This article appeared on FTVLive today. It is true according to people involved and NBC executives have confirmed it.
NBC 6 Sale hits a snag:
“It appears that the WTVJ (NBC O&O Miami) sale maybe in trouble.Insiders tell FTVLive that the Department of Justice has been in Miami and looked at the client lists for the two stations and there’s concern that Post Newsweek may have too much of the market and the deal could be in trouble.If so, this is a big issue for the NBC-Local Media Group. They needed the money from the WTVJ sale to cover budget misses. If the sale doesn’t go through, you could be looking at some more very deep cuts at the O&O’s”
The one bad side of it is that Dave Boyland told several people that the sale will still go through. It just may be delayed until February.
Great news for Nespral. If they want to stay in 6th place, looks like job security for her through Christmas. Nationally NBC had 3 shows in the top 5 last week (2 were football games), and the Olympics did well, so NBC6 will have to work at keeping the ratings in the tank–at least till the Fall Season premieres.
I don’t see the big deal about all this. The transition wasn’t going to be able to happen until next year anyway. The sale may have been completed by year’s end, but WPLG’s new building won’t be ready till spring. No consolidation is going to be taking place when the stations are still being run from two different buildings.
It is a big deal. If DOJ sees a problem and this could be a problem with antitrust. They can kill the deal. PERIOD!
Yes, I know they can kill the deal. My point is, the story of the sale being postponed until early 2009 isn’t a big deal. I’m glad DOJ is showing interest and that the government is doing their job, but if the deal still goes through, a few months isn’t going to mean anything. If the deal gets delayed past the move-in date of WPLG’s new building, then it will mean something to the parties involved. Right now it is simply a matter of when the papers get signed.
Way To Go!!!! So Know NBC Will Fire All Of You Instead Of Post-Newsweek!!!!!!
I’d much rather see this Post-Newsweek deal fall apart, and NBC selling ownership of WTVJ to a different company. I’m hoping that private groups, like Local TV, Four Points, or Bonton could and might be interested.
I agree with you Eric! Eric, what about Belo or Cox? This deal needs to fall apart. I am tired of seeing informercials on Local 10. What WTVJ need is new management to create a stronger news department. I just pray that the department of justice will denie this deal. I love the people at the station & my dreams is to work at WTVJ.
I’m also hoping that Cox or Belo might be interested parties too. True, WTVJ is long overdue for a much needed turn-around. New management would have to be a must, since the current management doesn’t really seem to get it. I’d hate for WTVJ to have to lose such excellent on-air talent, like Julia Yarbough, Pam Giganti, John Gerard, etc.
I feel you man. I met Julia, Trina, Kelly, John, Demarco, and other station employees. Very nice people and they love their jobs. Eric, who would be the new main anchors @ WTVJ if new management takes over? Jackie & Demarco? They Try to make a team? or Joel & Julia? I think they would bring the ratings in. Yes, they definately need a turnaround at the station. WTVJ is build on legacy and it just makes me feel bad when I see this happening. I can see why good on-air talent like Jennifer Valoppi left because of poor management. I met the general manager before, she is an air-head does not know how to run a television station. Don Brown was a good general manager. I saw him more involved in the community that lady Aerdith Deirths.
Another problem at WTVJ: Yvette Miley, and all, who have unfortunately, been influenced by her school of thought.
We don’t need to always yell out “I’m watching 7.” If the Department of Justice wants to prevent two television stations from becoming one voice, then they need to educate WTVJ management against plagiarizing from 7.
My on-air talent suggestions for WTVJ…
Definitely keep Julia Yarbough, Pam Giganti, Joel Connable, Kelly Craig, John Gerard, and Trina Robinson. Very likely keep Patricia Andreu, Joe Rose, and Paul Deanno around.
Tony Segreto and Bob Mayer may be retiring soon. Jackie Nespral and Demarco Morgan have really got to go.
Eric, I agree with everything except Demarco Morgan. He is a good anchor & nice in person. But I think he was promoted to quickly when he came to WTVJ. Yes, Nespral needs to go. It’s like when u look at Demarco & Jackie they try to make things work together. She looks like she is uncomfortable with him. Juila & Joel needs to be the new main anchors. Oh, I saw Demarco & Juila this evening, they both have better chemistry together than Jackie with Demarco.
