SYRACUSE -- One of the biggest syndicated lineup changes in Syracuse TV already took place last month, when Channel 5 (WTVH-DT) managed to snatch Live! with Regis and Kelly away from Channel 9 (WSYR-DT). But a few more changes are set to take place, specifically during the 7pm "access hour."
All of these changes are effective Monday, September 13.
We'll start with Entertainment Tonight, which currently airs at 7:30 on channel 3. It'll be moving to 7:00 on channel 9. In an effort to make sure viewers know about the impending change, the ABC affiliate even brought in ET personality Samantha Harris for an appearance on Bridge Street and autographs at the New York State Fair yesterday.
Even though ET will be taking the timeslot currently occupied by Who Wants to be a Millionaire, channel 9 won't be losing the gameshow. New episodes will air at 12:30pm, where the station has been running reruns.
Channel 3 will replace ET with another infotainment show, Extra, which now airs pretty late (1:37am, after Craig Ferguson, to be exact), on channel 5. According to TV Guide listings, the show will continue to air on channel 5 in that late timeslot -- we're not sure if that's a typo, or if that's yet another product of the "shared services agreement" in place between channels 3 and 5.
Back to the 7pm hour, no changes at WTVH. The CBS affiliate's longtime pairing of Wheel of Fortune and Jeopardy remains intact.
Among the other network affiliates, Fox 68 (WSYT) will continue to air back-to-back reruns of Two and a Half Men while My43 (WNYS)'s will keep airing back-to-back reruns of The Simpsons for the hour. CW affiliate WSTQ-LP replaces its doubleshot of My Name is Earl reruns with another sitcom, How I Met Your Mother.
No changes for the crucial "news lead-in" timeslot at 4pm. Channel 3 keeps Ellen, channel 9 keeps Oprah and channel 5 will continue to air TMZ followed by Inside Edition. But look for changes next year; that's when Oprah Winfrey said she'll move from syndicated broadcast TV to her own cable network. That'll force channel 9 to find something new at 4pm for the first time in a very long time.
You may have heard that CNYTVNews.com has folded because its original owner doesn't have time to maintain the site. Even though I'm in the process of taking over that address to save it from "going to the wolves," I can't guarantee I'll always have time to properly cover TV happenings either. My first priority is covering the happenings of local radio, so the only way I can be sure to keep tabs on TV is to recruit some willing volunteer reporters.
If you've got good writing skills, decent computer skills and time to devote to helping out, email cnyradio@cnyradio.com. I'm slowly adding TV coverage without much planning, so I'm not sure how much of demand there will be for volunteers, but for now, I'm just curious to see who'd be willing to help if/when needed.