The Washington Post Co. has just formally confirmed that it's acquiring South Florida television station WTVJ-NBC 6, confirming a story reported in the Miami Herald earlier this week. The Post Co. already owns WPLG-ABC 10, so the two stations will operate as a so-called duopoly, merging most of their business functions and possibly some part of their news production, though nothing's been announced on that score yet.
If the deal is approved by the FCC, WTVJ -- now owned by NBC, which put the station up for sale in March -- could change hands by the end of the year. The Post Co. also owns five other TV stations: Detroit's WDIV-NBC; Houston's KPRC-NBC; Orlando's WKMG-CBS; San Antonio's KSAT-ABC; and Jacksonville's independent station WJXT.
Will South Floridians now get the same news from both channels? Will staffs be consolidated and many people be laid off? You betcha ! This is the biggest duopoly of major network affiliates in a large market that I have heard about. It is a sign of the economic times, and the need to increase audience share by floundering local TV operators. Will it be good for the audience? Doubt it...but the FCC will approve it anyway !
Posted by: Media Maven | July 18, 2008 at 03:38 PM
The worst aspect of the acquisition is that the Washington Post has an additional outlet from which they can disseminate their hateful neoconservative opinions. Just what South Florida doesn't need--another voice advocating pemanent war in the Middle East.
Posted by: AmityShlaesMe | July 18, 2008 at 04:47 PM
freakin' AAA! Hopefully this means the end of that fat phucker Joe Rose. What a freakin' weasel he is, especially on Sunday nights. The fat jurk really fancies himself, pointing at the camera, yelling Spoooooooorts Final like a freakin' banshee and striding off like a five-year-old having a tantrum. The guy is SO unprofessional, and hopefully NBC6's new owners will see this and fire his a*s*s right back to oblivion.
Posted by: Tyler James | July 18, 2008 at 11:59 PM
As a reporter and anchor at both WPLG and WTVJ for 22 years, I watch in sadness as a once great television news powerhouse is finally reduced to a diluted memory. It's not the economy...the changing media business has failed to encourage advertisers to depart from traditional media platforms to the internet, where neighborhoods can finally receive their fair share of news coverage. Does anyone see a new advertising model in neighborhood sales? I hope so because failure to tap the granular aspect of markets will continue to result in the creation of duopolies and the loss of jobs and careers for some very talented people.
Posted by: jim brosemer | July 19, 2008 at 09:58 AM