Thursday, May 15, 2008
WEWS Names New Leader
Cleveland Scripps ABC affiliate WEWS/5 has named a new vice-president and general manager. She's Victoria Regan, who comes in from Hearst ABC affiliate WPBF/25 in West Palm Beach FL.
Though she's joining "NewsChannel 5" from Florida, she has extensive experience in Pittsburgh TV.
The official release from Scripps follows...
--------------------------
Regan Named Vice President and General Manager of Scripps Station in Cleveland
Wednesday May 14, 3:15 pm ET
CINCINNATI, May 14 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Victoria G. Regan, an innovative and award-winning television executive, has been appointed vice president and general manager of WEWS, the ABC affiliate in Cleveland and the first television station launched by The E. W. Scripps Company.
Regan, 49, joins the legendary station - known for pioneering a morning news and talk format that was the model for Good Morning America - on May 19. She will lead an organization that routinely is one of the top-ranked broadcasters in the nation's 17th-largest media market.
"Viki is a distinguished and acclaimed broadcast executive who shares the Scripps belief that success in local television is the result of passionate focus on improving communities," said Bill Peterson, senior vice president of the Scripps Television Station Group. "Her career is notable for the 'viewer-centric' news and programming she pursues, and I'm confident that the television audience in northeast Ohio will quickly feel the effect of Viki's unwavering dedication to uniquely local content."
Named by Broadcasting and Cable magazine as "one of the 10 women leaders to watch in the broadcasting industry," Regan has been the vice president and general manager of WPBF, the ABC affiliate in West Palm Beach, Fla., since 1997.
During her tenure at WPBF, the station has received the Service to Children Radio and Television Award from the National Association of Broadcasters Educational Foundation in 2002, as well as the foundation's Service to America Television Award in 2006. The latter award is presented to only one station in the country for its total commitment to community service. (WXYZ, the Scripps station in Detroit, won that prestigious award in 2005.)
From 1996 to 1997, Regan was the president and general manager of WDTN, formerly the ABC affiliate in Dayton. She served the previous two years as vice president and general manager of WBNG, the CBS affiliate in Binghamton, N.Y., as well as the vice president of programming for WBNG's former corporate parent, Gateway Communications.
From 1981 through 1994 she held various programming, production, sales/marketing and station operation roles at WTAE (ABC), KDKA (CBS) and WQED (PBS) in Pittsburgh.
Regan currently serves on the board of directors for the Education Foundation of Palm Beach County, Florida Atlantic University (FAU) Community Leaders Advisory Panel, Chamber of Commerce of the Palm Beaches, Northern Palm Beach County Chamber of Commerce, and Home Safe, a Florida-based program for foster children. She also is a founding board member and former president of Quantum House, a home for families whose children are being treated for serious medical conditions.
In the past she has served as a board member of United Way (in three states), The Salvation Army, Athena International and the AIDS Foundation, and as a National Trustee of Ronald McDonald's Children's Charities. She also has held leadership positions with the American Red Cross, The Pittsburgh Symphony, Wright State University, United Mental Health, the Northern Palm Beach County Chamber of Commerce and the Palm Beach County Business Development Board.
The native of Red Bank, N.J., received her bachelor's degree from Duquesne University in Pittsburgh. She and her husband, Tim, have three children.
Though she's joining "NewsChannel 5" from Florida, she has extensive experience in Pittsburgh TV.
The official release from Scripps follows...
--------------------------
Regan Named Vice President and General Manager of Scripps Station in Cleveland
Wednesday May 14, 3:15 pm ET
CINCINNATI, May 14 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Victoria G. Regan, an innovative and award-winning television executive, has been appointed vice president and general manager of WEWS, the ABC affiliate in Cleveland and the first television station launched by The E. W. Scripps Company.
Regan, 49, joins the legendary station - known for pioneering a morning news and talk format that was the model for Good Morning America - on May 19. She will lead an organization that routinely is one of the top-ranked broadcasters in the nation's 17th-largest media market.
"Viki is a distinguished and acclaimed broadcast executive who shares the Scripps belief that success in local television is the result of passionate focus on improving communities," said Bill Peterson, senior vice president of the Scripps Television Station Group. "Her career is notable for the 'viewer-centric' news and programming she pursues, and I'm confident that the television audience in northeast Ohio will quickly feel the effect of Viki's unwavering dedication to uniquely local content."
Named by Broadcasting and Cable magazine as "one of the 10 women leaders to watch in the broadcasting industry," Regan has been the vice president and general manager of WPBF, the ABC affiliate in West Palm Beach, Fla., since 1997.
During her tenure at WPBF, the station has received the Service to Children Radio and Television Award from the National Association of Broadcasters Educational Foundation in 2002, as well as the foundation's Service to America Television Award in 2006. The latter award is presented to only one station in the country for its total commitment to community service. (WXYZ, the Scripps station in Detroit, won that prestigious award in 2005.)
