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Started By
Message
WWL-TV to merge with WGNO as parent companies' merge
Posted on 4/1/26 at 8:41 pm
Posted on 4/1/26 at 8:41 pm
The station signed on in 1957 from its studios at 1024 N. Rampart St. on the edge of the French Quarter, and for much of that history, it was locally owned — first by Loyola University and then by its employees.
Those ratings have slipped in recent years amid broader shakeups in the market, including changes in the size of the New Orleans market overall. In the 1990s, the station was in the top 40 markets in the U.S. based on population. In 2025, it had fallen to No. 50.
WWL’s studios are located in the French Quarter, taking take up much of a full city block bounded by N. Rampart, St. Phillip, Burgundy and Ursulines streets. Though it has sold off some of the houses on the block that once served as offices and makeshift recording studios in recent years, the station is still a significant asset on some of the most valuable property in the city.
WGNO is located in leased office space in the Galleria, the class A high rise near the intersection of Causeway Boulevard and Interstate 10 in Metairie. An employee with WGNO who was not authorized to speak publicly said Nexstar representatives toured the Metairie studio earlier this year, before the deal was finalized, to assess needs for office and studio space and to take measurements.
NOLA
Those ratings have slipped in recent years amid broader shakeups in the market, including changes in the size of the New Orleans market overall. In the 1990s, the station was in the top 40 markets in the U.S. based on population. In 2025, it had fallen to No. 50.
WWL’s studios are located in the French Quarter, taking take up much of a full city block bounded by N. Rampart, St. Phillip, Burgundy and Ursulines streets. Though it has sold off some of the houses on the block that once served as offices and makeshift recording studios in recent years, the station is still a significant asset on some of the most valuable property in the city.
WGNO is located in leased office space in the Galleria, the class A high rise near the intersection of Causeway Boulevard and Interstate 10 in Metairie. An employee with WGNO who was not authorized to speak publicly said Nexstar representatives toured the Metairie studio earlier this year, before the deal was finalized, to assess needs for office and studio space and to take measurements.
NOLA
11
Posted on 4/1/26 at 8:44 pm to MrLSU
Arm wrestle for Sr Meteorologist position?
Posted on 4/1/26 at 8:45 pm to MrLSU
quote:
Those ratings have slipped in recent years amid broader shakeups in the market, including changes in the size of the New Orleans market overall.
It all started going downhill for WWL when Benson bought Fox 8 and started poaching the WWL talent.
Posted on 4/1/26 at 8:59 pm to John Casey
quote:
It all started going downhill for WWL when Benson bought Fox 8 and started poaching the WWL talent.
Lucy Bustamante
Posted on 4/1/26 at 9:01 pm to MrLSU
April Fools?
Posted on 4/1/26 at 9:46 pm to MrLSU
Hopefully they will still do The 12 Yats of Christmas
Posted on 4/2/26 at 2:11 am to Everyday Is Saturday
quote:
Arm wrestle for Sr Meteorologist position?
Arm wrestle…they may have one of those gay games to see who can out gay the other. I will put my money on Peyton Malone.
In the article, it pointed out that it seemed WWL’s studios were on the chopping block for some quick cash and will merge operations with the four stations at WGNO’s studios. I never understood the concept of businesses leasing space when they can be in a facility they ought to own outright. But I guess buying out hundreds of TV stations, you have to find the money and juice some where to please Wall Street.
Part of that strategy is what is killing off several newspapers, Wall Street and private equity buys the papers and sells off the real estate and presses. Leaving just a shell of a company without real estate, but a ton of debt, and a shell of its former self.
Just think if major sports like college football and the NFL leave the broadcast world and go streaming only. These stations are now going to be worth even less and have no real estate assets and a ton of debt when the creditors come calling.
Nexstar has to sell WUPL’s broadcast license within 2 years. I wonder if Gray buys it to move the Gulf Coast Sports and Entertainment channel to it so they can use a better bit rate, since squeezing Fox 8 in HD, GCES in HD, and 3-5 other SD channels on a single space of 19.4 Mbps is a broadcasting miracle.
Fun little tidbit, WUPL’s license is actually being used right now as the ATSC 3.0 lighthouse station for New Orleans and has all 6 major stations broadcasting on it using ATSC 3.0 and newer codecs that take way less bandwidth. Fox 8 may have even broadcast the Super Bowl in 4k or HDR when it was in New Orleans as a test last year, but I couldn’t see it due to reasons below.
The biggest hang up right now with ATSC 3.0 is encryption and the fight over devices that are authorized to decode those signals.
