The new year rang in a brand new news service with the goal of removing the shouting pundits and endless panel discussions that make up most of today’s news networks in favor of getting back to a just-the-facts style of broadcasts. NewsNet, which launched its 24/7 network on Jan. 1, has seen a strong response to that format, according to Eric Wotila, NewsNet’s president.

Wotila spoke with TV Technology about the first two-plus months of NewsNet, its expansion and how networks have been able to utilize it thus far.

(The following is an edited version of the conversation.)

TV TECHNOLOGY:How has the rollout been going?

ERIC WOTILA: It has been absolutely phenomenal. We have had nothing but positive feedback both from viewers and affiliates. We’ve been continuing to expand the affiliate list on a weekly basis. I’d say we’ve been signing on roughly one or two affiliates a week, either getting actually on air or finalizing new deals. A lot of interesting stations and networks.

TVT:How many stations do you currently have? Any in prominent markets?

WOTILA: I believe we’re on 30 stations right now. Our biggest market right now is Chicago. We’re on in the Los Angeles DMA, kind of on the edge of the DMA, but we’re not in the Los Angeles Metro yet; that’s something we’re working on. Houston, Texas; San Francisco, Calif.; Detroit, Michigan; Orlando, Fla., is a recent addition, which is a larger market. And the list goes on from there.

TVT:How many affiliates are diginets?

WOTILA: Almost all of our affiliations are diginets. We do have Denver, Colo. So in Denver, we are on KCDO Channel 3 part time on their .1. So they carry us a few hours a day in blocks. And other than that, for the most part, most of our stations we’re on a .2, .3, etc., there are a couple that are carrying us on their primary subchannel.

TVT:What have been some of the biggest challenges so far?

WOTILA: The biggest challenges that we have faced have really been just rapid expansion. We’re very, very pleased the feedback we’ve gotten again from the affiliates and from the viewers. We’re trying to roll out into more markets, we’re also trying to beef up our staffing to produce more updates per day.

Right now, by design, a few times a day we kind of completely refresh our news wheel, and if big things break between then we do updates in between. But we’ve been trying to add more staff so we can really not only turn out more updates per day as they’re needed and a little more easily where we’re not straining resources, but also we would like to continue to expand the amount of content we’re producing originally as opposed to utilizing video from wire services, for instance.

TVT:Are affiliates producing local original content to share nationally?

WOTILA: I’m not entirely sure of the number of affiliates that are producing original content. We definitely do have numerous affiliates that are. Within our affiliation agreements, all of our affiliates are allowed to produce local news breaks and insert that in; in fact we provide tools for them to do so. We provide a graphics package and their music and everything, so they don’t have to go through all the steps of putting it together. A lot of stuff is provided to them to help make that process simpler.

I know our Baton Rouge, [La.], affiliate, WLST, has been very, very into the local news production. I know they’ve been doing local news breaks from day one, very committed to that local presence. I know we have several other affiliates that either are or have talked about producing local news breaks. Some of them are in the process of taking off and running it; they wanted to get NewsNet on air and then worry about inserts later.

So far, when affiliates are producing local content they are just airing it on their own station. Though we are in the process of working with our affiliates that are producing local content to contribute back to the network levels, so if something big happens and they can get footage of it, again, we will have more of our affiliates providing content to us that will air nationally.

TVT:What has changed in technology in recent years to help NewsNet get off the ground?

WOTILA: Technology has absolutely been instrumental in what we’ve been doing, especially on the local level. NewsNet grew out of our local 24-hour news operation here in northern Michigan and the 24-hour news operations we’ve helped build in Nebraska and other markets. The technology behind this, the channel-in-a-box type solutions, the digital jukebox equipment, video servers being able to be set up in kind of a jukebox format where we’re not having to sit down and record stuff in a loop. Of course, this technology has been around since the 90s, but I think it’s become more affordable, the solutions have become more advanced and we’re really able to do an incredible amount with the hardware that’s now available on a budget that was unheard of a few years ago.

On the same note, for newsgathering, IP delivery of content to us. Being able to film something and uplink it over a cellphone now, which is the way it’s done, even five years ago that was unheard of or barely heard of. We have a satellite truck, we don’t use it. We find the best way to do things is IP, internet. And that IP infrastructure is really making it affordable to do what we’re doing.

