TV/Cable News

The cable television network formerly known as WGN America, now a growing news and prime-time Talk Show offering from Nexstar Media Group, is putting the final touches on a new mid-morning news program scheduled for 10am-Noon Eastern. The two-hour news block will debut September 19.

For many broadcast television licensees in the digital era, having a VHF facility instead of a UHF facility is a hindrance to reaching as many consumers as possible. Among those seeking an upgrade for one of its TV stations is VPM, the public media operator in Virginia. The Media Bureau's Video Division has just said yes to its request.

John Kyle and his King Forward Inc. has been a busy trader of low-power television stations in recent months. On August 29, the latest deal to involve Kyle — this time as a consultant — was struck. It's a deal that sends a LPTV property to Gray Television.

Bryan Noon is stepping down from the role after less than a year. While he remains onboard "for a transition period," a trio of DGE executives are expanding their roles.

The Mouse House and the largest Spanish-language media company in the world are joining America's largest audio content creation and distribution company as participants in one of the biggest institutional investor conferences in the U.S.

Fans of the many programs airing across two Sinclair Broadcast Group digital multicast channels who have not enjoyed access to either channel now have a free-to-air way to get the offerings — if they live in the markets where expansion is being seen, effective today.

Canadians who care to get a steady diet of animated fare including Teen Titans Go!, Batman: The Animated Series, and DC Super Hero Girls now have a subscription video on demand (SVOD) option to consider, at a cost of $5.99 CDN per month. It debuts September 1, courtesy of multimedia entity Corus Entertainment.

The local media division of Graham Holdings Company has named a new VP/GM for its NBC affiliate serving Houston. It's an appointment that comes following the recent retirement announcement of its 11-year leader, Jerry Martin. 

After just six months in Hartford as GSM of Audacy Corp.'s radio stations, a return to Hispanic television has transpired for a Hispanic television and radio ad sales veteran with experience at Estrella Media and, before that, Univision. He's taking a newly created role overseeing the Telemundo affiliate group owned and operated by Gray Television.

A new minimum wage policy will be implemented by Gray Television, effective on October 1, for nearly all full-time, non-commissioned and non-contracted employees. The result? Roughly 2,000 employees will receive a raise as a result of this new policy.

Broadcasting industry advocates may lament the siphoning of ad dollars away from traditional, linear channels to digital platforms, but picture this — of the "GAFAN" group giants one is responsible for more than 55,000 spot plays at cable television for the week ending August 28.

Here's a bit of encouraging news for broadcast media news rooms to share with their team. A new poll conducted by Morning Consult and a large cable television news organization finds that some 87% of respondents are satisfied with the coverage of local news in their community.

From a greater sense of localism across his two stations to adopting "an OTT culture," Erik Schrader has had a busy year since transferring from Cleveland to Atlanta to serve as VP/GM of what are today Gray Television's flagship stations. He shares how things have transpired and what lies ahead for "Peachtree TV" and "CBS46" in this InFOCUS Podcast, presented by dot.FM. LISTEN HERE

The No. 2 and No. 3 individuals in the C-Suite of America's largest television broadcasting company in the U.S. are presently gearing up for a fireside chat Q&A session scheduled for September 7 at the BofA Securities Media, Communications and Entertainment Conference.

With back-to-school activity in full force across much of the eastern United States, quick-service restaurants ramped up their spot plays at cable television during the week ending August 21. The result? Last week's leader, Subway, is now No. 2 behind a category competitor known for its pizza pies.