Nexstar’s WJMN Marquette, Mich. (DMA 183), announced Thursday, Jan. 20, that it will no longer be a CBS affiliate effective today. It will instead become a My Network TV affiliate. Lilly Broadcasting’s WZMQ Marquette announced a short time later that its ch. 19.2 subcannel picked up the CBS affiliation, also effective today.
Weigel Brings The CW To WCIU
Twenty-five years after WCIU Chicago shed its affiliation with the Univision Spanish-language network and became fully independent as “The U,” the Weigel Broadcasting station is about to take on a new identity. On Sunday it will become an affiliate of The CW.
Gray Television on Tuesday reached an agreement with the Fox Television Network that extends and renews the network affiliations for all of Gray’s Fox affiliated television stations across 21 markets.
The new agreement with largest independent operator of CBS affiliates covers nearly six million television households across 15 markets.
Nearly 11 million television households across 11 markets are covered in the new multi-year deal.
The broadcast group renews all 28 of its Alphabet Net affiliates in 25 markets.
Exclusives
Effective July 16, the Raycom station takes over the CW’s lineup from WBNX.
Also included are Tribune’s ABC affiliation agreements in New Orleans, Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, Pa., and Moline, Ill. Additionally, ABC also agreed to an extension of all affiliations with ABC affiliates that Sinclair provides sales and other services to under joint sales agreements.
The agreements cover all 32 markets in which Gray owns and operates its 39 CBS-affiliated television stations comprising approximately 5.9 million TV households.
NBCU To Launch Telemundo Affiliate In DC
NBCUniversal is taking over affiliation rights for the Telemundo station in the D.C. market and will be launching its own Telemundo-owned station in December. ZGS Communications, which owns the largest group of independent Telemundo affiliations, gave up its spectrum for the Washington market earlier this year in the FCC’s spectrum auction, which gave NBCU the ability to take back the Telemundo affiliation
Sinclair, CBS Reup Four Affiliates
Renewals in Cedar Rapids, Iowa; Harlingen, Texas, Portland, Maine and Syracuse, N.Y., serve approximately 1.5 million television households.
The new contracts cover stations in South Carolina, Texas, Nevada, Georgia and Indiana.
KVHP Launching ABC Feed On Subchannel
The Fox affiliate in Lake Charles, La., owned by American Spirit Media will shift its lineup on Aug. 31 to add ABC on ch. 29.2. It will simulcast local news from Raycom’s KPLC.
21st Century Fox is in talks to operate television stations across the U.S. with Ion Media Networks, potentially paving the way for Fox to dump Sinclair Broadcast Group as an affiliate partner, a person familiar with the situation said. Closely held Ion would contribute its more than 60 independent stations to the joint venture, while Fox would throw in its 28 stations, which include top markets such as New York and Los Angeles. As part of the deal, Fox would consider switching its affiliation to Ion from Sinclair for 26 stations that are up for renewal this year, said the person, who asked not to be identified.
A new deal extends affiliations for its owned or operated affiliates in four markets and includes the network’s OTT CBS All Access, commitment to launch Sinclair’s CBS affiliates on YouTubeTV’s new live television service in available markets, as well as assignment of Tribune’s CBS affiliation agreements to Sinclair.
CW Loss Spells End Of Local News On XETV
Meredith Renews Four CBS Affiliations
The new agreement extends affiliation for Meredith’s stations in Atlanta, Phoenix, Kansas City and Flint, Mich. In addition, all seven of Meredith’s CBS Affiliates renew for local live streams on CBS All Access and commit to Hulu Live multichannel digital service and some future digital distribution deals.
Midwest Television’s CBS affiliate KFMB San Diego (DMA 28) is adding the The CW on a subchannel, beginning Sept. 1. “We are thrilled to be adding the CW to the KFMB family,” said Alberto Mier y Terán, the station’s president-GM. “It enhances our strong multimedia platform in San Diego and helps us to better serve all San Diegans with compelling programming and award-winning local news.”
WWAY Adding CBS To Its Affiliation Lineup
Morris Multimedia’s ABC affil in Wilmington, N.C., will add CBS to its list of affiliations on Jan. 1. The change moves CBS network from WILM, a low-power station owned by Capitol Broadcasting, to subchannel 3.2 on WWAY with The CW moving to 3.3.
The Spanish-language network signs an affiliation and sales agreement with WGEN in the nation’s third-largest Hispanic market. The addition expands Azteca America’s network to 65 markets.
Tribune Broadcasting on Tuesday announced that it reached a comprehensive, multi-year agreement with Fox Broadcasting to renew the existing Fox affiliations of six Tribune Media stations: KSWB San Diego; KTXL Sacramento, Calif.; WXIN Indianapolis; WTIC Hartford, Conn.; WXMI Grand Rapids, Mich.; and WPMT Harrisburg, Pa. Financial terms of the agreement were not disclosed.
