MIAMI—CBS Miami is partnering with Neighbors 4 Neighbors and Global Empowerment Mission (GEM), to launch “Hope 4 Venezuela”, a relief initiative supporting families impacted by the devastating earthquakes in Venezuela.

Headquartered in Doral Florida, CBS Miami is home to the largest Venezuelan population in the United States and is using its community connections to mobilize aid, elevate critical resources and serve as a central hub for information and support of people affected by the recent earthquakes.

“As a local newsroom, our role goes beyond reporting – we are here to serve, inform and activate our community in moments of need,” said Miguel Fernandez, vice president and news director of CBS Miami. “South Florida’s connection to Venezuela is deeply personal, and we are committed to using our platform to help families facing unimaginable loss.”

The initiative combines storytelling, fundraising and community engagement to drive immediate relief. Donations will be distributed through Global Empowerment Mission and Neighbors 4 Neighbors, while CBS Miami amplifies awareness across its broadcast, digital and social platforms.

“This initiative reflects the power of local journalism to bring communities together and drive meaningful impact,” said Kim Voet, president and general manager of CBS Miami. “We are proud to stand with our viewers, partners and the Venezuelan community to provide support and deliver real help where it is needed most.”

The campaign will include a dedicated Hope 4 Venezuela special on July 1, when CBS Miami’s 7:00 PM newscast will be transformed into a focused broadcast driving awareness, donations and community participation as part of a broader daylong effort.

“Local media plays a critical role in moments like this, connecting people to trusted organizations and turning compassion into action,” said Katy Meagher, president and CEO of Neighbors 4 Neighbors. “Together with CBS Miami and GEM, we are working urgently to deliver life-saving aid to those who need it most.”

CBS Miami is also engaging local businesses, advertisers and community members to support donation efforts, while its editorial coverage will continue to highlight the ongoing impact of the earthquake and the response from South Florida’s Venezuelan community.

Donations can be made at neighbors4neighbors.org, and additional information is available at https://www.cbsnews.com/miami.

Disney announced this week that WPLG, its long-time ABC station in the Miami-Ft. Lauderdale market, will be ending its affiliation with Disney and become an independent station.

Under the terms of the new, multi-year agreement, the new ABC affiliate—owned by Sunbeam—will begin broadcasting as “ABC Miami” on channel 7.2 over-the-air beginning Monday, August 4, moving from Berkshire Hathaway Media’s WPLG Local 10. Disney will continue to provide WPLG with uninterrupted access to its ABC network programming until that date. Sunbeam’s other local TV station, WSVN-TV will continue to broadcast Fox programming on its primary channel (7.1), adding ABC programming to its subchannel (7.2).

The news comes after Disney and WPLG failed to reach an agreement, according to the Hollywood Reporter. WPLG is Berkshire Hathaway Media’s only local TV station.

“We are incredibly excited to join forces with Sunbeam Television in South Florida moving forward as they not only share Disney’s enduring commitment to serving local communities, but they also recognize the value of ABC’s esteemed brand and the significant investments we’re making to our world-class network content,” said Susi D’Ambra Coplan, SVP, Affiliate Relations, Disney Entertainment. “We would also like to thank Berkshire Hathaway Media and everyone at WPLG Local 10 for their partnership—we are very proud to have brought some of the most compelling programming to our highly-valued, mutual viewers over the years.”

“When the opportunity to affiliate with ABC became available, we knew that our combined resources would allow us to develop an extremely strong partnership. Sunbeam Television Corporation has a proven track record as a competitive broadcaster. Adding ABC programming to our stations’ portfolio will only strengthen our footprint. As a family-owned company, we have been embedded in this community for nearly 70 years, with a commitment to local news and supporting non-profit organizations across South Florida, “ says Paul Magnes, Co-President of Sunbeam Television Corporation.

Two more local TV stations in Miami have launched NextGen TV broadcasters (aka ATSC 3.0). 

Fox affiliate WSVN (channel 7) and ABC/Disney affiliate WPLG (channel 10)  join NBCU's WTVJ (NBC, channel 6); NBCU's WSCV (Telemundo, channel 51); CBS’s WFOR (CBS, channel 4) and TelevisaUnivision’s WLTV (Univision, channel 23), which all began broadcasting ATSC 3.0 in January 2023. WPBT (PBS South Florida, channel 2) is participating as a test service.

The two additional stations—made available via a new second “lighthouse”— add five new services to the Miami market, now bringing it to a combined total of 11 NextGen TV services for Miami's more than 1.7 million television households.

"We are thrilled to be able to provide our viewers NextGen TV in South Florida," stated Bert Medina, president and CEO at WPLG-TV. "Our goal is to provide our audience with the best quality video and audio experience available. Our mission continues to be to inform, entertain and educate our community. This is a natural evolution for us."