From 1996 to 1997, Regan was the president and general manager of WDTN, formerly the ABC affiliate in Dayton. She served the previous two years as vice president and general manager of WBNG, the CBS affiliate in Binghamton, N.Y., as well as the vice president of programming for WBNG's former corporate parent, Gateway Communications.
From 1981 through 1994 she held various programming, production, sales/marketing and station operation roles at WTAE (ABC), KDKA (CBS) and WQED (PBS) in Pittsburgh.
Regan currently serves on the board of directors for the Education Foundation of Palm Beach County, Florida Atlantic University (FAU) Community Leaders Advisory Panel, Chamber of Commerce of the Palm Beaches, Northern Palm Beach County Chamber of Commerce, and Home Safe, a Florida-based program for foster children. She also is a founding board member and former president of Quantum House, a home for families whose children are being treated for serious medical conditions.
In the past she has served as a board member of United Way (in three states), The Salvation Army, Athena International and the AIDS Foundation, and as a National Trustee of Ronald McDonald's Children's Charities. She also has held leadership positions with the American Red Cross, The Pittsburgh Symphony, Wright State University, United Mental Health, the Northern Palm Beach County Chamber of Commerce and the Palm Beach County Business Development Board.
The native of Red Bank, N.J., received her bachelor's degree from Duquesne University in Pittsburgh. She and her husband, Tim, have three children.
Labels: cleveland, television
Wednesday, May 14, 2008
WVIZ/WKYC DTV Update
OMW reported earlier that Cleveland PBS affiliate WVIZ/25 has a construction permit to co-locate its full-power post-transition digital TV facility with Gannett NBC affiliate WKYC/3.
Fellow blogger Frank Macek, WKYC senior director and proprietor of the "Director's Cut" blog over at WKYC.com, picked up on the story and expanded it in a recent item.
As it turns out, WVIZ-DT's full-power antenna will not reside atop the current WKYC tower.
WKYC and WVIZ will build a new tower at the station's Parma site to hold both stations' digital antennas, in time for the digital transition on February 17, 2009. The current tower holding WKYC's analog and pre-transition digital antennas will be razed, according to WKYC engineering director Mike Szabo in the "Director's Cut" item.
Rarely does one engineering move solve so many problems, as both stations are currently the bane of digital OTA viewers in Northeast Ohio.
WKYC's low-band digital home of channel 2 is so bad, so prone to interference, that very few people without large, well-placed outdoor antennas - or close to Parma - can pick it up.
WVIZ's inability to get a permanent digital antenna site means it needs to use an antenna just 30 meters off the ground, pumping a whole 1,000 (that's ONE THOUSAND) watts out on DT 26 to the greater Parma area and parts of North Royalton and Garfield Heights.
(OK, so it's not that bad - but the station's temporary facility's main signal contour barely covers Cuyahoga County, and that's being charitable.)
The shiny new tower at WKYC's Parma site will solve both problems, and will likely cede the "bad digital facility" title in the Cleveland market to Raycom Media CBS affiliate WOIO/19.
WOIO plans to stay right where it is at the digital transition - with its current digital facility on RF channel 10.
(Like WKYC, WVIZ and all the other stations, digital PSIP information means WOIO will continue to resolve on receivers at its current analog channel number, 19....WVIZ at 25, WKYC at 3, etc...)
WOIO will stay on 10, but unfortunately, so will the powerful analog signal across Lake Erie on that very same channel, CFPL/10 in London, Ontario, Canada. Unlike the U.S., Canada doesn't have a digital transition plan...and CFPL doesn't even have a digital companion signal.
That means the folks at Reserve Square will be getting complaints, especially from those along the Lake Erie shoreline, as long as the Canadian 10 doesn't move...
Fellow blogger Frank Macek, WKYC senior director and proprietor of the "Director's Cut" blog over at WKYC.com, picked up on the story and expanded it in a recent item.
As it turns out, WVIZ-DT's full-power antenna will not reside atop the current WKYC tower.
WKYC and WVIZ will build a new tower at the station's Parma site to hold both stations' digital antennas, in time for the digital transition on February 17, 2009. The current tower holding WKYC's analog and pre-transition digital antennas will be razed, according to WKYC engineering director Mike Szabo in the "Director's Cut" item.
Rarely does one engineering move solve so many problems, as both stations are currently the bane of digital OTA viewers in Northeast Ohio.
WKYC's low-band digital home of channel 2 is so bad, so prone to interference, that very few people without large, well-placed outdoor antennas - or close to Parma - can pick it up.
