November 2001

November 26th, 2001
THE PLOT THICKENS: The countdown is on for the big NBC affiliation switch in the Bay Area. Or is it? On January 1st, KNTV is supposed to become the new NBC station for ADI #5. Owner Granite Broadcasting dumped its ABC affiliation, signed a deal to pay NBC for the right to carry the network, and
expanded its newsroom to try to cover the entire Bay Area. The deal came after Young Broadcasting, which bought KRON from the Chronicle, failed to reach a new affiliation deal. Now, there's word from several sources that Young is back talking to NBC, but this time its offering to sell Channel 4 to
the network. NBC had originally hoped to buy a station in the Bay Area. Making things even tricker: NBC had a clause in its deal with Granite giving it the first rights to buy KNTV if the broadcaster couldn't meet its financial obligations to the network. Granite has been entertaining offers for its Detroit WB affiliate to help raise cash in the wake of the sagging ad market. Don't go away...it could get interesting in the next few weeks!

BELT TIGHTENING AT TRIBUNE: The Chicago-based Tribune Company, which owns KTLA, KTXL (Sacramento), WGN, and much more recently announced more cost cutting moves. Salaries are being frozen for thousands of non-union employees, and 140 managers are talking 5% salary reductions. The company cited the sagging economy, and the effects of the terrorist attacks and the
war.

FROM THE SLOT MACHINES TO CORN FIELDS: Julie Akins is the new N.D. at KSEE/Fresno. She was last at KTNV/Las Vegas.

FROM LA TO CNN: Former KCAL Assistant News Director Davida Plummer is now an Executive Producer at Headline News.

TECH FALLOUT: The San Francisco Chronicle is reporting that Bay Area-based
TechTV is the latest victim of the tech slowdown. The newspaper says the
cable network has cut more than 100 employees, and reduced the number of
hours of live programming it produces daily.

DODGERS MOVE: No, the Los Angeles Dodgers aren't moving to Washington, D.C. or any other baseball-hungry city. But you will find them on a different
spot on the Southern California TV dial next season. The News
Corporation-owned baseball team is moving its telecasts from Tribune's
KTLA/Los Angeles to KCOP/Los Angeles, which is now a Fox-owned station.
Channel 13 will air 50 regular season games, up from the 20 to 30 on KTLA.
The contract is a three year deal. It's the biggest sports deal for KCOP besides its wall-to-wall coverage of the Los Angeles Marathon (WWF Smackdown on UPN doesn't really count as a sports event!)

November 12th, 2001
WHO'S NEXT? GE's NBC is swallowing up Spanish-language Telemundo. Now, Viacom (parent of CBS and UPN), Disney's ABC, and AOL/Time Warner are reportedly looking at rival Univision.The price tag could scare some folks out, though...with some industry estimates in the $10-12 billion dollar range. Univision owns 26 stations, the Univision Network, the Galavision network, and is preparing to launch a second national network early next year. Univision's 6 p.m newscast on West Coast flagship KMEX often tops the English-language competition.

O'BRIEN SAYS GOODBYE TO THE BAY AREA: Longtime Cox Communications Vice
President/Independent Stations and KTVU/Oakland President and General manager Kevin O'Brien is now President of Meredith's 12 station television group.
O'Brien has been courted by many companies over the years as a result of his
successful reign at KTVU. Meredith owns six stations in the top 30 markets.

HEADED SOUTH: Krista Saari is now a part of the sports staff at ABC 33/40 in Birmingham, Alabama. Her last gig was at KTVN/Reno.

PULL OUT THE SUNBLOCK: Carter Evans joins the reporting staff at KNSD/San Diego from WAVY-TV.