Posts Tagged ‘WKCF-18’

WESH moves ahead of WFTV in the morning

July 31st, 2009

wesh2newshdFor the first time in five years, WESH 2 Sunrise at 6 a.m. finished July ahead of WFTV’s Eyewitness News Daybreak in the adults 25-54 demo, WESH reports.

The station also notes that it is closing in on WFTV’s top-rated Eyewitness News in the evening — trailing now by 9,600 adults in the demo.

In the morning race, WESH’s audience is up 34 percent from last July. In the early evening — and without competition from WKMG from 5-6 — WESH 2 is up 58 percent. In late news — despite being saddled with NBC’s prime time as a lead-in — WESH is up 27 percent.

More good and some bad news for WESH after the jump …

» Read more: WESH moves ahead of WFTV in the morning

Orlando gets a new Spanish-language channel on WKCF

July 17th, 2009

The Spanish-language offerings on Orlando TV are about to get more diverse.

WESH-2,  WKCF-CW 18 and parent Hearst Television announced Thursday a partnership with Liberman Broadcasting to offer its Estrella TV to Central Florida viewers. Estrealla, which broadcasts original Spanish-language content produced in the United States, will appear on WKCF’s digital sub-channel 18.3 starting in mid-August.

“We are always looking for ways to better serve our large and growing Hispanic population, and with LBI’s Spanish-language broadcast experience reaching back to the 70′s, we know we’ve found the right partner,” WESH/WKCF President and General Manager Jim Carter said in a news release.

Lenard Liberman, Executive Vice President, LBI Media, said, “We are excited to work with WESH and WKCF to offer Estrella TV’s original, high-quality programming to a new group of Hispanic viewers in the Orlando – Daytona Beach, Florida market. This partnership solidifies our commitment to launch Estrella TV this quarter and to finalize our position as a network that will benefit Hispanic audiences and advertisers nationwide.”

According to the news release, Estrella TV will provide a unique mix of programs, including musical-variety, comedy, scripted drama, talk and game shows, as well as a daily national newscast and a news magazine show, all featuring top Latin American talent. Network owner LBI is the largest producer of Spanish-language television programming in the United States, and currently produces 56 hours of original television per week.

In addition to competing against WVEN-Univision 26 and WTMO-Telemundo 15, Estrella will also go up against LATV — the Hispanic channel offered on WKMG-Local 6′s digital sub-channel 6.2. WKMG parent Post-Newsweek has a distrbution deal with LATV that began in January 2007.

Estrella TV will also be the third digital sub-channel offered by the WESH-WKCF duopoly. WESH has WeatherPlus on its 2.2 sub-channel, and WKCF has This TV, a 24-hour movie channel, on its 18.2 sub-channel.


» Read more: Orlando gets a new Spanish-language channel on WKCF

Andrea Jackson leaving The Daily Buzz

April 26th, 2009

Andrea Jackson, one of the original Daily Buzz anchors, is leaving the Orlando-based morning show. Her last day is Wednesday.

In a note to Sentinel TV Guy and More blogger Hal Boedeker, Jackson said, “It’s been a great experience being a part of ‘The Buzz’ since the very beginning. After being on the air for seven years, it’s the right time for a change. … Stay tuned.”

The nationally syndicated show moved to Orlando in the summer of 2004 from Dayton, Ohio. It originally aired on and was headquartered at WKCF-Channel 18 in Lake Mary. Once WESH parent Hearst-Argyle bought WKCF, it booted the Buzz so it could air local news on the station. The Daily Buzz found a new home on the dial at WRDQ-Chanel 27 — and new studios at Full Sail University in Winter Park.

The show still airs on 145 stations natioanlly. After Jackson’s departure, only weather guy Mitch English will remain from the original hosts — which also included Ron Corning.

Here’s a clip from The Daily Buzz web site feature Jackson:

 


» Read more: Andrea Jackson leaving The Daily Buzz

Top Orlando TV news videos on YouTube

April 11th, 2009

If you’ve checked out the channel pages on this site, you’ll know I have lots of video of Orlando TV — past and present. But as much as I have, YouTube has more. (In fact, many of my videos have been posted by others onto YouTube.) I’ve created a YouTube playlist with some of my favorite Orlando TV News videos I’ve spotted on the site. You can take a look here. There are more than 40 clips, representing WCPX, WKMG, WESH, WFTV, WOFL, WKCF and even WAYK (now known as WOPX).

» Read more: Top Orlando TV news videos on YouTube

Digital signals bring good news, bad news

April 7th, 2009

When Orlando’s TV stations — and all others in the nation — finally turn off their analog transmitters on June 12, some Central Florida viewers might be in for a surprise.

Because of tower relocations and the switch to a digital signal, many area stations will reach more households over the air than they did with their analog signals — especially households in and around the Metro Orlando area. Here’s the map showing the new digital signal areas vs. the old analog signal areas for all of Orlando’s stations.

One of the big losers is WESH 2 (NBC). The good news: Homes with digital boxes in Polk, Brevard, Osceola and Indian River counties can pick up WESH’s digital signal — thanks to its digital broadcast tower being in east Orange county. The bad news: When WESH’s transmitter on its tower in Orange City is turned off, households in Pasco, Hernando, Citrus, Sumter, Marion, Levy, Alachua, Putnam, Clay and St. Johns counties won’t get WESH’s signal anymore. You can read more about WESH’s signal here.

Here’s how some other area stations will fare:

  • WRDQ- 27 (Independent): Analog tower in Osceola County; digital tower in east Orange. It picks up a larger number of households in Volusia, Putnam, Marion, Sumter, Hernando, Pasco and Polk. The more northerly digital tower means the loss of households in Hardee, Highlands, Okechobee and Indian River counties. 
  • WOFL-35 (Fox): Analog tower in east Orange; digital tower in east Orange. With new digital footprint, it gains households in Flagler, Putnam, Marion, Sumter, Hernando, Citrus, Polk, Osceola, Brevard and Indian River counties. 
  • WKMG-6 (CBS): Analog tower in east Orange; digital tower in east Orange. It gains households in Flagler, Putnum, Marion and Sumter; it loses homes in Pasco and Polk counties. 
  • WFTV- 9 (ABC):  Analog tower in east Orange; digital tower in east Orange. It keeps its signal footprint vitrually the same, but it gains households in Polk and Indian River counties. 
  • WMFE-24 (PBS): Analog tower in east Orange; digital tower in east Orange. Gains households in Flagler, Marion, Lake, Sumter, Polk, Osceola and Brevard counties. 
  • WVEN-26 (Univision): Analog tower in northwest Volusia County; digital tower in Orange City. It gains households in Lake, northern Osceola and northern Brevard. It loses households in St. Johns, Putnam, Alachua and Marion counties. 
  • WBCC-68 (PBS): Analog tower in Oscoela; digital tower in east Orange. It gains households in Volusia, Seminole, Lake and Polk counties. 
  • WDSC-15 (PBS): Analog tower in Daytona Beach; digital tower in east Orange. It  picks up households in Lake, Orange, Seminole, Osceola, Polk and Brevard counties.

» Read more: Digital signals bring good news, bad news