WVIZ's inability to get a permanent digital antenna site means it needs to use an antenna just 30 meters off the ground, pumping a whole 1,000 (that's ONE THOUSAND) watts out on DT 26 to the greater Parma area and parts of North Royalton and Garfield Heights.
(OK, so it's not that bad - but the station's temporary facility's main signal contour barely covers Cuyahoga County, and that's being charitable.)
The shiny new tower at WKYC's Parma site will solve both problems, and will likely cede the "bad digital facility" title in the Cleveland market to Raycom Media CBS affiliate WOIO/19.
WOIO plans to stay right where it is at the digital transition - with its current digital facility on RF channel 10.
(Like WKYC, WVIZ and all the other stations, digital PSIP information means WOIO will continue to resolve on receivers at its current analog channel number, 19....WVIZ at 25, WKYC at 3, etc...)
WOIO will stay on 10, but unfortunately, so will the powerful analog signal across Lake Erie on that very same channel, CFPL/10 in London, Ontario, Canada. Unlike the U.S., Canada doesn't have a digital transition plan...and CFPL doesn't even have a digital companion signal.
That means the folks at Reserve Square will be getting complaints, especially from those along the Lake Erie shoreline, as long as the Canadian 10 doesn't move...
Labels: cleveland, hdtv, television
Tuesday, May 13, 2008
A Quick Group Of Items
Just some stuff that's been floating around the OMW Inbox, mostly outside of our immediate Northeast Ohio focus. OK, there is one Cleveland item, which we've saved for last...
WSYX HD NEWS: As hinted and expected, Sinclair has flipped the HD News Switch at its Columbus stations, WSYX/6 (ABC) and WTTE/28 (FOX).
The move makes the company's news operation the last Columbus market TV newsroom to go the HDTV route.
We haven't figured out yet, despite input from our readers in the market, how far Sinclair is going as far as HD news is concerned. They're at very least passing 16x9 SD from the field, from what we've heard, and Sinclair has invested in HD weather graphics for WSYX/WTTE and all of its stations making the conversion...
TOLEDO FORMAT CHANGE: You can move Cornerstone Church religious/CCM outlet WDMN/1520 in the Toledo market into the list of stations running a talk format there. Or, mainly.
OMW hears that the station, which has been known as "Dominion 1520 Jamz", has added a variety of syndicated talkers not otherwise being cleared in the Toledo market - including Take On The Day advice queen Dr. Laura Schlessinger, Cox/Jones consumer crusader Clark Howard, and the new afternoon drive show hosted by CNN's Lou Dobbs.
There may also be some music programming, but we don't have details on that.
1520 is no stranger to secular programming. It picked up the Toledo rights to the Cleveland Browns radio broadcasts when those rights fell through a hole in the market, and has also joined the NHL's Columbus Blue Jackets radio network.
And WDMN's low-power TV sister station (WMNT-CA 48, via Matrix Broadcasting) is a mainly secular MyNetworkTV affiliate.
Cornerstone also still owns, as far as we know, western Toledo market rimshot WNKL/96.9 Wauseon, which runs the satellite-fed "K-Love" CCM format from Sacramento-based Educational Media Foundation.
Could the talk programming being added to WDMN prompt a station just down the AM band to make some adjustments, with not much room left in the "alternative to WSPD/1370 category"? We'll see...
WAVE OF THE FINGER: We're told it's the talk of the message boards...but really, when the subject is WOIO/19 "19 Action News" anchor Sharon Reed, when isn't it?
So, we thank Cleveland Plain Dealer columnist Michael K. McIntyre and his "Tipoff" column Saturday for getting to the bottom of this.
As it turns out, a promoted "Sharon Reed Exclusive" interview with Cleveland Browns tight end Kellen Winslow Jr. wasn't either - a Sharon Reed interview or an exclusive to "19 Action News". Quoting Mr. McIntyre:
...the long interview piece featured Winslow crying as he talked of his deceased brother, his injury and his relationship with his parents. Reed's narration, which came off as intimate and familiar, was interspersed with Winslow's words.
There was never a shot of Reed actually interviewing Winslow. There's a good reason for that: She didn't do the interview.
Nope, she didn't, says McIntyre...she simply, well, acted like she did, using old network interview footage. WOIO, as the CBS affiliate in the market, has apparently had that video since sometime in the last NFL season, and conveniently pulled it out from the archives for May sweeps. Imagine that!
Maybe Sharon should have pulled out her Personal Cell Phone(tm) to make it more believable. We'll guess that "K2" is likely to have that number. Ms. Reed all but wrote it on his hand and whispered "call me" when she interviewed him a couple of years ago...back when her station had the Browns pre-season rights.
For his part, "Action News"' newsroom boss is unapologetic to the PD's McIntyre, recognizing that competitors weren't exactly happy campers:
"That's when I know I'm in my sweet spot," said Channel 19 News Director Dan Salamone, who said there's no "gotcha" here. "We never once suggested Sharon Reed sat down and did the interview. We just said she had an exclusive story," he said.