TVT:How did NATPE go?

WOTILA: I was there primarily for affiliate relations with NewsNet. Within a couple of weeks I should be able to talk about a couple of the deals we’ve been working to close from NATPE. I can say, we’re very excited to be working with and partnering with some stations in some larger markets that are going to be adding NewsNet.

And aside from bringing some deals together at NATPE, we had a lot of buzz, a lot of interest in the network from everyone we talked to. That was of course two or three weeks after we launched. I’ve just heard the buzz about us continue and continue to increase. I’m approached on a daily basis by people, stations and viewers that have just recently heard of us and love what we’re doing and that’s what we saw at NATPE. I think at NATPE it was a little bit of ok this is new, what’s this? OK, we’ve seen the demo, we like it. And now, a month and a half later, we’re getting to the point where people are like ok this is really cool, I’ve heard of this, I want to be a part of this.

CADILLAC, MICH.—NewsNet, a new 24-hour news network, has launched with affiliates in 18 markets, including Chicago, Houston, San Francisco and Detroit, the company announced today.

“Over the past few years, we heard constant complaints about the state of existing 24-hour news channels—particularly their focus on opinion-based programming,” explained Eric Wotila, president of NewsNet, “We’re thrilled to have brought back a news channel with a straight-to-the-facts, headline-driven format, and the feedback has been overwhelmingly positive.”

The new news network relies on a traditional news wheel format. Headlines are presented at the top of each hour, followed by weather, sports and feature stories from around the country. In some markets, the feature stories are pre-empted by local news updates.

NewsNet affiliates broadcast over the air on auxiliary channels (also known as "diginets"). It is also available on iPhone and Android devices, and will be launching later in January as an OTT app on Roku, Amazon, Fire TV and Apple TV.

[Read: Broadcast Entrepreneur Turns To Crowdfunding For New Effort]

The network was created by the same team responsible for other 24/7 local news channels, including northern Michigan’s MI News 26 and News Channel Nebraska. “After building MI News 26 and directing many technical aspects of the launch of News Channel Nebraska, we saw strong interest in our no-nonsense approach to 24-hour news,” said Wotila, “We wanted to bring that success to other markets….”

With its launch, NewsNet is reaching about 30 million potential over-the-air TV viewers, but the network plans to add other affiliates throughout the year. “We’re actively talking to potential affiliates on a daily basis,” said Wotila. "Ultimately, we’d love to see NewsNet available over-the-air to the entire country.”

CADILLAC, MICH.—NewsNet, a new 24/7 pundit- and panel-free news channel, is targeting a late-2018 launch to bring local news from around the country to a national audience without the shouting and commentary viewers are rejecting.

“In recent years, we’ve heard more and more complaints about existing 24/7 national news channels,” said Eric Wotila, president of NewsNet. “At the same time, we’ve received constant compliments about the straight-to-the-facts, no-nonsense and commentary-free local news coverage we provide on MI News 26, our 24/7 local news channel in northern Michigan.”

Encouraged by the favorable response in Michigan, Wotila is optimistic that news viewers around the country will also appreciate this approach.

Wotila launched a Kickstarter campaign to underwrite the launch. Based on the feedback from that campaign, Wotila’s confidence in the demand for a 24/7 news channel devoid of opinion and talk grew.

At the moment, Wotila’s team is expanding studio facilities and recruiting affiliates as the NewsNet launch approaches.

[Broadcast Entrepreneur Turns to Crowdfunding for New Effort]

“The key to NewsNet’s success will be our affiliates and we’re currently reaching out to stations across the country who are interested in bringing quality news programming to their markets by carrying NewsNet on one of their subchannels,” he said.

NewsNet’s new channel offers affiliates breaks for local ads and slots for local news insertions. For stations without their own local news, the network is offering its affiliates the option to sign up for a turnkey local news production service for a fraction of the cost of building out their own news operations.

NewsNet will be at the 2018 NAB Show to meet with potential affiliates. Interested stations also can email affiliates@yournewsnet.com.

Eight days into a 50-day crowdfunding campaign to finance the launch of a new 24/7 locally focused national news network and Eric Wotila is about 5 percent of the way to his $100,000 goal.

