And our first entry this week is more of a follow-up entry…
WJW TO CBS? HOLD ON…: When that big bombshell dropped last week, with FOX announcing its intent to sell Cleveland O&O WJW/8 “FOX 8” and eight other stations, we got a flurry of speculation that almost sounded, well, like it could happen.
At least some folks seem to think that it’s a foregone conclusion that CBS itself will ride in on the white horse and restore WJW’s former CBS affiliation, swiping it with style from the folks at Reserve Square, the home of Raycom Media’s WOIO/19.
Just some reminders here.
CBS Radio just spent a lot of time finding buyers for their smaller market radio stations – “smaller”, in some cases, as high as the low 20’s in size.
While Cleveland’s CBS Radio cluster remained intact, the same can’t be said for Columbus and Cincinnati, where the company’s long-time operations were sold off.
Is CBS, TV-side, in a buying mood?
Well, they did buy their Sacramento CA affiliate, KOVR/13. But there, they had already owned UPN-turned-CW affiliate KMAX/31 for years. The two stations, from what we’ve read, consolidated into KOVR’s facilities. Sacramento is a similar-sized market to Cleveland.
While it may seem like “poetic justice”, there’s another problem with CBS buying WJW…the company is just as duopoly-crazy as FOX is, and again, WJW has no companion station in the market.
Unless they can do what FOX couldn’t and buy a duopoly partner for WJW, we don’t see CBS dipping its toes into this market’s water.
The bulk of this item is only to put one thing on the record: There is not even any credible RUMOR about a possible buyer for WJW, at least among our local TV sources.
And it’s also to remind readers that FOX has not done anything at this point than announce it intended to sell WJW and the eight other stations. That’s far from announcing a deal…
AND RESERVE SQUARE AGAIN: Look to “probably early July” for the start date for “19 Action News” sportscaster David Pingalore in his new home market of Orlando, as lead sports anchor at CBS affiliate WKMG/6.
That’s according to Henry Maldonado, who gave the date to Orlando Sentinel TV guru Hal Bodeker in this article on the paper’s TV blog.
Maldonado talks about Pingalore’s delay, due to the Cleveland Cavaliers making it into the NBA Finals:
“That was always part of the agreement. He was with them until the Cavaliers ended their run,” Maldonado said. “I thought the moment they ran into the Pistons, it was all over.”
The blog article is from June 7th, just over a week ago. Game 7 of the NBA finals would have been late this week, we believe, if the Cavaliers had lasted that long, and we’re sure Pingalore would still like some decompression time even with the games over.
And in a storyline that sounds like it describes a possible WOIO hire, it turns out the newly hired weekend anchor at Pingalore’s new Orlando station is, and no, we’re not making this up, a former profesional wrestling announcer.
Former World Wrestling Entertainment play-by-play TV voice and host Todd Romero will be working at WKMG. The WKMG boss points out that Romero has “legitimate” sports experience at stations in Kansas City and Denver, and calls him “energetic”.
No, that wasn’t a quote out of Reserve Square…
WE HAVE ROGER TO KICK AROUND AGAIN: Many observers, including this corner, wondered if former Cleveland Plain Dealer sports/media columnist Roger Brown had just faded away.
After taking the PD’s buyout offer, Mr. Brown started writing occasional columns for the Lake County News-Herald (and sister Lorain Morning Journal), and had a brief stint with “19 Action News”.
Roger’s newspaper columns disappeared, and he openly left the employ of WOIO.
As someone once said in a movie, “He’s baaaaaack.”
While searching for more on the aforementioned Mr. Pingalore, we found Roger Brown’s byline once again on the website of the News-Herald, with a column written in late May. He notes that his former TV employer has apparently decided to “go serious” in the search for Pingalore’s replacement:
Word is Channel 19 has given up on auditioning former local athletes (such as Bob Golic, Hanford Dixon, etc.) as potential sports anchors. WOIO now reportedly wants a veteran sportscaster to replace weekend sports anchor David Pingalore, who leaves soon for Orlando.
Roger also mentions that SportsTime Ohio’s Mike Cairns, former weekend sports anchor at WKYC/3, is likely to do fill-in on the “Action News” sports desk.
Roger’s return would seem to be for good, as he has another column in Sunday’s News-Herald.
He notes the possible move (he says “don’t be surprised”) of WKYC/3 sports director Jim Donovan to TV play-by-play for Cleveland Browns’ pre-season games airing on his home station – with WTAM/1100’s Mike Snyder filling the radio side of the bill. (By the way, we heard Snyder once again on Friday night, filling in for Tom Hamilton on the Indians Radio Network.)
Mr. Brown also weighs in on the waiting game for FOX Sports Net Ohio, who may lose former Cavaliers player and current FSN Ohio Cavaliers analyst Scott Williams to an assistant coaching gig in Phoenix.
And for those playing the Roger Brown Drinking Game at home: There were no real estate mentions in either column we pulled up, but there is a quote from FSN host and Shaker Heights native Chris Rose in Sunday’s column. And of course, there’s the above quoted “Word is…”…
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