Uh, OK, Dan.
We haven't seen the piece, but if "she had an exclusive story", why would she "act" like she was the one doing the interview? Why would you not give credit to (presumably) your own network or whoever interviewed him? Why was Ms. Reed involved at all, other than as an anchor tossing to a network piece?
You know, we spend much less time tweaking Reserve Square than we did when this blog started nearly 3 years ago.
But sometimes, the station basically dares its critics to weigh in. Here, they've darn near painted a bright red and white target for us...
WSYX HD NEWS: As hinted and expected, Sinclair has flipped the HD News Switch at its Columbus stations, WSYX/6 (ABC) and WTTE/28 (FOX).
The move makes the company's news operation the last Columbus market TV newsroom to go the HDTV route.
We haven't figured out yet, despite input from our readers in the market, how far Sinclair is going as far as HD news is concerned. They're at very least passing 16x9 SD from the field, from what we've heard, and Sinclair has invested in HD weather graphics for WSYX/WTTE and all of its stations making the conversion...
TOLEDO FORMAT CHANGE: You can move Cornerstone Church religious/CCM outlet WDMN/1520 in the Toledo market into the list of stations running a talk format there. Or, mainly.
OMW hears that the station, which has been known as "Dominion 1520 Jamz", has added a variety of syndicated talkers not otherwise being cleared in the Toledo market - including Take On The Day advice queen Dr. Laura Schlessinger, Cox/Jones consumer crusader Clark Howard, and the new afternoon drive show hosted by CNN's Lou Dobbs.
There may also be some music programming, but we don't have details on that.
1520 is no stranger to secular programming. It picked up the Toledo rights to the Cleveland Browns radio broadcasts when those rights fell through a hole in the market, and has also joined the NHL's Columbus Blue Jackets radio network.
And WDMN's low-power TV sister station (WMNT-CA 48, via Matrix Broadcasting) is a mainly secular MyNetworkTV affiliate.
Cornerstone also still owns, as far as we know, western Toledo market rimshot WNKL/96.9 Wauseon, which runs the satellite-fed "K-Love" CCM format from Sacramento-based Educational Media Foundation.
Could the talk programming being added to WDMN prompt a station just down the AM band to make some adjustments, with not much room left in the "alternative to WSPD/1370 category"? We'll see...
WAVE OF THE FINGER: We're told it's the talk of the message boards...but really, when the subject is WOIO/19 "19 Action News" anchor Sharon Reed, when isn't it?
So, we thank Cleveland Plain Dealer columnist Michael K. McIntyre and his "Tipoff" column Saturday for getting to the bottom of this.
As it turns out, a promoted "Sharon Reed Exclusive" interview with Cleveland Browns tight end Kellen Winslow Jr. wasn't either - a Sharon Reed interview or an exclusive to "19 Action News". Quoting Mr. McIntyre:
...the long interview piece featured Winslow crying as he talked of his deceased brother, his injury and his relationship with his parents. Reed's narration, which came off as intimate and familiar, was interspersed with Winslow's words.
There was never a shot of Reed actually interviewing Winslow. There's a good reason for that: She didn't do the interview.
Nope, she didn't, says McIntyre...she simply, well, acted like she did, using old network interview footage. WOIO, as the CBS affiliate in the market, has apparently had that video since sometime in the last NFL season, and conveniently pulled it out from the archives for May sweeps. Imagine that!
Maybe Sharon should have pulled out her Personal Cell Phone(tm) to make it more believable. We'll guess that "K2" is likely to have that number. Ms. Reed all but wrote it on his hand and whispered "call me" when she interviewed him a couple of years ago...back when her station had the Browns pre-season rights.
For his part, "Action News"' newsroom boss is unapologetic to the PD's McIntyre, recognizing that competitors weren't exactly happy campers:
"That's when I know I'm in my sweet spot," said Channel 19 News Director Dan Salamone, who said there's no "gotcha" here. "We never once suggested Sharon Reed sat down and did the interview. We just said she had an exclusive story," he said.
Uh, OK, Dan.
We haven't seen the piece, but if "she had an exclusive story", why would she "act" like she was the one doing the interview? Why would you not give credit to (presumably) your own network or whoever interviewed him? Why was Ms. Reed involved at all, other than as an anchor tossing to a network piece?
You know, we spend much less time tweaking Reserve Square than we did when this blog started nearly 3 years ago.
But sometimes, the station basically dares its critics to weigh in. Here, they've darn near painted a bright red and white target for us...
