what we saw last week)
April 15th, 2009 at 4:18 pm
Yeah… Mike, do you have any info on that? They’re using the intro again with the NBC logo taken out, and the time stamp screen changed. They also had that new breaking news bumper…
April 15th, 2009 at 4:22 pm
Info on the graphic updates? Nope. Prob just a bit of a refresh.
April 16th, 2009 at 9:28 am
Here’s a good way to counter program at 10PM; turn the news cast into a sports Center like show with news highlights, Francis’s OMG’s and constant up-tempo musical beds under the story. I mean it wouldn’t be far off from what you have there now or what they tried to do when they started the 10PM news a couple years ago. Then you premote Larry Ridely Sports Director or lead sports anchor and his normal delivery fits right in!
April 18th, 2009 at 12:22 pm
So… after all this, how would yo ulike to be the WHDH sales person trying to sell Leno at 10pm, when your station owner just told everyone that he expects the program to STINK!
April 27th, 2009 at 6:35 pm
To be honset I rather watch the news then Leno. What if leno does terrible on primetime? Would they get rid of him or put him back @ 1130
July 14th, 2009 at 1:46 pm
In the end, money talked.
Had NBC pulled their affiliation from WHDH, the station would have lost premium $$$ in the sixth months from September, 2009 to March, 2010.
The station would have lost income from commercial spots on NBC’s “NFL Sunday Night Football” (on which the New England Patriots will appear at least twice, maybe three times, in 2009) and the 2010 Winter Olympics from Vancouver.
Unlike Torino in 2006 (where the time difference precldued live coverage during prime-time), prime-time coverage of the 2010 Winter Games will mostly be live.
And Boston has always been one of the strongest markets ratings-wise for network coverage of figure-skating and ice hockey, the two sports that will command more airtime on NBC (and its cable sister networks) than any other sports during the Winter Olympics.
October 19th, 2009 at 9:15 am
[...] The Times says that WHDH viewership is off 17% at 11 PM when compared to last October. Remember, WHDH initially took a stand against airing Leno just for this reason, but later backed off and decided to air the Massachusetts native’s [...]
January 11th, 2010 at 1:41 am
It looks like Jay’s run at 10pm is over…I guess sunbeam was right in their prediction…when you look back at it though, it was a pretty bad idea to begin with. NBC is going to remain the 4th place network for a long time…they need a complete restructuring and now with comcast trying to get into the picture…who knows…