BROWNS TV FALLOUT: While WOIO/19 general manager Bill Applegate pleads with a grieving grandmother to save his station's Cleveland Browns TV rights bacon, we're wondering what happens to the team's TV broadcast team for the pre-season games...no matter which local station airs the games.
We're pretty sure the Browns hire the on-air talent for the games, so that would seem to ensure that they'll ask 2005 play-by-play voice Sam Rosen to come back into the booth this year. Rosen was called in at the last minute, and was pretty much universally praised for bringing a veteran TV sports broadcasting presence to WOIO's pre-season telecasts.
But what about former Browns defensive star Bob Golic, who easily moved into an analyst role on last year's telecasts after Rosen's arrival?
The WNIR/100.1 afternoon talk show host has also done separate work for the Cleveland CBS affiliate, including participating in their own non-team-sanctioned pre-game and post-game shows. (Beware, the Giant Brown Valu City Furniture Couch!) He's also filled in on the station's weekend sports anchor desk.If the Browns are officially done with WOIO, will something have to give? Could Golic still do the analysis on the pre-season casts - airing on another station - and do the Channel 19-based shows as well? And even if he doesn't do his WOIO-based work, will the Browns associate him too closely with the TV station they want nothing to do with?
And then there's a wildcard. In addition to other former Browns like Brian Brennan - who did it last year - there's been talk of popular former Browns quarterback Bernie Kosar joining in the pre-season broadcasts on a regular basis. That should be very interesting. Kosar did a fine job in a brief "drop-in" appearance on one of last year's telecasts...
NEXT NEXTMEDIA: We've been remiss in not passing along the news from NextMedia, the owner of Canton combo WHBC/1480-WHBC-FM/94.1. President/Co-Chief Operating Officer Skip Weller has stepped down.Radio & Records reports the news, and AllAccess tips that it could be the other co-COO, executive VP Jeff Dinetz, moving into the president's chair at the radio group owner.
We haven't said much about this, since we don't know how the move will affect the company's local outlet. OMW has reported for some time that it's believed the WHBC stations are heading for a sale...the configuration of such sale yet to be determined.
But...we're watching for signs of any change in direction at NextMedia, and will pass them along as we hear them...
WB NOSTALGIA: When a TV station changes networks, the old network's logo items aren't really worth keeping around (except for collectors), so Cleveland market WB Network affiliate WBNX/55 is giving them away in a "blowout".You have to sign up for the giveaway contest, and tell the station your favorite show on The WB. As per usual with such things, we're sure WBNX will hang onto your information to try to sell you on all those great new shows on The CW...which include many former WB favorites, by the way.
The new CW Network will sign on, officially, on September 20th...with staggered premieres of new shows over the following week...
10 comments:
The new wbnx logo looks like crap. As dows WBCB in Youngstown. BTW where did they get all of that stuff they are giving away anyway?
We're not at all sure the logo on that page is the official new WBNX logo. It's the CW one, but we don't know if they're just using the new "official CW font".
We haven't seen the new WBCB logo - the old one is still up on WBCB.tv, and we don't see either on WFMJ.com...
As to where they got it...the network sends 'em all that stuff to promote their shows. It comes with the network affiliation, presumably...
-OMW
WBCB's logo is the same just one difference it says WEBC instead of WBNX. In the same place as well. I thought that they were going to the city and CW not the call letters and cw. They must have alot of stuff most of the shows have been off the air for years, either they could not of give it away when they aired the first time or they were stock piling for a rainy day. Most of the shows they are giving stuff away for are for shows that have atleast 50 shows. I assume they are posters, nothing really good like autographed scripts, DVDs etc.
From what I understand, The CW supplied a basic logo "look" to each station (a standard procedure), with either numbers, city or call letters. But some markets are doing their own variations, so I would expect WBNX will do likewise. As for the memorabilia giveaways: networks, individual shows and even syndicators often provide stations with loads of contest items. Stations sometimes then add their logos, which, in this case, would make the merchandise outdated for the affiliate, but still valuable to those who'd like a WB keepsake.
It may be nothing but at 5:05 pm both WKBN and WYFX in Youngstown is off the air/cable. The cable feed of WYFX is showing a construction scene with no sound and WKBN is completly off air.
For what it's worth, WKBN-DT froze up at about 10 till 5 PM, and is currently not sending anything...though there is a signal that should be enough to lock it here in Akron.
There are obviously major technical problems at Sunset Blvd. this afternoon...
-OMW
Bob Golic = horrible.
Bernie = sounds slurry
Brian Brennan = a good choice
Shoot, let Casey Coleman do some color work, if he feels up to it.
Anxious to see how the Browns fiasco plays out. Obviously we know that 19 and 43 are not options. So that leaves 3, 5, 8 and 55. Of those 4, all carry network programming on Saturdays except WBNX. Might make good sense for the Browns to air there, and pick up their younger audience in the the process, since all the other stations have news and will heavily cover the game, anyway.
Hey OMW,
Can you post the latest Arbitron ratings that came out this week. Trivishomo was talking about them, and I wondered if they were publicly accessible. Thanks!
Unless the browns produce the games and sell them then 55 is out, ch 3 would love to have them but with the Indians it would be tight, ch 5 would be the best shot. A long shot would be ch 8 but if they took the whole package they could split the games and other programming with co-owned Fox sports Ohio. Hell maybe ch 23 could handle the games. Other Pax O&O's in Flordia take Marlins games that are produced by Fox Sports Flordia. BTW is FSO is owned by FOX, will they move in with ch 8 at some point? Granted ch 8 is in the FTSG division and FSO is in the cable group but it would make sense.
Reportedly, WBNX has a good relationship with a number of production companies and has aired Ohio State games as well as other sports in the past, so it isn't out of the question that they could air the Browns. The real question is, would they really want to if given the opportunity. Their new commitment to the CW might give them second thought on any possible pre-emptions that might occur if games are during prime. I do agree with Lerner's thoughts on why he wants to sever ties with WOIO. On top of the ideals involved it certainly makes business sense to disassociate yourself from an outfit like WOIO that comes across to the majority as tacky news that seems to offend everyone. Have you noticed how few interviews they're granted by any local officials for any reason. Everyone stays clear of them because they know WOIO is just trying to create contoversy. They've shot themselves in the foot so many times they don't seem to have anything to stand on now.
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