If it’s any comfort to television fans, there is life after network
affiliation switches. Kansas City, for example, survived when Fox kicked NBC
out of its nest and NBC moved into quarters vacated by Fox.
“There was at first constant confusion from the public with all these
programming changes, but people sorted it out very quickly,” says Barry Gammon,
TV critic for the Kansas City Star. “There were some pretty massive
campaigns that were launched to educate the viewers, and that’s what helped
people get with the program.”
Now, the two local network affiliations that stayed in place – ABC and CBS
– are enjoying a comfortable lead over the Fox and NBC affiliates. Fox now
occupies the stronger VHF station on Channel 4, while NBC, whose local
affiliate is owned by the Scripps-Howard media group, is trying to adjust to
Channel 41, the weaker-powered UHF station. “When the switch happened,” Gammon
notes, “Fox did the best it’s ever done but NBC got hurt.”
Like the new CBS affiliate in Austin, the new NBC affiliate in Kansas City
had to build a news team from the ground up. “They hired dozens and dozens of
people in the space of a year and a half. They brought in a lot of people from
out of town with very little news experience. In their newscasts, they
typically do a lot of stories that require little background,” Gammon
says.
Fox, on the other hand, pulled out all the stops, doubled the amount of its
local news programming and fattened up its already experienced news team.
What happens in Austin on July 2 should be worth watching, Gammon notes.
“It will be interesting to see how the two stations build their news programs,
because Fox has a certain style and CBS has a certain style. And neither style
is compatible with the other.” – A.S.
This article appears in June 16 • 1995 and June 16 • 1995 (Cover).