Show transcript
Alright, sorry I haven't been here in a while. I've been kind of busy looking at other podcasts, long form podcasts, not like this where it's a short five minute burst. There was a major news story out of Spartanburg, South Carolina in the broadcasting industry. WSPA Channel 7 has been a CBS affiliate since the 1950s. I can't remember the exact year they came on the air right off hand. I used to remember it, but I'm getting old so I can't remember exactly. They've been an affiliate for roughly 70 years. About a week or so ago it was announced that Nexstar is getting rid of their CBS affiliates and handing them over to Gannett, which is under WYFF Channel 4 out of Greenville. Now, the shocking part is WYFF Channel 4, the primary channel, is still going to stay with NBC. Subchannel 4.3 is going to be the CBS affiliate, which I don't know if CBS is entirely thrilled with that. Because you're going from a very strong channel, a historically strong channel in Spartanburg, South Carolina, which has a long, rich history, to a subchannel on a station that's just as strong, but it's a subchannel. That's a huge win for WYFF. You have both NBC with the Olympics, the NBA, Major League Baseball, the NFL, and now CBS with the NFL, March Madness, and plenty of other things. So they're going to be loaded on their two channels. Now, they may very well opt to buy Channel 62 and put the CBS affiliation there. That is a possibility. Or they could create their own new channel, which is unlikely because, let's face it, broadcasting over the air is not exactly going too well right now. It's very expensive, and why do it when you can keep it on a subchannel? I'm shocked. At one point, I knew people that actually worked at WSPA. They no longer work there. It's a long story. And this was back years ago. Nothing bad or anything like that. They just decided to move on with their careers somewhere else. It's a really good station. Unfortunately, when Nextar bought it, that's when I started fearing bad things may happen. And unfortunately, they have. It's almost a bedrock CBS affiliate here in the Carolinas. It's WBTV and Channel 3 out of Charlotte. And I know, streaming is everything. Streaming is eventually going to take over for broadcast television. We know that probably by the end of the next decade, stations like 3, 7, and such will be either dead or on the verge of death. And it's really sad. But it's just shocking that something I've literally grown up with my entire life, that at one point I actually considered working there many, many, many moons ago. Has ended. It's still shocking to me. And I don't hate the fact that it's happening because I'm a realist. It's a business and such. And I know the broadcasting industry is on its way out. But to me, this is shocking. It's one of those wake-up calls you get when you've lived a very long time like myself. I've lived 55 years. And you think things will never change. It'll always be there. And it doesn't. This is one of those moments.
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