It’s CW Decision Time for WKCF, WRDQ

TVWeek reports that more than 200 TV station owners and executives received their first communications from the new CW Network on Tuesday — starting the process for affiliate selection.

In Orlando, that affiliation choice comes down to two stations:

  • WKCF-Channel 18, the current WB affiliate and one of the strongest WB stations in the nation.
  • WRDQ-Channel 27, the independent station owned by Cox and run by the stongest station in the market, WFTV.

Selection of O-Town’s CW station could come quickly, according to the letters sent out. "Affiliation materials will be sent out this week. At the same time, we will be contacting each company involved in the first wave of affiliation discussions," the letter said. "We will do what is necessary to move quickly to evaluate each market, as well as to provide each television station that wishes to participate in our evaluation process an opportunity to do so."

As they say in TV, stay tuned …

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The Next Move? It Belongs to WRDQ

In a move that will better position the station for the future, WRDQ is moving.

Not from Orlando or from sister-station WFTV’s studios. It’s moving on Bright House Networks cable. The station has been airing on channel 21 on the cable lineup since not long after it went on the air in 2001. But starting in mid-March, it’s movin’ on down the dial to channel 10 — a much nicer neighborhood populated by many of the other local stations.

The station has been upgrading its programming, adding South Park, 24, My Wife and Kids and the Tom Joyner Show to staples that include Oprah reruns and the WFTV-produced Action News at 10 This fall, the station will add Monday-Friday reruns of Scrubs, Acording to Jim and That 70s Show.

And there the possibility of affiliation with the new CW Network. The move to a more favorable cable channel position could only help those prospects.

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Cancelled: WKCF says goodbye to Uncle Bud

WKCF-Channel 18 said it will pull the plug on Bud Hedinger and the 11-year-old “Original 10 O’Clock News” on Sept. 13. Hedinger first started in the market in 1986 when he was the 6 and 11 p.m. anchor at WFTV-Channel 9. After leaving in 1989, he returned in 1993 as the main anchor at WCPX (now WKMG) before moving to the WKCF newscast. WCPX previously produced the newscast for WB18. WKCF cited increased competition for its decision, but the newscast finished a close second to WOFL’s “Fox 35 News at 10″ and 27,000 households ahead of “Action News at 10″ on WRDQ-Channel 27.