Back in the Game

In local television news, departures are a dime a dozen, but returns are a different story entirely.

Down in San Antonio, sports anchor Casey Viera is officially back on the airwaves at CBS affiliate KENS 5, returning to the station just over a year after stepping away.

For viewers in the 210, Viera is hardly a stranger. He previously anchored the station's evening sportscasts for nearly four years before making his exit. But unlike many in our business who pack up and chase the next top-50 market or network gig, Viera stayed put. With deep family roots in the area and a young toddler at home, he noted that he simply "wasn't going anywhere".

Now, he’s walking back through the doors at the Tegna-owned station—a rare second act in a brutal industry where management rarely looks backward, let alone hands someone a major on-air role a second time.

"Most people don't get the opportunity that I get that I've received with this once, let alone twice," Viera told MySA. "I just want people to know that the magnitude of the job, whatever it may be, doesn't get beyond me. I enjoy what I do."

It's a refreshing win for a market that values local connection over revolving-door talent. And for Tegna’s San Antonio shop, plugging a known, well-liked commodity back into the sports desk is an easy victory in viewer familiarity.

H/T MySA