I think the main reason why Jackie Nespral is at WTVJ is because she has connections at the station and within the networks of nbc & telemundo with former general manager Don Browne who is President of telemundo. Don Browne loved Jackie because of her anchor skills and her looks. I read in an article that when she first came to wtvj from nbc news, other anchor/reporters were jealous of her of how and why she was promoted to anchor the 5pm news with Tony Segreto.
– Trina Robinson seems a little incoherent at times. However, she’s great for entertainment pieces.
– Kelly Craig – all-around great anchor, but lacks tackfulness off the air.
– Patricia Andreu is dry. She makes me feel uncomfortable in a I-don’t-think-your-remarks-are-funny kind of way.
– Demarco has charisma.
– Tony and Bob are wonderful.
– Trina Robinson seems a little incoherent at times. However, she’s great for entertainment pieces.
– Kelly Craig – all-around great anchor, but lacks tackfulness off the air.
– Patricia Andreu is dry. She makes me feel uncomfortable in a I-don’t-think-your-remarks-are-funny kind of way.
– Demarco has charisma.
– Tony and Bob are wonderful.
I agree with you Mr. WTVJ. I Love Trina since she came to WTVJ back in 1999.I prefer Trina doing the news instead of weather. It’s sumthing about Kelly and Trina…they can anchor really well and they say the craziest things on-air. I miss Martha Sugalski and Guy Rawlings. What about Jennifer Valoppi? She was a good anchor, but when management took her from the desk and had her doing stand-ups in the newsroom. It was written in her face that she was piss and did not want to be at the station anymore. I grew up watching Kelly Craig & Tom Randles, both made a great team.I know Kelly is older now but she was hott when she was skiny.lol But can sum1 answer this what the hell management was thinking when that promoted her to main anchor and then solo main anchor and had the nerve to keep her solo for a long time from when they said “experimenting.”? I just pray that this deal is denied so sum1 can come turn wtvj around like it use to be.
NBC6 Fan,
If you aren’t someone in news, you sound a bit obsessive about Ch6. Turn off the TV. There is a real world outside your door. Explore it.
Ch6 is going to be sold. To think that some populist movement of people who never watched their news in the first place is going to work is naive. Ch6 is unable to compete in the market with the product they have. Period. You can blame the anchors, you can blame the management, you can blame whomever you want, but the net is the same.
Ch6 was is like the housing market. It has a glut of highly overpaid “talent” (used loosely) that is incapable of attracting or retaining any customers.
The people of South Florida have voted and it looks like Ch6 got voted off the island. They don’t like CH6. Not for news or programming.
Forget Ch6. That deal is done. The FCC stuff is perfunctory.
Watch Ch4 now. They are in a similar if not worse situation than Ch6. This station is more clueless and backward than 6 and the ratings are just about as bad. Management recently told staff that 2009 is going to be worse than 08. Over 30 people were let go in 2008.
They will be the next station to go into a crisis mode if they are not there already.
glad to see the people here who think that SVN is the only game in town, plg is good and the other sucks and want to bash them. Like do you work at any of these stations or do you like to be an antagoinist. Give me a break!
At this point all 4 locals are pretty bad. I can’t remember when I wanted to watch an entire newscast on any local channel. Nowdays, I can’t go more than 5 minutes or so without having to flip.
So many people have left out critical points of interest to the community as a whole while spewing messages that only make sense to them.
First of all, there are going to be 250 people who are going to lose jobs that many have held for over 20 years because a company finds it easier to raise revenue by selling a commoditiy rather than improving or adapting to what the community wants.
Jackie & Demarco are inconsequential to this equation. There are a lot of people who will be losing thier homes over this. Kids they have in college may not be able to finish school. The lay off’s could cost people thier livleyhoods, health insurance, retirement accounts, pensions, etc.
Does anyone take into consideration that all of these lives are at the mercy of a bottom line, that truth be told, is a line which can be moved if NBC executive management would put a slight effort into improving the product?
Channel 7 demographic is 18 to 24 year old high school drop out males. They have clearly reached a target they can be proud of. However, I would prefer to tune into a channel with a bit of intelligence in news delivery, and I cannot possibly be the only one. One would think that as lucrative as this market can be, and having the Hisapanic based market tied up with Telemundo that with the funding of G.E. and Universal Pictures AND the money produced by the MULTIPLE cable channels that NBC owns that are doing VERY well that funding some improvements in Miami would be worth while.
Pardon the rant, but does anyone else see this?