Are the Two Related?

Back on May 24th, FTVLive told you how John Oliver’s HBO show exposed TV stations and their use of sponsored content inside newscasts and shows designed to look like newscasts.

Oliver’s HBO show even made up a fake product and got stations to help pitch the fake product on the air.

One of the stations that fell for it, was Nexstar’s KTVX in Salt Lake City. HBO paid the station $1,750 to promote the “Venus Veil,” an “absurd medical product based on technology that absolutely does not exist,” according to Oliver.

KTVX had egg all over its face and was busy trying to limit the damage. “This segment had zero to do with ABC4 News or news content,” said Richard Doutre Jones, vice president and general manager of KTVX. It aired on “Good Things Utah,” which is “not produced or supervised by news because it is not a news program — it is a local lifestyle show which has always included sponsored advertiser content.”

Well, on a related note, Good Things Utah Brian Carlson announced that he is leaving the show, but he’s staying at the station.

Looking at his Twitter header, it now list him as an Anchor/Reporter for KTVX.

While the GM says that the pay-for-play show Good Things Utah and the news department are not related in any way, it seems that one of the hosts of the show that got punked by HBO is now moving to the news department.

Not the best way to distance the two shows when you just got embarrassed by a national network.

Just saying….