Blood Eye Bob Costas hopes to be back Anchoring in Sochi

Matt Lauer has been pulling double shifts in Sochi for the past 3 days.

Lauer has been filling in for Bob Costas as Costas battles a bad case of the s̶t̶i̶n̶k̶ pink eye. But, blood eye Bob says he hopes to be back on the Olympic coverage soon.

“I’m hoping that I’m back by the weekend and I certainly think I’ll be able to do the second half of the games,” Costas told Ryan Seacrest on his radio program this morning, adding, “The virus, they tell me, won’t run its course for two or three weeks, but the symptoms will crest at their worst and start to get better pretty soon. As soon as the symptoms get to the point where I can be in the studio, I’ll be there.”

Today Passes GMA in Demos

It comes as a surprise to no one that the Today Show has seen their ratings bump up with the network airing the Olympics.

The Today Show passed Good Morning America in the demos for the first week of the book.

But, it was a bit surprising to see that GMA still won in total viewers.

"Today" drew 2.388 million viewers ages 25-54, beating "GMA" by a slim margin of 18,000 viewers.

But "GMA" topped "Today" in total viewers, drawing 5.976 million total viewers to NBC News' 5.818 million.

Both networks touted the wins, but GMA has be the most happy. 

Many expected the Today Show to win both demos and total viewers and win big. So far that hasn't happened and the gang over at ABC has to be encouraged that they are holding their own against the Olympics. 

From Houston to SoFlo

 Weekend Anchor Irika Sargent will sign off from KPRC in Houston and head to WFOR in Miami.  She will partner with former Fox News Anchor Rick Folbaum to co-anchor the station’s weekday early evening and 11 p.m. newscasts.

“We are excited to welcome Irika Sargent to CBS4,” said WFOR GM Adam Levy. “Irika will be another key addition to the talented and experienced news team we have here and we look forward to having her partner with Rick, starting in May."

The odd Anchor out is Cynthia Demos. Sargent will replace Demos who obviously did not help pull enough demos.

GM Levy still gave her a shoutout in the press realize which I'm sure made her demotion feel so much better. "We are also fortunate to have Cynthia Demos, a consummate pro who does a great job of handling every assignment that she is given, on our team. Cynthia has given us an experienced and steady hand at the anchor desk during our evening newscasts the past several months and we look forward to having her continue to be a key contributor to our success,” Levy said. 

Why One Chicago Anchor will be Glued Watching the Competition

Linda Yu is the popular Anchor at WLS, the ABC O&O in Chicago. And even though it's a rating book, you can bet that Yu will have her TV turned to CBS on Monday night.

It's OK,  even her bosses couldn't blame her.

Yu's daughter Francesca Baer will be on CBS’s drama, “Intelligence,” which stars Josh Holloway (“Lost”) as a high-tech intelligence operative with a super computer microchip in his brain. In the episode, Holloway’s character, Gabriel, investigates the deaths of renowned scientists who are being killed by microscopic robots in their blood stream.

The 25-year-old Baer will play Olivia, a research assistant working in artificial intelligence. Olivia is forced to take the doctor she works for to the emergency room when he becomes unconscious and begins to bleed out.

And although Baer has no thoughts of following her Mom into TV news, she still credits Mom for her success, “I never wanted to go into journalism,” Baer said, “but I know I gained confidence in myself and in being onstage by watching how my mother handles herself on TV, especially during breaking news, and when she hosts/MCs events around Chicago. I've always been inspired by her.”

H/T Chicago Tribune

Sam Champion's Show will Have News and Sports

Word is that Sam Champion's new show on the Weather Channel will be more than just weather.

The show called AMHQ will hit the air in March 17th and will go head to head with the network morning shows airing from 7-10AM.

FTVLive hears that Champion's show will not only include weather, but will also have general news and sports.

Sources say the TWC has hired a "sports journalist" and a News Anchor for the show.

Matt Lauer is in for Blood Eyed Bob again

For the third straight night, Matt Lauer will be anchoring NBC's prime time Olympic coverage as Bob Costas continues to suffer an eye infection.

Al Roker in Twitter Pissing Match with NY Mayor Over Storm

NY Mayor Bill de Blasio is catching heat for not closing schools and government offices.

The Mayor is blaming forecasters for not predicting the severity of the storm and even though NBC's  Al Roker is in Sochi, it's not stopping him from engaging in a Twitter battle with the Mayor.

If Al gets anymore worked up, he might need another trip to the Russian Spa. 

That Story Cracked me Up

A WBTV photographer was at a convenience store in Belmont in an effort to talk with people about the winter weather that moved through the Carolinas over the past two days.