“The primary reason we went with crowdfunding is we will be able to maintain control within our team and not have to go to a board to make decisions,” says Wotila, the entrepreneur behind the Local News Network (LNN).

Rather than rely on pundits, panels or what it calls “shout shows,” LNN will use the news wheel format along with live cut-ins that will be seen on all affiliates to deliver local news that’s relevant to local viewers, he says.

“We are in the process of developing in house and finalizing the ability to dynamically and automatically update the news wheels at our different affiliates with a video server that will go in each affiliate site,” he says.

The plan is to equip each LNN affiliate with a channel-in-a-box and reorder the rundown of stories based on the proximity of the story to the affiliate as well as the interest stories generate online, says Wotila.

While starting a new news network on $100,000 might seem ambitious, Wotila says he has a knack for operating on a shoestring budget.

Besides, once the network is up and running, commercial revenue will kick in, giving LNN additional resources, he says.

Wotila gained his experience broadcasting on a budget with the launch of MI News 26, a 24/7 local news channel serving viewers in northern Michigan, he says.

For example, Wotila bought a pair of used ENG trucks for $7,000 for MI News 26. New, they cost more than $100,000 apiece, he says. For LNN, Wotila has already acquired a secondhand network SNG truck

“Now we’ve got a fixer upper satellite truck,” he says. New the truck would cost $200,000 or more, but Wotila is confident he will be able to refurbish it for “a little money,” he says.

Wotila also plans to hold down costs by leveraging the studio currently being used by News 26, he says.

The falling price of used HD equipment, which is becoming easier to find as production houses are replacing their high-def equipment with 4K gear, will also save money, he says. “Buying slightly used helps keep things economical,” he says.

Wotila says he is hopeful the incentive program established for the LNN Kickstarter campaign will attract donations.

For instance, a $250 Kickstarter donation will be rewarded with one 15-second ad per day for the first three months the new channel is on air.

At the top tier, a $9,000 donation secures a title sponsorship entitling larger companies and national brands to be the signature sponsor of the new channel’s morning news.

If Wotila is unable to achieve his $100,000 goal, none of the pledged donations will be collected, and he will be forced to consider other options to pay for the launch, he says.

More information about the LNN launch and Kickstarter campaign is available online.

CADILLAC, MICH.—At this time last year, the spectrum auction was on the horizon—and so was a great deal of uncertainty for LPTV stations. An official clearing target for the auction had not yet been set. There was talk of an 84 MHz clearing target with TV channels 38 and above being auctioned to the highest wireless industry bidders. By the time the final auction plan was announced, the clearing target for Stage 1 of the reverse auction had increased to 126 MHz—a target that would have cleared TV off every RF channel above 29.

Morris Langworthy directs a newscast between work on upgrades to WMNN’s control room.

If an 84 MHz clearing target didn’t make LPTV operators nervous, the new 126 MHz target certainly did. Unlike full-power and Class A stations, LPTV stations were offered no protection in the auction. As full-power or Class A stations are repacked post-auction, they’ll have priority for the remaining channels.

If the auction had concluded with 126 MHz of the TV spectrum cleared to make room for cellular services that would have left relatively little room for primary services, especially in medium to large markets, let alone much space at all for LPTVs.

A SURPRISING SERIES OF EVENTS

As the auction began last June, things started to look brighter for the LPTV industry, and perhaps the television industry as a whole. During the first stage of the spectrum auction—the stage with a 126 MHz clearing target—broadcasters asked for a whopping $86 billion to clear their spectrum while wireless providers were only willing to spend $23 billion for that spectrum.

During Stage 2, broadcasters lowered their price to under $55 billion, as the amount of spectrum up for auction shrunk to 114 MHz. The bids of wireless providers didn’t change much, shrinking to $21.5 billion for the reduced amount of spectrum.

By Stage 3, the amount of spectrum up for auction was down to 108 MHz, with broadcasters’ price to sell out reduced to just over $40 billion, while wireless bidders offered just shy of $20 billion for the spectrum.

The spectrum auction concluded after Stage 4. It ended, incidentally, with the originally discussed 84 MHz of TV spectrum cleared to make room for wireless providers.

