WWSB Sarasota adds 7pm newscast

[mvcg66b3r]

WWSB is usually not known for adding newscasts. Starting next month, it will.

Just like the last story we posted, on September 14th, WWSB 40 (Cable 7, we’ll use 7 for the rest of this post) will be adding a weeknight half-hour newscast at 7:00 p.m. Titled, ABC 7 News at 7:00, this will replace Who Wants To Be A Millionaire? in that timeslot. The newscast will be anchored by newly-hire Alan Cohn, who has worked in the Tampa Bay market before for WFTS 28 from 2009-2012.

This newscast will compete against Tampa-based WFLA 8 for local weeknight news at 7:00 p.m. in the market and would be one of two Sarasota-based newscasts at 7:00 p.m., alongside cable-ONLY SNN: Suncoast News Network (but this would be the ONLY Sarasota-based 7:00 p.m. news over-the-air in the market).

https://changingnewscasts.wordpress.com/2015/08/04/wwsb-debut-700-pm-news-september-14th/

SNN does have an over-the-air signal on WSNN-LD 39.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WSNN-LD
http://www.heraldtribune.com/article/20140924/ARTICLE/309249993

This station has Laff and Grit as subchannels, both of which are already carried in Tampa Bay on WFTS (which WWSB is trying to keep away from their turf). If WWSB wants exclusivity, maybe Sarasota should be its own market (with Sarasota, Charlotte and De Soto counties). Or if WWSB loses ABC, do you think it could refocus as a news-driven independent (a la WFMZ)?

 

[JayR]

[WWSB] has Laff and Grit as subchannels, both of which are already carried in Tampa Bay on WFTS (which WWSB is trying to keep away from their turf). If WWSB wants exclusivity, maybe Sarasota should be its own market (with Sarasota, Charlotte and De Soto counties). Or if WWSB loses ABC, do you think it could refocus as a news-driven independent (a la WFMZ)?

I can see Sarasota (and maybe including De Soto) County as its own tv market, but including Charlotte County? No way. The antenna farm for the Fort Myers tv market is located off State Road 31 in southern Charlotte County. If WZVN still had the tower in southern Lee County then maybe. Otherwise, WWSB will continue to do a WMGM until they lose their ABC affiliation.