In March 2018, TEGNA was making headlines for luring Emmy Award-winning television producer Burt Dubrow to serve as the senior executive producer of TEGNA’s entertainment and news program Daily Blast LIVE (“DBL”), which crowdsources its content in real-time from viewers through social media.
Lots has changed since then with respect to the landscape for syndicated programming; NATPE’s pandemic-era bankruptcy and subsequent acquisition by a Canadian company known for its just-concluded Banff World Media Festival further clouded the marketplace for TV shows.
Now, TEGNA has decided to “sunset” Daily Blast LIVE.
The program’s final episode is scheduled for Friday, September 6, and will conclude seven seasons of the program.
In a statement, a TEGNA spokesperson thanked its “incredibly talented on-air talent and production team” for providing viewers “energetic, humorous and thoughtful debate.”
A look back at the show’s “best moments” will be seen in episodes leading up to the show’s conclusion.
What does this mean for Daily Blast Live hosts Sam Schacher, Jeff Shroeder, Al Jackson, Erica Cobb, Tori Shulman and Stefanie Jones? That remains to be seen.
Six years ago, “DBL” aired live in every time zone each weekday in 35 TEGNA-owned television markets and appeared live on Facebook and YouTube. Production was based at TEGNA-owned KUSA-9 in Denver.
Asked why TEGNA opted to “sunset” the show, and if it could be termed a cancellation, the TEGNA spokesperson called the end of Daily Blast LIVE “a business decision.”
One industry observer familiar with the syndicated television landscape in 2024 notes that acquisition costs, which are low at the present time for the content being offered to broadcast stations in the U.S., is likely another factor.
The conclusion of Daily Blast LIVE brings a programming hole to the TV stations it presently airs on; TEGNA did not offer details as to what stations may consider as a successor show.
