Florida News Center

(from OrlandoSentinel.com) - Is a newscast the right place for a station to brag about its ratings? Maybe not, but that’s what WKMG-Channel 6 did last night in unveiling its “Next 6 Nights” promotional campaign. Anchor Lauren Rowe provided more detail about the promos that aired during the Super Bowl. She told viewers: “We invite you to watch our newscast over the next six nights. We know not everyone watches news all  of the time. If you have not watched us in a while, we think we’re worth a second look. In fact, you may not know it: Local 6 news at 11 is the most-watched news in Central Florida.” And, yes, WKMG did have the most-watched news at 11 p.m., according to the January ratings released last week. The CBS lineup is a big help to any affiliate at 11, and WKMG wanted to catch the attention of the Super Bowl audience.

Did that strategy work? Rowe invited viewers to write her with their observations about the newscast at lauren@local6.com. And she said last night that she had received about 150 e-mails so far.

(from BroadwayWorld.com) - LATER LIFE is a poignant comedy about a middle-aged couple who re-discover each other at a cocktail party. Their attempts to rekindle an ‘almost’ romance begun nearly 30 years ago are constantly interrupted by a well-meaning hostess and an array of zany party-goers. Veteran actors Midge Mamatas and Michael DuMouchel portray the entire cast of intruding party guests. Mary Kay Cyrus and Frank Robertson (recently retired WTVT-CH13 news anchor) complete the cast as the couple searching for love and understanding in later life. The production is directed by Kathy Richter….Cont….

(from TBO.com) - Officials at WTSP, Channel 10, report that the station has received permission from the Federal Communications Commission to double its transmitter power. This comes in time for the Super Bowl telecast on Sunday. The CBS affiliate (10 Connects) boosted their over-the-air signal at midnight Friday. Station officials say they asked for a power increase last June after completing the federally mandated transition to digital because some viewers within the Tampa-St. Petersburg TV market reported difficulty in receiving the digital signal. WTSP’s transmission tower is in Holiday while the other broadcast stations in the Tampa area have their towers in Riverview. Ken Tonning, president and general manager of 10 Connects, says “while we don’t believe this will fix the problem for everyone experiencing this difficulty we do think that many will find that they will be able to tune us in after adjusting their system a bit.” People who receive television over the air may want rescan their channel selections on their TVs to ensure they get bumped up signal, he said.

(from OrlandoSentinel.com) – Is the ratings grip of WFTV-Channel 9 slipping? CBS affiliate WKMG-Channel 6 won the 11 p.m. news ratings race for the January period, which ended Wednesday, according to figures from Nielsen Media Research. “I think it’s huge,” WKMG General Manager Skip Valet said of the victory. “The relationship we have with viewers is paying off. We have a dynamic anchor team at 11. We don’t focus on every petty crime. Our newscast reflects what life is like in Central Florida.” He said the win was a shot in the arm for WKMG, which has faced viewer criticism for dropping it 5 p.m. newscast. “These ratings tell us a lot viewers think we are on track,” he said. Valet argued that WFTV is no longer dominant. “They didn’t win the most important of newscasts,” he said, referring to 11 p.m.
At 11 p.m., WKMG averaged 109,200 total viewers to WFTV’s 95,800 and WESH-Channel 2’s 93,300. Yet ABC affiliate WFTV continued to be strong in nearly every other news slot, and on Thursday it announced it had extended the contract of longtime anchor Bob Opsahl….Cont….

(from OrlandoSentinel.com) - WFTV has extended anchor Bob Opsahl’s contract, news director Bob Jordan said today. “I won’t tell you more,” Jordan said. “We’re going to be kind of coy about it.” Well, he didn’t provide specifics about the contract, which was extended this week.  But that news tip should end — for now — industry chatter that the longtime anchor might be leaving WFTV soon. Will Opsahl’s duties change? “Oh, no, no no. He’s the guy,” Jordan said. “There I’ve given you another quote.” Jordan, obviously in a good mood, had a little more to say. “I wish he’d stay here forever,” Jordan said. “I’d like to stay forever.” Really? I told him I couldn’t believe that. “I don’t know what I’ll do when I’m not doing this,” Jordan said. “This is awful fun.” Opsahl wasn’t very talkative, either. “I’m very happy about it,” the anchor said with a chuckle. Did he have more to say? “Gosh, no,” Opsahl said. “I wanted to be here as long as they wanted to keep me. This is a good thing for me.” A good thing for WFTV, too, and its viewers.

(from LATimes.com) - The television stations are among supporters and opponents of the merger to submit testimony in advance of hearings by House and Senate subcommittees. Media giants Comcast Corp. and NBC Universal will make the case for their merger before Congress on Thursday with hearings scheduled by both the House Subcommittee on Communications, Technology and the Internet and the Senate antitrust subcommittee….Cont….

While not directly FL TV related, Pensacola’s WEAR-TV is a Sinclair and ABC affiliate….read on….

 (from TelevisionBroadcast.com) – Sinclair Broadcast Group said today that its affiliation negotiations with the ABC Network have been extended for another month. Sinclair has nine stations affiliated with the network. This marks the second, one-month extension for negotiations. Sinclair’s contract with ABC expired Dec. 31, but were extended at that time by a month. Sinclair recently closed carriage deals with cable operators that include some of its ABC stations. Its December agreement with Time Warner Cable included three. The contentious battle with Mediacom included Sinclair ABC affiliates in St. Louis, Mo., Mobile, Ala., and Cedar Rapids, Iowa….Cont….

Our friends at NewsBlues.com report that WSVN associate producer Carlos Suarez has been hired as a reporter for Fort Myers’ WINK-TV. No word was given on his start date – stay tuned.

(pic/story from OrlandoSentinel.com) – Your spouse works for your competitor. How do you handle that challenge? WFTV-Channel 9 anchor-reporter Vanessa Welch and WESH-Channel 2 meteorologist Jason Brewer know the drill. They have been in the Orlando market for three years. “Some news director might frown on having competing couples,” says Brewer, 36. “We’ve tried to be as honest and loyal to whatever company we’re working for and just do our jobs and have a healthy competition. So far, we haven’t had any issues.” They aren’t scheduled head to head often, but when they are, they race to see the ratings. (They are pictured with their dog, Banks, in this photo by George Skene of the Sentinel.) “It’s a good spirit of competition, and most times, WFTV wins,” says Welch, 32. “We both have a lot of passion for what we do. That’s helped us succeed. We like it here. I’m hoping we stay here a while.” He delivers the weather at noon and 4 p.m. She is a reporter and fill-in anchor at WFTV and a 10 p.m. anchor on WRDQ-Channel 27. He recently shifted off mornings, which has given them more time together….Cont….

(from OrlandoSentinel.com) - Leaving WKMG-Channel 6: Reporter Tarik Minor after 10 years. He is moving on to WJXT in Jacksonville. It, like WKMG, is owned by Post Newsweek Stations. Minor’s last day at WKMG will be March 6. “They need a good reporter, and he married a good reporter on their staff,” WKMG General Manager Skip Valet said. Minor married Melanie Lawson. “I’m sad to see him go, but he’s staying in the company,” Valet said….Cont….