WEST PALM BEACH — Originally, Sinclair Broadcast Group‘s CBS affiliate serving a region of Florida stretching from Vero Beach to Boca Raton was to produce the lone Florida gubernatorial debate between Ron DeSantis and his Democratic challenger, Charlie Crist.
Other Sinclair stations around the state were to air the October 12 debate, but no Miami, Tampa, Orlando or Jacksonville TV station had been announced as a broadcast partner.
Now, plans have changed, and every Florida TV market will air the debate on a new date.
Sinclair-owned WPEC-12 will now produce the debate on Monday, October 24, at 7pm.
It will be hosted by Liz Quirantes and be broadcast live from the Sunrise Theater in Fort Pierce.
Why is the debate being postponed? Hurricane Ian is the official reason WPEC is giving.
But, the bigger takeaway is that statewide distribution of the rescheduled debate has been reached — something that wasn’t in the works prior to Ian’s devastating journey from Fort Myers Beach to Orlando and on to Flagler County.
Thanks to agreements with Nexstar Media Group, the debate will air on WMBB-13 in Panama City and on WFLA-8 in Tampa-St. Petersburg, which is distributed across a DMA that includes Lakeland, Sarasota, Bradenton, Winter Haven and Sebring.
In Jacksonville and the Orlando-Melbourne-Daytona Beach DMA, Cox Media Group stations will air the debate on WJAX-19 and WFOX-14; and on WFTV-9, respectively.
It’s a coup of sorts for CMG, as WFTV anchors Martha Sugalski and Greg Warmoth are among the highly market’s most recognized as the ABC affiliate is in a heated local news battle with Hearst’s NBC affiliate, WESH-2, and FOX-owned WOFL-35.
In Miami, WFOR-4, the CBS News and Stations O&O, secured the debate. It is a mild surprise, as Berkshire Hathaway-owned WPLG-10 had been mentioned as a possible partner for the originally scheduled October 12 debate.
For the battered Fort Myers-Naples DMA, Waterman Broadcasting‘s NBC affiliate, WBBH-20 “NBC2”, will air the debate. The station suffered minimal damage, whereas market-leading WINK-11 is broadcasting from a makeshift transmitter site locale.
Meanwhile, Sinclair will air the debate as planned on three of its other Florida stations: WEAR-3 in Pensacola, which also reaches Destin-Fort Walton Beach; WTWC-40 in Tallahassee; and WGFL-28 in Gainesville.
Sinclair SVP/News Scott Livingston thanked the four owners of the other Florida stations for carrying the upcoming debate. “Through their distribution, this important debate will now be available across the state of Florida, giving viewers access to the only televised debate between the candidates,” he said.
Additional information about the debate can be found at FloridaDebate2022.com, where Florida residents will also have the opportunity to submit questions for the candidates that may be used during the debate.
