Thursday, November 2, 2017

Media Notes

CBS last week named Jeff Glor as Evening News anchor.  It's something I predicted back in June.  Remember, the content is the real star.  CBS is in third place at 6:30 PM.  It's not an anchor issue.  CBS local newscasts get hammered in several major markets, and some medium ones.  The Evening News gets no lead in.  That's the problem.  Fix the locals, and the network benefits.

The baseball season is over and something I recently said is still true.  I really haven't been impressed by the pre and post game offerings on MLB and FOX.  MLB is especially disappointing because its morning highlight broadcast was so good during the regular season.

I was looking for the World Series on the radio during my drive to work Saturday night.  I was treated to a Philadelphia 76ers basketball game on the station that usually has baseball.  Are you kidding me?

BUZZR is putting some classic game shows on Amazon Prime.  Hours of fun.

I hoped two of the major Lackawanna County election races would stay on the high road.  Looking at TV and social media commercials, they're both filled with cheap shots, coming from both sides.

This one might be too "inside baseball," but I'll try to explain it clearly.  CBS is selling off its radio stations, but CBS keeps CBS Radio News.  Last week, CBS announced a programming expansion for its radio news department.  It looks to be mostly feature and entertainment material.  I'm happy as long as the gold standard top of the hour newscast remains strong.

WCBS and WINS in New York were really at the top of their game during Tuesday afternoon's terrorist incident.

I was stuck in a dentist's waiting room, waiting for a relative, and was forced to watch HGTV.  Holy cow!  All of its programming looks exactly the same.

NFL ratings are rebounding, but they are still not what they used to be.  Many are pointing to national anthem protests as the main reason.  I'm sure that's played a role in turning fans off.  A bigger reason could be some bad games-- especially on Monday and Thursday nights, plus those London contests.  There is speculation the league will cut back on Thursday night broadcasts, which isn't a bad idea.

I'm amazed at the number of people I've met who look forward to those schmaltzy Christmas movies on the Hallmark Channel.