Labels: cleveland, columbus, news, television, toledo
Monday, May 12, 2008
WVIZ Heads For New Tower
It's complaint number one among Cleveland market digital television viewers...the temporary low-power digital signal of ideaStream PBS affiliate WVIZ/25, on an antenna that just clears the roof of the station's former Brookpark Road studios in Parma, is almost impossible to receive any distance from that suburb.
The station has been in a long dispute over placement of its permanent full-power digital antenna on the tower where its analog antenna is now, a North Royalton structure owned by CBS Radio and used for classic rock WNCX/98.5.
It looks like WVIZ has given up that fight - and has come up with a better solution.
ideaStream has a new digital TV construction permit in hand - that will instead place the full-power DT channel 26 antenna on the tower used by Gannett NBC affiliate WKYC/3. The engineering exhibit for the construction permit says the stations will have a combined, top-mounted antenna on the WKYC stick.
The move is scheduled to happen with the analog-to-digital transition on February 17, 2009.
WKYC is already going to be up there on the tower moving around antennas anyway - the station needs to install its new DT channel 17 facility. That allocation will take the RF space abandoned at the transition by Trinity Broadcasting O&O WDLI/17 Canton, which will stay on DT 39 from its newer tower in the Akron TV/FM antenna farm near Rolling Acres Mall.
WVIZ/ideaStream has had a long legal battle with CBS Radio over the modifications needed to install the PBS affiliate's digital antenna on the WNCX tower. After the legal stuff ended, negotiations for a lease modification for the antenna apparently went on long enough to drive WVIZ to WKYC's tower.
The side effect of this? It moves WVIZ's post-transition digital signal to the same place as WKYC's post-transition digital signal, and could simplify some antenna aiming in the process. Though the WVIZ analog antenna is still in the same general part of the region, digital antenna aiming is a more exact science...
The station has been in a long dispute over placement of its permanent full-power digital antenna on the tower where its analog antenna is now, a North Royalton structure owned by CBS Radio and used for classic rock WNCX/98.5.
It looks like WVIZ has given up that fight - and has come up with a better solution.
ideaStream has a new digital TV construction permit in hand - that will instead place the full-power DT channel 26 antenna on the tower used by Gannett NBC affiliate WKYC/3. The engineering exhibit for the construction permit says the stations will have a combined, top-mounted antenna on the WKYC stick.
The move is scheduled to happen with the analog-to-digital transition on February 17, 2009.
WKYC is already going to be up there on the tower moving around antennas anyway - the station needs to install its new DT channel 17 facility. That allocation will take the RF space abandoned at the transition by Trinity Broadcasting O&O WDLI/17 Canton, which will stay on DT 39 from its newer tower in the Akron TV/FM antenna farm near Rolling Acres Mall.
WVIZ/ideaStream has had a long legal battle with CBS Radio over the modifications needed to install the PBS affiliate's digital antenna on the WNCX tower. After the legal stuff ended, negotiations for a lease modification for the antenna apparently went on long enough to drive WVIZ to WKYC's tower.
The side effect of this? It moves WVIZ's post-transition digital signal to the same place as WKYC's post-transition digital signal, and could simplify some antenna aiming in the process. Though the WVIZ analog antenna is still in the same general part of the region, digital antenna aiming is a more exact science...
Labels: cleveland, television
BREAKING NEWS: Cavaliers, WTAM, CC Re-Up
Clear Channel talk WTAM/1100 and the NBA's Cleveland Cavaliers have announced a 5-year renewal of their radio contract.
The move is announced the same day the Cavaliers take on the Boston Celtics in game 4 of the Eastern Conference Semi-Finals at Quicken Loans Arena.
The press release is reprinted below.
--------------
CLEAR CHANNEL RADIO AND
THE CLEVELAND CAVALIERS INK DEAL
May 12, 2008, Cleveland, Ohio…Clear Channel Radio and The Cleveland Cavaliers have come to terms on a 5-year contract extension for radio broadcast rights. The agreement marries Clear Channel’s NEWSRADIO WTAM 1100 and the Cavaliers through the 2012-2013 NBA season.
“We are thrilled to extend our relationship with the Cleveland Cavaliers through the 2012-2013 season,” said Mike Kenney, President and Market Manager of Clear Channel Radio. “The Cavaliers have been associated with the 1100 AM frequency for over 30 years. Combining the heritage and strength of both organizations is a positive for the entire community and it’s a win-win for both the Cavaliers and Newsradio WTAM 1100.”
“We're very happy to extend our relationship with The Big One as the home of Cavaliers basketball,” said Len Komoroski, Cavaliers /Quicken Loans Arena President. “We're committed to having a championship-caliber culture in everything we do, so WTAM is the best partner to carry our games to our fans. They do it like no one else can.”
Now in his 37th season as the “Voice of the Cavs,” Joe Tait will again handle every game broadcast with his one of kind combination of game analysis and play-by-play calls, including his assortment of well known action calls such as "Wham with the right hand!" and "Three Ball!" Joe recently called his 3,000th game in March. WTAM Sports Director Mike Snyder will host the pre-game, halftime and post-game shows.
