Brian notified me that CBS 2 has updated their "Weakest Link" press release:Immediately following, CBS 2 broadcasts FIRST NEWS @ 4:30 PM. Featuring a look at the day’s breaking news and headlines from the tri-state area and around the world, First News @ 4:30 PM remains the only local newscast broadcast in the time period.It now seems as if the 4:00 newscast will be reduced to a half-hour and will begin at 4:30, on January 7th.
The promo for "The Weakest Link" has been updated. It now says it will premiere at 4:00pm on January 7th, as opposed to 3:00pm as it had said earlier. This means that CBS 2 First News @ 4:00 will be canceled. Crossing Over will air at 3:00pm, just as it is right now. More on this story as soon as possible.
CBS 2 began airing promos today for "The Weakest Link", which will debut next month. The syndicated version of the popular NBC television game show will premiere Monday, January 7th at 3:00pm. The new daily version will be hosted by George Gray. And according to the commercial, "CBS 2 First News @ 4:00" will follow the program. This appears to disprove the rumors that the nearly-two-year-old 4:00 newscast will be canceled early next year. "Crossing Over with John Edward" currently airs in the 3:00pm slot, and could replace "Martha Stewart Living" at 9:00am. It has been reported that the syndicated version of ABC's "Who Wants To Be A Millionaire?" game show will premiere on CBS 2 in September, along with Dr. Phil McGraw's upcoming syndicated talk show. No word yet on exactly what the new program schedule will look like.
Michael Starr of The New York Post has this in today's paper:CH. 2 has moved the last of its newscasts out of the fancy new studio near the Plaza Hotel - and back to its old studio on West 57th Street. Ch. 2 unveiled its spanking-new studios yesterday at the CBS Broadcast Center (between 10th and 11th). With the move back to its traditional home studio, Ch. 2 staffers no longer have to board a shuttle bus and schlepp across town to "The Early Show" studios on 5th and 59th - as they'd been doing since 1999.A few incorrect comments in the article: There is/was no CBS 2 studio on 55th Street. Most newscasts moved to the 59th Street studio on January 17, 2000 (News 2 at Noon moved a month earlier). And all the newscasts moved to the new studio yesterday; CBS 2 News This Morning and At Noon did not move earlier.
This allows us to be here for every show, where we couldn't do that under the previous setup," said Ch. 2 GM Tony Petitti. "In the old configuration, a lot of people started [their day] here and went to [the 55th St. studio] during the day," Petitti said. "But most anchors went straight to 55th Street." Earlier this summer, Ch. 2 moved its early-morning and noon newscasts back to the Broadcast Center - and it was expected that the 4, 5, 6 and 11 p.m. newscasts would follow suit when the new facility was completed.
Petitti said that, contrary to rumors, Ch. 2 will not be dropping its "CBS2 Information Network" tag nor its 4 p.m. newscast, which now follows "Crossing Over with John Edward." "We have no plans to change that format," he said. "We bought a lot of syndicated programming . . . and we're going to see what works and how it configures." In addition to "Crossing Over," Ch. 2 will be airing syndicated version of "Weakest Link" (beginning in January) and "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire" next fall. It's also purchased "Dr. Phil," also scheduled to kick off next fall.
CBS 2's noon and 4:00 update anchor Cindy Hsu will be throwing the first pitch at tonight's New York Mets game at Shea Stadium in Flushing, Queens. Hsu was selected by the Mets to throw the pitch for Asian Day at Shea. Today during CBS 2 First News @ 4:00, Cindy told Ernie Anastos and Dana Tyler that her co-anchor at noon, Michael Pomeranz (a former Minor League baseball player), and many of the behind the scenes people at CBS 2 have been giving her pointers. She will throw the pitch at around 6:45 tonight. Good Luck Cindy!