A CHANGE OF PLAN

Early last year, at a time when the spectrum auction was on the horizon, I put plans to expand WMNN—our 24/7 local news channel in northern Michigan, which happens to be an LPTV station—on hold. I also froze plans to build several additional stations for which we currently hold construction permits. The risk was too high; if 126 MHz was cleared and we were left without any channels available for our LPTV licenses, we could end up with hundreds of thousands of dollars in useless equipment and no way to gain a return on investment.

WMNN Chief Photojournalist Wyatt VanDuinen and Reporter Vic McCarty film an interview.

After each stage of the auction, I found that many LPTV operators I spoke with, like myself, were becoming more optimistic about the future of our industry. By the time Stage 3 of the forward auction concluded, I felt confident enough in the future of our industry to begin moving forward with our plans for expansion.

Near the end of last year we secured tower space for one of our new LPTV stations. We began acquiring equipment to put the new station on-air, acquiring programming and preparing for the launch of the new station. Right now, we’re simply waiting for winter weather to clear as access to this particular tower site is difficult at this time of year, especially for a task like new antenna installation.

As the year drew to a close, we also began moving forward with our plans to expand WMNN. Last month, we doubled down on our commitment to producing live, local programing throughout our large geographic DMA with the acquisition of a satellite truck. We’re currently in the process of outfitting an additional microwave truck for live, HD field production, allowing us to cover sports games from two different schools in the viewing area every night. We’re upgrading our studio’s production control room, allowing us to produce more in-studio programming every day, not just for WMNN, but for the other LPTV stations we’re working to launch as well.

We’re optimistic enough about the future of TV post-auction that we’re even evaluating the launch of a diginet, which would build on the model we’ve established at WMNN, offering 24/7 news on a national level not just to LPTV affiliates, but to full-power stations as well.

A CHANGE OF THE GUARD

While I’m still concerned for the future of LPTV in major metropolitan areas where spectrum is scarce, I feel much more comfortable about the immediate future of our industry in smaller markets—the sort of markets we currently operate in, where there are fewer stations competing for the bandwidth that will remain available to TV once the auction is complete.

Chief Meteorologist Morris Langworthy, Anchor/Producer Jacob Owens, Forecaster Dylan Rodenbaugh and intern Rain Johnson-Hill broadcast live severe weather coverage from the WMNN studio.

The lack of demand from wireless providers for more than 84 MHz of TV spectrum was reassuring, but perhaps even more reassuring is the changing of the guard at the FCC.

Tom Wheeler left his position as FCC chairman in January. His replacement, Ajit Pai, has personally told LPTV operators that he believes low-power stations are a valuable resource; a resource with room to grow.

As the repack approaches, it’s clear that we’re not out of the woods just yet, but with a new chairman taking the reins at the FCC, limited demand for TV spectrum from wireless providers during the spectrum auction, and the auction nearing its completion, the future of LPTV looks, perhaps, the brightest it has in several years; especially for stations willing to take a few risks.

Eric Wotila is the general manager, MI News 26, an LPTV station based in Cadillac, Mich. He can be reached at ewotila@minews26.com.

CADILLAC, MICH.—Donald Trump made a campaign visit to Cadillac in March—the first visit by a presidential candidate since George Wallace campaigned in 1972. 

Eric Wotila (right) and Political Correspondent Benjamin Arie report from a Donald Trump rally.

Like all of the candidate’s events, Trump’s visit drew enormous crowds, far bigger than any venue in the town of 10,000 could hold. All the local media plus several national outlets, including CNN and Fox News, were in attendance. However, of all the broadcast media at the event, only one TV station, WMNN-LD, broadcast the rally live and in its entirety. 

I built WMNN five years ago, after being interested in TV for as long as I can remember. I got my start in the industry by running a camera for football games at the local public access station at the age of 13. By the time I was 16, I had an internship in the news department at the local Fox affiliate—a small enough station that the running joke was, “go send the intern to cover the fire.” I would regularly be put on assignment due to the station’s small staff.

By the time I was 18, I had convinced Charter to launch “Local Edition,” a local news cut-in on CNN Headline News, in an underutilized time slot provided by the network. I partnered with the cable company to produce a five-minute local news cut-in, which was inserted once every hour on the cable system in the Cadillac area.

