Posts Tagged ‘WRBW-65’

Birthday time for WESH, WRBW

June 13th, 2010

Some quick notes from the news that is television …

Happy birthday, WESH. Channel 2 turned 54 years old on Friday. The station went on the air June 11, 1956, from Daytona Beach. Some fun facts about WESH: It was the 19th television station in Florida. … It wasn’t the only NBC affiliate in Central Florida when it went on the air. It shared NBC with WDBO-Channel 6 because most folks outside of Volusia County could not receive WESH, which was broadcasting on a 300-foot tower in Daytona at the time. On November 5, 1957 — the day WESH  activated a new 1,000-foot tower in Orange City — it got the NBC affiliation all to itself. … Of the Big 4 network affiliates in Orlando, WESH is the only station with its original call letters. Check out our WESH history page for more information. …

Fox-owned WRBW-My 65 celebrated its sweet 16  birthday on June 4. It went on the air as independent Rainbow 65 in 1994.  …

I’ve been traveling a lot lately and came across some familiar faces on TV. In Chicago, former WKMG sports anchor Ryan Baker is now at WBBM-CBS 2 as the main sports guy at the CBS O&O. In Norfolk/Virginia Beach, former WESH morning anchor Tom Schaad is the main anchor at WAVY-NBC 10. …

Eboni Deon has joined WFTV as Channel 9′s new weekend meteorologist. She previously worked at CNN International and The Weather Channel — which could explain why she has admirers from across the globe on her Facebook Fan Page. She replaces Ben Smith, who moved from Channel 9 to WHNT-CBS 19 in Huntsville, Ala. (And WHNT is also the home of former WESH meteorologist Dan Sattefield.) …

I don’t write much about Central Florida News 13 — since I can’t get it on my home TV — but the cable station says it will launch a new website soon. “More video. Easier to Use. More of What YOU Want,” is how News 13 is describing its new cfnews13.com page. Stay turned.

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Posted in Anchors, Orlando TV, WESH-2, WFTV-9, WOFL-35, Weather

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Lose Fox on Bright House Networks? There are alternatives

December 30th, 2009

The clock is ticking, and Fox is ready to pull the plug on its channels on Bright House Networks at the stroke of midnight tomorrow.

Orlando attorney John Morgan took the mammoth media company to court today to try to stop it from cutting off its signals for the cable system. But, according to the Orlando Sentinel, Fox countered that a Florida court was not the right one to hear this issue since some of Fox’s channels are under the jurisdiction of the Federal Communications Commission. Therefore, the media company’s attorney argued, this issue should be taken up in federal court. Morgan countered that this was just a stall tactic by Fox. Read the full story here.

Assuming the two sides do no reach agreement on retransmission compensation, Bright House customers may be without Fox 35, MyNetwork 65, Sun Sports, Fox Sports Florida and other Fox-owned channels as early as New Year’s Day. So, if you have Bright House, what should you do? Here are some tips on how to get Fox channels and programming:

First, if you have a digital television — one that gets HD signals — relax. You can easily pick up WOFL-Fox 35 and WRBW-My 65 with an indoor rabbit-ears antenna.

If you have an old analog TV, don’t panic. All you need is a digital converter box. These will run you between $40 and $55. Click here to see examples from Best Buy. With one of these boxes, you can pull in all the local stations — including Fox — with an indoor rabbit-ears antenna.

OK, so you’re set for all the BCS bowl games — including Tim Tebow’s finale as the Florida Gators face the Cincinnati Bearcats in the Sugar Bowl. What about those Orlando Magic games on Sun Sports and Fox Sports Florida?

To get them, you’re going to either (a) have to find someone who has a television provider other than Bright House, (b) sign up with one of those providers or (c) find a sports bar that doesn’t use Bright House.

For you home programming, choices include Dish Network and DirecTV for satellite. (By the way, Fox and DirecTV are owned by the same company, so chances are you will never lose any Fox programming on DirecTV). In some areas of Central Florida, there is another option: AT&T’ U-verse service.

Like all disagreements, this one will come to an end at somepoint. Hopefully, you won’t miss to many of your favorite shows or sports events.

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Posted in Orlando Magic, Orlando TV, WOFL-35, WRBW-65

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Fox Builds New Net With O-Town’s 65

February 22nd, 2006

Orlando’s former UPN 65 is getting a new name and a new network. Get ready for My TV 65.

News Corp. announced plans Wednesday to create a new network for its Fox-owned stations that are losing UPN affiliation when that network shuts down this fall. News Corp. will launch My Network TV on Sept. 5, and WRBW will be among the O&O stations that will make up the new netlet.

According to Broadcasting and Cable, My Network TV will consist of 12 hours of original programming each week, with shows airing at 8-10 p.m. Monday through Saturday. It will launch with two hour-long dramas, English-language telenovelas from News Corp.-owned Twentieth Television. Desires will focus on two brothers on the run from the mob, while Secrets will be set in the fashion industry. Each of the soaps will run five nights a week.

» Read more: Fox Builds New Net With O-Town’s 65

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Posted in Orlando TV, WRBW-65

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27 Wants to Join CW; 65 Drops UPN

January 28th, 2006

 

 

An update on the WB-UPN-CW situation in O-Town:

Heard from a WRDQ insider that the now-independent station plans to actively pursue affiliation with the new CW Network. So, it’s not a slam dunk that CW programming will end up on WKCF-WB 18. I would think that with its Orlando duopoly with WFTV-Channel 9 and its strong Cox ownership, Channel 27 could have an edge over Emmis-owned WKCF in landing the new network. Plus, isn’t WKCF still up for sale?

And, as predicted, Fox-owned WRBW dropped the UPN logo out of its on-air graphics on Friday (see above). The former "UPN 65" now refers to itself as "WRBW 65." This follows the lead of other Fox-owned UPN affiliates that are now distancing themselves from the network that is leaving them high and dry. Plus, Broadcasting and Cable reported that Fox-owned UPN stations are scrapping February sweeps radio buys that had been intended to promote UPN programming. The stations also are not promoting network shows during their programming.

» Read more: 27 Wants to Join CW; 65 Drops UPN

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Posted in Orlando TV, WKCF-18, WRBW-65, WRDQ-27

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Changes Already on the Way for WRBW

January 25th, 2006

 

 

The ramifications of the new CW Network continue. As you know the Fox-owned UPN stations in major markets like New York, Los Angeles and Chicago are being frozen out of the new TV network that will replace UPN and the WB. You didn’t think Fox would just take this, did you?

Just a day after the news of the CW Network broke, Fox is already removing UPN branding from its owned stations. WWOR-UPN 9 in New York has dropped its UPN logo on-air, but still has it on its website. KCOP-UPN 13 in Los Angeles has removed the UPN icon from its logo on-air and on the web and now refers to itself as KCOP 13. (You can see the old and new KCOP logos up there on the right.)

So, it’s likely just a matter of days — perhaps hours — before Orlando’s Fox-owned WRBW-UPN 65 becomes just plain ol’ Channel 65.

» Read more: Changes Already on the Way for WRBW

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Posted in Orlando TV, WRBW-65

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