The Channel 3 Shuffle

No, it's not involving any on-air talent. At least, at this time...

But an item posted to WKYC/3 senior director Frank Macek's excellent "Director's Cut" blog gives us the heads up to an approaching schedule shuffle at the Gannett NBC affiliate.

The moving around is prompted by the station's carriage, starting in September, of the fourth hour of NBC's popular morning show "Today". You know, the show which once aired from 7-9 AM, and then expanded to 10 AM...and now, adds another hour in the Fall.

WKYC will carry "Today's" new fourth hour, but at 11 AM instead of after the first three hours.

That allows the station to keep the local talk/service show "Good Company" - and of course, allows WKYC to carry the revenue from the show that features a number of sponsored appearances.

The addition of the disconnected fourth hour of "Today" means the 11 AM "Channel 3 News Midday" is bumped to noon starting on September 10th, which of course, puts it into direct competition with the market's other noon newscasts.

But the fourth "Today" hour will compete with a ratings buzzsaw - ABC's popular talk show "The View" (WEWS/5). Unlike the current "Midday" news broadcast, "Today"'s fourth hour will be aiming for much of the same audience.

And it also has different hosts. Regular "Today" hosts Matt Lauer and Meredith Vieria won't be working the fourth hour of the show. In fact, Vieria can't, because her contract for the syndicated game show "Who Wants To Be A Millionaire" prevents it...