The Inbox

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Today on the Inbox, a TV newsie thinks that CBS is slapping their own O&O’s in the face with the farming out of the Weekend Evening News.

Here is his email to FTVLive:

I can understand that CBS News has been asking their affiliates to anchor the CBS Weekend News in the wake of the COVID 19 pandemic but here's where I have to ask WTF:

The network has asked WGCL, WUSA, KHOU & WTTV to use their resources to host the Weekend News while home base at CBS Broadcast Center in NYC is still a no go zone.

However, this is a giant slap in the face as they are using the "bottom of the barrel" in their number 8 ,9 ,10 and 25 ranked affiliates (owned by Meredith/WGCL, Tegna/WUSA and KHOU & Nexstar/WTTV respectively) and telling their O&Os (especially their flagship WCBS) they aren't needed.

I think that weekend editions of the evening news are not as engrossing to viewers as the weeknight editions but when you as a network are treating your OWNED stations like the proverbial red headed stepchild, that is truly disrespectful to them.