CC to INDIE

[spinner]

There's two words that don't go together. Anyway...I read on another site that Clear Channel is rumored to be taking all of their UPN/WB stations and making them independent. If this is true, it would leave Memphis without a CW and MY affiliate. Is CC trying to climb even higher on the corporate ladder by not helping out CBS and FOX?

[AirwaveSurfer]

> There's two words that don't go together. Anyway...I read on
> another site that Clear Channel is rumored to be taking all
> of their UPN/WB stations and making them independent. If
> this is true, it would leave Memphis without a CW and MY
> affiliate. Is CC trying to climb even higher on the
> corporate ladder by not helping out CBS and FOX?
>
I could understand Clear Channel not wanting to "help out" CBS or Warner Bros., but not wanting to "help out" Fox either?  CC probably has a tighter relationship with Fox than with any other network broadcaster in either television or radio.  Most of the TV stations that CC has owned the longest either have been Fox affiliates from the day the network was born or were Fox affiliates prior to the mid-'90s affiliation chaos wrought by the Fox-New World deal.  On the radio side, meanwhile, most of CC's conservative-skewing talk stations are affiliated with Fox News Radio, and CC's Premiere Radio Networks unit distributes Fox Sports Radio.

If CC indeed goes the indie route with its UPN and WB TV stations, I think it might have less to do with any animosity with Fox, CBS, or Warner Bros. and more to do with the possibility that CC may have a different financial and/or programming model in mind for the stations.

______________
This is AirwaveSurfer, reminding you that portions of this post have been prerecorded.

[OldAkronite]

> There's two words that don't go together. Anyway...I read on
> another site that Clear Channel is rumored to be taking all
> of their UPN/WB stations and making them independent. If
> this is true, it would leave Memphis without a CW and MY
> affiliate. Is CC trying to climb even higher on the
> corporate ladder by not helping out CBS and FOX?

I'm sorry, I don't get this.

For one, CC owns at least one CBS affiliated TV station I know of (WKRC/12 Cincinnati) and I'm pretty sure they have more than one FOX affiliate in their TV roster.

Why would a company "not help out" a network?  That's not even remotely in the business strategy handbook.  The decision is not made with this sort of thing in mind...it's made after looking at the facts and figuring out if affiliating with the new networks is the best thing for the station.

If CC believes that they can make the most money by affilating with either My or CW on their UPN/WB stations, they'll do it.  If they think they're better off going it alone, they'll do that.  But a desire to "climb even higher on the corporate ladder"?  What does that mean and why is it even an issue?

-OA

______________
Ohio Media Watch - http://ohiomedia.blogspot.com

[Pat Cook]

Hi everyone:

> If CC indeed goes the indie route with its UPN and WB TV
> stations, I think it might have less to do with any
> animosity with Fox, CBS, or Warner Bros. and more to do with
> the possibility that CC may have a different financial
> and/or programming model in mind for the stations.

Yeah, like (possibly) forming a network of their own??  (Not that I have any info. that this is what they have in mind, mind you   ).

OBTW...WAWS 30 (or its sister station on ch. 47) in Jacksonville, FL is a CC-owned CBS affiliate (it replaced WJXT 4 when they went Indie).

Cheers  

Pat

______________

http://patspodcast.blogspot.com/
Radio?  Uhh.....What's THAT??  :-)

[spinner]

They could not start a network based alone on their owned tv stations because unlike radio they don't have many tv stations and they are not in the top markets.

[SweetT8201]

> Yeah, like (possibly) forming a network of their own??  (Not
> that I have any info. that this is what they have in mind,
> mind you   ).
 
> OBTW...WAWS 30 (or its sister station on ch. 47) in
> Jacksonville, FL is a CC-owned CBS affiliate (it replaced
> WJXT 4 when they went Indie).

Actually, WTEV 47 is the CC-owned CBS affiliate. WAWS is the Fox affiliate also (currently) carrying UPN programming, and I don't think CC would want to drop the respective affiliations from either of their two Jacksonville stations.

[jjkktj]

> They could not start a network based alone on their owned tv
> stations because unlike radio they don't have many tv
> stations and they are not in the top markets.
>

They only own about 35-40 stations.  (38 to be exact and have 2 they operate via LMA's)   Most in medium and small markets.  I think the largest is Cincinnatti.   Also some of the stations they picked up from their buyout of Ackerly a few years ago are very geographically concentrated (West Coast and Upstate NY)   Most of those were in smaller markets as well.

They would definitely need some help and unless the Paxson stations are sold off I can't see another network being able to reach enough the the country.  Of the stations they own about a dozen are either UPN/WB or an Indie.

[The_Outsider]

> There's two words that don't go together. Anyway...I read on
> another site that Clear Channel is rumored to be taking all
> of their UPN/WB stations and making them independent. If
> this is true, it would leave Memphis without a CW and MY
> affiliate. Is CC trying to climb even higher on the
> corporate ladder by not helping out CBS and FOX?
>
 WLMT is one of UPN's strongest affiliates.  As they would be the only station in the market that could land the CW, they would alienate a lot of viewers, especially if there is no access to the sitcoms catering to African-Americans, which make up a majority of the population in Memphis.  Not to mention SmackDown as pro wrestling has always been enormusly popular there.  In a tradition that goes back decades, WLMT may be the only station left that produces a local wrestling show in their TV studio, similar to the old days of "Georgia Championship Wrestling" from the TBS studios on Techwood Drive.

[Pat Cook]

Hi everyone:

> They could not start a network based alone on their owned tv
> stations because unlike radio they don't have many tv
> stations and they are not in the top markets.

Hey....Don't knock the possibility of it.  Remember that MY only had the eight FOX-owned UPN affiliates plus their Indie KDFI 27 in Dallas/Ft. Worth to start out with.  Look where they are now.

That said though....I will agree that it's not likely that Clear Channel will dump all the networks their stations are affiliated with and start a TV network of their own (even though they have the capability to do so).

Just my $.02 worth  

Cheers  

Pat

______________

http://patspodcast.blogspot.com/
Radio?  Uhh.....What's THAT??  :-)

[mburg]

> > There's two words that don't go together. Anyway...I read
> on
> > another site that Clear Channel is rumored to be taking
> all
> > of their UPN/WB stations and making them independent. If
> > this is true, it would leave Memphis without a CW and MY
> > affiliate. Is CC trying to climb even higher on the
> > corporate ladder by not helping out CBS and FOX?
>
> I'm sorry, I don't get this.
>
> For one, CC owns at least one CBS affiliated TV station I
> know of (WKRC/12 Cincinnati) and I'm pretty sure they have
> more than one FOX affiliate in their TV roster

They also own WTEV CBS 47 in Jacksonville


>
> Why would a company "not help out" a network?  That's not
> even remotely in the business strategy handbook.  The
> decision is not made with this sort of thing in mind...it's
> made after looking at the facts and figuring out if
> affiliating with the new networks is the best thing for the
> station.
>
> If CC believes that they can make the most money by
> affilating with either My or CW on their UPN/WB stations,
> they'll do it.  If they think they're better off going it
> alone, they'll do that.  But a desire to "climb even higher
> on the corporate ladder"?  What does that mean and why is it
> even an issue?
>
> -OA
>