During the season, WTAM will continue to air the weekly show with Cavaliers Coach Mike Brown. The Wills and Snyder Show Morning Show will also continue to air daily in season features with Coach Brown, Joe Tait, and other Cavaliers front-office members. WTAM also airs Cavaliers specialty programs including The First Merit Cavaliers Tip Off Show before every game and The Alltel Call In Show after every game.
The move is announced the same day the Cavaliers take on the Boston Celtics in game 4 of the Eastern Conference Semi-Finals at Quicken Loans Arena.
The press release is reprinted below.
--------------
CLEAR CHANNEL RADIO AND
THE CLEVELAND CAVALIERS INK DEAL
May 12, 2008, Cleveland, Ohio…Clear Channel Radio and The Cleveland Cavaliers have come to terms on a 5-year contract extension for radio broadcast rights. The agreement marries Clear Channel’s NEWSRADIO WTAM 1100 and the Cavaliers through the 2012-2013 NBA season.
“We are thrilled to extend our relationship with the Cleveland Cavaliers through the 2012-2013 season,” said Mike Kenney, President and Market Manager of Clear Channel Radio. “The Cavaliers have been associated with the 1100 AM frequency for over 30 years. Combining the heritage and strength of both organizations is a positive for the entire community and it’s a win-win for both the Cavaliers and Newsradio WTAM 1100.”
“We're very happy to extend our relationship with The Big One as the home of Cavaliers basketball,” said Len Komoroski, Cavaliers /Quicken Loans Arena President. “We're committed to having a championship-caliber culture in everything we do, so WTAM is the best partner to carry our games to our fans. They do it like no one else can.”
Now in his 37th season as the “Voice of the Cavs,” Joe Tait will again handle every game broadcast with his one of kind combination of game analysis and play-by-play calls, including his assortment of well known action calls such as "Wham with the right hand!" and "Three Ball!" Joe recently called his 3,000th game in March. WTAM Sports Director Mike Snyder will host the pre-game, halftime and post-game shows.
During the season, WTAM will continue to air the weekly show with Cavaliers Coach Mike Brown. The Wills and Snyder Show Morning Show will also continue to air daily in season features with Coach Brown, Joe Tait, and other Cavaliers front-office members. WTAM also airs Cavaliers specialty programs including The First Merit Cavaliers Tip Off Show before every game and The Alltel Call In Show after every game.
Labels: cleveland, radio, sports
Friday, May 09, 2008
Three From Freedom Avenue
Clear Channel's Freedom Avenue complex is a bit busy today.
First, former WRQK/106.9 night guy Nick Andrews is back in the building, taking afternoons at the Canton rocker. Of course, the place has changed owners since Nick was there last time...Cumulus had the station when he did the night gig.
The hiring nudges "Fishhead" from afternoons into middays, and that means the exit of long-time middayer and former "Rock 106.9" program director Keith Hamilton.
In another studio at Freedom Avenue, current WRQK program director Greg Ausham also oversees talk WHLO/640 Akron, and is looking for a morning news anchor for that station. Since you're smart enough to read OMW, we assume you can find the address without our help...well, aside from our frequent mentions of the street.
And finally, WHLO has launched a web presence, with its own domain name, for new 5-7 PM local host Matt Patrick....
First, former WRQK/106.9 night guy Nick Andrews is back in the building, taking afternoons at the Canton rocker. Of course, the place has changed owners since Nick was there last time...Cumulus had the station when he did the night gig.
The hiring nudges "Fishhead" from afternoons into middays, and that means the exit of long-time middayer and former "Rock 106.9" program director Keith Hamilton.
In another studio at Freedom Avenue, current WRQK program director Greg Ausham also oversees talk WHLO/640 Akron, and is looking for a morning news anchor for that station. Since you're smart enough to read OMW, we assume you can find the address without our help...well, aside from our frequent mentions of the street.
And finally, WHLO has launched a web presence, with its own domain name, for new 5-7 PM local host Matt Patrick....
Tuesday, May 06, 2008
Rover About To Lose A Market?
When he exited CBS Radio alt-rock WXRK/92.3 "K-Rock" in his home market of Cleveland, Shane "Rover" French's "Rover's Morning Glory" show retained two affiliates that were once owned by CBS, in Memphis and Rochester.
The stations continued to broadcast repeats of "RMG" until the Rover Crew set up shop in an leased studio at their new Cleveland home, the Oak Tree compound housing their now-current flagship, Clear Channel rock WMMS/100.7, weeks before that station took over as Rover's Cleveland outlet.
Through no fault of its own, "RMG" may be close to losing its Rochester outlet.