Three years ago, I bought a device to decode ATSC 3.0 signals, but I cannot use it to decode 4 of the 6 channels because Gray, Hearst, and TEGNA chose to encrypt their signals on the ATSC signal, and the method to decode them is being muddled up between different standards and chipsets.
Right now the FCC is contemplating on whether to continue rolling out this standard and sunsetting ATSC 1.0 at some point in the future. Broadcasters are looking to jump all in on ATSC 3.0 while TV manufacturers are reluctant due to still pending issues with encryption and patent disputes.
This post was edited on 4/2/26 at 7:39 am
Posted on 4/2/26 at 4:35 am to MrLSU
A Soros company bought wwl a few years back.
As for weather girls, its the little Chauvin girl on wgno for me T.
As for weather girls, its the little Chauvin girl on wgno for me T.
Posted on 4/2/26 at 5:08 am to MrLSU
That's a damned shame. WWL was the premier channel through the 90's but I can definitely see how WVUE has slammed the door in their faces over the last 15 years. Eric Paulsen did what he could holding that place together but that newsroom is just...yikes.
Posted on 4/2/26 at 5:29 am to ThatTahoeOverThere
quote:
A Soros company bought wwl a few years back.
That was WWL AM which is owned by Audacy.
After all the mergers and consolidation, essentially you are left with Clear Channel aka iHeartRadio or Cheap Channel, and Audacy as the primary owners of radio stations in the country. There are a few independently owned radio stations on the dial like Guaranty in Baton Rouge and a small radio group in Houma, but a majority of stations are owned by iHeart and Audacy. Some of these small independent radio station groups are dependent on technology from iHeart and Audacy to add their stations to their apps so they don’t have to build their own app.
Audacy was the one that got into bed with the Soros investment.
This post was edited on 4/2/26 at 5:30 am
Posted on 4/2/26 at 5:57 am to John Casey
quote:
It all started going downhill for WWL when Benson bought Fox 8 and started poaching the WWL talent.
When they poached Lee Zurik, that's when it became clear that Fox 8 was the new sheriff in town.
I always enjoyed Fox 8 ever since the Greg Bell/Margaret Duboisson/Bob Breck early 90's days, but when there was a news topic that you wanted complete and thorough coverage on, you always tuned into WWL. That is not the case anymore.
I still watch WWL for the nostalgia, especially those Spirit of Louisiana commercials, bless you boys reels, ain't dere no more and the Frank Davis clips, and that annual corny story from Phil Johnson at Christmas about the Magi. I feel connected to the past, plus its great turning on the re-broadcast before bed if I missed the 10PM news, which is all the time in today's chaos.
Hopefully this turns WWL around. Chris Franklin seems like the only personality left at that station.
And for those that wonder why the hell do people still watch the local news this day and age - connection to the city/metro area, nostalgia, daily/nightly structured routine, local sports coverage, to name a few.
Posted on 4/2/26 at 6:25 am to Mariner
The fall of WWL has been really sad to watch. When I was growing up it seemed like that was the only news station people watched.
Fox 8 torpedoed them and is now the premier news channel in NO.
Fox 8 torpedoed them and is now the premier news channel in NO.
Posted on 4/2/26 at 6:50 am to Mariner
quote:
When they poached Lee Zurik, that's when it became clear that Fox 8 was the new sheriff in town.
Yep. I had the same feeling. WWL’s problem has been an age problem. After the old guard of Dennis Waltering, Angela Hill, Don Westbrook, Jim Henderson, Phil Johnson, Frank Davis, etc., all left, there wasn’t anyone left to carry the torch, just some import from another market with a foot out the door for something better.
quote:
I always enjoyed Fox 8 ever since the Greg Bell/Margaret Duboisson/Bob Breck early 90's days, but when there was a news topic that you wanted complete and thorough coverage on, you always tuned into WWL. That is not the case anymore
I was always a WVUE fan. I found WWL to be a little snooty with the way the news was presented back in 90’s. Some it was good. You had Bill Elder that had a masterful way to read the news and a speech pattern that had you at every word. I don’t know if it was true, but at noon M-F, nearly every TV set in New Orleans was tuned to WWL in the 1980-90’s. It is a shame we lost him to cancer.
Phil Johnson was a masterful editorialist who could convey a story in about 2 minutes tops and in a tone and delivery that was amazing. When they finally brought editorials back, they put Clancy Dubois as an editorialist, but his delivery was like listening to nails on a chalkboard.
Frank Davis was also a good addition, his skits fit more for a comedy show than the 6pm news, but it was a refreshing take.
quote:
Hopefully this turns WWL around. Chris Franklin seems like the only personality left at that station.
