Meredith’s CBS Affiliate WGCL will take over day-to-day operations of Turner’s Peachtree TV brand, including advertising sales, marketing and promotions and technical operations.
DMA 8
Meredith To Run Turner’s WPCH Atlanta
Meredith Corp. announced today it has agreed to manage the day-to-day operations of Turner Broadcasting System’s independent WPCH Atlanta (DMA 8). The arrangement, which includes advertising sales, marketing and promotions and technical operations, will take effect late in this year’s first quarter.
WPCH, branded as Peachtree TV, will continue to be owned by Turner. Its station operations will be managed by WGCL, Meredith’s Atlanta CBS affiliate. Meredith said the agreement “will not have a material effect on Meredith’s fiscal 2011 financial performance.”
Peachtree TV, launched in 2007 as a rebranding of the former WTBS, features a mix of programming, including acquired series, hit movies and college and professional sports. Peachtree TV will continue to air its extensive lineup of Atlanta Braves baseball games, with production and advertising sales handled by Fox Sports.
“This strategic partnership provides our advertisers new and innovative ways to reach their target audiences and will generate additional local advertising revenues for both stations,” said Paul Karpowicz, president of the Meredith Local Media Group. “It also leverages [WGCL]’s strength as a leading local news, entertainment and sports programming provider in the Atlanta market, and allows us to use our existing centralcast infrastructure to enhance profitability.”
WGCL serves as the centralcast center for eight of Meredith’s 12 television stations, handling functions such as master control and ad trafficking, along with other engineering and business office functions. Meredith employs nearly 60 highly-specialized employees to manage its operations, bringing CBS Atlanta’s total presence in the Atlanta market to more than 225 employees.
Peachtree TV is the only U.S. broadcast station in the TBS Inc. portfolio, whose national and international networks and media businesses include CNN, HLN, CNN International, CNN.com, TNT, TBS, Turner Classic Movies, truTV, Cartoon Network, Adult Swim, Boomerang and Turner Sports.
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Comments (2)
none none says:
January 18, 2011 at 3:52 pm
If WGCL is the “leading local news provider” then we’re all in touble – Last night their 6PM news did a 1 rating with a 2 share.
Hope Yen and Charles Babington says:
January 18, 2011 at 6:08 pm
Atlanta’s love affair with the “Big 3” continues…..the old analog 2, 5 & 11, as with Detroit’s 2,4 & 7. Burned into the Northern Georgia mind like the burning of their City some 150 or some years ago. And the viewers said to CBS when they moved from WAGA to the UHF stratosphere, “Frankly Mr. Nielsen, we don’;t give a damn”.