Our colleague Scott Fybush reports in Monday's "NorthEast Radio Watch" that the station, former CBS Radio alt-rock outlet WZNE/94.1, is being sold to Oklahoma-based Stephens Media Group. He asks:
Can a modern rocker like WZNE - one with a provocative morning jock, Cleveland's Rover, no less - be a good fit with the rest of Stephens' growing radio empire?
Some background here, first.
This all starts from Entercom's acquisition of CBS Radio's cluster in Rochester. As a result of the fact the cluster buy would put Entercom - with existing stations in the market - three stations over the limit, Entercom had to identify three stations to be sold. WZNE is one of the three.
Entercom has been operating the stations, but would eventually have to either sell them or put them into a trust. Mr. Fybush reports that trust was invoked in documents filed on April 17th, though it's not clear if it'll have to be used now that there is actually a pending buyer.
That buyer, Stephens Media Group, is most known for its hometown operations in the Tulsa, Oklahoma market - and for its "flagship" station, Christian contemporary KXOJ-FM. Stephens also owns the Tulsa-area sports talk simulcasters for Oklahoma City-based statewide sports giant, WWLS "The Sports Animal".
It's apparently not that Stephens intends to convert all of its stations to a Christian contemporary or other religious formats.
At least for now, it's bought and operated a cluster in Watertown NY, and mostly cross-border aiming stations up near the Canadian border in upstate New York, and has made no major changes in the past few months. And there are those existing sports outlets in Oklahoma.
We believe the upstate acquisition, oddly enough, means the company may oversee the Montreal-rimshot top 40 station - WYUL/94.7 Chateaugay NY "Hits FM" - where Clear Channel Cleveland top 40 WAKS/96.5 "Kiss FM" night guy Java Joel still voicetracks an afternoon drive show.
But we echo the sentiments of Mr. Fybush - does a modern rocker with a "hot talk" morning show fit with Stephens?
Well, a new country format installed by the new owners of "RMG"'s old Columbus affiliate bounced the show off the station.
Again, not "Rover's" fault. But like in Columbus, station ownership changes could knock Rochester off the show's affiliate list...at least unless they find another outlet in that city...
The stations continued to broadcast repeats of "RMG" until the Rover Crew set up shop in an leased studio at their new Cleveland home, the Oak Tree compound housing their now-current flagship, Clear Channel rock WMMS/100.7, weeks before that station took over as Rover's Cleveland outlet.
Through no fault of its own, "RMG" may be close to losing its Rochester outlet.
Our colleague Scott Fybush reports in Monday's "NorthEast Radio Watch" that the station, former CBS Radio alt-rock outlet WZNE/94.1, is being sold to Oklahoma-based Stephens Media Group. He asks:
Can a modern rocker like WZNE - one with a provocative morning jock, Cleveland's Rover, no less - be a good fit with the rest of Stephens' growing radio empire?
Some background here, first.
This all starts from Entercom's acquisition of CBS Radio's cluster in Rochester. As a result of the fact the cluster buy would put Entercom - with existing stations in the market - three stations over the limit, Entercom had to identify three stations to be sold. WZNE is one of the three.
Entercom has been operating the stations, but would eventually have to either sell them or put them into a trust. Mr. Fybush reports that trust was invoked in documents filed on April 17th, though it's not clear if it'll have to be used now that there is actually a pending buyer.
That buyer, Stephens Media Group, is most known for its hometown operations in the Tulsa, Oklahoma market - and for its "flagship" station, Christian contemporary KXOJ-FM. Stephens also owns the Tulsa-area sports talk simulcasters for Oklahoma City-based statewide sports giant, WWLS "The Sports Animal".
It's apparently not that Stephens intends to convert all of its stations to a Christian contemporary or other religious formats.
At least for now, it's bought and operated a cluster in Watertown NY, and mostly cross-border aiming stations up near the Canadian border in upstate New York, and has made no major changes in the past few months. And there are those existing sports outlets in Oklahoma.
We believe the upstate acquisition, oddly enough, means the company may oversee the Montreal-rimshot top 40 station - WYUL/94.7 Chateaugay NY "Hits FM" - where Clear Channel Cleveland top 40 WAKS/96.5 "Kiss FM" night guy Java Joel still voicetracks an afternoon drive show.
But we echo the sentiments of Mr. Fybush - does a modern rocker with a "hot talk" morning show fit with Stephens?
Well, a new country format installed by the new owners of "RMG"'s old Columbus affiliate bounced the show off the station.
Again, not "Rover's" fault. But like in Columbus, station ownership changes could knock Rochester off the show's affiliate list...at least unless they find another outlet in that city...
Labels: cleveland, radio, syndication, talk
Friday, May 02, 2008
Loose Ends For A Friday
Fridays seem like just the time to clear up loose ends before the weekend...so, here we are!
