WJXT-TV 4 to drop CBS: Florida CBS affiliate dumps network after 50 years..

Jacksonville.com via Drudge Report ^ | Wednesday, April 3, 2002 | staff

[TigerLikesRooster]

Jacksonville's WJXT-TV 4 will split from the CBS network sometime this summer and become an independent station. Channel 4 executives said the break is coming because station owner Post-Newsweek and CBS couldn't come to terms on an affiliation agreement.

Post-Newsweek Stations president Alan Frank said the gulf between the two parties was part money, part philosophy.

[TigerLikesRooster]

One by one they disappears.

[January24th]

Excellent tidings of great joy!!

[ladtx]

All of your TV stations are belong to us.

[Enterprise]

Indeed! I am here standing beside myself with great joy.

[mattdono]

As long as Sam Kovaris is still on the station, that will be fine. Sam is the Man!

- Dedicated L&T Listener

[LenS]

Don't get too happy. I doubt CBS will be without an affiliate for too long since they have much higher ratings than any WB, UPN, FOX or ABC stations in Jacksonville (PAX stations, while low-rated, are owned by the network). So someone will gladly jump.

[Enterprise]

"So someone will gladly jump."

So true. One man's garbage is another man's treasure.

[Harrison Bergeron]

Very true. This happened in Philly about eight years ago. Channel 3 dumped NBC, so NBC used the opportunity to make a more lucrative contract with channel 10, who happened to be 50 yards outside the Philly border - much better tax situation. Channel 3 needed a network affiliate, so they sided up with CBS when channel ten dumped them.

Now, with channels 3 and 10 having been NBC and CBS, respectively for fifty years... two generations of geezers and geezers-to-be (like me) still go to the wrong channel number when they go looking for their favorite NBC or CBS program.

[Jasper]

Yep, Sam Kouvaris rules. Hope he hangs around.

[FourtySeven]

Nice preservation of the advertisements! hehe Just jealous really; I wish I could get my posts to show graphics.

Interesting story about CBS affiliate there! I guess everyone's slowly starting to catch on. heh heh

[Rockiesrider]

Lens, it not about Jacksonville being without CBS. I'm sure some lower level station would jump at the chance to be a CBS affiliate. But at what price? CBS would most certainly have to charge less money from a smaller new station. Maybe this is WJXT's gambit? Smaller station means less revenue to CBS Corporation means less advertising revenue. What it shows for sure is that CBS isn't what it used to be. One step closer to a sweeping house cleaning.

[LenS]

Actually, that's not quite what happened in Philly. Both Channel 10 (CBS for decades, now NBC) and Channel 3 (NBC for decades, now CBS) stations were both owned by their respective parent networks. The networks swapped stations in Philly as part of a larger national swap to help CBS fix a coverage problem in other markets (for the life of me, I can't recall the key market involved). As compensation, NBC received the stronger station in Philly. The local stations were not independent as in Jacksonville, where the CBS Network doesn't own that affiliate.

[LenS]

True, CBS will get less for now. However, the WJXT_TV 4 will probably lose at least half it's prime-time audience, perhaps even more if it goes independent. And the station that picks up CBS will probably double it's audience.

CBS News is hurting. The Morning Show is hurting. But it's prime-time schedule is going head to head for first place with NBC (who, if they win, will do so only because of the Olympics). In fact, when you consider what the World Series did for Fox and the Olympics for CBS, it's safe to say that CBS probably has the strongest regular series among the networks. If they ever pick up a few solid 10 PM shows, they'll really jump into first place. And Late Night, despite 3rd place, is very profitable and second only to Leno in profits at night.

[Bullish]

No survivor?

[tutstar]

A thread for Jacksonville Freepers? Didn't know we had any here.

[jackbill]

Post-Newsweek Stations president Alan Frank said the gulf between the two parties was part money, part philosophy.

CBS is too conservative for the Washington Post??????

[vannrox]

ABOUT TIME!

Get that Liberal Trash off the airwaves!

[Enterprise]

The sooner the better!

[Woahhs]

I can tell you pretty definitively this was NOT a gambit by WJXT. CBS was trying to force concessions from the affiliate that were suicidal. As WJXT is the first in a series of affiliate renewals between CBS and Post/Newsweek, blinking was not an option.

LenS is right though. Jax is one of their golden eggs, and they just killed the goose.

CBS is either desperate or dumber than a box o' rocks.