Here are WFTV’s and WESH’s promos for their new morning newscasts on their sister stations. >> Click to watch
New WESH and WFTV a.m. promos
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Morning news battle heats up today
Good morning, Orlando. You may not realize it, but you’re waking up in what has become the most competitive market for morning news in the nation — with more local news, with more national news and with plenty of surprises.
Monday morning, WESH-Channel 2 and WFTV-Channel 9 will start their early newscasts at 5 a.m. and then keep on broadcasting once their respective network morning shows go on the air at 7 o’clock. Instead of watching NBC’s Today, you can view WESH 2 News on CW 18 from 7-9 a.m. by switching over to WKCF-Channel 18. Instead of watching Good Morning America, you can tune to Eyewitness News This Morning from 7-8:30 a.m. by going to WRDQ-Channel 27.
WESH’s and WFTV’s news expansion to their sister duopoly stations sets up a local 7-9 a.m. showdown for the first time. WOFL-Fox 35 has had the 7-9 a.m. local broadcast news franchise to itself for six years since it launched its morning news in 2000. (Oh, and we can’t overlook cable’s Central Florida News 13, whose all-local newscasts do well in the mornings, too.)
WFTV was the first to announce its plans to expand its Eyewitness News franchise in the morning to sister station WRDQ. The details were revealed in early December, but the station has been planning the new morning news since July.
Where the news comes most
With the expansion of morning newscasts to their sister duopoly stations, WESH and WFTV have solidified their status as the providers of the most live local newscasts in Central Florida.
WESH 2 now produces 7-1/2 hours of local news each weekday, taking the top spot among the area stations.
WFTV is second with 6-1/2 hours of news while WOFL — which had the local morning news field to itself until Friday — is a close third with six hours of local news each weekday.
WKMG — the area’s only network station without a duopoly partner — brings up with rear with 5 hours of news a day.
Note: Central Florida News 13 broadcasts news 24 hours a day, but not all of its newscasts are live.
More Sweeps Analysis
Breaking down more sweeps numbers, from Friday’s Orlando Sentinel.
>> WOFL’s 10 p.m. newscast is up 17 percent from a year ago. From Monday-Sunday, Fox 35 News has 52,200 households and WRDQ’s Action News has 36,000.
>> Showing how much the network lead-in helps or hurts, WFTV (ABC) is up 28 percent at 11 p.m., and WESH (NBC) is down 15 percent. WKMG, home of top-rated CBS, was off a surprising 10 percent at 11 p.m.
WKMG Dominates AP Awards
WKMG was the big winner when the 2006 Florida Associated Press Broadcasters awards were presented on Saturday night. Local 6 News won both first- and second-place awards in the Best TV Newscast and Individual Achievement categories, plus a first place in spot news.
The Jan. 11, 2005, WKMG newscast — featuring exclusive video of a fatal plane crash on Dubsdread Golf Course — was voted best newscast, edging another WKMG newscast from Aug. 2. Sky 6 pilot Dan McCarthy and photojournalist Chris Miller won the spot news category with the aerial video of the Dubsdread crash.
In the Individual Achievement competition, Tony Pipitone took first place with a composite of live, investigative and feature reports, while Local 6′s Erik von Ancken won the second-place award.
WFTV received a first-place award in Hard News Feature for Berndt Petersen’s "Lake County Cold Case." Channel 9 also picked up second-place awards for Sportscast, Public Affairs and Best Overall.
WESH received one award, for a Marc Rice photo essay with Kathy Marsh titled "The Chicken Man."
Orlando’s stations were competing in the AP’s large-market division, that also includes stations from Miami and Tampa.
The Friday Funnies: They’re No. 1?
Recently received this photo of former 1980s WESH anchors Bobby Estill, Bruce Hamilton and Carol Granstrom, posing on the Channel 2 anchor desk. If only Dave Marsh had been around for the photo!