NBC to Ditch WHDH in Boston
/
It looks like TV owner Ed Ansin is going back to the future with NBC.
In the late 80's, NBC yanked their affiliation from WSVN in Miami. It was a move that shook up with the Miami and West Palm Beach market.
Many station would have folded up shop, but Ansin doubled down on news and made WSVN into a south Florida powerhouse.
It now appears he is going to see if he can do it again in Boston.
FTVLive, told you that NBC was looking to pulltheir affiliation from Ansin's owned WHDH. Today, the Boston Herald picks up on the story.
The Herald writes, Boston television is headed for a seismic shakeup in 2017, when NBC programming moves from Channel 7 to a new station called NBC Boston — which will air on WNEU (Ch. 60) — and the powerhouse network is already assembling a news team that includes just-departed 7News weatherman Pete Bouchard.
According to a source with knowledge of the deal, NBCUniversal already has informed Sunbeam Television, which owns Channel 7, that they will not be renewing the station’s NBC affiliation when their contract runs out at the end of next year.
Instead, all NBC programming, sports, news, entertainment, late night, etc., will move to NBC-owned WNEU. The Telemundo programming currently airing on WNEU will move to a digital channel that NBC owns.
It is likely that Sunbeam will then move the CW programming currently airing on Channel 56, which it also owns, to Channel 7. But Channel 7 Vice President and General Manager Paul Magnes said he doesn’t see that happening because the station expects to keep its longtime relationship with NBC.
“Our contract expires 1/1/17 and we fully expect to extend our affiliation agreement with NBC,” he told the Herald.
But a source said, “This is a done deal.”
Bouchard, the popular longtime Channel 7 chief meteorologist, left the station earlier this week and will report for duty at New England Cable News, which is owned by NBC and parent company Comcast.
NBC also is wooing former Fox 25 anchor Maria Stephanos for its Boston news operation.
“Maria has not made any decision as to what her next move is yet. She’s quietly enjoying her time with her family,” Stephanos’ agent, Lisa Hall Mazzaglia, said.
Stay tuned....
