Station Owner Takes Control of Its Air

STATION OWNER TAKES CONTROL OF ITS AIR
[SOURCE: Broadcasting&Cable, AUTHOR: Allison Romano]
A local show gets a much bigger stage next week when station owner Media General exports Daytime, an infotainment program produced by NBC affiliate WFLA Tampa, Fla., to six sister stations across the Southeast. The syndicated version, premiering Sept. 18, will be a rebroadcast of WFLA's show, with hyper-local segments stripped out. Tips on back-to-school fashions could stay, but a feature on a Tampa restaurant might be replaced by a general food segment. Media General stations carrying the program include: WSAV Savannah, Ga.; WNCN Raleigh-Durham, N.C.; WCBD Charleston, S.C.; WRBL Columbus, Ga.; WCWJ Jacksonville, Fla; and WKRB Mobile, Ala. The expansion of Daytime comes as station owners move to lessen stations' dependence on daytime shows from outside suppliers. Buying a show from a studio often means a hefty license fee or a split of advertising time. And, in recent years, far more new daytime shows have tanked than have succeeded. By developing programs in-house, station owners control the production and hold onto all of the revenue from ad sales.
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