WNWO to eliminate newscasts

[mtburb]

https://www.toledoblade.com/a-e/tv-radi ... 0230427116

The last newscasts will air on May 12. Given that they had farmed out their newscast production to South Bend's WSBT a few years back, this downsizing is pretty significant. This is highly likely another ripple effect of the Bally/Diamond bankruptcy.

[ftballfan]

Are they keeping their NBC affiliation?

[Deleted User 15835]

Are they keeping their NBC affiliation?

I was just about to ask. Maybe TV 48 could get it

[rugratsonline]

Are they keeping their NBC affiliation?

Unfortunately, yes, But if it leads even less viewers watching WNWO, it would be worth NBC's while to find a new affiliate, even if it's as a subchannel of WTOL, WUPW or WTVG.

I was just about to ask. Maybe TV 48 could get it

Don't know if they have any actual studio space, but even if they had high school or college students do the news, at least it'll be more local news than what WNWO ever had since 2017.

[CurlyHoward]

Are they keeping their NBC affiliation?

Unfortunately, yes, But if it leads even less viewers watching WNWO, it would be worth NBC's while to find a new affiliate, even if it's as a subchannel of WTOL, WUPW or WTVG.

[

Spoiler alert: It won't damage the viewership for NBC programming on WNWO. Nobody has watched WNWO's news in forever anyway.

Do you really think people are going to be like "Well I WAS going to watch Sunday Night Football but those bastards dropped the "local" news from South Bend so I'm watching CBS tonight instead! That'll show 'em!"

WNWO has already been a piss-poor affiliate for many years. Since Toledo is a small, depressed market, NBC has basically shrugged its shoulders and said "If you don't like them cutting off portions of SNL just watch it on Peacock."

[edj]

Ever since they blacked out WDIV on cable, there is no other option unless you put up a tall antenna aimed at an adjacent market.

[radioandtventhusiast]

It's kind of a shame. WNWO, despite having low ratings for news for decades, actually had decent and some great personalities, like Jim Tichy, Blizzard Bill, Norm Van Ness, Jim Blue, Laura Emerson and others. I figured with TND being pushed on Sinclair's stations it was a matter of time. Best of luck to all the employees there.

[CurlyHoward]

Ever since they blacked out WDIV on cable, there is no other option unless you put up a tall antenna aimed at an adjacent market.

...ok, WDIV was blacked out a long time ago for network programming. Do you think the average resident of Toledo is going to put up a hexagonal beam antenna with tripolar phrased HD harmonics aimed precisely at the WDIV transmitter now all of a sudden because the news is slightly less "local"?

[edj]

Of course not. I was merely pointing out the long and expense length someone would have to go to just to boycott 24 or NBC.

[MWmetalhead]

All 5 of WNWO's newscast viewers will be disappointed by this news, I'm sure.

[SBaxley]

MW..you mean they ACTUALLY had viewers and not just the teenage mutant ninja turtles under the sewer?! lol

[Toledo Radio Died]

Would be nice to see WTVG take up the NBC affiliation again, can’t rule it out. Look what happened to Dayton in 2004 when NBC no longer wanted to be affiliated with Sinclair’s low performing WKEF at the time and pursued a deal with Lin broadcasting to move NBC over to WDTN.

[schmave]

@toledoradiodied Maybe on a subchannel? NBC can't be all that pleased at this development and I'm assuming they're aware. Then again, WNWO has been pretty bad ever since I was in college there in the late 90s.
If there was ever any bad blood at NBC re the affiliate swap in the 90s, and I'm not saying there was, that almost has to have vanished by now.

[rugratsonline]

Look what happened to Dayton in 2004 when NBC no longer wanted to be affiliated with Sinclair’s low performing WKEF at the time and pursued a deal with Lin broadcasting to move NBC over to WDTN.

WDTN (originally with NBC) and WKEF (originally with ABC) swapped networks in 1980, as ABC wanted a stronger affiliate, and NBC was in dire straits at the time. The swap was reversed in 2004 as a result of a deal between NBC and WDTN's owner at the time, LIN Broadcasting.

The story of WKEF is rather interesting, not only because it had to compete with other Dayton stations, but also Columbus and Cincinnati stations as well. They're owned by Sinclair, but at least they still have their news (for now):

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WKEF

[schmave]

I vividly remember WDTN not running ABC's entire daytime schedule because the signal from Cincinnati's then-ABC affiliate, WKRC, covered their market so well. That's almost unheard of now, punting some of the network shows because another city and essentially rival station carries them. Dayton was, and to some extent is, in an odd position because all of their network affiliates compete with Cincinnati or Columbus somewhere in the viewing area.
I guess Toledo faces that as well with Detroit, but even then that's not to the extent it was decades back when Detroit's Fox, NBC and ABC all were on Toledo cable and network programming ran unfettered on Fox and ABC in direct competition with the hometown stations.