I like Chris too. He started at Fox 8 when him and Dawn Brown were making waves in morning news as Fox 8 expanded into morning news. If I remember, Dawn wanted to be the fun one and Chris wanted no part of it. He wanted to play it straight. I think he loosened up a bit now that he is at WWL.
quote:
And for those that wonder why the hell do people still watch the local news this day and age - connection to the city/metro area, nostalgia, daily/nightly structured routine, local sports coverage, to name a few.
This is slowly becoming harder and harder to do as station budgets get lean and depend more and more on centralized content either from their network news feeds, CNN, AP, or station group feeds. With this acquisition, Nexstar will have a station in nearly every market in Louisiana.
Gray, I think has accomplished this with Gray purchasing KATC and KADN.
I wonder how long before an individual station news is replaced with a state wide feed of content from local stations and a centralized statewide anchor team leading into the news reports with a statewide report for weather and sports.
It has been tried before I think ComCorp tried this when they owned WGMB and a few other Fox stations in Louisiana and called it Fox News Louisiana back in 2007. I wonder if this concept will make a comeback. Heck Nexstar owns NewsNation, it could be called Louisiana NewsNation.
The same newsroom consolidation is what has happened with newspapers that are owned by Gannett. Same stories in the Shreveport Times as you get with the Lafayette Advertiser and the Houma Courier.
This post was edited on 4/2/26 at 7:27 am
Posted on 4/2/26 at 7:11 am to MrLSU
frick. WGNO is the only one left that does not have TDS.
Posted on 4/2/26 at 7:41 am to MrLSU
Once WWL started hiring a bunch of DEI beast, it went down hill...
Posted on 4/2/26 at 7:47 am to t00f
quote:
frick. WGNO is the only one left that does not have TDS.
I think the TDS free or light WGNO will continue.
Nexstar is on the more conservative side, and they own NewsNation. I have a feeling that is why the FCC approved the merger.
At least they are not becoming a Sinclair station. Not only are they probably TDS free, they can be straight up propagandists for the right.
Fun fact, Sinclair tried to buy Tribune stations several years ago and had to back off because the deal looked like it was in trouble because of its right leanings and it would have put Sinclair in some markets where that type of news may not have been well received like LA and NYC.
This post was edited on 4/2/26 at 8:19 am
Posted on 4/2/26 at 7:52 am to LSUneaux
quote:
Lucy Bustamante
Lucy was awesome on WWL, back on Fox 8, she seems as if she over-dramatizes everything now...
Karen Carson was my favorite on WWL the short time she was there...
Just as sweet in person...
This post was edited on 4/2/26 at 7:53 am
Posted on 4/2/26 at 8:29 am to MrLSU
WWL- World Wide Loyola.
WGNO - Greater New Orleans
WDSU - D stands for the DeSoto Hotel, S for New Orleans States paper, and the U stands for WDSU's founder, Joseph Uhalt.
WVUE- VUE is view in French
WYES - Youth Education Station
WGNO - Greater New Orleans
WDSU - D stands for the DeSoto Hotel, S for New Orleans States paper, and the U stands for WDSU's founder, Joseph Uhalt.
WVUE- VUE is view in French
WYES - Youth Education Station
Posted on 4/2/26 at 8:42 am to rltiger
quote:
WWL- World Wide Loyola.
WGNO - Greater New Orleans
WDSU - D stands for the DeSoto Hotel, S for New Orleans States paper, and the U stands for WDSU's founder, Joseph Uhalt.
WVUE- VUE is view in French
WYES - Youth Education Station
I wasn't born yet, but I do recall hearing or reading about how WGNO was the first station in New Orleans to start broadcasting 24 hours a day and it was essentially a movie channel the first few years before syndication started becoming more attractive to local stations.
Also, WGNO had some nice programming that focused on local programming in the late 1980s and early 1990's. They did shows like Real New Orleans and a game show called NO It Alls hosted by the late Ed Daniels. They also carried some Tulane and UNO Basketball and Baseball Games. They even broadcast a few Zephers games. By this time, they were the syndication king with a syndicated heavy line up of shows like Geraldo, Mama's Family, Baywatch, and even a new Morgus run. When the ABC affliation came calling they ended all of this. I remember hearing their studios were in the New Orleans World Trade Center on the 26th floor, it is now the Four Seasons.
This post was edited on 4/2/26 at 8:54 am
Posted on 4/2/26 at 9:04 am to MrLSU
I grew up in the 90's and early 2000's and we were a WWL family.
Now it's not even close. Fox 8 has absolutely crushed them in terms of being the premier station in the viewing area. Also: Hannah Gard
Now it's not even close. Fox 8 has absolutely crushed them in terms of being the premier station in the viewing area. Also: Hannah Gard
This post was edited on 4/2/26 at 9:06 am
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