With WPLG and WSVN now broadcasting 3.0, this means the Miami market now has all four major broadcast networks transmitting NextGen TV. In addition to Fox and ABC, three other channels are also available in 3.0 from WPLG and WSVN:

• TheGrio, channel 7.2
• This TV, channel 7.3
• WPLG LOCAL 10 Plus, which provides LOCAL 10 News, weather, traffic and entertainment for viewers (until today, this service was only available via streaming)

"WSVN's strong, loyal viewership will benefit from NextGen TV's technology, as it will greatly improve television reception," stated Paul Magnes, co-president and general manager at WSVN-TV. "We can now offer our viewers a more compelling way to watch 7 NEWS, live sports and programming, over-the-air."

"Underscoring the demand for NextGen TV, Miami is now a top U.S. media market with multiple major networks—ABC, FOX, CBS, NBC, PBS, Telemundo, and Univision—broadcasting NextGen TV for its viewers," commented Anne Schelle, managing director of Pearl TV, the broadcaster business group leading the NextGen TV transition. "By launching a second stick, these local broadcasters share an ongoing commitment to expand this free service within the Miami area and deliver important local news stories, sports and entertainment. NextGen TV's emergency alert system and dual language capabilities are essential to residents and we're proud that we can give them even more options now." 

MIAMI—NextGen TV broadcasts have expanded to another major market, with four stations in Miami now broadcasting over the air using the NextGen TV, aka ATSC 3.0 standard. 

The four channels that have launched the over-the-air (OTA) signals in the top 20 market are: NBCU's WTVJ (NBC, channel 6); NBCU's WSCV (Telemundo, channel 51); CBS’s WFOR (CBS, channel 4) and TelevisaUnivision’s WLTV (Univision, channel 23). 

WPBT (PBS South Florida, channel 2) will participate as a test service.

"Television viewers and lovers are on the upside and stand to gain a lot with NextGen TV, especially as more stations, TV models—such as Hisense's newly released lineup—and the accessory market expands," said Anne Schelle, managing director of Pearl TV, the broadcaster business group that is leading the NextGen TV transition. "Broadcast is one of the leading platforms for local news and NextGen TV nurtures and enhances this, delivering value to the consumer."

The Pearl TV group noted that the four Miami stations will build on the growth of the new standard and local interest with a holiday brand marketing campaign to deepen consumer awareness and engagement. Through February 2023, the campaign will engage with consumers over social media and educate on how to look for the Consumer Technology Association-accredited NextGen TV logo, features and where to buy.

The participating stations have worked together to ensure that current programming remains available to all viewers, regardless of whether their television service is provided over-the-air or by a cable or satellite company. 

TV Tech has been following the launch of NextGen TV broadcasts around the U.S., where it is available in more than 66 markets. Our NextGen TV coverage is available here and our complete list of where broadcasters are offering ATSC 3.0 broadcasts can be found here.  

NEW YORK—As part of a strategy to make streaming an even more important part of its operations, CBS News and Stations has revamped and rebranded its streaming news service, announced an expanded slate of new programming and built a new studio to support the service's ambitions. 

The expanded investment in streaming comes at a time when the major news organizations are pouring more money into streaming operations, with CNN planning to launch its direct-to- consumer service CNN+ in the next few months. 

Among the broadcasters, CBS was a pioneer in streaming news services, launching CBSN in 2014 and becoming the first to launch a streaming local news service in 2018 with CBSN New York. 

As part of the revamped streaming efforts, CBSN is now being rebranded as the CBS News Streaming Network, which has both national and local feeds. 

On January 24, the company also launched a new streaming news channel in Miami, with another local news channel set to bow later this year in Detroit. That will bring its total local new streaming channels to 14. All of the local news channels are part of the rebranded CBS News Streaming Network. 

It is also planning to build on a record 2021 year, when CBS Stations local streams increased 37% from 2020, by ramping up its news content, which totaled about 30,000 hours in 2021.

By the end of 2022, CBS Stations will introduce another 15,000 annual hours of live news programming resulting in 45,000 total hours of live local news and weather coverage, the company said. 

As part of the ramped up production slate, the company has also built a new state-of-the-art studio in the CBS Broadcast Center in New York.

The newly completed studio includes 4,000 square feet of space, three pedestal robotic cameras, four main LED walls, four LED columns and numerous display and touchscreen monitors. This will be the base of operations for new and existing programming, the company said. 

The studio features Planar TVF Series LED video wall technology in a 1.5 millimeter pixel pitch as well as Planar TVH Series LED video wall technology in a 1.6 millimeter pixel pitch. Video Visions was the AV integrator.

