KGMB - KHNL - KFVE "shared services agreement"

[bcr1652]

Re: KGMB - KHNL - KFVE "shared services agreement"

Any particular reason why specifically those stations, KGMB AND KHNL, had to be part of the shared-services agreement? Was it because KHNL had lowest revenue in the Honolulu market, whereas KGMB had the highest revenue in the Honolulu market? ...or was it like KGMB had to "save" KHNL from losing their news operations? Why not KITV and KHNL, or KHON and KHNL? What were the factors as to which stations had to be involved in the shared-services agreement?

[genepark]

Re: KGMB - KHNL - KFVE "shared services agreement"

Met Anita once. Great person. If true, sad to hear she was asked to retire.

I'm not up on the recent history...but wasn't the KGMB owner looking to sell the property or something like that? Is that why the operation needed a new "home"?

I met Anita a few times. A wonderful person.

The property was sold last year January and was leased back to the station. If I recall correctly one of the banks actually owns the property.

The property isn't the only consideration regarding this shared operations agreement. It's mostly the sharp drop in advertising revenue and viewership even.

A decade ago, the average late newscast reached 21 percent of people watching television at the time. Today, that number hovers around 12 percent. The Television Bureau of Advertising has said local spot ads will tumble up to 8 percent this year.

[Video Guy]

Re: KGMB - KHNL - KFVE "shared services agreement"

Met Anita once. Great person. If true, sad to hear she was asked to retire.

I'm not up on the recent history...but wasn't the KGMB owner looking to sell the property or something like that? Is that why the operation needed a new "home"?

[tutusue]

Re: KGMB - KHNL - KFVE "shared services agreement"

There needs to be a statue of Anita, complete with a welcoming audio loop of her voice, outside the front door of the new, combined facility!

Either Oceanic is having cable problems this morning (at least at my end of Waikiki) or KHNL's technical staff is showing their displeasure over the recently announced agreement!

[Kimo]

Re: KGMB - KHNL - KFVE "shared services agreement"

Anita was asked to retire in June, and did so. I understand that she did not want to go.

[tutusue]

Re: KGMB - KHNL - KFVE "shared services agreement"

I wonder if KGMB receptionist extraordinaire, Anita Brady, will opt for retirement or if the new management of the combined operation will be on it's combined knees begging her to stay! She took that job to a new level...the true voice of KGMB, imnsho!

[Linkmeister]

Re: KGMB - KHNL - KFVE "shared services agreement"

I would particularly hate to be a meteorologist for either station; it seemed to me there has been a game of one-upsmanship going on among all the stations for the past couple of years with that position and I was convinced it was overkill.

Sports is another area where I'd be looking to my hole card.

[HaleiwaDiva]

Re: KGMB - KHNL - KFVE "shared services agreement"

A friend of mine mentioned to me that consolidating stations is something they've been doing for awhile on the mainland. For example this station http://www.kcoy.com in central California is both a CBS & Fox affiliate and has been producing one combined news for years. I'm sure there are many more stations dotted throughout the smaller markets on the mainland that do this as well.

It's just sad to hear of the layoffs that will come out of this. I know that the people who put on the news for us on a daily basis are all multi-talented, extemely hard workering individuals. They just make it look easy! I hope they all get new jobs quickly!

I watch KHON news exclusively but I will be following this story closely.

[mel]

Re: KGMB - KHNL - KFVE "shared services agreement"

Here's what I don't get. KGMB9 News folk are doing well, better than their KHNL counterparts in the rating, yet they get the pink slips and have to reapply for the same job under the newly merged news service.

Yes, KGMB has a good news team that has brought them to the top or near top of the ratings (depending on the timeslot). KHNL has never been higher than #4 or maybe slightly above that. They've been doing news now for more than 10 years since slightly before they became an NBC station in 1996.

What KGMB probably did not have is the heavy investment in technology that KHNL made in the past year. And KHNL has a way newer studio space vs. KGMB's old facility on Kapiolani. Also the firm that owns KGMB is not a broadcaster so I guess they did not want to make any capitol investments.. plus I think the present KGMB facility is too old. small and cramped.

[Random]

Re: KGMB - KHNL - KFVE "shared services agreement"

Here's what I don't get. KGMB9 News folk are doing well, better than their KHNL counterparts in the rating, yet they get the pink slips and have to reapply for the same job under the newly merged news service.

[Nords]

Re: KGMB - KHNL - KFVE "shared services agreement"

"Such an agreement allows the three stations to field the largest number of news professionals, particularly during times of major breaking news or severe weather, providing better coverage of stories impacting the lives of everyone who lives on the islands, and produced on multiple platforms – television, internet and on mobile devices." added McTear.