NOT YET FOR ALL: Though it appears that Time Warner Cable has flipped around its digital cable channel lineups for the bulk of its Northeast Ohio customers, there are apparently some yet to be converted.
We're basing this on our own anecdotal evidence, but the former Adelphia/Western Reserve cluster in northeast Summit County and nearby would appear to be doing without the digital channel realignment - even after the bulk of the former Adelphia/Cleveland territory switched over early Wednesday morning.
The former Western Reserve system has always been a bit different. As we noted some time ago, its heavy access channel obligation left TWC no space to squeeze in the WKYC/3-produced Akron/Canton News for viewers in areas like Hudson and Macedonia.
OMW readers also told us a little earlier this week that the former Comcast systems based in Elyria and Mentor are still also on their former lineups.
And somewhere in here, those converted to the new lineups are going to get their cable boxes converted to TWC's "Navigator" channel guide software. That process is bound to have a glitch or two...
SPEAKING OF TWC: Readers have reminded us, and we already knew, that Time Warner Cable is destined to be spun off of its parent company. (Here's a good article about it from the newspaper Newsday in the New York City area, with a base in a Los Angeles Times story.)
Since we're not business analysts, we can't really say "what it'll all mean" for local TWC customers...
NEW FOR 4: Media General Columbus NBC affiliate WCMH/4 "NBC4" launches newscasts from its "NBC4 On The Square" downtown studio this month.
The station's morning and midday casts will start airing from the HD-equipped studio at Broad and High Streets on May 27th.
And WCMH will launch an hour-long "First at 4" newscast from the downtown studio on June 9th...
NEW FOR 6: And don't look now...but another station in the Columbus market could launch HD newscasts.
We can't find the reference right now, but Sinclair - owners of Columbus ABC affiliate WSYX/6 and FOX affiliate WTTE/28 - is readying an HD conversion for its stations this year...
AND ONE LONG-DELAYED ITEM: We've known for some time, but Salem CCM WFHM/95.5 "The Fish" in Cleveland has a new staffer.
She's afternoon driver Kristine Lane, who had been doing swing/fill-in/weekend work for the station and now officially steps in as replacement for the station's Josh Booth. The station announced it over a week ago, but we've been mostly away.
Lane won't take over Booth's music director job - that'll be folded into duties for program director Len Howser. She will take a different second job...that of promotions director for the Salem station...
NOT YET FOR ALL: Though it appears that Time Warner Cable has flipped around its digital cable channel lineups for the bulk of its Northeast Ohio customers, there are apparently some yet to be converted.
We're basing this on our own anecdotal evidence, but the former Adelphia/Western Reserve cluster in northeast Summit County and nearby would appear to be doing without the digital channel realignment - even after the bulk of the former Adelphia/Cleveland territory switched over early Wednesday morning.
The former Western Reserve system has always been a bit different. As we noted some time ago, its heavy access channel obligation left TWC no space to squeeze in the WKYC/3-produced Akron/Canton News for viewers in areas like Hudson and Macedonia.
OMW readers also told us a little earlier this week that the former Comcast systems based in Elyria and Mentor are still also on their former lineups.
And somewhere in here, those converted to the new lineups are going to get their cable boxes converted to TWC's "Navigator" channel guide software. That process is bound to have a glitch or two...
SPEAKING OF TWC: Readers have reminded us, and we already knew, that Time Warner Cable is destined to be spun off of its parent company. (Here's a good article about it from the newspaper Newsday in the New York City area, with a base in a Los Angeles Times story.)
Since we're not business analysts, we can't really say "what it'll all mean" for local TWC customers...
NEW FOR 4: Media General Columbus NBC affiliate WCMH/4 "NBC4" launches newscasts from its "NBC4 On The Square" downtown studio this month.
The station's morning and midday casts will start airing from the HD-equipped studio at Broad and High Streets on May 27th.
And WCMH will launch an hour-long "First at 4" newscast from the downtown studio on June 9th...
NEW FOR 6: And don't look now...but another station in the Columbus market could launch HD newscasts.
We can't find the reference right now, but Sinclair - owners of Columbus ABC affiliate WSYX/6 and FOX affiliate WTTE/28 - is readying an HD conversion for its stations this year...
AND ONE LONG-DELAYED ITEM: We've known for some time, but Salem CCM WFHM/95.5 "The Fish" in Cleveland has a new staffer.
She's afternoon driver Kristine Lane, who had been doing swing/fill-in/weekend work for the station and now officially steps in as replacement for the station's Josh Booth. The station announced it over a week ago, but we've been mostly away.
Lane won't take over Booth's music director job - that'll be folded into duties for program director Len Howser. She will take a different second job...that of promotions director for the Salem station...
Labels: cable, cleveland, columbus, radio, television