When the recession struck, the plug was pulled on “Local Edition.” Around the same time the newscast was cancelled, the Federal Communications Commission opened their 2009 low-power TV filing window. I applied for a construction permit to build a station in Cadillac.

That CP was granted in December 2010, and WMNN—a 425 W, digital LPTV station operating on RF Channel 14 (with a virtual channel number of 26, due to PSIP conflict with the local PBS station), signed on with its first newscast two months later. I was 22.

OFF AND RUNNING

When it signed on, the station was staffed by three volunteers who believed in the project and would stop by its studio after their day jobs to produce daily segments, such as news headlines and weather. Over the last five years, the station has grown to employ a full-time staff of five as well as numerous part-timers. On our primary channel, we maintain a 24/7 local news format, occasionally cutting away from news for other local programming, like multi-camera, HD productions of local sports games from our three live trucks. We also broadcast five subchannels: Antenna TV, Laff, Grit, Escape and Buzzr, which, combined with our flagship, HD local news channel, make up one-third of all the broadcast channels available in the market, despite the other content coming from 10 different transmitters.

Chief Photojournalist Wyatt VanDuinen and Photojournalist Dakota Pike

As WMNN has grown, we’ve purchased our own building and increased our power to 1.97 kW. We’ve even moved from rented space on a local tower to our own, which was constructed last year and has space for other tenants. A local full-power radio station is scheduled to move to it in the near future.

Our model has been so successful that I was hired to consult with another LPTV station group. I’ve helped that group launch a network of local news stations, and I plan to launch additional stations of my own in the future.

This entire business was made possible by low-power television, but its existence is threatened by the increasing amount of spectrum that could very well be reallocated to commercial wireless providers in this year’s spectrum auction.

When the spectrum auction was announced—just a couple of years after the DTV transition was completed and the FCC opened a filing window encouraging new LPTV stations to sign on—I was extremely concerned about the possible implications for the future of our industry. Of course, the amount of spectrum being reallocated has always been a moving target, but for quite some time now, a clearing target of Channel 38 on up seems to have been a pretty commonly accepted number tossed around.

When the FCC announced a clearing target of 126 MHz on April 29, my concerns grew, as did those of many LPTV operators.

UNCERTAIN FUTURE

We’re in a small market, with only eight full-power transmitters in a 25 county area. Of those, only two are on channels above 38. However, if Channel 29 on up is cleared, as many as half of the stations in our market will need to move to new channels, and that’s assuming nobody conflicts with the new channel numbers of stations in nearby markets.

An even bigger concern is what happens after this year’s spectrum auction. When the digital transition occurred in 2009, Channels 51-69 were reallocated. Now, just a few years later, we’re looking at losing Channels 30-51. What’s stopping the FCC from deciding in a couple more years that they need Channels 14-29 as well?

While I own a construction permit for another LPTV station and have plans to acquire more, those plans for further expansion have been put on hold as the spectrum auction moves forward. 

I’d love to do what we’re doing in Cadillac in other markets—and I’m eager to get more stations on-air—but when we’re being constantly threatened with the possibility of losing our channels, it’s hard to commit to growing the LPTV industry.

Despite the looming threat of the spectrum auction, I hold high hopes for the future of WMNN, though I’m very concerned for the future of stations in larger markets, especially if the 126 MHz clearing target moves forward.

If that’s the case, and channels above 29 are gone, a good number of stations in markets just a bit bigger than ours could very well be knocked off-air for good, and that means a huge reduction in the selection of free, over-the-air programming available via public airwaves—all to make room for more paid services with constantly increasing prices. Those are just the sort of services that, in recent years, people are have been dropping due to cost, and replacing with antenna TV. How ironic is that?

As our station has followed the campaign trail, broadcasting visits by not only Trump, but also John Kasich and Bernie Sanders in their entirety—something no full-power TV station in the market was able to do—I found another bit of irony in the plans for the spectrum auction:

At a time when the very future of LPTV is in question due to decisions by our government to reallocate spectrum, local LPTV stations like ours can often be the stations in the best position to provide in-depth coverage of politics, whether that’s a presidential campaign visit or a small local issue. Whether covering politics or not, LPTV truly has the ability to remain true to our own station’s slogan, “More Local. More Often,” a point that’s important to remember as the future of our industry is determined as the spectrum auction moves forward.