I may be skeptical & cynical, but I don't see how firing a bunch of people leads to "field[ing] the largest number of news professionals".

If he means "otherwise we'd lay them off and never be able to recall them in a hurry", well, sure. But doing more during peak business? It would seem that the first problem during "major breaking news" would be that they can't find enough people & equipment to do everything that they're hypothetically capable of doing now. In other words they'll be able to handle the minimum daily routine, but as soon as something big happens they'll be sucking wind.

It's not as if laying off all these experienced workers will allow the stations to spend the money to upgrade to fancier equipment (requiring fewer people to operate/maintain) or free up enough salary to hire "better" anchors who are cable of doing the jobs of two Joe Moores for the price of one.

They're not going to do more with less. They're going to do less with less, and they're hoping that hunkering down will reduce the burn rate or even free up enough cash flow to avoid going into Chapter 11. It would seem more credible (certainly less weasel-like) to emphasize the hunkering-down aspect and stop trying to claim that coverage is going to be somehow "better".

But, hey, that's just my business perspective. I'm not a big TV watcher. Beyond KHNL-2/Joe Moore I couldn't tell you much more about any of these stations.

Gosh, there's a thought. Maybe it's not just the recession. Could a lack of viewers and their growing irrelevance be another reason for their declining advertising revenue?

[TuNnL]

Re: KGMB - KHNL - KFVE "shared services agreement"

This is truly a sad moment for local journalism. No one can argue that the economic reality of $20 million less floating around in the ad pool is not going to have a devastating effect on our local affiliate broadcasters. But I hope Media Council Hawai‘i will push hard to question the antitrust implications of this deal. History repeats itself? The joint-operating agreement (JOA) between Gannett and Liberty Newspapers Limited Partnership was supposed to be a Godsend for the Honolulu Advertiser and Star-Bulletin to operate out of the same building. Instead, it set the stage for the Bulletin to come within one manapua of shutting down.

[mel]

Re: KGMB - KHNL - KFVE "shared services agreement"

TV stations' pact draws fire
By Erika Engle

The shared-services agreement between KGMB-TV and KHNL/KFVE-TV to keep all three stations operating in the throes of the revenue-crippling recession was met with fear and loathing yesterday.

Advertising revenue for Honolulu's five major TV stations, which is projected to plummet to $48 million this year from $68 million in 2006, prompted the stations to find a creative solution to keep operating, officials said at a news conference.

...KGMB and KFVE call letters will be swapped by MCG and Raycom in a pending filing with the Federal Communications Commission.

KGMB employees received 60-day termination notices yesterday, and those who remain will become Raycom employees.

All employees will be interviewed to determine both the faces that viewers will see delivering the news and the employees who will keep their off-camera jobs.

Read the entire article for all the latest details. There will be a lot to be read into the ti-leaves in the coming weeks and months. Watchdog groups are troubled by the consolidation....

I don't like the changes that may happen to KGMB TV. I think they had a very good news product in the last couple of years, enough to be rated #1 in some time slots and giving the market leader a huge challenge.

Certainly the merger with KHNL/KFVE is a plus for KGMB in the fact that it gets some top notch tech and a way newer facility when they move to Kalihi.

It will be sad to see the old KGMB building and broadcast tower go, especially since a new one will/is further away from the metro area and will cause reception problems for those few people who still get OTA signals... the digital drop-off is very pronounced the farther away from the signal you are. Already I cannot get KHET OTA because I guess their tower is far away... same will happen or is happening to KGMB.

Getting back to the news, certainly the on-air staffs will be changing, downsizing. I think the weather personnel and beat reporters will be the ones most immediately impacted. Some of the morning anchors too I guess. I would think the KGMB Sunrise will continue and the poorly rated KHNL morning news fall by the wayside.

Dan Cooke is certainly arriving at KGMB at a bad time. He will be right back with his former employer!

And I am sure a lot of office and behind the scenes tech people will be impacted too. It probably will be quite shaky establishing a unified team if one station's employees feel they are being dominated by the personnel of the other station... I certainly would not want to be working there.

Is it true the call letters between KFVE and KGMB will be swapped???

[Random]

Re: KGMB - KHNL - KFVE "shared services agreement"

Thanks for your updates Erika!

I'm interested to know what we, as viewers, will notice on our screens when the change goes into effect?

If KFVE can broadcast to Kaunakakai (townside), Molokai OTA, that will get my attention.

[Video Guy]

Re: KGMB - KHNL - KFVE "shared services agreement"

Tough, sobering news. Probably expected, still hard to hear. I'm hoping everyone involved lands on their feet strong. The video/TV/media guys are praying with you.