NEW YORK, Sept. 14 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- WDSU-TV, the New Orleans NBC
affiliate owned by Hearst-Argyle Television, Inc. (NYSE: HTV) is now being
carried on WBTR, Channel 41, an independent television station in Baton Rouge,
LA as part of efforts to reach as many people displaced from their New Orleans
homes as possible.
(Photo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20050914/NYW126 )
WBTR, owned by Baton Rouge-based Veritas Broadcasting Group, LLC, has more
than 600,000 potential viewers in 176,000 cable households and 48,000
non-cable households. The station is licensed as KBTR-CA. WBTR will carry
WDSU's local news programming Monday through Sunday, 5-7am and noon-2pm;
Monday through Friday, 8-11pm, and Saturday and Sunday, 6-11pm (all times
Central).
Additionally, Hearst-Argyle and Veritas are finalizing the establishment
of a Baton Rouge news bureau for WDSU at the WBTR facility.
Said WDSU-TV President and General Manager Mason Granger: "I am delighted
that we have been able to forge a relationship with WBTR. WBTR's J. D. Perry
and Chuck Bush have shown a sincere commitment to public service, which is so
essential during this time of crisis."
"We at WBTR want to open our arms and our hearts to our guests from the
New Orleans area," said WBTR General Manager Charles Bush III. "We are doing
so by partnering with WDSU to provide them with what we believe to be the best
news coverage of the Crescent City available. Mason Granger has such a deep
desire to serve the citizens of New Orleans that we just had to help in any
way we could."
WDSU is also being carried on Time Warner Cable in Jackson, MS (where Time
Warner Cable already carries Hearst-Argyle's Jackson-based WAPT-TV), and in
Monroe, LA. In addition, as previously announced, WDSU news programming is
being broadcast in New Orleans on the Paxson-managed station WPXL-TV, Channel
49; in Houston on Paxson's KPXB-TV, Channel 49, during certain dayparts; and
on direct-broadcast satellite (DirecTV and DISH).
WDSU.com Web Traffic Remains At High Levels
The station's website, WDSU.com, also continues to be a primary source of
news and information for those displaced from New Orleans as well as for
audiences worldwide. On August 29, WDSU.com's page view count surged from an
average of approximately 200,000 to more than 4 million, while the number of
videos streamed from the site -- or "livestreams" -- grew to nearly 600,000.
WDSU.com continues to serve an average of more than 800,000 page views and
more than 30,000 video streams daily -- far above the averages for
major-market TV-station websites -- as it carries the station's live
continuing coverage of the story. The Internet Broadcasting
(http://www.ibsys.com) "network" of websites throughout the country, of which
WDSU.com and the other Hearst-Argyle station sites are members, continues to
serve an average of more than 20 million page views and nearly 50,000
livestreams daily.
"All of us at WDSU are acutely aware of the necessity of disseminating
crucial information to the thousands of people who have been evacuated from
the New Orleans area," Granger added. "That is why, in addition to our
successful webcasting, we are reaching out to broadcast and cable partners in
cities such as Baton Rouge, as well as Houston, Jackson, MS, and Monroe. We
thank all of them for their support and dedication to the people who have been
affected by Hurricane Katrina."
Reports from WESH-TV Medical Expert Now on WDSU-TV and WDSU.com
WDSU-TV, on its over-the-air broadcasts and over its webcasts at WDSU.com,
is now featuring reports from Dr. Todd Husty, who since 1995 has been the
medical reporter for Hearst-Argyle sister station WESH-TV, Orlando. Dr.
Husty, who addresses issues of health, fitness, and nutrition, with a focus on
preventive medicine, is a board-certified emergency physician with a degree in
Osteopathic Medicine, as well as the longtime medical director for the
Maitland, FL, Fire Department; a medical director of emergency medical
services for Seminole County; and a board member of the American Cancer
Society. A former editor for the Florida College of Emergency Physicians, Dr.
Husty is currently on staff at Winter Park, FL, Memorial Hospital. Dr.
Husty's reports, which have taken him to New Orleans area hospitals, mobile
field hospitals, clinics, and the regions affected by contaminated waters, are
beamed to Hearst-Argyle stations around the country via Hearst-Argyle's
dedicated satellite service, managed out of the Company's Washington, DC, news
bureau.
Status of the WDSU-TV Facility
Granger also noted: "A number of WDSU people have returned to the WDSU
facility. We have a team in the studio providing news reports to supplement
the anchor teams reporting from the WESH (Orlando) and WAPT (Jackson) studios.
We also have three crews throughout New Orleans reporting the ongoing story.
And an engineering team is readying the station eventually to broadcast once
again from WDSU's own tower and transmitter."
Other Katrina-Related Activities at Hearst-Argyle Television
Hearst-Argyle Television stations have conducted numerous telethons and
participated in other fund-raising efforts, which to date have helped generate
more than $10 million in cash donations on behalf of Hurricane Katrina relief
efforts.
Additional updates on WDSU-TV, Hearst-Argyle Television efforts relative
to Hurricane Katrina, and on the Hearst-Argyle Employee Disaster Relief
Foundation, can be found at http://www.hearstargyle.com, which is being
updated regularly as new information becomes available.
About Hearst-Argyle
Hearst-Argyle Television, Inc. owns 25 television stations, and manages an
additional three television and two radio stations, in geographically diverse
U.S. markets. The Company's television stations reach approximately 18% of
U.S. TV households, making it one of the largest U.S. television station
groups. The Company owns 10 NBC affiliates, and is the second-largest NBC
affiliate owner. Hearst-Argyle also owns 12 ABC-affiliated stations, and
manages an additional ABC station owned by The Hearst Corporation, and is the
largest ABC affiliate group. The Company also owns two CBS affiliates and a WB
affiliate, and manages a UPN affiliate and an independent station.
Hearst-Argyle's stations are recognized news leaders. The station group
has been honored with three consecutive Walter Cronkite Awards, presented by
the University of Southern California's Annenberg School for Communication,
for excellence in television political journalism, and is the only group to
have received the award since its inception. Hearst-Argyle stations also are
the recipients of many of television's other highest awards for excellence in
journalism, programming and community service, including the Peabody, the du
Pont-Columbia Journalism Award, the Sigma Delta Chi Award, the Gabriel, the Ad
Council Silver Bell, the National Headliner Award, the Edward R. Murrow Award
and the Emmy.
Hearst-Argyle also is a leader in the convergence of local broadcast
television and the Internet through its partnership with Internet Broadcasting
Systems, and in the application of digital broadcast spectrum for new local
informational services through its Weather Plus partnership with NBC and
various NBC affiliate groups.
Hearst-Argyle is majority owned by The Hearst Corporation. Hearst-Argyle
Series A Common Stock trades on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol
"HTV." HTV debt is rated investment grade by Moody's (Baa3), Standard &
Poor's (BBB-) and Fitch (BBB-), each with a stable outlook. The company's Web
address is http://www.hearstargyle.com.
SOURCE Hearst-Argyle Television, Inc.
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Related links:
http://www.hearstargyle.com
http://www.WDSU.com http://www.ibsys.com
Photo Notes:
NewsCom:
http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20050914/NYW126
AP Archive: http://photoarchive.ap.org AP PhotoExpress
Network: PRN5 PRN Photo Desk, photodesk@prnewswire.com
CONTACT:
Thomas W. Campo of Hearst-Argyle Television,
Inc., +1-212-887-6827, tcampo@hearst.com
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