The Kangaroo Express along the 6400 block of Wilkinson Boulevard appears to be one of the few places in the area open, so we were hoping to hear from people who were coming to the store.

Photographer Mike Rode was parked under the awning of the gas station near the door, when the snow from the roof slid on top of his vehicle. 

The pressure from the snow crushed the windshield of the vehicle.

"I had just gotten off the phone with the assignment desk and was sending back pictures of the weather to the web department, when I heard a loud noise," Rode said after the incident. "I looked up and 'boom!' There was nothing I could do."

Rode was able to jump out of the vehicle and was not injured in the incident.

H/T WBTV

Another Twin Cities Reporter Sues Snooping Authorities

Another Minneapolis Reporter is suing authorities for accessing his personal information.

The Star Tribune says that KSTP Reporter Jay Kolls has sued many municipalities and the state Department of Public Safety, alleging that law enforcement officers and others snooped at his driver’s license information without justification.

Kolls’ legal action Tuesday in federal court in Minneapolis said there were 27 instances from 2003 to 2011 when “personnel, charged with protecting and serving the public, knowingly abused their position of trust simply to satisfy their shallow desires to peek behind the curtain” into his private life.

In August, Fox 9 anchor and sports reporter Dawn Mitchell sued about 50 Minnesota governments in federal court after learning public employees had viewed her driver record 219 times over eight years. KSTP investigative producer — and former crime reporter — Beth McDonough filed a similar suit in July.

The suit adds that the defendants’ “utter disregard for [Kolls’] privacy rights” caused him “emotional distress and a logical fear for his personal safety.”

CNN To Be Sold to CBS?

For years and years, there was always talk about CBS buying CNN from Time Warner. The rumors seem to heat up and then they die off.

Well, let's crank up the rumor mill one more time.

FTVLive hears that CBS is once again in talks about purchasing CNN.

It makes perfect sense for CBS wanted to get their hands on a cable news operation and CNN is the perfect fit.

Word is that some of the staff reductions inside CNN is all part of readying the network for a sale. 

Also, you may recall that last month when Time Warner  showed plans to move out of its headquarters from Columbus Circle to a new, 80-story skyscraper on the Far West Side of Manhattan. 

The most interesting thing was what was not said. There was never any talk about CNN making the move to the new building. 

The sale could be the best thing to happen to the now floundering CNN. CBS parent Viacom has the cash and the resources to bring CNN back from the abyss. 

Crank the rumor mill up a few notches and keep and eye on this. It looks like the rumor might just turn out to be true this time. 

Stay tuned.... 

Watch Out Bob!!!

Reporters in Charleston, West Virginia were covering a dangerous chemical spill into a creek.

But, WCHS Reporter Bob Aaron got closer to the story than any other reporter covering it.

That's because as Bob was about to do his stand up, he fell into the contaminated creek.

Bob says he's fine and experts expect him to stop glowing in the dark by the end of the Feb book.

Let's go to the video:

Houston Reporter Gone Missing

KHOU award winning Reporter Brad Woodard's bio is going from the station's website. Both of his station social media accounts had been erased as well.

Then came a tweet from a reporter "across the street" that pretty much summed things up:

Woodard joined KHOU in 2006 from KARE in Minneapolis-St. Paul.

According to his erased bio, prior to that he worked for WTVF-TV, the CBS affiliate in Nashville, TN and WSAV-TV in Savannah, GA, where he anchored, reported and produced documentaries. He also appeared in the HBO film, "Vietnam War Stories," and on the short-lived ABC television series, "Breaking Away." The bio also notes  his work appeared on NBC's "Today" show nearly 200 times.

No one is saying why he is no longer with the station, because you know...the communications business.

/T Mike McGuff

Hello Monoploy

Reports say that  Comcast Corp is going to buy Time Warner Cable Inc for $45.2 billion in an all-stock deal, combining the nation's two largest cable operators.

The deal raised questions as to whether it would pass regulatory scrutiny.

There is no doubt it would make Comcast a Monopoly. 

Reuters writes that the combined company would divest 3 million subscribers, about a quarter of Time Warner's 12 million customers, the people said. Together with Comcast's 22 million video subscribers, the roughly 30 million total would represent just under 30 percent of the U.S. pay television video market.

The new cable giant would tower over its closest video competitor, DirecTV, which has about 20 million video customers.

If successful, the deal will be the second time in little more than a year that Comcast has helped reshape the U.S. media landscape after its $17 billion acquisition of NBC Universal was completed in 2013.