Leftovers before the long holiday:
* Have no fear. The Fox New Year’s Eve special at 11 tonight shouldn’t be cut off on Time Warner Cable as host Nancy O’Dell wishes us all a Happy New Year at midnight..
Since it is a network show, Time Warner can carry it locally because of a national deal that Fox made with TWC a year ago.
That deal destroyed the leverage that the owner of local Fox affiliate WUTV-Fox 29, Sinclair Broadcasting, has with TWC regarding Fox affiliates.
Contrary to published reports, TWC doesn’t necessarily have to stop broadcasting WUTV or the other Sinclair station in town, WNYO, if it doesn’t have a deal by midnight tonight.
The decision about how long TWC can carry the local stations is in Sinclair’s hands. If it tells TWC it has to stop carrying the stations at midnight, it has to stop carrying them.
If the stations stay on for hours past midnight, it will be an indication that serious negotiations may have begun.
But all signs indicate that it is unlikely. After all, TWC took out an expensive full-page ad in the Buffalo News today advising customers “Don’t Be Fooled By Scare Tactics.”
The ad notes that “while we’re working hard to negotiate an agreement – and avoid a blackout – some TV stations are threatening to pull-the-plug on Time Warner Cable customers tonight at midnight.”
It doesn’t name the stations or Sinclair.
* Emily Smith, the Grand Island native and former CBS overnight anchor, has left the iPad news experiment being tested by Fox chairman Rupert Murdoch and Apple founder Steve Jobs. She was going to be the anchor or “content jockey” but left before its launch date.
* The CBS announcers for the Bills season finale against the New York Jets Sunday will be Gus Johnson and Steve Tasker. The Bills blowout loss to New England had a decent 30.1 rating on Channel 4 last week that likely would have been higher if it had been more competitive.
* Good luck to Kenmore native Jeff Glor, who becomes the news anchor of CBS’ latest edition of “The Early Show” on Monday. I really enjoyed the Buffalo News article on Glor this week. I’ve done a few stories about him in the last year (including one recent blog) and always found him to be warm, personable and accommodating.
But I laughed a little when I read the glowing and hopeful comments from Channel 4 News Director Joe Schlaerth.
After all, Channel 4 puts on its own local morning show opposite “The Early Show” because the CBS morning show has always been a poor third in the network competition in this marke and nationally. Any success for Glor and “The Early Show” would likely come at the expense of “Wake Up” on WNLO, Channel 4’s sister station.
Alan Pergament was the television critic for The Buffalo News for 28 years. He currently is an adjunct professor at Buffalo State College and Medaille College, teaching courses in communications. He also writes a monthly column on the media for Buffalo Spree magazine.
