Which Seattle TV comes to the Sports Coverage Rescue? – QZVX – Broadcast History & Current Affairs (2024)

1. KIRO’s given up on their news operation. I am not sure how to otherwise read this kind of move in combination with their staff dropping like flies.

   Seattle is a significant DMA with sports teams in 3 of the 4 major professional sports leagues; it is not like we are talking about a market like Yakima or even Boise. Broadcast TV is dying, but CBS still has the rights to the Big Ten, NFL, and the NCAA tournament. All of those generate significant advertising cash – with teams that are local – so it seems quite short sighted to lay off the guys who could be producing content that could increase viewership of those events.

   I wonder if CMG knows something we don’t… that CBS wants to take back the affiliation at the end of the next contract and KSTW becomes an O&O. If so, I suppose it makes sense to cut costs to the bone until the switchover occurs.

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   1. I agree with your assessment that KSTW will become the O&O for CBS. Been saying it for months. I am also hearing from sources that the KIRO exodus will see more casualties sooner than later. By the way, because of the new NFL scheduling, the AFC and NFC alternate networks, so KSTW would get a few Seahawks games each year.
      KIRO has been through several ownership changes in its history. This could be yet another.

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      1. Very interesting take on the KIRO cuts. Do we know when the KIRO-CBS affiliation ends?

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2. Well currently King 5

   I think has the best sports coverage and Aaron Levine on FOX 13 is number two.

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   But I watch his half hour showeach week.

   I like it but Channel 5 has two people which gives them better coverage and channel 7 sucks

   Channel 4 with Nico he’s the only one on the staff and then they have a couple newscasters crossover which shows you how tight Sinclair is

   And there’s nights that Michelle Esteban does the sports and then they have Nico and he’s taped and for a major Market city of sports and that’s what they treated like it’s terrible

   Including one night when they were covering the Kraken versus San Jose on the road. they were showing highlighrs of the goals being scored . and second half of the highlights was from Climate arena scoring when San Jose was in Seattle.

   I haven’t watched Channel 7 Sports in a long time and when I did see him last fall during Seahawk games he was like a rating maniac he couldn’t be calm and Report whatever but I think Channel 5 will bring in another person since they had the one sportscaster here last year and then he left it went back to Phoenix

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3. I forget who the sports guy was for KIRO TV.

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   1. Say what?

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      1. I don’t remember who the last sports anchor was for Channel 7.

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         1. Mike, it was David Solano, whom Francis replaced

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4. Will KIRO bring in a new set of sports broadcasters or are more changes in store at KIRO News, more cutbacks, some sort of consolidation? Or will KIRO be throwing in the towel in other areas of the news department as well?
   Maybe COX will hub West Coast news broadcasts from KLSR/Eugene. I see they have a one-person news team, Clare Brennan. Can she cover both Eugene and Seattle? That would save COX some coin.

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   1. Well they had their traffic reporter Kevin Cole got canned, and the beautiful brunette that was there she quit so Nick allard’s doing traffic and now they lose the sports people they’re just cutting where they can because viewership is down and revenues down look at the broadcast industry same thing

      I think that’s why Brian Calvert is back working Como news on the weekends doing the weather and he sucks as well I think he’s trying to cover his ask because I think he’s going to get canned from 97..3

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      1. Sometimes, you just have to tighten your belt.

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      2. Fred, Kristin Clark, who did morning weekday weather at KOMO left some months ago, so they moved Theron Zahn to her spot from weekends, which opened up an on-air opportunity for Calvert. It is just temporary freelance, from what I know. BTW, 7 is owned by COX, which was mostly acquired by a hedge fund named Apollo and that company is cutting throughout the COX empire since moving in.

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