Fox Television Stations

Fox’s unconventional local newscast that airs on WWOR New York and WTXF Philadelphia has not taken New York by storm at 10 p.m., with ratings down by double digits since its debut last summer. In Philly, it airs at 12:30 a.m. and its 18-49 ratings are up 33% from the time slot’s year-ago numbers. Fox is constantly tweaking its TMZ-like elements and creator Dennis Bianchi says the show has matured, offering a smoother pace, more informative discussions and better stories. TMZ creator Harvey Levin says “they will catch fire.”

The Fox Television Stations will debut Laughs, a new latenight show tomorrow, Saturday, Aug. 2. It will go up against SNL in many markets including New York, where it will air on WNYW. Laughs will offer comedians, comedy teams and funny people a platform for their talents. The program is a weekly roundup and celebration of the best comedy acts in America, hosted by comic Steve Hofstetter who’s visiting comedy clubs across America in search of the funniest comedians. Viewers can also submit acts they think should be featured on the show via laughstvshow.com.

Fox Television Stations CEO Jack Abernethy and Nielsen President, U.S. Media, Lynda Clarizio just released the following statement: “Nielsen and Fox Television Stations Inc. have come to a mutually beneficial resolution to continue their longstanding relationship.  Both companies are committed to more meaningful and accurate measurement in local markets. We look forward to a strong and productive relationship going forward.”

With its long-term contract with Nielsen set to expire today, the Fox Television Stations Group was preparing to become the first network-owned TV station group to walk away from Nielsen in decades. While sources say negotiations continued over the weekend, the two companies were characterized as being at loggerheads over some key contractual and methodological issues, and that the Fox stations were considering dropping Nielsen altogether and instead using rival TV ratings service Rentrak exclusively.

Fox is testing three shows that are a good fit for its stations, and that make financial sense for Fox and its syndication partners, even if the shows don’t roll out nationally. “If these shows don’t go into national syndication and they work for us, and we can afford to do them, I don’t care if they’re on anywhere else,” says Frank Cicha, SVP of programming at Fox Television Stations.

Hollywood Today Live and The Daily Help Line will debut on July 14, with Laughs premiering Aug. 2 on select Fox Television Stations.

The additional 29½ hours per week are at the group’s stations in Los Angeles; Philadelphia; Washington; Atlanta; Minneapolis; Phoenix; Charlotte, N.C.; Memphis; and Austin, Texas, will boost the groups local news total to 885 hours per week.

With Rentrak’s announcement this week that it struck a long-term deal to provide local market TV ratings to Fox Television Stations, the company is making headway in its battle for a bigger piece of the audience measurement business.

The former New York Times reporter turned Detroit TV newsman turned Fox Stations investigator on the state of The Americans, Charlie LeDuff is producing pieces for the station group that he describes as “a little 60 Minutes, a little Charles Kuralt and a little Jackass.” He says he’s looking for “some human explanation… some commonality” in his stories and believes that done correctly, “TV journalism can be a service and not a scorecard. We try to be fair, limber and muscular in shape and do some digging.”

WJBK Detroit investigative reporter Charlie LeDuff adds national news correspondent for the station group to his resume. He will host The Americans with Charlie LeDuff.

With its first newscast, My Fox Carolinas News @10, the newly acquired Fox O&O in Charlotte, N.C., has set up five suburban bureaus staffed by reporters that live in those communities. With the newscast’s casual chatty tone and unconventional look (the entire WJZY facility, from its newsroom to lobby, has been built to be used as a set), the broadcast reflects Fox Television Stations President Jack Abernethy’s determination to come up with some new approaches to local news.

Fox Television Stations is using its newly acquired O&O in Charlotte, N.C., WJZY, to launch its second unconventional newscast. My Fox Carolinas News @10 is informal with no highly stylized set or anchor desk, reflections of Fox Television Stations President Jack Abernethy’s determination to come up with some new approaches to local news.

The innovative TV engineer will work at KDFW Dallas, as its VP of engineering, and will have some group responsibilities when it comes to technology decisions. “Working at Gray has been a great experience and they have allowed me to do so much,” says Ocon, who joined Gray in 2008. “Even though I’m not going to somewhere with 50 stations, I see this as a step up, and feel that I can help make a big impact at a major Fox organization.”

Fox Television Stations CEO Jack Abernethy explains his vision for transforming local TV news. That vision includes more engaged anchors, non-traditional formats, more reliance on multimedia journalists and investigative reporters, sharing of news resources and deeper integration of social media. Read Part One of this two-part Q&A here.

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In Part I of this two-part interview, Fox Television Stations CEO Jack Abernethy talks business. He says he is looking ahead to double-digit growth in 2014, even if it is just barely double digits, thanks to the return of heavy political spending with a boost from Obamacare advertising. He also discusses the coming of TV Everywhere, his continued faith in Dyle, Fox’s station acquisition ambitions, the usefulness of Twitter and his personal mission to engender a more robust syndication market. Tomorrow, in Part II, Abernethy talks about his determination to change the look and substance of local TV news.

