TAMPA BAY, FLA.: Gannett’s Tampa CBS affiliate, WTSP-TV, is cutting its 4 p.m. newscast, adding one at 5 p.m. “Dr. Phil,” now running at 5 p.m. weekdays, will be bumped to 7 p.m., the Tampa Bay Tribune reported. Starting May 25, “10 Connects News at 4,” which debuted six years ago, will be replaced by back-to-back episodes of “Who Wants to be a Millionaire.” “Connects” anchor Marty Matthews was not renewed, his co-anchor Dave Wirth will be reassigned.
The half-hour 5 p.m. newscast will be followed by “Inside Edition” at 5:30 and another half-hour of local news at 6 p.m. “Dr. Phil” will repeat at 9 a.m. the day following the original airing. WTSP president and general manager Ken Tonning said the shift is intended to make the station more competitive in a traditional news time period.
Other stations in the Tampa market have either expanded local news coverage or dropped it all together. WTVT-TV, the Fox O&O, added a half-hour to its morning newscast, starting it at 4:30 a.m. to capture the o’dark-thirty crowd before rival WFLA-TV.
WFLA, the NBC affiliate owned by Media General (NYSE: MEG) of Richmond, Va., is dropping its 11 a.m. weekday newscast May 25, and will no longer be producing the 10 p.m. newscast for Sinclair’s MyTV affiliate WTTA-TV.
Economic pressures are behind the changes. Gannett’s (NYSE: GCI) been struggling with a heavy debt load and has imposed two, one-week furloughs without pay for all employees during the first six months of this year. Shares of Gannett were trading today at around $3.50, up from about $3.20 Friday on a wider market rebound.
For a perspective of how economic conditions are affecting local broadcast news across the country, The Associated Press's David Bouder has more here. – Deborah D. McAdams
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