As RBR+TVBR first shared on June 2, Gray Media-owned WANF-TV on August 15 will end its 31-year affiliation with the CBS Television Network. This means a station that shed its “CBS46” branding with Gray Media’s acquisition of the station through its merger with Meredith Local Media will become a fully independent station — doubling-down on its branding as “Atlanta News First.”
What does this mean for Gray Media, for its staff in Atlanta and for viewers in the market? We learn more in this conversation between RBR+TVBR Editor-in-Chief Adam R Jacobson and Gray Media/Atlanta General Manager Erik Schrader, who oversees WANF and WPCH-TV “Peachtree TV” in the South’s largest TV market.
In this under 30-minute on-demand interview, Schrader addresses the competitive local TV news environment and the announcement that CBS News & Stations will be building out an Atlanta operation to add to the current mix of market choices.
Schrader also addresses the delicate balance of growing digital media assets while ensuring those efforts do not pull consumers away from linear television. He also tackles the assertion that broadcast TV is simply for the AARP crowd.
To view this podcast in the RBR+TVBR YouTube Channel, simply click here: https://youtu.be/tZCuSL5Tawg