Local newspapers and broadcasters today are seeking content management systems that are faster and more complex than ever before. And while vendors are constantly developing new products to keep up with evolving demands, the industry is facing contraction. “There are just too many players, and nobody is really big enough to have any control,” says Internet Broadcasting’s Elmer Baldwin. “There are some that just aren’t going to survive.” Part two of a three-part special report. Read part one here

Content management systems serving the local media industry have taken a quantum leap forward, and choosing the right CMS has become more complicated than ever. Media companies have some difficult choices: select a system from a vendor, build one in-house or use an open-source system. Ron Stitt, VP of digital media at Fox Television Stations: “The pace of development is still constantly accelerating, and the landscape is incredibly complex when you factor in not just the front end but also the underlying platforms, devices, operating systems, display formats, distribution schemes and advertising/tracking requirements.” Part one of a three-part special report. Read the full report here.

The change, set for July 1, follows Fox Television Stations’ purchase of WJZY and WMYT (MNT) from Capitol Broadcasting.

“The Wendy Williams Show has as much momentum as any show on our air right now, both qualitatively and quantitatively,” said Frank Cicha, SVP of programming for the Fox Television Stations. “Over the last few years, it’s evolved into the ideal lead-out to our morning news blocks.”

The Media Bureau says that that Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington did not supply the proof the agency needs to pursue a character-qualification case against a U.S. station licensee. CREW claimed that News Corp.-owned Fox “lacks the requisite character to hold broadcast licenses here in the United States” due to the parent company’s phone-hacking scandal in the United Kingdom.

The move to response design, launched last week at MyFoxMemphis.com and MyFoxAustin.com and continuing across the rest of Fox’s 16 stations this week, is an answer to the increasing amount of traffic coming through mobile.

The longtime GM of WGHP Greensboro, N.C., Karen Adams, will take over leadership of WJZY and WMYT once FCC approval comes through on the purchase from Capitol Broadcasting.

The move is a result of Fox’s buying Capitol Broadcasting’s CW and MNT affiliates there, WJZY and WMYT. Jim Babb, EVP-COO of WCCB owner Bahakel Communications, says they were informed of the move Monday morning and are “already exploring various options.”

Deerfield LLC is buying WUTB from Fox, but has made a deal that will let Sinclair operate the MNT affiliate through joint sales and shared services agreements.Sinclair already runs Fox affiliate WBFF and CW affiliate WNUV.

The group moves Michael Renda from WFLD-WPWR Chicago to take over WJBK Detroit, succeeding Jeff Murri who died in February. It then moves Dennis Welsh from its WOFL-WRBW Orlando/WOGX Gainesville to head up the Chicago duopoly.

The sitcom starring Charlie Sheen will make its off-network debut on nine Fox-owned stations in September 2014.

Five more Fox O&Os begin airing TMZ Live on Monday, Oct. 1. The syndicated celebrity talker from Warner Bros. tested well in the first two markets.

Fox Television Stations wants the FCC to toss a petition to deny license renewals for its Washington, DC, and Baltimore stations, based on phone hacking allegations in the UK. The broadcaster claims the petition by Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics (CREW) falls well short of what the FCC requires to challenge license renewals.

Scott Smith is joining Fox O&O WTTG Washington as sports anchor for the late newscasts. He replaces Dave Feldman, who left the station last May. Most recently, Smith has been […]

Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics says the British phone-hacking scandel shows that the News Corp. subsidiary “lacks the requisite character to hold broadcast licenses here in the United States.’ The stations involved are WTTG-WDCA Washington and WUTB Baltimore.’

The past year has seen an increase in investigative reporting by stations in Washington. “You’re not going to distinguish yourself by covering that fire — unless you can follow up on why the fire hydrants didn’t work,” says WUSA News Director Fred D’Ambrosi.

The weather service will provide 11 stations with a 24/7 live streaming video weather channel.

The new affiliation deal runs through 2017 and includes an option for Sinclair to buy Fox’s Baltimore MNT affiliate WUTB, while giving Fox the option to buy three MNT stations from Sinclair. For the WBFF Baltimore renewal and WUTB option, Sinclair is paying up to $53 million.

Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington says the News Corp. U.K. phone-hacking scandal makes the company’s Fox unit unfit to be a licensee and asks the FCC to revoke Fox’s 27 TV station licenses.

With Fox on board, WorldNow figures it now provides online and mobile platforms to about 40% of the 720 news-producing TV stations in the country. EVP Craig Smith says the company’s recent success stems from a decision four years ago to revamp its technology “from the inside out.” It’s all about workflow, says CEO Gary Gannaway. “Our goal is to make sure that we integrate with all systems.”

Reality TV star, entrepreneur and author Bethenny Frankel to host a daily talk show on Fox-owned stations that will get a six-week preview this summer.

The new over-the-air multicast network targeted to African Americans will be carried on a number of Fox-owned MyNetworkTV subchannels including stations in New York and Los Angeles.

Tim Redmond has been promoted to vice president of engineering and operations for Fox Television Stations (FTS). Reporting directly to Betsy Swanson, the company’s EVP of technical operations and CFO, […]