As of this morning, two Chicago stations have changed their programming somewhat. WGN is now fully independent, giving up its former CW affiliation, while WPWR has become the city’s CW and MNT affiliate. WGN is now branded as “WGN 9 — Chicago’s Very Own,” and WPWR is now branded as “CW50.”
A new NBC station is coming to the St. Joseph market, the News-Press & Gazette Co. told a gathering of employees on Wednesday. The new affiliate will be known as NBC 21 KNPG and is expected to go on the air this fall. The company also owns the market’sFox affil, KNPN-LD, which airs CW and Telemundo programming on subchannels along with a 24/7 news and weather channel.
The new deals for 13 stations include three stations that Sinclair provides sales and other services to under joint sales agreements. Its remaining Fox affiliate contracts don’t expire until next year.
Quincy Media, owner of NBC affiliate WEEK Peoria-Bloomington, Ill., has purchased the market’s ABC and CW affiliations from the Sinclair Broadcast Group which carried them on WHOI. WEEK had already been providing news and other services to WHOI. WEEK GM Mark DeSantis says: “You’ll still find separate news on both channels.” The deal comes on the heels of another on Tuesday in which Quincy sold its Fox affiliation for WSJV South Bend, Ind., to Sinclair, which will air the network on a subchannel of its CBS affil WSBT.
Quincy Media is dropping news at WSJV and transferring its Fox affiliation to Sinclair Broadcast Group’s CBS affiliate WSBT, which will air the Fox lineup on a subchannel beginning Aug. 1. Quincy will operate WSJV with only two employees, continuing to offer the Heroes & Icons multicast network. Some current WSJV employees are expected to transfer to other Quincy stations, while others are expected to be hired by Sinclair, which will operate a second news operation under the Fox affiliate
After having his suit against NBC over loss of NBC affiliation dismissed last month by a federal appeals court judge, WHDH Boston owner Ed Ansin on Wednesday announced: “We filed a notice of appeal with the federal court. We believe the judge got it all wrong, so we are reviewing our options for an appeal.”
The markets being renewed include six of the 10 biggest markets where Sinclair either owns or provides services to an NBC station.
In a rare change of network affiliations in Chicago, the CW Network will move this fall from Tribune Media’s WGN to Fox-owned WPWR, sources said Sunday. The switch, expected to be announced Monday, will return WGN to an independent station with a strictly local programming lineup, starting in September.
Judge Throws Out WHDH Suit Against NBC
WHDH Boston’s bid to hang onto its NBC affiliation was tossed out of court by a federal judge who said the station fell victim to “doing business in a competitive and unsentimental marketplace.” The suit, which argued that Comcast violated federal and state law when it decided to drop the Sunbeam Television-owned station, lasted less than four months.
WHDH, Comcast Affiliation Spar In Court
WHDH Boston and NBC wrangled in court with conflicting versions of whether the station has a right to keep carrying the network, as NBC’s parent company seeks to set up a new Boston-area Peacock affiliate.
Comcast wants a federal court to throw out WHDH Boston’s lawsuit against the cable giant over its refusal to extend the station’s NBC affiliation, arguing that WHDH signed a contract that expires in January and must live by its terms. WHDH filed the lawsuit in March, claiming the move violated antitrust law and Comcast’s agreement with affiliates.
CBS will switch its affiliation in Wilmington, N.C., to a subchannel of Morris Network-owned ABC affil WWAY. The change is part of a broader agreement that extends the network’s affiliation with Morris-owned stations in Chattanooga, Tenn., and Columbus, Miss. CBS will end its affiliation in Wilmington with Capitol Broadcasting’s low-power station WILM-LD.
WTTV Promotes Switch To CBS Affiliate In Indy
It will air on a subchannel of WJHL, its CBS affiliate in the Tennessee-Virginia market. The network had been on Holston Valley Broadcasting’s WKPT.
The agreement extends affiliations for nine Nexstar stations and two owned by Mission Broadcasting.
With the addition of four markets, Gray will have CW affiliates in 23 markets, making it the owner of the second-largest number of CW stations in the country.
The agreement covers 12 stations and more than six million TV households and runs until 2021.
The station group reups CBS stations in 16 markets as well as CW affiliates in 23 DMAs.
A new long-term agreement extends affiliation for five stations owned or operated by Nexstar: KGPE Fresno, Calif.; KREX Grand Junction, Colo; KLAS Las Vegas; WTAJ Altoona, Pa.; and WYOU Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, Pa.
