Florida News Center

(from EastLake.Patch.com) – Dylan Roundtree (left #1),18, faces three counts of felony dealing in stolen property and other charges, according to an arrest affidavit. He was released from the Pinellas County Jail after posting $45,000 bond.

Palm Harbor resident Dylan Roundtree, who is the 18-year-old son of WTSP-TV news anchor Reginald Roundtree (right #2), was arrested by Pinellas County Sheriff’s deputies over the weekend on multiple charges of felony dealing in stolen property.

Deputies say Dylan Roundtree admitted to selling a pair of stolen Bose 4.2 series woodgrain speakers to the Pawn Max on Tampa Road in Oldsmar on March 7.

According to an arrest affidavit obtained by Patch, a 17-year-old associate of Dylan Roundtree stole the speakers from the home the associate shares with his father….Cont….

(from TampaBay.com) – Once upon a time, local NBC station WFLA-Ch. 8 and Fox affiliate WTVT-Ch. 13 duked it out for supremacy in local TV ratings, with the Fox-owned station slowly growing more dominant as NBC’s ratings woes multiplied.

But February’s “sweeps” ratings period confirmed a transition which hit home in November, as ABC affiliate WFTS-Ch. 28 has risen to compete with WTVT among key viewers aged 25 to 54, winning early evening and late night news time periods.

Last month, Fox 13 ruled the mornings, with the advantage tipping to ABC Action News in early evening and at 11 p.m. Fox also won at 4 p.m. and in prime time, due to the strength of Judge Judy and American Idol….Cont….

(from TampaBay.com) – When he came to WTSP-Ch. 10 in 2009 from Jacksonville, general manager Ken Tonning inherited a station struggling with change, from the death of longtime forecaster Dick Fletcher to an online-inspired name, 10 Connects.

Four years later, Tonning has announced his own retirement, planned for July 5, capping a tenure which has seen the St. Petersburg CBS affiliate return to its old “10 News” brand while pushing the edge of traditional journalism values.

“You’ve got to make sure you’re providing information the way viewers want,” said Tonning, 68, noting that a recent change in on screen graphics, first introduced at WTSP before debuting across owner Gannett Broadcasting’s other stations, allows them to get more information to viewers. “It’s that kind of stepping out and getting noticed that makes a difference.”….Cont….

(from MediaLifeMagazine.com) - As a large market in a swing state, Tampa’s media economy enjoyed a strong 2012 boosted heavily by political ad spending. First-quarter spending was especially strong last year because of the early Florida primary.

And so, like many other cities with strong election spending last year, this post-election year has started more slowly for Tampa.

Still, buyers say spending will begin to pick up in March and last through at least early summer. Media people hoping to get their clients on the air during those months should move quickly.

Demand and pricing on Tampa TV are down slightly so far in 2013, which was expected….Cont….

(from TVSpy.com) – Noreen Parker is stepping into the role of general manager at WTTA, Sinclair’s MyNetworkTV affiliate in Tampa.

Since 2009, Parker has been corporate director of news and digital sales for Bright House Networks. She is a former general manager of WTSP, the CBS affiliate in Tampa.

“Noreen brings strong, sales leadership skills and television station management experience,” Sinclair COO Steve Marks said in a statement….Cont….

Tampa’s WTSP debuted a new graphics and music package today. The new graphics are black, gray and white based, with color accents based upon the story being discussed. While this new color pallet is generally monotone, the images below demonstrate that WTSP is NOT afraid of color. The set and station logo remain unchanged.

Check out the screen caps and YouTube video below.

Read the rest of this entry →

(from TampaBay.com) – It was an odd November “sweeps” period, kicked off by the impact of superstorm Sandy in the world’s biggest media center and concluding one day before the Thanksgiving holiday.

But the biggest upset may have come in results for the Tampa Bay area TV stations, as ABC affiliate WFTS-Ch. 28 rose to take the top spot among viewers 25 to 54 at 5 p.m., 5:30 p.m., 6 p.m. and 11 p.m., notching increases in ratings ranging from 40 percent to 113 percent.s….Cont….

(edited from WFTS Press Release) – WFTS-TV won the 5 p.m., 5:30 p.m., 6 p.m. and 11 p.m. M-F news competition in the highly sought after Adult 25-54 and Women 25-54 demographics for November 2012. November marked the first time WFTS won all three early evening newscasts in A25-54.

Read the rest of this entry →

(from TVSpy.com) – Gannett released a simple one sentence statement announcing an agreement with DISH Network this morning:

“Gannett and DISH Network have reached an agreement regarding DISH Network’s continued retransmission of Gannett stations.”

Midnight last night was the deadline before viewers in 19 cities would lose access to the Gannett owned ABC, NBC, CBS and MyNetworkTV stations on the satellite TV provider’s network.  Carriage continued into the overnight hours before an agreement was made this morning. No details of the pact have been released….Cont….

(from TampaBay.com) – For local DISH Network satellite TV customers, it may be the question of the moment:

Why exactly are they on the verge of losing CBS affiliate WTSP-Ch. 10 and 18 other local TV stations owned by Gannett Broadcasting across the country?

Gannett is telling viewers, through text streams which began running across their station’s TV screens Wednesday, it’s a typical fight over fees the company wants for the right for DISH to retransmit its broadcast signals.

But DISH Network issued a press release Friday saying the dispute is really over its ad-skipping technology, called “Auto Hop.”….Cont….