WDAF to become 'Fox 4' in wake of network takeover

WDAF, Channel 4, has a new first name.
Beginning Super Bowl Sunday WDAF will no longer be known as
"Newschannel 4," a station identity that dates to its affiliation
with the NBC network.
It will become "Fox 4," reflecting the formal acquisition
Wednesday of WDAF and nine other stations in the New World
Communications Group Inc. by Rupert Murdoch's News Corp., owner of
the Fox Television Network. The Fox 4 identity will be accompanied by
new theme music, a new station announcer and a new logo.
The purchase of the New World chain recently was approved by the
federal government, and New World shareholders were meeting Wednesday
to ratify the $ 2.5 billion sale.
WDAF becomes the first Kansas City station to be owned and
operated by a television network since the early 1950s when the
now-defunct DuMont network briefly ran a local channel. The new
ownership has some longtime staffers wondering privately whether
WDAF's local news franchise is in danger.
But general manager Ed Piette, while conceding that Fox has "no
concrete plans" for the station at this time, argued Wednesday that
the network had a strong incentive not to pursue change for change's
sake.
Besides, he noted, the New World stations it is acquiring are all
venerable network affiliates (WDAF signed on in 1949) that are
already competitive in their markets.
For instance, the network's "Fox After Breakfast" program,
which is sent out live at 8 a.m. local time, is delayed until 9 a.m.
by WDAF, in deference to its popular two-hour morning newscast. That
decision is unlikely to change under Fox ownership, said Piette,
because "they're very pleased that we're giving them a No. 1 lead
into 'Fox After Breakfast' in terms of their demographics."
Nor is Fox likely to impose another late-night program on local
viewers who tune into Channel 4 for "Cheers" reruns and "Extra,"
shows that perform well against the networks.
"They have some very, very intelligent people running the
network," Piette said. Referring to the disastrous launch in 1993 of
a late-night show featuring Chevy Chase, he added, "They do not want
to make the same mistakes as were made in the past."