“We’re unlocking the power of CBS News – streaming the best of our reporting and storytelling on television to viewers everywhere,” said Neeraj Khemlani, president and co-head of CBS News and Stations. “From up-to-the-minute reporting from our new live news desk, signature interviews by Gayle King and Norah O’Donnell, adventures on “CBS Sunday Morning” and “60 Minutes,” true crime on “48 HOURS” – and reporting out of Washington to Kyiv to Beijing – we’re delivering a 24/7 experience with quality journalism from the best news brands in the business.”

“CBS News and Stations’ local streaming channels are growing at a rapid pace and will continue this year through the significant expansion of coverage in all of our markets, giving us an additional 15,000 hours of live local news per year by the end of 2022,” said Wendy McMahon president and co-head of CBS News and Stations. “Our commitment reflects the relevance and importance of local news to audiences across the country. We are excited to launch CBS News Miami today and look forward to completing the rollout of our local streaming channels later this year when we debut CBS News Detroit. Unifying our brands and newsgathering resources positions us to deliver the best local-to-national-to global streaming news experience to our consumers however they want to watch.”

MIAMI—Locast has announced that viewers in South Florida are now being given free local TV access over the internet through its TV streaming service. Locast will be available in the Miami, Ft. Lauderdale and West Palm Beach, Fla., TV markets, which has 6.8 million TV viewers, per Locast.

Through the Locast service, local viewers can tune into local TV channels on their mobile and streaming devices to stay informed of local news, emergency information, election coverage, sports and entertainment.

Miami-Ft. Lauderdale DMA viewers will have access to more than 40 local channels. West Palm Beach viewers will have 28 channels. English and Spanish-language channels will be available.

Locast is a nonprofit that provides free access to local TV channels, while asking for donations to maintain operations. To date, it serves 21 U.S. markets and has more than 1.4 million users, it reports.

Locast says that it is able to provide these channels for free under the Copyright Act of 1976, which allows nonprofit translators to rebroadcast local TV stations without a copyright license. However, this stance is being challenged in court by the major broadcasters, ABC, CBS, Fox and NBC.

For more information, visit www.locast.org.  

MIAMI—NewsNet is heading down to South Beach, as the 24/7 news channel has announced that it will now be available in Miami through WDFL.

Launched in 2019, NewsNet is a 24-hour news channel that uses the “news wheel” format, providing the major headlines every half hour and avoiding talk and opinion-based programming.

WDFL, which is available as an over-the-air channel, will broadcast NewsNet on its flagship channel, 18.1.

With this new addition, NewsNet says that is available in 45 markets across the country, including New York, Los Angeles and Chicago.

MIAMI--NBCUniversal Telemundo Enterprises has opened Telemundo Center, its new global headquarters in Miami. With this new state-of-the-art facility, Comcast and NBCUniversal underscore their commitment to produce original Spanish language content for Hispanic consumers—the fastest growing U.S. demographic—while advancing the future of media.

“Latinos are a growing cultural, political and economic force influencing every aspect of our country,” said Cesar Conde, Chairman, NBCUniversal Telemundo Enterprises and NBCUniversal International Group. “Telemundo Center is the only facility that can fuel the preferences and demands of this dynamic audience, while driving unlimited growth and opportunity for our company, employees and community for years to come.”

[Read: Telemundo To Build $250 Million HQ In Miami-Dade]

Producing over 3,000 hours of original content a year, Telemundo Center houses 15 highly adaptive studios, including two digital studios, virtual and augmented reality sets, the news operation, and modern workspaces for its 1,500 employees. It also houses production of Telemundo’s primetime programming, including the entertainment show “Don Francisco te Invita,” the morning show “Un Nuevo Dia,” news programs, such as “Noticias Telemundo” and “Al Rojo Vivo,” and sports shows like “Titulares y Mas.”

The eco-friendly facility also integrates offices, and broadcast and production operations, for divisions, including: Telemundo Network, Telemundo Deportes, Noticias Telemundo, Telemundo Global Studios, Universo channel,,Telemundo’s digital media operations and NBCUniversal International Group’s Latin American offices.

With its new Telemundo Center, formerly based in Hialeah, FL, NBCUniversal Telemundo Enterprises indicates that they are making a visible commitment as a leading economic, cultural, and social contributor to the local Miami and greater Florida economy.

MIAMI—WSVN in Miami, a Fox affiliate, is taking to the skies as the TV station has announced that it will add a drone to its newsgathering tools. The station is able to do so with the new FAA rules that do not require a pilot to fly a drone for commercial use. It is the first Miami station to deploy a drone, and the station reports that it has plans to add more with the goal of improving severe weather and marine coverage.

Read the full story on TVT’s sister publication B&C.