Back in December, FTVLive told you in a Patron Only story that CBS was hiring a number of MMJ’s in Tampa and Atlanta.

We now know why.

CBS is going to start doing 10PM newscasts on CW stations in Atlanta, Detroit, and Tampa Bay.

But these newscasts will be produced and aired remotely.

WUPA in Atlanta will have its newscast produced hundreds of miles away by WCBS in New York.

WTOG Tampa Bay will get a WFOR produced newscast.

Both are expected to debut in February.

WKBD in Detroit will get its newscast Produced from KTVT in Dallas. What is interesting about that is CBS has am O&O much closer to Motown which is WBBM in Chicago.

As one Atlanta TV insider asked in an email to FTVLive, “Why the hell is CBS doing small market shit in the top markets?” He then adds, “If you can’t afford to do a local newscast, don’t do one!”

The answer is simple, political ad dollars.

There is no way that CBS can produce a meaningful newscast for Atlanta viewers from hundreds of miles away using a few MMJ’s. The newscast will be used as a filler around the political ads.

More money will be spent on the 2020 elections than has ever been spent before in a campaign season. Billions of dollars will be up for grabs and campaigns like to spend most of their TV ad budget in and around newscasts. The belief is that people that watch TV news are more likely to be voters, so that is where campaigns spend their money.

That is why stations are expanding and adding newscasts. After the 2020 election, don’t be surprised if you see layoffs and newscasts being dropped.

CBS might tell you this is about news, but it is really nothing more than a money grab.

At least in our opinion.