February 10th, 2009, 10:21 AM
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Wrangler
Join Date: Dec 2002
Location: Mays Landing, NJ
Posts: 11,802
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Local TV Stations Face a Fuzzy Future
Interesting article in the Wall Street Journal today:
Local TV Stations Face a Fuzzy Future - WSJ.com
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Many local stations -- once treated like royalty by broadcast networks -- are scaling back their original programming, cutting down on weekend news shows and trimming staff. Nationwide, 2009 TV-station ad revenue is projected to fall 20% to 30%, according to Bernstein Research.
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Station owners say even with these cuts, there are more local newscasts than the market can bear. "Over time, there will be fewer players," says Dunia Shive, chief executive of Belo Corp., which owns 20 local stations covering 14% of the U.S. market.
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Over-the-air broadcast deals between NBC, CBS and Fox and the NFL, for example, expire after the 2011 season. Some sports events -- like college football's Bowl Championship Series -- have already signed more lucrative deals with cable networks. And as local earnings plunge and media companies take massive write-downs on the value of their broadcast licenses, the networks have fewer incentives to hang on to the stations they own and operate.
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